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Thread: U2

  1. #1
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    U2

    I know there are a few of us here that enjoy them. It's the 20th Anniversary of Achtung Baby! Anyone pick up the new deluxe re-issues? Some of the new unreleased cuts are fantastic. It's a shame that Burn Your House Down was ignored for twenty years. Also, pretty cool to hear Bono singing over Numb, instead of The Edge's dry mumbles.

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    I'm a fan of theirs, but not die-hard in the sense that I need to buy every over priced re-issue version of AB!. I do however love seeing them live and have spent way too much money over the past 10 years doing so.

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    it's unfortunate that they're pushed to "guilty pleasure" for me these days, but i'll be damned if boy isn't a lo-fi post-punk masterpiece. i like almost everything they've done through pop, though i could do without most of rattle & hum.

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    I'm one of the die hard U2 fans. I love everything they've done (with the exception of Rattle & Hum, which I consider a soundtrack and not an actual full LP). The 90s are definitely my favorite period of the band. Even POP is a masterpiece in my eyes.

    I just got to see them for the first time, after years of not being able to see them, this last July and it was phenomenal. Very Achtung heavy set, and hearing them play Zooropa was a true gift.

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    I absolutely love POP, regardless if it's considered a dark period in their career. I still kick myself for missing out on seeing them live in '97 when they came through San Diego. hearing Mofo live is something I hope I can still do at some point.

    When ATYCLB came out, I jumped on getting tickets for those shows after seeing them in Anaheim during the first US leg. I was camped out at 4am just so I could get floor ticket for the three LA shows on the 2nd leg

    For the 360 tour, I won a contest that got me free REDZONE tickets for the Phoenix show and I have to admit that I'm not a fan of Stadium shows. Seeing U2 in a arena is MUCH more enjoyable

    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk!
    Last edited by NotoriousTIMP; 12-06-2011 at 03:30 PM.

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    I've seen them live twice: first time during the POPMart tour and then a few years later on the Elevation tour. I have to agree that they're much stronger in an arena setting than stadium tours, notwithstanding the Zoo TV tour.

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    I didn't mind the Stadium setting of the 360º tour. I had an AMAZING view. The show never once felt like it was at a huge stadium either. I know it was said a lot in the press, but the giant stage, and it's insane light show, truly made the show feel a lot more intimate than I imagine other stadium shows feel. Of course, I would probably faint and pass out if I were to ever see them in an Arena setting. A couple family members and I all had money set aside to see them on the Vertigo Tour, but they didn't end up coming here, unfortunately.

    Also I have to note that hearing The Edge live is partially a religious experience.

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    I'm a big U2 fan, they're #4 on my favorite artists list. I own all of their albums and I saw them on the Elevation and Vertigo tours. I love their 90s period the most and I bought the 2 disc reissue of AB.

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    U2 have always been underappreciated by serious music listeners, and overappreciated by casual music listeners, I think. They're a great band, even if they're in a bit of a slump at the moment (those Spiderman songs were awful). They've also been a lot more experimental over the years than people give them credit for.

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    Quote Originally Posted by richardp View Post
    I didn't mind the Stadium setting of the 360º tour. I had an AMAZING view. The show never once felt like it was at a huge stadium either. I know it was said a lot in the press, but the giant stage, and it's insane light show, truly made the show feel a lot more intimate than I imagine other stadium shows feel. Of course, I would probably faint and pass out if I were to ever see them in an Arena setting. A couple family members and I all had money set aside to see them on the Vertigo Tour, but they didn't end up coming here, unfortunately.

    Also I have to note that hearing The Edge live is partially a religious experience.
    One of the best songs live.



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    and one of my favorite basslines...!

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    The Unforgettable Fire has been hitting the spot for me in a big way of late. "A Sort of Homecoming" and "Wire" are unbelievably good.

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    Fantastic album. Unforgettable Fire was U2's first U2 album, in my opinion, and the first in their trilogy of best albums.

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    yeah, unforgettable fire is where they hit their stride and found their own voice, but i still love boy and war just as much, if not more. that early post-punk/martin hannett/chameleons thing is so up my bag it hurts.

    have always loved this, as far as UF-era is concerned:


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    New album in September according to Larry

    http://www.atu2.com/news/report-larr...mber-2013.html

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    Quote Originally Posted by NotoriousTIMP View Post
    New album in September according to Larry

    http://www.atu2.com/news/report-larr...mber-2013.html
    Fantastic! Knowing U2 though, September means Spring 2014. Excited for the tour. It'll be fun seeing what they come up with next after the 360º tour.

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    U2

    in response to the (rightful) shitlisting of latter day u2.








    perfect.

  18. #18
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    required viewing for any fan or potential convert:

    http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLD39A09E2DD84ECD2

    to have been there...

    i'm also into the joshua tree through pop run, just less so than the earlier records.

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    As i said in the "Shitty music" thread: I don't hate them and i do believe they have lots of quality tracks, this song for example is one of my favorites:



    sadly they are not the shadow of what they used to be...

  20. #20
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    They're a shower of twats but I would actually be lying through my teeth if I said I didn't love War, Joshua Tree etc

    it's weird how zoo station sounds a bit like NIN and the NIN zoo station sounds more like u2

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    Quote Originally Posted by henryeatscereal View Post
    sadly they are not the shadow of what they used to be...
    very few bands who have been around as long as they have are... it's always been a mystery to me why u2 are especially reviled for this, though it's probably bono coming off as especially obnoxious to most people. he walks a fine line between being a great humanitarian and a total twat, but hey...i seldom if ever judge a band's merit by their latter day musical sins or offstage persona (unless we're talking really questionable violent/hateful behavior, but i'm getting off topic here).

    sure, i really dislike their new material and persona as much as anyone (strongly dislike all three of their recent albums- both too safe and trying to hard in my book), but the same could be (and has been) said about the rolling stones, smashing pumpkins, the cure, and for me, depeche mode as far as current output is concerned... the fall from grace is always the hardest with bands of this stature.
    Last edited by frankie teardrop; 09-10-2013 at 02:16 PM.

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    ^I agree with you and actually, i found an interesting article about their so-called: "hypocrisy"

    My main beef with them is that they haven't been able to produce a decent album in many years, and it's obvious they are passing a creative crisis that makes it clear they are becoming more and more stale as a band (nothing against them but i think lots of band should know when to call it quits...)

    "All you can't leave behind", "How to dismantle an atomic bomb" and "No line on the Horizon" are terrible albums (well... NLOTH isn't THAT bad...) and hearing now about their upcoming album with Deadmus5, makes me wonder: do this band even know who they are anymore?, what happened to the great songs and lyrics from the Joshua Tree-Actung Baby era? Are they THAT desperate to be a "transcendent" band?.

    I don't hate them, but it's been hard for me to find reasons to still love them... just my two cents

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    It was upsetting when I heard they were working with Will.I.Am as he didn't really contribute much at all but now DeadMau5? What's next, a duet with Taylor Swift?

    Seeing the documentary about the making of Achtung Baby has me thinking about the fact that they were a band that were rebelling against something during the 1980s as it featured an animated sequence of the members throwing stones at something until by the Rattle & Hum period, they had nothing to throw act except each other? Now, they've become everything they rallied against in some ways. What would the U2 of the early 80s think of the U2 of now?

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    Quote Originally Posted by henryeatscereal View Post
    (well... NLOTH isn't THAT bad...)
    The day that album came out I was snowed in my house. I downloaded it and listened. Stand Up Comedy did it, that is such shit. I didn't care about anything after that. The title track, Magnificent, Fez and White as Snow are all I care about on there. I'd take All That You Can't Leave behind and How To Dismantle over that anyday. Are you guys aware of The Passengers album Original Soundtracks 1? It was made in between Zooropa and Pop and was deemed too out there to be released with U2's name on it. It's them and Brian Eno fucking around, it's not the greatest for most, but I love it. To me that's where the decline begins. Larry hated the album, said it was overindulgent. They spent the next three albums trying to tone it down. After hearing NLOTH I said it sounded like four guys in the middle of a midlife crisis. Wanting to work with Gaga's producer and all of this other shit has just strengthened my position. In the end it all comes down to money, U2 were suppose to make a combined one billion dollars on their last tour. I wonder how much of that went to Africa? They've already got their hands in the wallets of an older generation, and this musical "experimentation" is just trying to figure out how to reach a younger audience's bank account. With that said, I'm still intrigued about what they're working on.

    By the way Bono performed at Warren Buffett's granddaughter's wedding over the weekend.

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    Quote Originally Posted by thevoid99 View Post
    Seeing the documentary about the making of Achtung Baby has me thinking about the fact that they were a band that were rebelling against something during the 1980s as it featured an animated sequence of the members throwing stones at something until by the Rattle & Hum period, they had nothing to throw act except each other? Now, they've become everything they rallied against in some ways. What would the U2 of the early 80s think of the U2 of now?
    I read a quote of Bono saying that: "They used to sing in what they believed in... now they sing what they don't" and in that way they are very successful: they are one of the most insincere bands ever...

    Quote Originally Posted by Iran_Ed View Post
    Are you guys aware of The Passengers album Original Soundtracks 1? It was made in between Zooropa and Pop and was deemed too out there to be released with U2's name on it. It's them and Brian Eno fucking around, it's not the greatest for most, but I love it.
    "Passengers" and "POP" are great albums, "most" of their fans hate them, i do find them creative and more interesting than their "back to our roots" crap...

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    Quote Originally Posted by Sutekh View Post
    They're a shower of twats but I would actually be lying through my teeth if I said I didn't love War, Joshua Tree etc

    it's weird how zoo station sounds a bit like NIN and the NIN zoo station sounds more like u2
    Part of the reason is because The Edge was listening to bands like NIN, EN, etc. during production of Achtung Baby.

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    Quote Originally Posted by frankie teardrop View Post
    very few bands who have been around as long as they have are... it's always been a mystery to me why u2 are especially reviled for this, though it's probably bono coming off as especially obnoxious to most people. he walks a fine line between being a great humanitarian and a total twat, but hey...i seldom if ever judge a band's merit by their latter day musical sins or offstage persona (unless we're talking really questionable violent/hateful behavior, but i'm getting off topic here).

    sure, i really dislike their new material and persona as much as anyone (strongly dislike all three of their recent albums- both too safe and trying to hard in my book), but the same could be (and has been) said about the rolling stones, smashing pumpkins, the cure, and for me, depeche mode as far as current output is concerned... the fall from grace is always the hardest with bands of this stature.
    To be honest... and I am not sticking up for Bono here - he's a penis, but it is funny how absolutely everyone comes down on Bono like a ton of bricks for being a pompous high horsing bore, and yet you can beat your wife, stab your guitarist, kill razzle from hanoi rocks, fuck underage girls etc and you don't really become an infamous twat in quite the same way

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    One of the best songs of all time:

    Love Boy, War and The Unforgettable Fire, as well as the Blood Red Sky live album. Don't much care for anything beyond those albums but I recently acquired Achtung Baby and Zooropa on CD dirt cheap at a garage sale. I'll give them another try sometime.
    Last edited by orestes; 09-10-2013 at 07:55 PM. Reason: threads merged

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    Posted my opinion in the shitty music thread, not that I think they were shitty music. I just kinda feel they sold out, the whole "biggest rock band in the world" screamed " see the egress" to me. Still a guilty pleasure, and Edge in "It might get loud" was a good insight. Bono's over the top humanitarian efforts didn't help but at least he tries and doesn't like being number 2.
    The cost of dragging around "the claw" was incredible, and not so environment "nice". Liked them better when when they didn't want to be the biggest rock band in the world.

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    I remember this tribute episode of That Metal Show for Ronnie James Dio where Simon Wright talked about a joke that Ronnie told him. It was about a group of people attending a U2 show and Bono would slowly clap his hands as he would say "every time I clap my hands, a child would die" and then there was this one voice in the audience that said "well then stop clapping your hands you evil bastard!"

    That joke still gets me.

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