Where The Streets Have No Name / The U2 Thread

[mray10]

Favorite latter-day U2 song

[EJ]

I laughed.

[Blaine Ryan]

Whelp.

http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/ ... tion=false

[PryTo]

They haven't done much that's grabbed me in recent years, but this song is pretty spectacular. They're so much better in the later years when they're not straining to be hip.

[dimejinky99]

Rumours abound in Dublin town that U2 are about to split up.

[Rangi Guy]

Does anyone have The Vinyl Box of Achtung Baby? This thing has popped up and I'm not sure if it's worth pulling the trigger on

[dimejinky99]

If you mean the big one with the special big book, get it.
It's beautiful and eno's writing about them and the record is worth it alone.

[Rangi Guy]

If you mean the big one with the special big book, get it.
It's beautiful and eno's writing about them and the record is worth it alone.

It's the one currently on sale at http://www.popmarket.com/

....Also - I still need to get the details of my itinerary so I can let you know when I'll be in Dublin

[dimejinky99]

You have my email?
dimejinky99@gmail.com

[stip]

Rumours abound in Dublin town that U2 are about to split up.

Are rumors like that fairly common

[dimejinky99]

Not about U2 they're not. RS and billboard are reporting conflicting stories also it seems but the general consensus is the two 'new' songs didn't perform to their expectation at all.

[Tuolumne]

Not about U2 they're not. RS and billboard are reporting conflicting stories also it seems but the general consensus is the two 'new' songs didn't perform to their expectation at all.

This is about right. If the 2 new ones took off, they would have announced the album at this point. It was purely their egos taking a hit, and as we all know, they are all about their ego.

One thing I do admire about them is that they are willing to go to difficult places in order to hit upon a sort of magic. Sometimes this yeilds exceptional classic stuff, and sometimes it yields utter crap cause they're trying too hard to hit a grand slam every single time.

[dimejinky99]

I think they really want a big hit after the last albums lukewarm reception/success

[Tuolumne]

I think they really want a big hit after the last albums lukewarm reception/success

I think they're desparate for it. They're going back into the studio with proven modern hitmakers. They'll use their $$ and buy the most melodic catchy earworm song to use as their first single. They want that first single to be an undeniable first listen smash and they'll use whatever resource is in the industry at their disposal. They are like a too big to fail bank right now throwing their whole machine at trying to get that one song to launch the album with.

[dimejinky99]

In fairness they write the songs though. Or have they hired outside writers this time?

[Lament]

No outsider writers. Just different producers, Danger Mouse being the main one. Just like when they brought Howie B. in for Pop.

[dimejinky99]

I'd argue that if the songs aren't there, doesn't matter who you get to add all the bells and whistles, and U2 really do like their bells and whistles.
U2 are always guilty of taking too long and overtaking.
Like the edge says, albums never get finished. They get released.
That's telling.

[Lament]

Yeah, but that's why I really don't read too much into the album and tour being pushed back. They would've done the exact same thing in December of 96 if they hadn't had the itinerary set in stone for the 97/98 tour. They'd done it several times for Pop up to that point (I have a t-shirt somewhere in my collection that Island Records sent out to promote the new album coming out on "October 14th, 1996). Achtung Baby was delayed for new sessions too. There just wasn't the same type of instant media to make a big story out of it.

I can see why the producers make a big difference in U2's situation. They do nearly all of their writing in the studio, with the four of them jamming on a single idea or loop. They've always let their producers be very hands on with guiding what direction they should take these songs when they're in the embryonic forms (look at the Achtung Baby outtakes for great examples of this). They'll have several different songs that come from the same idea, and it takes someone from outside the group to sort through which directions are more worth pursuing, or worthy of being spun off into their own songs. I can see why it makes sense for them to bring in people with different energies or ideas about where these songs can ultimately go.

[Tuolumne]

They're doing sessions with Ryan Tedder, the OneRepubic guy who's got songs all over the radio for many different artists. He's like a radio hit assassin and he's got the golden touch as far as getting things on the radio. He's gotta be there for that specific reason. I bet anything he gets a co-write credit, which will probably be the main hook for a sing.e they're hoping to get to lauch the album. This is hired songwriting help.

[dimejinky99]

U2 realised years before everyone else that touring was where the money is.
I'm at a point where I thin other make albums just in order to justify a tour.
So spending so long on a record isn't all that important once they can pull two big radio hits out of the sessions in order to grab everyone.

That sounds awful cynical but there's nothing pure about this band anymore. It's all too calculated to make money and maintain prominence.

They should call it a day really.