GEN
Active topics
  1. Originally posted by kris_smith87:[..]

    Perhaps this is a bit off topic but I actually heard it referred to as an ATM machine on the news one night and it stuck out to me because we had been ripping that specific lyric.


    Just curious, so if Vanquish or anyone else can help me out, what is the oversight in the "ATM Machine" line in MOS? And in what context were you, smith, "ripping that specific lyric"?
  2. Originally posted by patssox95:[..]

    Just curious, so if Vanquish or anyone else can help me out, what is the oversight in the "ATM Machine" line in MOS? And in what context were you, smith, "ripping that specific lyric"?


    It's tautological as the acronym 'ATM' stands for Automated Teller Machine and so it becomes Automatic Teller Machine Machine if you add the machine on the end of ATM.

    Now perhaps he could've got away with it on songs like Crazy and GOYB but on MoS it just sounds like he's stupid and actually manages to detract from the other lyrics in the song as that line seems to say that the writer is trying to be poetic but actually has no idea what he's doing - actually this is much like Brandon Flowers does on his solo album, go listen to it if you want an example of how some terrible lines can render thr other decent lyrics meaningless and ruin a song.

    The other issue with MoS lyrics is that he moves from more abstract, poetic imagery (shared by all the great U2 ballads) in the first verse, chorus and second verse (horses run free, playing with fire, black hole) is replaced by references to a mundane everyday life object in the second chorus (ATM machine) and when it's also handled clumsily it definitely sticks out as a flaw in the song.
  3. Originally posted by vanquish:[..]

    It's tautological as the acronym 'ATM' stands for Automated Teller Machine and so it becomes Automatic Teller Machine Machine if you add the machine on the end of ATM.

    Now perhaps he could've got away with it on songs like Crazy and GOYB but on MoS it just sounds like he's stupid and actually manages to detract from the other lyrics in the song as that line seems to say that the writer is trying to be poetic but actually has no idea what he's doing - actually this is much like Brandon Flowers does on his solo album, go listen to it if you want an example of how some terrible lines can render thr other decent lyrics meaningless and ruin a song.


    The other issue with MoS lyrics is that he moves from more abstract imagery in the first verse, chorus and second verse (horses run free, playing with fire, black hole) is replaced by a mundane everyday life imagery in the second chorus (ATM machine) and when it's also handled clumsily it definitely sticks out as a flaw in the song.


    Nice thanx. I am an American and ATM Machine is commonly used and not considered redundant but more of a clarification as there are many nationalities all living here. Its like a bank teller asking for your "PIN Number" when PIN is Personal Identification Number. And going to the atm has become an everyday event for all of us, but i saw it as talking of a specific moment, a recolection of a time when seeing his own reflection could have stopped him from going through with whatever had brought him to need to use an atm machine in the first place. At least for me the line is extremely vivd and relatable, a naked moment of you, your PIN and your money exposed to others, trying to look out for the bad ones when all along you missed what you should have seen in yourself in the first place. Thats the best thing about songs, its the different interpretations that can be put out, none are incorrect and all can lend a little to how the song can be enjoyed by multiple listens. Thanx again for posting back to me.
  4. I think for a lot of people, NLOTH was let down by some 'safe' or rushed decisions by U2. It seemed to me like the mixes were done last minute, from what I have read, and that played a big part in changing the structure and sound of the songs. Of course, there are moments in some of the songs as well, where Bono really should have known better - as one of the greatest song writers of this century in my opinion.

    Overall NLOTH is like a tease - it gives us moments of brilliance throughout, which is spoilt by U2's inability to stick to what they set out to do.

    NLOTH will always stick out as the "album that could've been"... in my opinon and by that I am referring to the fact it could have easily topped JT and AB. Oh well. Maybe next time guys?
  5. Originally posted by TheRefugee:[..]


    There are too many bad songs on it to be considered anything other than a bad album. Plain and simple. Forget the arguments about its commercial success, etc. Just listen to it. It's poor. The stakes have been raised for the next one.


    "Too many bad songs" in your humble opinion? Music is subjective. So to make a definitive statement like that seems a bit much.

    I like the songs. I like the songs better than those of the previous two albums. Things like Fez / Being Born are far more interesting, to me, than anything on the previous two albums.
  6. Originally posted by anstratdubh1979:[..]

    "Too many bad songs" in your humble opinion? Music is subjective. So to make a definitive statement like that seems a bit much.

    I like the songs. I like the songs better than those of the previous two albums. Things like Fez / Being Born are far more interesting, to me, than anything on the previous two albums.


    I'd agree. NLOTH has some great instrumental pieces on it. I'd much have preferred most of that to be instrumental and even more minimal (it's quite busy at times) particularly with Being Born, Moment Of Surrender, Unknown Caller, Breathe and Cedars, and even the hidden background elements - the 'dropdown' sound in the beginning of Magnificent is nearly impossible to hear and that's something that Bomb and ATYCLB didn't really have.

    Take Chinese Democracy for example. A lot of that on the surface if you include vocals sounds quite linear and boring - you can make a long song but it doesn't mean it can go anywhere. Yet, take away the vocals and other partts and underneath you'd be suprised what you hear. Two tracks have a sort of Hendrix-like funk sound behind them and another two have proper, massive orchestras hidden behind the rest of the 'noise' as well as piano on nearly all the songs that you'd be hard-pressed to hear. And that's subjective: some people may hate the sound of that but prefer a pop song to it.
  7. Originally posted by vanquish:[..]

    It's tautological as the acronym 'ATM' stands for Automated Teller Machine and so it becomes Automatic Teller Machine Machine if you add the machine on the end of ATM.

    Now perhaps he could've got away with it on songs like Crazy and GOYB but on MoS it just sounds like he's stupid and actually manages to detract from the other lyrics in the song as that line seems to say that the writer is trying to be poetic but actually has no idea what he's doing - actually this is much like Brandon Flowers does on his solo album, go listen to it if you want an example of how some terrible lines can render thr other decent lyrics meaningless and ruin a song.

    The other issue with MoS lyrics is that he moves from more abstract, poetic imagery (shared by all the great U2 ballads) in the first verse, chorus and second verse (horses run free, playing with fire, black hole) is replaced by references to a mundane everyday life object in the second chorus (ATM machine) and when it's also handled clumsily it definitely sticks out as a flaw in the song.



    In fairness to Bono, it is usual in Ireland to refer to the ATM as 'the ATM machine' or 'the hole in the wall', if you're of an older vintage.

    Also, moving from the general to the particular is a poetic device found in the poetry of great Irish writers such as Kavanagh, Yeats (e.g.'When you are old ...') and Thomas Kinsella (see Another September). Ambiguity of certain imagery can be found within the poems' transitions from stanza to stanza. In Yeats' poetry, mythical imagery often sits alongside contrasting concrete images.
    Perhaps Bono is following in the tradition of Irish poets?

  8. where can I hear these original mixes? of how the album was suppose to turn out? Also my 2 cents, it wasn't the daring album I had imagined but to me it beats HTDAAB.
  9. Originally posted by anstratdubh1979:[..]

    "Too many bad songs" in your humble opinion? Music is subjective. So to make a definitive statement like that seems a bit much.

    I like the songs. I like the songs better than those of the previous two albums. Things like Fez / Being Born are far more interesting, to me, than anything on the previous two albums.


    Of course, in my humble opinion. Apologies. Indeed, I wish there were more tracks in a similar vein to Fez/Being Born on NLOTH. I would have preferred if the whole album retained the sense of place suggested in that track and some others that I suspect they were looking for in Morocco. Which brings us back to my understanding of Lillywhite's comments, i.e. that perhaps they didn't fully realise the original vision. My hope for the next album is that they have a clear vision for the album and see it through.
  10. Steve Lillywhite seeks Irish Times retraction

    Hot Press, October 05, 2010



    U2 producer Steve Lillywhite has accused The Irish Times of misquoting him, in the headline on an article which appeared in the run-up to his appearance at The Music Show.

    The news story was headlined "Producer admits last U2 album was a failure" – but the man who produced Boy, October and War, and later co-produced both How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb and No Line On The Horizon for the band, with Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, insists that this is not what he said.

    “I never called U2 a failure,” he told the audience at the panel ‘Are Producers The Real Stars?’, where he appeared alongside Van Morrison and Waterboys producer Mick Glossop and Julie Feeney.

    “It was said that I said No Line On The Horizon was a failure. That is a complete misquote, I never said the word ‘failure’ to that journalist.”

    In fact the words do not appear in quotes in the article and so the headline – presumably tagged on during production – is totally unrepresentative of what was written by Irish Times reporter, Ronan McGreevy.

    “I just wanted to clarify what I said (here),” Lillywhite continued. “I was saying that with albums like The Joshua Tree, which is set in the desert, the album and the sound invokes this mood as a whole, you just feel it. I just said that I didn’t think No Line On The Horizon did that as well. It was meant to invoke the whole feel of north Africa, of Morocco, and I didn’t think that was achieved as well as on other albums, where the atmosphere hits you. I would never call any of U2’s work a failure, and I did not.”

    A sub-headline on the news story says that the album sold only “a fraction” of previous albums, by which one would normally understand that sales were well down on previous efforts. In fact the record has gone to No. 1 in at least 14 countries. outperforming even Achtung Baby. Its sales of over 5 million copies, against the 9 million sold by its predecessor How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb have to be seen in the wider context of shrinking record sales – and so represent a relatively good result for the band in a diminishing market.

    Lillywhite is currently seeking a retraction from the newspaper.

    “You’d expect better of The Irish Times,” he said afterwards. “They’re supposed to be a newspaper of record.”

    © Hot Press, 2010.
  11. He still made the points that most of us are arguing about. People need to take NLOTH off of the pedestal
  12. so now he flip flops again...hmmmm
Contribute to the U2 community with uploading photos or by telling us which shows you have visited.
Contribute to the U2 community with uploading photos or by telling us which shows you have visited.
Contribute to the U2 community with uploading photos or by telling us which shows you have visited.
Contribute to the U2 community with uploading photos or by telling us which shows you have visited.