What does /mu/ think of this album?
Pretty solid post-punk album imo. Red Light and The Refugee are a bit weak, but the rest is gold.
I fucking hate U2 so I never bothered listening to it
i like the kid's thousand yard stare though
I think the kid looks like Cara Delevinge
>>62961999
I was in the same boat until I actually listened to the album. I was surprised that I put off listening to this album because of a mix of preconceived notions and a few singles heard on the radio when i was young. Turned out to be a pretty solid album
>>62962066
i might listen to it then, i was considering listening to it when i heard that U2 were a post-punk band at one point
>>62962109
I recently heard Sunday Bloody Sunday on the radio and my first reaction was a begrudgingly "this actually isn't bad". which lead me to listen to the rest of the album
>>62962066
You should also check out some of their weirder, more obscure 90's stuff like pic related, lots of dark ambient, experimental, Eno music. Even some touches of sampling on it. Not a single track on here would have ever made it to radio play given it was rather off-puttingly weird and so different from their normal output.
>>62962302
damn, that sounds pretty cool. I'll have to check it out. I just forever wrote U2 off as a shitty 80's rock band
The "U2 is a bad band" meme needs to die.
The unforgettable fire is one of the best albums ever made
>>62962419
Agreed. It's a shame that after the 90's they seemed to play it safe with releases. A lot of their stuff is actually pretty good
>>62962381
>I just forever wrote U2 off as a shitty 80's rock band
They've had a HUGE amount of sound variety - post-punk, Americana, blues-rock, krautrock, Eurodance, ambient, electronic rock, hell even experimented with Moroccan-based and Arabic sounding textures on NLotH. They've frequently collaborated with Eno on a lot of their stuff and make great use of him (I'd say arguably almost as effect as Eno-Bowie but that's kinda controversial since it's popular to loath U2 on the internet).
Their first three albums are very post-punk, their second dips into a lot of religious imagery. TUF has a very distinct sound to it, it's really dreamy and has some really interesting experimentation with ambience and heavily textured sounds. Joshua Tree is very centered in Americana, and is pretty much THE sound of the American Southwest personified (AZ, NM, TX, NV, etc). R&M continues that into blues-rock. Achtung Baby is very krautrock inspired, has a lot of industrial touches and a complete tonal shift. Zooropa gets pretty experimental with Eurodance and electronic elements. Passengers is pretty out there and weird. Pop is very electronic though largely unfinished. ATYCLB and HTDAAB are both pretty weak, generic rock. NLotH had a lot going for it but they compromised for radio-play. It's instantly a significantly better album without the middle three singles. SoI was alright.
For as much shit as they get, very few other big-name artists experiment and go outside their comfort zone like U2 who have historically been as susceptible to complete sound changes album-to-album as Bowie was. Songs from R&M and Achtunb Baby sound absolutely nothing alike.
They're not the best band ever or anything but I do quite love them.
>>62962565
Very well said, made me understand their career quite a bit more
>>62962565
This. U2 were great up until the 21st century when they became a more modernized caricature of late-80s selves.
>>62962419
They were top quality until The Joshua Tree. After that, forget it.
>>62962565
This. Anything from boy to zooropa is goat
>>62961933
I don't know that they were edgy Pedo musicians...
No wonder why people hate em.
Boy - 8/10
October - 6/10
War - 8.5/10
The Unforgettable Fire - 9/10
The Joshua Tree - 10/10
Rattle and Hum - 6/10
Achtung Baby - 10/10
Zooropa 8/10
Passengers - 6.5/10
POP 6.5/10
All That You Can't Leave Behind - 6/10
How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb - 4/10
No Line On The Horizon - 6.5/10
Songs of Innocence - 5/10
I still think pop is underrated
>>62962565
This is a good post.
>>62963550
It is.
"40" is like a spiritual experience for me because it's so beautiful, and I'm not even religious. War is a fantastic album. U2 were my gateway into music, I'll always be grateful to them.
>>62962618
>U2 were great up until the 21st century when they became a more modernized caricature of late-80s selves.
It actually started as early as 1992, when Bono did a parodies of the stereotypical rock stars during a tour. One of them, known as The Fly, wore leather and dark sunglasses. I guess he liked it so much that he kind of just stuck with that one ever since, ego and everything.
>>62963658
Edge > Bono
Even as a vocalist
>you will never see U2 live during the early 90s
fuck, i don't even like them much aside from a handful of singles, but the ZOO TV tour was a spectacle
>>62963731
This. U2 hit their prime in the 90s
>>62963731
I'm actually devastated by this. The only concert I've ever been to was U2 at the Rose Bowl in 2009, but I have Zoo TV Live From Sydney on DVD, and just watching it recorded was an experience.
Great album.
>>62963658
True, but U2 in the 90s was steeped in self-satire and deprecation. Bono literally became the thing he was parodying in 2000 when U2 returned as a super serious dadrock band and Bono fronting ridiculous shades.
did they ever write a better song than lemon?
the fly, maybe?
>>62963550
Pop could have been a masterpiece if they'd been able to finish it before the tour. They were forced to release it before Popmart kicked off, and as a result half the album is in a dire state of production. A handful of songs weren't terribly great but I love the sound of much of it. It's also their most spiritual album which is a really nice contrast with the sound and aesthetic of the whole thing, which was the point.
>>62962419
U2 will come back around. like literally the edge is so fucking influential in terms of guitar nobody really gives him credit
Is there an official list of bands that are U2-approved?
I know Joy Division, Einstürzende Neubauten, and My Bloody Valentine are on there.
>>62963905
Bad
Running to Stand Still
Slug
But Lemon is definitely high up there for sure. Zooropa is such a criminally underrated album here.
>>62963956
the pixies, the fall, PJ harvey
Oh wow. An actual U2 discussion thread. I haven't seen one in ages. Hell, I remember when Achtung Baby was /mu/core for about a week after Pitchfork gave it a 9.5 BNR
>>62963857
>and Bono fronting ridiculous shades.
He discovered he had glaucoma. (they still are ridiculous tho)
It's weird that there are a younger generation of kids that still hate U2, mostly because of the icloud thing and a few because of South Park. Most don't even remember Vertigo and thus haven't even experienced U2's music at all, much less in their prime.
>>62963520
I'd bump up Pop and Bomb but otherwise pretty solid desu
>>62963520
>>62964142
>Passengers
>10/10
>even with Elvis Ate America
>>62964013
Maybe in a decade they'll be more appreciated as classics on here? It's kinda crazy how influential U2 have been on a very large amount of bands /mu/ has jerked off to over the years yet U2 themselves can't even be discussed normally.
>>62964175
Exactly. Is see kids on here talking about Coldplay and U2 just gets memed to death or ignored.
Same with Arcade Fire too.
Holy fuck this thread is so /r/music it's painful
>>62964163
It's why it's not God-Tier, anon. Slug, Your Blue Room, Miss Sarajevo, Let's Go Native are all great.
>that moment Pavarotti's part comes on in Sarajevo
>>62964206
Anons are talking about Passengers, I sincerely doubt r/music would ever touch that with a thousand yard stick.
>>62964206
Reddit hates U2 though because of South Park and shit.
You're probably too young to realize that, yes, U2 do have classic albums, which is why they're even popular/still around today.
>>62964206
Kek
U2 is loathed on reddit
>>62964221
>>that moment Pavarotti's part comes on in Sarajevo
>>62962022
Yourr right. Never noticed
>>62961933
The best Post-Punk album ever recorded (still only an 8/10)
Yes, that is my real opinion
Also Zooropa is my favourite album by them
Joshua Tree stinks, Achtung Baby is like a 6.5
>>62964732
>Joshua Tree stinks
There are some beautiful songs on Joshua Tree, but it's not as good as everyone says.
>>62961933
this is the only u2 album ive listened to. i dont mind it. like a song... is a great track.
>>62964899
Listen to The Unforgettable Fire, at least.
>>62965006
ok. i'll give it a go.
>>62964898
>There are some beautiful songs on Joshua Tree
Mothers of the Disappeared is terribly underrated. Running to Stand Still is my favorite song of theirs, one of the best songs about drug addiction I've heard. As a man who's struggled with depression his entire adult life it even manages to strike a cord with that sense of desolation and hopelessness that comes with depression as well. Some of their most nuanced, poetic lyrics as well in my opinion.
Why did it become cool to hate U2?
>>62965117
They released Vertigo as an Apple thing and Apple shilled it extremely hard. It was very annoying. Then South Park made fun of them and it became the hip, edgy thing to shit on them among kids who only knew of them through South Park. Not that their most recent two albums helped that image, really. They've still remained fucking phenomenal live though which I think they don't get enough credit for. ZooTV might have been their peak for performances but they've not really lost much of that energy with age. I+E has been pretty damn great, Bono's voice is doing better, Edge is still a great guitarist, and their stage design is just as inventive if not as laden with irony and parody.
the past enslaves
>>62965082
Running to Stand Still and Bad are both tragic and incredibly beautiful. They're very meaningful songs.
>>62965117
Maybe because Bono is a cunt, and they lost their luster besides. That happens with most good things, though. Even Atomic Bomb was a good album.
>tfw /mu/ has a positive thread about U2
you guys are finally turning around :) im so proud
Seriously though, Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby are some of my absolute favorite albums ever.
>>62965117
because they are christfags
>>62965254
They have always been Christfags though. Look October.
>>62965217
Bono is showy and preachy but at the least he practices what he preaches. When he does shit like helping ONE in the field handing AIDS medication to villagers he doesn't bring along a media circus and fellate his ego. Yeah he's got an ego which can be annoying but at least he does channel that into actual, legitimate activism instead of going on twitter rants about Big Issue #813 every day or whatever. Hell he's given a huge amount to AIDS research personally, and one of his organizations were the ones to reach that big breakthrough with HIV treatment a few years back. He's one of the few out there who at least tries to put his money where his mouth is so I've always respected him for that, even if he can be a bit much at times.
>>62961933
One of U2's few good albums. Probably their best unless Joshua Tree is your thing
U2 - War
>>62965260
I may be fuzzy on it but I believe they weren't Christfags until October, they all went to a Christian school I think but I think most of the spirituality and religious elements in their music didn't manifest until Bono and Edge started really committing to Christianity a few years after the band had already formed. As far as I know the other two aren't really Christfags, hell Adam Clayton was almost kicked out for years of substance abuse culminating in several missed shows.
>>62965203
Also around this time (mid 00s) Bono was bordering on insufferable. Really over-doing the concert speeches. Meeting with political leaders to advocate for higher taxes to increase aid, while the band moved their finances overseas to dodge taxes. Thankfully he's toned it down since.
>>62965289
You're pretty much correct, but the point is they've been putting out Christfag music for long enough that it shouldn't be a deciding factor in people gradually coming to hate them. It got popular to hate U2 decades after they were known for doing music with religious themes.
>>62965330
Fair, yeah. I think it's kinda funny people completely ignore their contributions to music altogether over South Park and Apple, though. It seems weird to ignore the sheer magnitude of which they were known in the 80s and 90s. Joshua Tree is among the top grossing albums of all time, ZooTV is still considered one of, if not the greatest tours of all time, and even 360° is the highest grossing tour in history for ticket sales. I know popularity doesn't equate quality, but for a band that was known to be ceaselessly inventive and re-inventive with their sound, lumping them into "dadrock" is pretty damn ignorant and silly. But it's /mu/ so I don't expect to see any nuanced discussion.
