GEN
Active topics
  1. Originally posted by yeah:True. And this is what Bono brought back from Sinai:

    Achtung Baby
    Pop
    Zooropa
    War
    The Joshua Tree
    Boy
    Rattle & Hum
    (Original Soundtracks 1)
    How to dismantle an atomic bomb
    All that you can't leave behind
    October
    The unforgettable fire


    lmao, wow
  2. Originally posted by yeah:[..]

    You don't seem to understand that this is about personal taste and opinion.

    (And Pop IS better than All That You Can't Leave Behind)


    I would have to say that Pop overall is better than ATYCLB, even if individual songs on ATYCLB are better (eg. BD), but if we compare the albums to each other (excluding any bonus/ extra tracks like Ground Beneath Her Feet, Sweetest Thing, Electrical Storm ) then we find that Pop is more innovative and has more 'good' songs.
  3. I think they r in the Top 5 with JT and AB, all 4 albums r great from start to finish, NLOTH will be in top also.
  4. Originally posted by achtungbaby1366:[..]


    The fact that you think ATYCLB is a collection of songs and not the most cohesive album U2 have ever made (besides maybe AB) just totally amazes me. No wonder you don't like the album that much. You obviously don't get it the way I do. Sorry, your loss bro


    In fact I do like ATYCLB better than Zooropa and POP - from my personal taste. It contains a few better songs and has an overall sound that I can relate to (except maybe for Elevation). I don't like the overall electronica feeling of POP at all. I prefer to hear real guitars and real drums. But the songs, lyrics and arrangements on ATYCLB are hit and miss to me, so it creates a kind of song collection feel. Some songs just don't nail it - but some do hit the nail right into my heart.

    But if I leave my personal taste and preference behind I come to the point where I have to admit that POP is the stronger artistic statement that ATYCLB.

    I think from an artistic point of view I'd have to rate JT and AB highest, then Boy and POP, then Zooropa and Original Soundtracks, then ATYCLB, War and TUF, then HTDAAB, RAH and October. But even the last three still have their strength.

    My personal preference rates JT, AB and HTDAAB highest, followed by ATYCLB, RAH, TUF, October, Zooropa, POP, Boy and War, at last Original Soundtracks.

    Alex
  5. I have two questions:

    (1) What is so hugely "innovative" about Pop? U2 already made the move toward electronica, dance beats, etc., with Achtung Baby and Zooropa. MOFO is certainly innovative, as is their rendition of Popmuzik (which should have been included on the album). But a number of songs on the album are not innovative. It's more of the same U2 sound we got from AB, but with songs that are not as striking. At least four or five songs on the album would have been good AB B-sides. Many of the songs sound unfinished (and not in the good way of being raw), as u2 rushed to put the album together in time for the tour. Staring At The Sun, Last Night on Earth, Gone are all good songs, but they don't grab you in the way that great U2 songs do. How many songs from Pop were on 18Singles?

    (2) What is "cohesive" about Pop, lyrically or musically? Lyrically, Bono mixes ironic, cheeky songs (Discotheque, Miami, Playboy Mansion) with songs which are trying to convey a political or religious message (Staring At The Sun, Please, Last Night on Earth, Wake Up Dead Man). And then there's the schmaltzy If God Will Send His Angels and the fillers (Do You Feel Loved, Velvet Dress). And while the music incorporates electronica, it doesn't really push U2's sound in any significantly new direction in the way that Achtung Baby or even Zooropa did. ATYCLB certainly has a cohesive sound, and consistent themes, such as facing the darkness in the world (Peace on Earth, When I Look At The World), persevering through that darkness (Stuck In A Moment, Walk On, New York) and trusting in the redemptive power of love (Elevation, In A Little While, Grace). What can't U2 leave behind? Jesus, Ireland, and rock 'n' roll. That seems more cohesive to me than a "Pop" album which is really a rock 'n' roll album with a bit of electronica and some cheeky lyrics and occasional references to God.

    Many of the live performances of songs from Pop are significantly better than the album versions, which shows that U2 released it before it was ready. I think it is a good album, but not one of their best.


  6. velvet dress a filler? *is appalled* D:
    lol.

    seriously though. I don't think pop can be put into the same 'electronica' genre as ab and zooropa. pop got a whole different 'feel' to it, imo, which makes it stand out so much.
  7. they are the best album for me after JT & AB specially ATYCLB the most Of U2 soulful albums

  8. That doesn't say anything other than that the band didn't like it, that it wasn't a commercial success or perhaps that it ís a cohesive album and therefore they can't just put some songs on a greatest hits album.

    What is "cohesive" about Pop, lyrically or musically?

    Musically, all the songs focus around a prominent bassline with great guitar riffs, nicely blended with electronica.
    Lyrically, most songs are about religion or love, that the world is fucked up etc. A certain amount of basic themes can be found in any songs, although in some they're harder to discover. Anyway, I don't believe that anyone here stated so bluntly that Pop is a cohesive album in the way you seem to put it. Correct me if I'm wrong though.

    Many of the songs sound unfinished (and not in the good way of being raw)

    I never really get why people say this. I understand if you just don't like the songs. But I can't think of a concrete example where part of a song is really unfinished, except for maybe IGWSHA. True, you can always add extra things to a song or rewrite it, and true, you can produce and mix all you want, but then you'll just get the overproduced crap with all the soul taken out of it which are the Best of 1990-2000 mixes, especially that god awful Staring at the Sun. And also the boom chas edited out of Discothèque, hoping the public would like it better. That is just pathetic.

    Staring At The Sun, Last Night on Earth, Gone are all good songs, but they don't grab you in the way that great U2 songs do.

    the fillers (Do You Feel Loved, Velvet Dress)


    That is just plain opinion, I for one love all those songs, and think they're fantastic and nothing should be changed about them.

    What is so hugely "innovative" about Pop?

    I think you'll agree with me that Pop at least sounds different than Achtung Baby and Zooropa, and even if they had worked on it for another year, it probably still would be different. So that means that they've used the electronica in another way, which means it's at least a little innovative. Also there weren't many (mainstream) bands that would go as far in experimenting with electronics as U2, so it was innovative towards the general music them too. Of course the leap between JT/RH and AB wasn't as big as the one between AB/Zooropa and Pop, but you can't expect them to make such a huge leap between every record.
  9. Originally posted by BonoIsTheMessiah:I have two questions:

    (1) What is so hugely "innovative" about Pop? U2 already made the move toward electronica, dance beats, etc., with Achtung Baby and Zooropa. MOFO is certainly innovative, as is their rendition of Popmuzik (which should have been included on the album). But a number of songs on the album are not innovative. It's more of the same U2 sound we got from AB, but with songs that are not as striking. At least four or five songs on the album would have been good AB B-sides. Many of the songs sound unfinished (and not in the good way of being raw), as u2 rushed to put the album together in time for the tour. Staring At The Sun, Last Night on Earth, Gone are all good songs, but they don't grab you in the way that great U2 songs do. How many songs from Pop were on 18Singles?

    (2) What is "cohesive" about Pop, lyrically or musically? Lyrically, Bono mixes ironic, cheeky songs (Discotheque, Miami, Playboy Mansion) with songs which are trying to convey a political or religious message (Staring At The Sun, Please, Last Night on Earth, Wake Up Dead Man). And then there's the schmaltzy If God Will Send His Angels and the fillers (Do You Feel Loved, Velvet Dress). And while the music incorporates electronica, it doesn't really push U2's sound in any significantly new direction in the way that Achtung Baby or even Zooropa did. ATYCLB certainly has a cohesive sound, and consistent themes, such as facing the darkness in the world (Peace on Earth, When I Look At The World), persevering through that darkness (Stuck In A Moment, Walk On, New York) and trusting in the redemptive power of love (Elevation, In A Little While, Grace). What can't U2 leave behind? Jesus, Ireland, and rock 'n' roll. That seems more cohesive to me than a "Pop" album which is really a rock 'n' roll album with a bit of electronica and some cheeky lyrics and occasional references to God.

    Many of the live performances of songs from Pop are significantly better than the album versions, which shows that U2 released it before it was ready. I think it is a good album, but not one of their best.


    1) While I would agree, that Pop is probably closer to the early U2 stuff then anything else and therefore not THAT innovative, I do think that the album is sounding raw in a good way. The album versions are mostly inferior to the live versions, that's true - but you can say that about a lot of songs from literally every album. And the "rough" versions on the album are certainly better than the "finished" versions on the Best Of.
    Also I wouldn't take 18 Singles as reference for the album quality. That one was clearly released to appeal casual fans. they've put on it what was famous by chart positions.
    No key tracks, no variation of eras

    2) Wikipedia says it all, no need to type it again: Pop has some of the band's most jaded and desolate lyrics, such as the political "Please" and the haunting "Wake Up Dead Man". Bono has described the album as starting at a party and ending at a funeral, and indeed, the mood gets very bleak after the first couple of songs. Every song has its own unique noises and nuances, like the watery guitar of "Staring at the Sun", the siren wailing of "Gone", or the gritty drumtrack of "Miami". Despite its rough production, it is an immensely textured record sonically. It spans various styles as well, such as the beat-driven trance of "Do You Feel Loved", the techno of "Mofo", and the loungy balladeering of "If You Wear That Velvet Dress".

    And for the Opinion Police: IMHO.
  10. I was listening to ATYCLB the other day, or rather I tried to listen all the way through, and by the time I got to the end of Elevation, I just skipped about and missed out half the songs. I can't listen to it all the way through because it just feels like a collection of songs. I do recognise the lyrical themes present etc., but only in retrospect - it doesn't come across for me when I'm actually listening to the album. I find HTDAAB a better album to listen to in a musical context if not a thematic one but, again, I can't listen all the way through because it doesn't grab me in the same way as JT, which is probably the only album I will deliberately listen to all the way through, primarily thanks to Kirsty MacColl and the tracklisting - she nailed the order for me, and it lends to the cinematic, epic feel of the album.

    Before people start mentioning AB, I shall bring that into the equation. The beauty of AB is that I often just stick it on shuffle because I can just listen all the songs in any order without fuss because I just find they work both musically and thematically, regardless of the tracklisting (in my opinion). HTDAAB and ATYCLB are, I'd say, only above War in my list - JT and AB come up top, then October, Zooropa Pop and TUF, followed by R&H and Boy, then HTDAAB and ATYCLB. I can't stand listening to War pretty much lol - I only care for about 2-4 songs (those being Like A Song, NYD, Seconds and Drowning Man - the rest of the songs do feck all for me).
  11. the collection of songs theme about Leave Behind is one thats popping up everywhere.

    Bono did say that they wanted to make an album of singles. An album where any one of the songs could top the charts. There you have the problem. If the song writer wants to make a group of single rather than an album then that CD just ain't gonna go well on the ears
  12. How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb was my first U2 album. It made me a U2 fan at the age of 14. It wasn't Vertigo or City of Blinding Lights or All Because of You that made me a fan, it was Original of the Species in the iPod commercial in late 05 early 06. :O And i clearly remember watching the grammies and seeing U2 kick everyones ass in the rock award section. i had all the other albums and stuff that they were up against and was surprised a band I had never heard of before beat everyone out. (Especially Mariah Carey who had a great year and thought she would win at like everything) So i went out and bought Bomb and didn't know what to make of it but then shortly fell in love with EVERY SONG. I think its power for me was that I didn't know there back catalogue so I had nothing to compare it to.
Make sure to not miss out on any U2 news and updates: follow us on Twitter, Instagram and like us on Facebook.
Make sure to not miss out on any U2 news and updates: follow us on Twitter, Instagram and like us on Facebook.
Make sure to not miss out on any U2 news and updates: follow us on Twitter, Instagram and like us on Facebook.
Make sure to not miss out on any U2 news and updates: follow us on Twitter, Instagram and like us on Facebook.