SOE
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U2 - Songs Of Experience (2017)
 Tracks: 14
  1. I actually see this album as incredibly “themed” in terms of the whole experience thing. I don’t want to get into why in a song-by-song way, but I really feel like every song IS a letter written by a man who is trying to both retain his innocence through experience, while also realizing there are things experience has taught him that he can’t ignore. The Best Thing is a man who’s loved the same woman forever, and over a lifetime has come to know his flaws and that in the end, she is the best thing about him. Comparatively, ickle-Bono was writing songs like Stranger in a Stange Land about himself while older Bono is writing Summer of Love about others on a similar concept, but the dark side of it and how it’s affecting our current global climate.

    I think SoI might’ve been more of a deep dive in the personal in terms of specifics (Raised By Wolves being the precursor to Bad, Cedarwood Road etc), but I also think it had to be by nature, more than this album anyway. Not to mention that in SoI, Bono laments his mother’s death, while on SoE there’s more than one song where it’s as though as lamenting his own that hasn’t happened yet. This album is more general in terms of Bono trying to be as specific as possible with lessons and thoughts that are very broad. I think he succeeded.
  7. So far SOE is the U2 record with the lowest metascore i think
  9. The thing about the "experience theme", and that's related to what dylan was talking about listening to the album out of context, is that YOU HAVE to listen to this album in context.

    These are the songs of experience.

    It's not just some 20+ year old naive dude saying "love is all we have left", or "love is bigger than anything on its way" which are some of the most cheesy lines that could've been written, no, this is an experienced man on some sort of a death bed, saying this to his loved ones.

    It doesn't carry the same weight.

    And the same goes for (almost?) every song; you need to listen to it understanding the context.
    If Lord Of The Rings had casted Ashton Kutchner as Gandalf, the movie would've been ridiculous. Things need to be interpreted in context.

    And musically, is 3/4 the same... it's not just pushing boundaries for the sake of finding something new, it's this simplicity and the "joyful defiance" Bono talks about, impregnating both the lyrics and the music throughout the album.

    So, there is an underlying theme of experience, and also you want to listen to it in the context of experienced men talking to their loved ones as a death bed advice.
  10. Originally posted by Bloodraven:The thing about the "experience theme", and that's related to what dylan was talking about listening to the album out of context, is that YOU HAVE to listen to this album in context.

    These are the songs of experience.

    It's not just some 20+ year old naive dude saying "love is all we have left", or "love is bigger than anything on its way" which are some of the most cheesy lines that could've been written, no, this is an experienced man on some sort of a death bed, saying this to his loved ones.

    It doesn't carry the same weight.

    And the same goes for (almost?) every song; you need to listen to it understanding the context.
    If Lord Of The Rings had casted Ashton Kutchner as Gandalf, the movie would've been ridiculous. Things need to be interpreted in context.

    And musically, is 3/4 the same... it's not just pushing boundaries for the sake of finding something new, it's this simplicity and the "joyful defiance" Bono talks about, impregnating both the lyrics and the music throughout the album.

    So, there is an underlying theme of experience, and also you want to listen to it in the context of experienced men talking to their loved ones as a death bed advice.
  11. Don't fear...there's only 10 counted, of which 5 are positive...1 very low score dragging average down right now.
  12. Do you guys think it would’ve been cool(er) if U2 had waited and released a double album? Songs of Innocence and Experience? It would’ve meant an 8 year gap between NLOTH and now (assuming it came out this year)...but would that have been worth waiting for?
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U2start is run by fans for fans. Help us reduce personal costs. Consider to make a donation to support us.
U2start is run by fans for fans. Help us reduce personal costs. Consider to make a donation to support us.