U2

[Narcolepsy]

I've never heard anything but hate for Bono and the crew from anyone under 21. I even got a copy of The Joshua Tree, legendary CD that it is, and couldn't really appreciate it as anything more than a relic.

That's why I was so blown away when, in desperation on a road trip, I popped in my dad's copy of Achtung Baby. It had me from the opening surge of distortion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7IMUqpaUl0

People always praise OK Computer's brilliant exploration of modern life's dissonance, and here's U2 doing it years before. Why people in my generation don't give them any credit is beyond me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhr5KqyjfLc

Speaking of Radiohead, U2 had their own descent from anthemic rock to experimental bliss. If Achtung Baby was their OK Computer, Zooropa was their Kid A.

Here we have Numb, probably the weirdest U2 song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWHwI-Hvpzo

I say "probably" because there's also Lemon:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STn-_Nto3wY

I thought that Lemon was complete gibberish at first, but now it's one of my favorite songs of all time. It's one of those songs that's completely unique, yet succeeds utterly - there's something about it that's just hypnotizing.

After their next CD, Pop, flopped for being just a bit too out there (turns out, it's awesome)...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXbsARrVjfg

U2 reverted back to a less ambitious version of their 80s selves, giving us the band that many see as relics today. But I feel like our generation has been robbed of U2's earlier brilliance by all the internet hate being tossed around today. So give those tracks a listen. I hope at least someone here discovers an amazing band they never knew existed, just as I did.

PS: I actually love The Joshua Tree now.

 

[swan_song1973]

The Joshua Tree makes the 1980s bearable for me. I hate the 80s musically. metal went mainstream, the synths were all over the place, electric drums were replacing acoustic drums, andit was more about the look than the music. if you like the joshua tree, check out rattle and hum, it really is the joshua tree 2. im addicted to the song "god part ii" right now. u2s one of my favorite bands and whoever says bono's an idiot needs to have their ass kicked.

 

[lefty]

U2... more like ew2. I'll admit, they have a few good songs, but their personalities kill any appeal they may have had.

 

[gFrohman]

They have a few songs that I like a lot (Where the Streets Have No Name, Bloody Sunday), but otherwise U2 has never personally stood out for me for some reason. And no, I can't stand Bono either.

 

[dream431ca]

U2 never was a band that got my attention. Their songs just don't do it for me. And I agree with the posters above, Bono is really annoying. He kinda kills the band.

 

[Narcolepsy]

I don't really see why Bono being incredibly annoying should influence your opinion of their actual music. As a lyricist, he's really quite good, and musically, he's an asset to the band.

 

[The Monkey]

They have a few decent tunes, but most of it is watered-down rubbish. Extremely overrated.

 

[Yorick]

I don't really see why Bono being incredibly annoying should influence your opinion of their actual music. As a lyricist, he's really quite good, and musically, he's an asset to the band.

Listening to him sing and thinking "Wow this guy is a giant tool" does kind of affect your opinion of their music.

I've never really cared for U2, personally.

 

[PoeticRocker]

The only thing I really like about U2 is the lead guitarist and the guitar effects he put in the songs. But also I think some of their music is good, yet Im not a big fan of them.

 

[Evo]

Old stuff is classical, the middle stuff you are talking about I am less fussed on, but I love 'One' and some other songs from that era. Their new stuff can just get lost to be honest.

 

[Ennui]

ITS ALRIGHT, ITS ALRIGHT, ITS ALLLL RIGHT
SHE MOOOVES IN MYSTERIOUS WAAAYS YEAAAH

U2 ranges from awesome to awful.

 

[CptStern]

The Joshua Tree makes the 1980s bearable for me. I hate the 80s musically. metal went mainstream, the synths were all over the place, electric drums were replacing acoustic drums, andit was more about the look than the music. if you like the joshua tree, check out rattle and hum, it really is the joshua tree 2. im addicted to the song "god part ii" right now. u2s one of my favorite bands and whoever says bono's an idiot needs to have their ass kicked.

there's a ton of great music that came out of the 80's. the problem is that most of you know "Dont you want me baby" or "Never gonna give you up" ..but there's a ton of great stuff including but not limited to :

the clash, the jam, pixies, the specials, fishbone, the police, new order, iron maiden, judas priest, scorpians, rem, the cure, the damned, dead kennedy's, sisters of mercy, cocteau twins, the pogues, the misfits, echo and the bunnymen, butthole surfers, Nick cave and the bad seeds, depeche mode, the cramps, violent femmes, the smiths, billy bragg, english beat and so on and so on and so on ...

 

[Dynasty]

They have been voted as the best rock band ever, back in the day of course, cant remember when. Definitely know they have though, otherwise I wouldnt say it, as itll just start a flame war from people that dont appreciate ACTUAL music.

And no, Dizzy Rascal and the likes of SOAD arent music, its just noise...bwahaha, flame retardant suits ahoy!

U2 will always be in my top 5 favourite bands of all time. Sure I wasnt alive when they were at their best, but it doesnt mean I cant appreciate their sheer awesomeness.

Every album they release is always brilliant.

 

[knut]

They have been voted as the best rock band ever... / ... as itll just start a flame war from people that dont appreciate ACTUAL music.

And no, Dizzy Rascal and the likes of SOAD arent music, its just noise...bwahaha, flame retardant suits ahoy!

I wouldn't be worried about a few flames from people, but I'd be more worried about how you think such absurd things. I don't like Dizzee Rascal or SOAD, do I still not appreciate actual music? What gives you the right to say that? If I wanted to be as ignorant as you (and I'm not going to sink to that level, as calling someone out for what they like is just silly) I could go on about how ridiculous your U2 praise is when I find them to mediocre generic pish. I don't want to go down that route, though, as reasons stated.

 

[CptStern]

not a fan of SOAD ..does that mean I MUST appreciate their music? hell no, they're not any more talented than a dozen other bands that sound exactly like them. they're not THAT good where their talent is instantly recognisable etc. And I dont say this from the perspective of someone who doesnt like the music genre because I grew up with Priest, Lemmy, Sabbath, Pantera and Korn

in fact thrash/metal these days bores me to tears because:

a. it's been done, a million times over by much better bands, try inovating
b. it's generic
c. the anger angst doesnt mean much when they're singing about friendship or lost girlfriends or love or whatever.
d. they're angry for the sake of being angry. ask these people why they're so dark and they'll probably say "dark is cool" ...just listen to teh early sex pistols; they were full of piss and vinegar and hated the world ..the punks/metal heads of today muse about their "angst" while sipping a latte and trying not to smear their eyeliner


obviously this is an overgeneralisation but there is some truth to it. I blame blink182 for popularising brat punk

also Lemmy could beat the living snot of these pussy wanna be bands (slipnot I'm looking at you) and still have room left over for a dozen more

 

[knut]

not a fan of SOAD ..does that mean I MUST appreciate their music? hell no, they're not any more talented than a dozen other bands that sound exactly like them. they're not THAT good where their talent is instantly recognisable etc. And I dont say this from the perspective of someone who doesnt like the music genre because I grew up with Priest, Lemmy, Sabbath and Korn

I'm not saying you should, and your reasons are totally fair, I just don't like it when people get all uppity about what they like and then start throwing out ridiculous comments about what 'real music' is and that if someone doesn't like a band they feel strongly about (in this case U2) they start saying people don't appreicate said 'real music'

EDIT: On the subject of metal, all I can really say is to listen to the roster of Hydra Head, Nuerot and Relapse records and go back to the same argument. I felt the same way a few years back and then I listened to ISIS, Neurosis, Old Man Gloom, A Storm of Light and a whole host of other 'intelligent metal' bands and I couldn't feel like I was any wronger. The mainstream isn't going to pave new ways anytime soon, it just takes a bit of digging to get to the gold.

 

[gFrohman]

in fact thrash/metal these days bores me to tears because:

a. it's been done, a million times over by much better bands, try inovating
b. it's generic
c. the anger angst doesnt mean much when they're singing about friendship or lost girlfriends or love or whatever.
d. they're angry for the sake of being angry. ask these people why they're so dark and they'll probably say "dark is cool" ...just listen to teh early sex pistols; they were full of piss and vinegar and hated the world ..the punks/metal heads of today muse about their "angst" while sipping a latte and trying not to smear their eyeliner


obviously this is an overgeneralisation but there is some truth to it. I blame blink182 for popularising brat punk

I couldn't agree with you more; one of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to music (and I hate fellow composers who fall into this trap as well) are the artists/composers/etc. that make their music dark/angry/atonal/weird/whiny/etc. for the sake of being dark/angry/atonal/weird/whiny/etc. It shows that these people are making music from their brain (with a monetary goal in mind), not from their hearts (they're not really passionate about the "music" they're making).

 

[knut]

I couldn't agree with you more; one of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to music (and I hate fellow composers who fall into this trap as well) are the artists/composers/etc. that make their music dark/angry/atonal/weird/whiny/etc. for the sake of being dark/angry/atonal/weird/whiny/etc. It shows that these people are making music from their brain (with a monetary goal in mind), not from their hearts (they're not really passionate about the "music" they're making).

I feel we're stemming away from the threads topic more and more, but...

It isn't really for you to say where the artists passion comes from and for that matter, to shoot down their motives, concepts, ethics and preferences just because it doesn't quite sit right with you. It's easy enough to say ''oh, they are doing this for the sake of doing that'' but where does that fact come from? Kind of annoying when people generalize on such a large scale over prior knowledge of maybe a few bands who might do things the way you may think they do, but might very well be different in the long run.

 

[Narcolepsy]

Guys. Guys... guys in the back.

Watch this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4u6Eeb0YrKY

 

[gFrohman]

I feel we're stemming away from the threads topic more and more, but...

It isn't really for you to say where the artists passion comes from and for that matter, to shoot down their motives, concepts, ethics and preferences just because it doesn't quite sit right with you. It's easy enough to say ''oh, they are doing this for the sake of doing that'' but where does that fact come from? Kind of annoying when people generalize on such a large scale over prior knowledge of maybe a few bands who might do things the way you may think they do, but might very well be different in the long run.

True, it really isn't my business what they're reason for composing/performing is; it just grinds my gears is all (and even more so when someone asks me why I'm crazy because I'm willing to take a jazz gig for free - I play my trombone & compose because I love to, not because I want to be popular or make money; making money at the same time is good since it's my career (I'd be f*cked without musician's unions on some days), but I also just love to do it). And I'm not saying everyone does this (that's absurd), it's only those few that do that annoy me.

Tangent ended. Let's get back on topic, shall we?

Yes Narcolepsy, very funny video; good humor.

 

[The Monkey]

there's a ton of great music that came out of the 80's. the problem is that most of you know "Dont you want me baby" or "Never gonna give you up" ..but there's a ton of great stuff including but not limited to :

the clash, the jam, pixies, the specials, fishbone, the police, new order, iron maiden, judas priest, scorpians, rem, the cure, the damned, dead kennedy's, sisters of mercy, cocteau twins, the pogues, the misfits, echo and the bunnymen, butthole surfers, Nick cave and the bad seeds, depeche mode, the cramps, violent femmes, the smiths, billy bragg, english beat and so on and so on and so on ...

Don't forget The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Smiths, Tom Waits, The Pogues and Sonic Youth.

The 80s is the most underrated decade of them all.

 

[PoeticRocker]

Don't forget The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Smiths, Tom Waits, The Pogues and Sonic Youth.

The 80s is the most underrated decade of them all.

Agreed. Post-punk bands were dynamite in the 80s.

 

[Danimal]

Just wait till my music project hits yer' ears.

Y'ALL BE LINING UP TA SUCK MEH DICK.

Also, I am shocked that CptStern has such a good taste in music.

 

[Narcolepsy]

I really like the fact that the one U2 fan in the thread was the one who inadvertently derailed it.

Now, onward to more juicy 90s U2 stuff!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xS4hJabqRc4&feature=related

 

[Yorick]

The only thing I really like about U2 is the lead guitarist and the guitar effects he put in the songs.

That... actually kind of bothers me. The fact that he uses a different effect for every song feels almost like, you know, cheating. When Flea sits down and plays bass he writes a different line every single time, and that's how it should be. Effects shouldn't be abused to make up for originality.