U2 song draft signup/discussion thread

[Erik]

I don't think there's a consensus that everything post-Achtung is crap, but there is a consensus that Achtung was their last great album. Everything since then has some gems but also some major filler.

I was surprised to see Wire still there, and I wasn't gonna pass on it, esp. since everything I pass on never gets back to me.

[Stephen]

I know I'm in the minority, but I love All That I Can't Leave Behind. I personally consider it a great album. I'm also very fond of How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb.

[overkill94]

Songs per album so far:

3 - Boy
2 - October
5 - War
5 - The Unforgettable Fire
9 - The Joshua Tree
5 - Rattle and Hum
7 - Achtung Baby
2 - Zooropa
1 - Pop
2 - All That You Can't Leave Behind
1 - How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
0 - No Line on the Horizon
3 - B-sides and soundtracks

[Erik]

There were four songs I was considering for my next 2 picks, and Silver and Gold was one of them.

[Stephen]

Even though "Original of the Species" is a more recent track I love it.

I couldn't chance that the "early snobbing" would persist considering how shallow those early albums are getting now.

[Stephen]

The Sweetest Thing was written as an apology by Bono to his wife because he was working on her birthday when they were recording The Joshua Tree.

Musically it's different from typical U2 and I love how playful it is.

[Erik]

Many of the Joshua Tree-era B-Sides are incredible. They had a really tough time deciding what to put on the album. Mostly, the "Americana" type tracks favored by Lanois and Bono won out over the more "European" tracks favored by Eno and The Edge. But there's a hell of an alternate history to be written there.

[overkill94]

Dang, "The Sweetest Thing" was going to be my next pick. It's light and fluffy, but still a good time.

[Erik]

I'm gonna be unavailable until about 4 PM Eastern, FYI.

[senorsheep]

Is the consensus among the diehards that all of U2's post-Achtung output is crap, or what?

Wow, now there's a loaded question. I could write a book about what I think U2 did to their career. It's a great discussion - an onion with endless layers. Theirs is a human story that has played out over and over again - what happens when you devote yourself to achieving your hopes and dreams, and then when you've finally succeeded, you discover that the things you hoped for and dreamed about aren't particularly satisfying?

As to your particular question: I wouldn't say their post-Achtung output is crap, but I would say that most of the elements that drew us all to the band in the first place - the sincerity, the passion, the sonic experimentation - largely disappeared after that. The professional craftsmanship is still intact, but who became a U2 fan because of their professional craftsmanship? That's not what people loved about the band. The product is still good, but the thrill is gone.

[senorsheep]

OK, remember why you first fell in love with U2 in the first place. Now imagine going to a show to experience that, and then having to sit through this crap instead:

The "boring" chants at 3:20 say it all - Bono's campy MacPhisto stand-up is about as entertaining as a Dennis DeYoung Mr. Roboto monologue.

[johnnya24]

My association with U2 is a little different than most. Their good stuff came a little before my time. It was around the time of Rattle and hum that I started to take music more seriously.

Back in those days you would find advertising leaflets for mail order music clubs everywhere. You got 3 introductory Albums / CD's, then were obliged to buy 3 per year (or something like that). One of the 3 free albums I got was Rattle and Hum (based on the fact the other choices were pretty crap, and I liked Angel of Harlem and Desire well enough). But the older kids at school who had U2 grafitti'd on the school bags also had Simple Minds and Paul Young and that whole scene, which I didn't like ... and the kids who liked these bands were usually pretentious dicks.

Anyway, didn't really like Rattle and Hum, and it wasn't until a couple of years later I started to listen to the earlier stuff. There was about a year before and after Actung Baby, that I could have considered myself a fan. Joshua Tree is brilliant, as is Boy. Actung Baby I liked the big singles (still do), but didn't like it as a record. Seemed really pretentious when added to the new U2 image ... and didn't fit so well with the music I was getting into at that time.

I don't consider what they did after to be crap. I just lost interest in them as a band. It's hard to avoid U2 singles, and some are really pretty decent. The are still great musicians, and The Edge is a groundbreaking guitarist. But I can't really comment on the quality of their records because I don't really have any interest in engaging with Bono's self-gratifying hypocritical ego trip of a career. If I were sitting in a cafe, and someone announced Bono was going to make an appearance, I'd find another cafe quick smart.

Contrast that with REM and Michael Stripe. I will be first in line to see, listen or read anything that Michael Stipe does.

[Long John]

Wow, now there's a loaded question. I could write a book about what I think U2 did to their career. It's a great discussion - an onion with endless layers. Theirs is a human story that has played out over and over again - what happens when you devote yourself to achieving your hopes and dreams, and then when you've finally succeeded, you discover that the things you hoped for and dreamed about aren't particularly satisfying?

As to your particular question: I wouldn't say their post-Achtung is crap, but I would say that most of the elements that drew us all to the band in the first place - the sincerity, the passion, the sonic experimentation - largely disappeared after that. The professional craftsmanship is still intact, but who became a U2 fan because of their professional craftsmanship? That's not what people loved about the band. The product is still good, but the thrill is gone.

The thrill is definitely gone. Not all of the product is still good though. There's a certain song from How to Dismantle that if I never hear it again, it will be too soon. No Line on the Horizon has some interesting moments.

I really tried to like Zooropa. I bought the album, listened to it several times through and came to the realization that my perception of the album was actually getting worse the more I listened to it. That's actually what pushed me to go back and listen to Boy and October.

[overkill94]

Like I said earlier, I'm a definite U2 novice. The first album I remember hearing new songs from was Achtung Baby and classic rock radio played all their hits. My freshman year of college was when Napster hit so I downloaded tons of lesser-known songs by a variety of artists (Neil Young, Rolling Stones, U2, Bob Dylan, etc.) since the only bands I had much knowledge of past their radio hits were Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath. All That You Can't Leave Behind is the only full album I'm familiar with since a guy in my frat played it all the time. As an outsider with no investment in the band's history I think it's a pretty dang good album. Seems like I need to go back and give some of the older albums more listens though.

[ManCalledFoot]

Just catching up here...

"I Will Follow" would have been my number one. I remember how exciting that song sounded when it came on the radio, or in a club, back in 1981. That guitar sound, the glockenspiels, the pounding drums... one of the peak songs at the peak of the new wave era.

My two other favorites haven't been picked yet.