U2 Songs of Innocence

johnpatrick81

I don't think U2 should apologise or back away from this in any way. People are idiots. Rather than getting a free album on their iTunes account, you'd swear U2 actually did this to them;


Fair enough Apple could have distributed it better. But still, bit of perspective here people.

blastman

sugarman wrote: »

Because stadium tours are ****e? Only thing croker has going for it is its location. Terrible venue for gigs, both sound and atmosphere wise.

State of the 360 tour held there, was the only place they managed to make a balls of a brilliant stage set up on the whole tour.

And what kind of venue do you think most of the gigs that weren't made a balls of were held?

At least stadiums are capable of handling a large amount of people at a single event, by and large, and have infrastructure built up around them to get people in and out. Slane has none of these benefits. Yes, it's a nice venue, but as for the rest of it....

eviltimeban

After seeing Elevation in Slane I vowed I would never go there again, no matter who was playing. So far, I've stuck to that. ;-)

The O2 was / is a great venue. I saw Sigur Ros there last November and it was one of the best gigs I've ever been to. Venue, seating, sound, stage, lighting. Incredible. Paul McCartney was the same. Couldn't fault it. Let's hope the "3Arena" (stupid name) keeps it up.

It'd be a good venue for U2 to play - it is, essentially, the Point, of R&H fame and so on. Where they had to "dream it all up again". They haven't played that venue since 1989 right?

johnpatrick81

Yeah that'd be the dream venue. They did joke/wish about playing 10 nights there. They would need to, otherwise the best we can hope for is the Aviva.

Kangoo Man

TCDStudent1 wrote: »

Well that's a silly logic. Surely, you would base the amount of respect you give something on the content rather than the price.

I've no doubt it's a great album, I'm just saying from a commercial point of view I think they made a mistake.

U2 albums have always made #1 since 'the unforgettable fire'. It'll be interesting to see if this album makes #1, or if it has any hit singles after they've given away 500,000 copies for free.

Maybe they chickened out after the relatively poor sales of 'no line on the horizon' and decided to just give it away rather than be judged on album/single/download sales!

I'm not knocking U2, I think they're a great band in fairness. It's just, I don't like when rock bands team up with a big corporation like apple.

johnpatrick81

I reckon they'll still get to number 1. I'm gonna buy a hard copy anyway, and loads of fans will, as well as buying the special editions. In this day and age if you sell 40 CDs you will generally get to number 1.

Effects

eviltimeban wrote: »

it is, essentially, the Point, of R&H fame and so on. Where they had to "dream it all up again". They haven't played that venue since 1989 right?

The same location except it's 100 times better. I'm not into gigs where you can't make out who is on stage, like a lot of seats in the O2. The sound has always been really great though.

eviltimeban

Just been listening to Raised By Wolves there, such a great track.

6am7f9zxrsjvnb

eviltimeban wrote: »

Just been listening to Raised By Wolves there, such a great track.

Love that song,rhythm section and piano harks back to 'War' era...and Bono sings lyrics that actually mean something to him.
This is the kind of raw,unvarnished song that turned people on in the very beginning,the kind of song they've studiously avoided writing for years.

eviltimeban

Skyla Spoiled Macrame wrote: »

Love that song,rhythm section and piano harks back to 'War' era...and Bono sings lyrics that actually mean something to him.
This is the kind of raw,unvarnished song that turned people on in the very beginning,the kind of song they've studiously avoided writing for years.

Plus its got a slight experimental edge which brings it into the modern U2 era; I was gonna say what other album it would fit on but then I realised that it was unique, they've never done anything like it before.

Strong songwriting and interesting production, just what we want from U2!

PropJoe10

eviltimeban wrote: »

Plus its got a slight experimental edge which brings it into the modern U2 era; I was gonna say what other album it would fit on but then I realised that it was unique, they've never done anything like it before.

Strong songwriting and interesting production, just what we want from U2!

Great song. One of the highlights of an excellent second side to the album. I'm finding the hate directed at the album to be quite sad. From reading some of the reviews it seems to me as if some critics havent even bothered to give the album a chance.

johnpatrick81

Hopefully U2 ignore the reviews and focus on the fan sites. As mentioned, I don't think this album is gonna convert many who didn't like U2 before hearing it. But the reaction from fans on here and on fan sites has been hugely positive. At the moment even on Metacritic there is a good review for every bad one. It is sad though to see pathetic bitter washed up Irish relics such as John Waters and Paul Brady trying to jump on the bandwagon and get some publicity.

blastman

John Waters isn't an Irish relic, he's just a complete ** CENSORED AS BOARDS.IE DOESN'T HAVE €80K PILES OF TAPAYERS MONEY TO THROW AT MIFFED IRISH RELICS WILLY-NILLY **

PropJoe10

The itunes thing was definitely a mistake though. I dunno whether it was the band's idea or Apple's to automatically add it to everyone's account, but its really backfired. It was pretty arrogant to assume that people would be happy with this.

blastman

Proof you can't please any of the people any of the time:

Kangoo Man

blastman wrote: »

Proof you can't please any of the people any of the time:

They didn't give it away for free, they got $100,000,000 from a corporate giant, who by the way also likes to avoid paying tax...

Irish people take a particular interest in U2 as they are very proud of them on the world stage, I'm not knocking U2 or the album, just the way the album was released...

blastman

*sigh*

jimmythedivil

The backlash against U2 has been extraordinary and actually seems to be getting worse. I'm beginning to think that this Songs of Experience record might be their last...I don't see the point in them going on any more really.

While complaining about U2's 'tax dodging' people seem to forget the good they do in this country, probably because they don't brag about it themselves. They recently donated 5 million Euro to Music Rising in Cork, helping young people from disadvantaged areas in Cork to learn music. All the profits from their Croke Park gigs went to Irish charities. More tourists visit Dublin because of U2 than Beatle fans visit Abbey Road or Liverpool.

Who are the Great Irish artists ready to take over and become our number one musical export?? The Coronas? The Script? Imelda bloody May?! There's not a whole lot of great albums being made anymore. If U2's new one is only average, it is still vastly superior to the winging drivel offered by the likes of Coldplay or any of the aforementioned Irish acts.

PropJoe10

The U2 bashing at the moment is really sad to watch. Have listened to the new record 5 or 6 times now and I must say, I'm enjoying it a lot more than I thought I would. From Volcano onwards, its extremely strong. The only tune I dont like at all is Iris. I wonder if these "critics" in the press at the moment have even listened to the record or given it a chance. Probably not, I would say.

Volcano, Raised by Wolves, The Troubles and Sleep Like A Baby Tonight are some of the best songs they have done since Pop, maybe even before that. Absolutely loving the second side of the album.

6am7f9zxrsjvnb

If the band had dropped their album on I Tunes without any publicity for €6.99 there wouldn't be a backlash and reviews would have been much kinder....Music fans can be precious about the music in their library ( digital or otherwise).Some 15 year old hip hop fan from the Bronx or some grizzled metal head from Norway don't want U2 flexing their muscles and forcing their music upon them.A lot of the people venting would have been utterly ambivilent about U2 a week ago.
Then again,maybe this is the reaction they wanted.To paraphrase another divisive Irishman 'The only thing worse than being talked about......

Shiraz 4.99

Most reviews are pish anyway, someone dug up a host a screen capped reviews from Achtung Baby that were scathing then hastily rewritten about 2 months later.
I've a feeling we could see something similar here, this is their most cohesive album since AB & I'd rate it as high as Pop.

Anyone else hear a similarity between Fez (Being Born) & Iris, just in the choruses ?.

PropJoe10

Went back and listened to NLOTH and HTDAAB for the first time in a few years this evening, and in my opinion, this new album is in a completely different league to those two. Its a really solid album I have to say. Definitely up there with All That You Cant Leave Behind, which I loved.

A Primal Nut

I can't believe all these musicians complaining that U2 are devaluing music by giving away their album for free. Music has been free since Napster; all U2 are doing is getting with the times; I can't believe record companies have taken this long.

The album is going to end up free anyway as soon as the manufacturing facilities get their hands on it. At least this way the band can control when it's released; as opposed to waiting for it to randomly show up online a couple of weeks before the official release.

Plus U2 have a hardcore fanbase who will want physical copies regardless. None of that will change because of this; (it would have ended up been available for free online anyway); I'd be surprised if this sells any less than No Line On The Horizon. If anything the extra publicity and any new fans they've won from this stunt will increase sales.

It's not like they are the first band to do it; Radiohead did something similar 7 years ago!

johnpatrick81

As this is all iTunes based, they will have all the facts and figures soon enough. It will be interesting to see how many actually used their "U2 removal tool".

Still loving the album. Said I'd flick back to radio for 2 minutes yesterday but I had hit the CD button within 30 seconds.

johnpatrick81

TIME sticking up for U2 http://time.com/3393297/u2-apple-new-digital-format/

2 vids on that page too. In the second Bono mentions Larry's son Elvis is gonna be on the front of the new album!

eviltimeban

Jaysis Adam looks haggard doesn't he?

eviltimeban

The thing that annoys me about the whole "invasive" nature of the release, is exactly that. What's it invading? Its not like U2 came into your house and made you listen to it. Its on a SOFTWARE PROGRAMME. A FREE software programme at that. Its like when Facebook changes its layout, people freak out for about five minutes and then get on with it.

So freak out over U2 if you want, but you'll get over it and move on. You weren't hurt. You didn't lose money. It won't change the world. It doesn't mean anything.

But, as with all things (and I quote the always eloquent Taylor Swift here), "haters gonna hate".

PropJoe10

eviltimeban wrote: »

The thing that annoys me about the whole "invasive" nature of the release, is exactly that. What's it invading? Its not like U2 came into your house and made you listen to it. Its on a SOFTWARE PROGRAMME. A FREE software programme at that. Its like when Facebook changes its layout, people freak out for about five minutes and then get on with it.

So freak out over U2 if you want, but you'll get over it and move on. You weren't hurt. You didn't lose money. It won't change the world. It doesn't mean anything.

But, as with all things (and I quote the always eloquent Taylor Swift here), "haters gonna hate".

I agree, but people are very sensitive over their music collections. I personally wouldnt want a Jay-Z album added to my catalogue without asking for it but I agree that the reaction has been completely ridiculous. I wouldnt say there'll be too many groups lining up to follow the trend that this has set!

porsche959

This photo that has been doing the rounds is a fugazi:

http://imgur.com/lpkU8pW



Should have been obvious, no-one gave away music for free in the eighties, particularly not U2 under McGuinness.;)

thegreengoblin

eviltimeban wrote: »

Plus its got a slight experimental edge which brings it into the modern U2 era; I was gonna say what other album it would fit on but then I realised that it was unique, they've never done anything like it before.

Strong songwriting and interesting production, just what we want from U2!

The choir section is really spooky. It has a very chilling feel to it which suits the song. It's nice to see a little experimentation but more of it I say!