1. Sorry. I disagree. Any song that uses Michael Jackson's name is a stinker in my books. They were trying too hard to use "modern" lyrics but it just came out too shallow.
  2. Originally posted by RUMMY:[..]

    Sorry. I disagree. Any song that uses Michael Jackson's name is a stinker in my books. They were trying too hard to use "modern" lyrics but it just came out too shallow.


    Wasn't that the point? To sort of parody the "shallowness" of the modern world as we know (knew) it? The Playboy Mansion has become a heaven-on-earth paradise. The carnal desires and all that, which, needless to say, is completely opposite of a biblical paradise that Bono refers to.

    "Beauty is truth, and surgery the fountain of youth" & "The banks they're like cathedrals, I guess casinos took their place"...all that jazz
  3. Originally posted by RUMMY:[..]

    Sorry. I disagree. Any song that uses Michael Jackson's name is a stinker in my books. They were trying too hard to use "modern" lyrics but it just came out too shallow.


    Why can't anyone use Michael Jackson'sname?
  4. Originally posted by shkee23:[..]

    Wasn't that the point? To sort of parody the "shallowness" of the modern world as we know (knew) it? The Playboy Mansion has become a heaven-on-earth paradise. The carnal desires and all that, which, needless to say, is completely opposite of a biblical paradise that Bono refers to.

    "Beauty is truth, and surgery the fountain of youth" & "The banks they're like cathedrals, I guess casinos took their place"...all that jazz


    The irony, "pop" statements, and overly-funky music on Pop worked (for me, anyway) on some (if not many) of the songs but I think they tried to be TOO ironic/shallow on TPM. I found the lyrics were too overt - lacking the usual "classic" poetry/symbolism that most U2 songs have.


  5. I don't have a problem with MJ the individual/performer, but I will add that I really only liked his music when I was a kid (I was around for Thriller). But that wasn't my point. I would have felt the same if they used OJ Simpson's or some other celeb's name who was under media scrutiny in the mid-90's. Like my previous post, I found the usage of MJ's name (and other "pop" products) wrecked the song for me. The lyrics were too overt - not poetic enough. I felt the same way with the "punching in the numbers at the ATM machine" lyric in MOS. I suppose that track a more redeeming features that didn't bring it down to TPM level.

    I realize that was the "point" of the Pop album, but I guess songs like this are the reason why u2 faced such a backlash in 1997/1998/