U2start.com | POPMART -Love or loathe?

Love!!!!!!!!!!

I love the album they were supporting but the tour didn't make justice to it. Just too many backing tracks and too poor voice and energy most of the time. Listening just to ONE show is great, but you go throughout the tour and you see the same setlist night after night, it's painful to see. And some concerts are painful to hear, too

Are we talking about popmart or 360

EDDMB

15 years

I didnt think the release,PoP, itself was good at all back in March 1997.I ran out and bought it the day it was released and I was put off.The songs..didnt sound finished.They still dont.The band admitted later on that they "rushed released" the cd.They actually put tickets on sale before the cd was released.I know Pop is a hit with the Europeans,but it was a miss here in the States, with most Americans IMO.It certainly did not sell here,for U2 standards that is.Discotheque was a terrible lead single.I was turned off big time.I was still in my Oasis period,and PoP made me loose interest in my favorite band.They dressed up like the Village People for Gods sake.I felt embarrassed,for them, when they stepped out of that lemon.I was like..WTF???The whole stage setup,with the big McDonalds yellow arch was foolish and a distraction IMO.I love this band for the songs,not the other stuff. But,the thing is,after you get passed the VP outfits, and the 40 foot lemon,the songs sound very good live.I find myself listening to the Leeds gig and Sarajevo quite often.If the band wouldnt have rushed the cd,it would have been better.Also,for the best of cd,1990-2000,the 3 songs from PoP are listed as a "new mix".I guess that is further proof the band are still unhappy with it.Mofo is a great song live,as is Please.But,the rest of the cd is just ok IMO.I dont loathe any U2 release,but I most definitely without question and beyond doubt,do not love it.

MattG

15 years

Originally posted by EDDMB: .They dressed up like the Village People for Gods sake.

It was intentional- to see how much of that look they could achieve. The entire tour was a gigantic, larger than life attempt at satire, but unfortunately they pushed it SO far that the majority of the show-goers had NO idea what it was supposed to be.

And for the record, as my avatar suggests, I happen to LOVE this incarnation of The Edge. And I don't know a cooler show entrance than parading through the crowd, Bono punching the air as if in a boxing match, dressed up in the satin robe.

Adam looked a bit gaudy, never understood that one.

I won't say you're wrong...I absolutely don't believe in saying that one's opinion is simply "wrong". I just want to make it clear that they were aware of all of these things, which in some ways enhances your point, and in some ways may help you see it from a different angle.

I agree with the past post about how individually, PopMart had great shows and a great setlist, but much like 360°. it lacked in variety and some performances really missed the mark.

EDDMB

15 years

Originally posted by EyesWithPrideB3:[..]

It was intentional- to see how much of that look they could achieve. The entire tour was a gigantic, larger than life attempt at satire, but unfortunately they pushed it SO far that the majority of the show-goers had NO idea what it was supposed to be.

And for the record, as my avatar suggests, I happen to LOVE this incarnation of The Edge. And I don't know a cooler show entrance than parading through the crowd, Bono punching the air as if in a boxing match, dressed up in the satin robe.

Adam looked a bit gaudy, never understood that one.

I won't say you're wrong...I absolutely don't believe in saying that one's opinion is simply "wrong". I just want to make it clear that they were aware of all of these things, which in some ways enhances your point, and in some ways may help you see it from a different angle.

I agree with the past post about how individually, PopMart had great shows and a great setlist, but much like 360°. it lacked in variety and some performances really missed the mark.

Well,that is your opinion.You are not right nor wrong.It is an opinion.Same goes for me.The band themselves mind you,are not happy with PoP.IMO, I thought the whole thing was absurd.

RattleandHum1988

15 years

Originally posted by EyesWithPrideB3:[..]

It was intentional- to see how much of that look they could achieve. The entire tour was a gigantic, larger than life attempt at satire, but unfortunately they pushed it SO far that the majority of the show-goers had NO idea what it was supposed to be.

And for the record, as my avatar suggests, I happen to LOVE this incarnation of The Edge. And I don't know a cooler show entrance than parading through the crowd, Bono punching the air as if in a boxing match, dressed up in the satin robe.

Adam looked a bit gaudy, never understood that one.

I won't say you're wrong...I absolutely don't believe in saying that one's opinion is simply "wrong". I just want to make it clear that they were aware of all of these things, which in some ways enhances your point, and in some ways may help you see it from a different angle.

I agree with the past post about how individually, PopMart had great shows and a great setlist, but much like 360°. it lacked in variety and some performances really missed the mark.

True, every word, especially the bit about Edge, and the opening of the concert. I miss the days when the band had a specific "look", now days it's just basically t-shirts, jackets, and jeans.

sonia_lastrega

15 years

I adored everything about PopMart and the album (okay, maybe not Adam's facemask, but everything else). Sex and irony? I'm all for it. I was just listening to Pop again a couple of days ago and was struck again by how very good it is and very underrated it was at the time.

I think it's a real shame the band don't regard this album and tour more highly; I think it's some of their best work. Certainly some of their strongest lyrics (okay not Miami "my mammy" ye gods) especially when compared to the weakness of some of their more recent output. I wish they'd stuck to their guns and made Pop and PopMart a direction, rather than just a phase. It could have been really interesting.

sonia_lastrega

15 years

Originally posted by EDDMB:[..]

Well,that is your opinion.You are not right nor wrong.It is an opinion.Same goes for me.The band themselves mind you,are not happy with PoP.IMO, I thought the whole thing was absurd.

The band, IMO, got scared off by the negative reactions of audiences who didn't get it. At the time, the band thought PopMart was the best thing since Guinness on tap. Absurdity was kind of the point.

EDDMB

15 years

Originally posted by sonia_lastrega:[..]

The band, IMO, got scared off by the negative reactions of audiences who didn't get it. At the time, the band thought PopMart was the best thing since Guinness on tap. Absurdity was kind of the point.

I understand that.But,IMO,they took it a bit too far.Larry Mullen himself said he would never do a tour like that again.I feel the band are great in jeans and sneakers, while playing the music.There are no distractions.I dont need a 250 foot screen,or a 40 foot lemon.Because,in the end,it is about the music,not outfits or stage props.

MirrorballBoy

15 years