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

    Why do people think Invisible will be on SOE? The song is about their first trip to London in the 70's. And listen to the lyrics? It is full of innocence.

    The alternate lyrics were about that, not the ones on the version that was released.
  2. "Songs of Innocence", a grown up man hugging a young man (most won't know it's his son) and a song about pedophile priests... A bit too risky for me
  3. Originally posted by ahn1991:[..]

    I don't think the mass release was a move to reassure themselves. If that was their intent, then they certainly chose the most risky method. Imagine if the album was force-fed AND bad? The backlash would be devastating, not only for U2, but also for Apple. And if Apple tanked because U2's album fell short, U2 would become the most notorious band of 4 in the world.

    To release an album like U2 did and, that album would have to be EXTREMELY good. But even that wouldn't be enough. Not only would the album have to be good, but U2 also had to be confident that the album was going to be good without having released any details to the public. Considering how poorly NLOTH did compared to their other albums, that confidence must have been very hard to come by. To me, this is not the mindset of a band looking for a fast-pass to reassurance. I think somewhere during the 5 years they were gone they found their reassurance and what we are now seeing is that reassurance blossom into confidence with a hint of arrogance, exactly what you'd see in a successful U2.

    On a related note, I really like this remark Bono made regarding the complaints of users wanting to delete U2's album off their itunes.

    [..]

    [image]



    You're right -- U2 know that plenty of people are going to shit on their album without listening because it's stupid self-righteous U2 again, delete it, and complain about getting free music.

    But 77 million people and counting have listened, and U2 are everywhere -- they're definitely 'relevant' and I think the surprise launch was brilliant.

    Clearly, U2 are operating with a high degree of self-assurance. Excellent!

    Here's to hoping the next album will be as good as SOI! (Even if it isn't... it'll probably be pretty damn amazing...)

  4. They were still kind of the same lyrics. "I won't be me, when you see me again, no I won't be my father's son"...they just took the literal story and made it more accessible.
  5. Originally posted by kris_smith87:[..]

    They were still kind of the same lyrics. "I won't be me, when you see me again, no I won't be my father's son"...they just took the literal story and made it more accessible.

    I suppose. I just remember hearing Bono saying there were two versions.
  6. Maybe Invisible could be a B-side.

    I really like the cover. Controversy is great too.
  7. Originally posted by ahn1991:[..]

    I don't think the mass release was a move to reassure themselves. If that was their intent, then they certainly chose the most risky method. Imagine if the album was force-fed AND bad? The backlash would be devastating, not only for U2, but also for Apple. And if Apple tanked because U2's album fell short, U2 would become the most notorious band of 4 in the world.

    To release an album like U2 did and, that album would have to be EXTREMELY good. But even that wouldn't be enough. Not only would the album have to be good, but U2 also had to be confident that the album was going to be good without having released any details to the public. Considering how poorly NLOTH did compared to their other albums, that confidence must have been very hard to come by. To me, this is not the mindset of a band looking for a fast-pass to reassurance. I think somewhere during the 5 years they were gone they found their reassurance and what we are now seeing is that reassurance blossom into confidence with a hint of arrogance, exactly what you'd see in a successful U2.

    On a related note, I really like this remark Bono made regarding the complaints of users wanting to delete U2's album off their itunes.

    [..]

    [image]


    I feel like you're being overly congratulatory to Songs of Innocence. The vibe I've been getting from it is that U2 are becoming "that" band that tries to reach out to new audiences but at the end of the day comes home to its fanbase. Yes, 50+ million people have downloaded, but I don't really hear or see U2 in the news, radio, media unless they're complaining about how SOI was released. I actually think the Apple thing works because Bono completely gets to dodge the real question he's been asking, "are we relevant?" That answer isn't a no, but it's not entirely a yes either. And that's okay I think, the answer is somewhere in the middle. We know millions of people have listened, but there's no real way of knowing what people think of them. Most articles, FB links, YouTube comments,Tumblr tags, etc seem to have much more U2 haters than during the Horizon era. Just my two cents. I don't give a crap 'bout them haters lol. However I definitely feel like the main hype train for SOI is coming from the fansites, and the few magazines that seem to always back U2. I do love however that the band don't seem to care about the haters as much as during the NLOTH era, that's a breath of fresh air.
  9. Originally posted by Genaro92U2:[..]


    I feel like you're being overly congratulatory to Songs of Innocence. The vibe I've been getting from it is that U2 are becoming "that" band that tries to reach out to new audiences but at the end of the day comes home to its fanbase. Yes, 50+ million people have downloaded, but I don't really hear or see U2 in the news, radio, media unless they're complaining about how SOI was released. I actually think the Apple thing works because Bono completely gets to dodge the real question he's been asking, "are we relevant?" That answer isn't a no, but it's not entirely a yes either. And that's okay I think, the answer is somewhere in the middle. We know millions of people have listened, but there's no real way of knowing what people think of them. Most articles, FB links, YouTube comments,Tumblr tags, etc seem to have much more U2 haters than during the Horizon era. Just my two cents. I don't give a crap 'bout them haters lol. However I definitely feel like the main hype train for SOI is coming from the fansites, and the few magazines that seem to always back U2. I do love however that the band don't seem to care about the haters as much as during the NLOTH era, that's a breath of fresh air.

    The reason you see a ton of haters now compared to NLOTH is because no one gave two shits about that album apart from U2 fans, and even in this group it was polarizing.

    Funnily enough I've seen tons of posts on numerous outlets from younger people totally psyched on the album. Go look at iTunes reviews. I've also seen a lot of positive reviews on the album, and so many of the articles bashing the stunt also note that the album is pretty good. I think this was the best thing U2 could've done. My brother was bitching about the whole thing saying they should've gave it away for free instead. I asked if he's going to listen to it (It's on his phone) and he said yeah eventually, and i asked if he would have if they didn't push it on him and he said ".... guess not".

    The whole relevance question is out the window, and they haven't even been promoting the music yet. I was watching football on sunday and that apple commercial showed a hundred times, and that's just the beginning. My dad checked out the album after seeing that commercial. U2's relevance has never only been about the music, it's been about what they do as people as well.

    The way I see it, why worry? U2's classics have gone back into the charts (and those aren't U2 fans rebuying what they already own), the album has been downloaded 70 million times and counting, and the physical version isn't even out yet. Above all that, I think it's a fantastic album and couldn't be happier with it.

    P.S: In his interview with Dave Fanning, Bono said the album was never meant to be pushed onto people's devices, just their accounts
  10. I'm absolutely thrilled with this album still. I seriously didn't expect much from it - but there are eight great songs out of 11. I'm sure that might change.

    Can't get enough of This Is Where You Can Reach Me Now and Troubles.
  11. I'm not AS overly passionate as many of you about SOI, but I'm sure this album has the strongest 2nd half of any U2 album since Pop or maybe even Zooropa/Achtung Baby. There it goes
  12. ^ From Cedarwood to Troubles - that's where it gets good.

    But I go from The Miracle to Iris then skip the next two songs.


    Can't wait for the proper release.
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.