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U2 Appreciation Thread:
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07-01-2007 12:06pm#1I'm a huge U2 fan and often get caught up in their wonder.. Anyone care to join me, on an ongoing basis, in their praise & adoration?
I'm listening to "October" at the moment... such a great moving lasting album.
Often words just aren't meaningful enough.
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A Primal Nut wrote:Just listening to Achtung Baby at the minute. Awesome lyrics on this album. The Unforgettable Fire, The Joshua Tree, Rattle and Hum and Achtung Baby are four albums of unparallelled consistency. War and Pop are good too. Don't like their last 2 albums though. Lyrics are too cheesy or something and music is kinda boring.
I like all of the earlier stuff so far.. I always thought, when i was younger, that they were over-hyped but for the last 2 years I've become more and more their biggest fan (though I'm sure there are millions).. Yep I love Achtung Baby * the Joshua and all their earlier albums.. Only just bought October though recently and I absolutely love it.. So enthusiatic and full of energy.. I think "Tomorrow" and "October" are my favourite songs on the album at the moment! Just genius!
I have their autobio but haven't read it yet..does anyone know why bono doesn't drink? Or did I imagine i heard that? I don't drink or smoke & often get asked why.. its such a mystery to people, esp in Ireland anyway, as to why one does not drink. "Jaysus, are you a dipso? Sure only the mad don't drink" sorta thing!
*rolls eyes to heaven* Yes quite!
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A Primal Nut wrote:Yeah I got into them with Pop when I was bout 12. The first band I really got into. Mofo was the song that did it, a rockin' tune. It was only a few years later, round the time of ATYCLB that I started hearing people hated Pop. Never knew why?
I didn't like POP years ago either.. I was into Indie and Alternative & just thought POP was a sell out (at the time). I haven't bought it yet, but I'm pretty certain I was wrong! lol!
Yeah I think U2 have to be taken as a whole. They have something that so many people can relate to ... and I for one can listen to them forever without getting sick of them... or as opposed to some bands, Damien Rice in my opinion say for example, can be overplayed.. Nice to hear a few times but they just don't last "repeat playing".. U2 can keep up with any mood I'm in and always seem to entertain me...
I love Bono too.. but I'm a girl so I'm allowed to... mmmmmm... bono...
Like beer to homo simpson! lol! 0 -
I'll go out on a limb and say "you've never played guitar before, have you?" Edge doesn't rate as any kind of player unless you think turning on and off some effects boards talented. Bill Bailey does this in a sketch, he's playing a pure "Edge" type of riff and 1 by 1 turns off his fx pedals until he's left playing twinkle twinkle little star.A Primal Nut wrote:U2 are more than a sum of the parts. You concentrate too much on the individual musicianship and not enough on the songwriting, which is what U2 are all about. Listen to Achtung Baby for the best examples. Also, I think Edge is a great guitar player, he can come up with some amazing riffs and melodies using a few notes. How do you define his guitar playing as hideous? What aspect of it? Does he make lots of mistakes, play the wrong rhythm or what?
U2 as song writers aren't half bad I think, they write very good pop music (as opposed to pop music industry music!), but have definitely thrown in their creative towels. Listen to the last couple of offerings and tell me how you can possibly think they can stand next to Pop, Zooropa, Achtung Baby in a natural progression? Those 3 for me were massive leaps forward for both themselves and mainstream music. They were getting very fruity in placed, but now, they're just making a few more pound before they retire into the world of re-union tours. There's no forward progression with the last few things, just big jumps backwards and in fairness to the, they deserve their rest
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U2 remind me of Metallica in many ways. Their early stuff is brilliant but their recent albums haven't been anywhere near as good. Songs like Pride, Where The Streets Have No Name and With Or Without You all sound as good to me as they did when I heard them first years ago. They also put on an excellent live show. Well they did in 2001, I don't know if they still do
Regarding The Edge's guitar playing, I can see where Kharn's coming from but I wouldn't completely agree. In my opinion he's a very distinctive guitar player. He mightn't be a speed demon or whatever but he has got a style that's all his own. He writes recognisable riffs (whether they are any good is up to the listener). You could hear something and recognise it as his even if you didn't recognise the song. I did this recently with that awful collaboration U2 did with Green Day. I didn't know the song but the guitar playing seemed very familiar.
Also the Bill Bailey sketch is here for anyone that's interested. It's very funny!0 -
Kharn wrote:I'll go out on a limb and say "you've never played guitar before, have you?" Edge doesn't rate as any kind of player unless you think turning on and off some effects boards talented. Bill Bailey does this in a sketch, he's playing a pure "Edge" type of riff and 1 by 1 turns off his fx pedals until he's left playing twinkle twinkle little star.
Actually I've been playing three years. It's just my definition of a good guitar player obviously differs from yours. No he can't play technically brilliant but for me, writing the melody or One, the solo in All I Want Is You, the unique playing of Mofo, and the riff to Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me, as well as dozens of other great guitar parts as well as the fact he's developed a recognisable style makes him better than the likes of Yngwie Malmsteen or a million speed-metallers! And I have nothing against those kindsa players, some of my favourite guitar players are shredders. But they aren't my favourite because of that, they're my favourite coz i love listening and want to learn their parts. Just a different definition of what makes a good guitar player to what you have. Calling his guitar playing hideous (as a previous poster did) just because his guitar parts are relatively easy to play or because he uses lots of delay, is just absurd.
As for critisizing him for using effects, this is again misguided. The Edge said himself he differs from other guitar players in that he doesn't use effects to colour his parts, he uses them to write parts. They are essential. You don't need to be a famous comedian to work that out. I'm sure the Edge would be the first to agree with Bill Bailey that if you take out the effects the song would sound ****. That's why he puts them in. Duh!! Think of the live solo to Bad where he plays the same part over and over again. Sounds great, but would sound rubbish without delay. I don't think he's talented coz he can press effects pedals, I think he's talented because he can use those effects to write great songs.You try writing a song as good as Bad with effects if you think it's so easy. Effects are his thing just like bluesy pentatonics are to Slash and playing fast is to Kirk Hammett. Bill Bailey could also do a sketch where he slows down Hammett's playing and it would probably sound crap. That's why Hammett plays fast. That's the same thing as turning off The Edge's effects. That's why he uses them. Critisizing him for using effects is like critisizing Hendrix for using the Whammy Bar. I mean if its not your taste then fine, but it is to mine.U2 as song writers aren't half bad I think, they write very good pop music (as opposed to pop music industry music!), but have definitely thrown in their creative towels. Listen to the last couple of offerings and tell me how you can possibly think they can stand next to Pop, Zooropa, Achtung Baby in a natural progression? Those 3 for me were massive leaps forward for both themselves and mainstream music. They were getting very fruity in placed, but now, they're just making a few more pound before they retire into the world of re-union tours. There's no forward progression with the last few things, just big jumps backwards and in fairness to the, they deserve their rest
I agree with this I didn't like the last two albums. I agree their music can be very pop, but show me a band who've wrote so many songs which cross genres and everybody seems to like (e.g. One, With Or Without You). I can think of Guns N' Roses who had a few songs like that too (SCOM, November Rain).0 -
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I wasn't criticising his use of effects at all, I'm all for it! Edge has come out with some unique sounds alright, but compared to Tom Morello or Wes Borland (as 2 easy, popular examples off the top of my head), he don't do jack shít As a result of this, I'd say he was a very ordinary guitar player. Where Edge excells (and I think this of Larry too) is that he plays exactly the right thing for U2 and he writes very good tunes with them. This is what gives the impression that he's a good musician but I would draw a distinction between Musicians and Writers. Some bands are good at both, U2 are good at writing but I feel their technical skills are lacking.
They are the proof that you don't need to be a great musician to be successful in the music industry I don't begrudge them any of their success at all. They're getting on though and if releasing 2 albums like the ones they recently offered wasn't proof enough, just wait till the next album comes out and it's more of the same. When I first heard ATYCLB, I thought they were pulling the piss! Naturally it was a smash hit because it's relatively mindless, radio friendly pop that the relatively mindless, radio listening populace waste their hard earned on. That was the year I got to see them live for the first time having really, really wanted to see them during the ZooTV years. I wasn't disappointed with their set or gig, a good day was had, but it wasn't ZooTV 
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Ah this oul nugget again
Put simply, I like this band. They're not my favourite band and I'll never be queuing up outside of HMV in the rain to buy their new album or a ticket to a gig, but I admire what they've done and I dig some of their tunes.
The Edge is never going to win Guitarist Of The Year but I think he is superb for what he does. He's not about leads, shredding, tapping or other forms of ****, he's not about big-cock guitar playing at all, so it continually amazes me when people go on about his technique, or lack of it. What he does is provide simple and memorable riffs and melodies, sometimes effects laden, sometimes not. His use of effects has been clever, rather than revolutionary which is, again, no bad thing in my book. When he plays, you know it's him playing, which is, in my opinion, one of the highest compliments you can give a musician. Adam Clayton is far from being the best bass player in the world but what he does, like Cliff Williams of AC/DC, is play what's right for the song. Granted, he may not be able to play more than that but surely that's enough? Same goes for Mullen, he's no Gene Krupa, but he's been part of a solid rhythm section for the last 30-odd years and I've yet to hear him play something out of place, or something that doesn't embellish the song in some way. Ok, so he's not throwing in Moon-esque fills all over the place and impressing drum forum internet world champions, but then again, you're not hearing his timing slip, you're not hearing him overwhelming the song with pointless overplaying. He provides a solid beat, himself and Clayton are a rock solid foundation upon which all their songs are anchored. You don't have a good band with a **** drummer. Fact. All three of them serve the song and, to be honest, I think it'd be great if there were a lot more musicians around here who could do that. As for Bono, he's no Bob Dylan lyrically, he's no Jim Morrison vocally, but I can recall more of his lyrics and vocals melodies than I can most other bands out there. Say what you want about his crusading, but the ****er's actions and persistence have put more food in the bellies of more starving kids than you or I will ever do. I would hope people here aren't petty enough to let begrudgery get in the way of recognising his exceptionally positive achievements which have made the world a better place for some of the most unfortunate people out there.
The band have continually re-invented themselves (ok maybe not over the last couple of albums) but they previously have never been stuck in a rut, never rehashed their old sound again and again. They have used technology cleverly to embellish what they do. Their stage shows are always inventive and they perform, they really put on a live show, unlike so many other bands out there. They have taken huge risks where others have remained content to re-write the same chords and sounds and they've done it all with a sense of humour. They still write songs by the four of them getting in a room and jamming for hours, which is admirable, it says to me that they're a real band, even after all this time. Fair play to them, I say.0 -
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So Rattle and Hum sounds like Boy? Joshua Tree sounds like October? Maybe I got some faulty cd's cos I don't hear it
As for their new albums, how many musical innovations do you expect men pushing 50 to make? Most bands usually burn out creatively after about 4 or 5 albums, if they even make it that far. For example, what have REM done recently? If Pop was U2's last real burst of creativity, is it not an acheivement for a band, what, 20 years into their career at that stage, to redefine their sound yet again at that point?
Where is the innovation in modern music at all?
Edit-> Actually, this reminds me of a friend of mine when we were at school in the late 80's, he was bitching about how The Joshua Tree sounded nothing at all like how they used to sound and he "only listened to the old stuff now".
Guess you can't win them all 0 -
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buck65 wrote:Look at Johnny Cash whose later work defined him because he pushed the boundaries and re-invented himself
You clearly haven't listened to much of what he did from the mid sixties to the mid 90s, I guess 0 -
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