U2 | Songs of Innocence

[stip]

Why is this a flawed experiment? I dont get that.

Listened to the first 7 songs and i believe this might be a great album guys.

The delivery, not the record. It's a good record.

Three whole sentences before this became about pearl jam? I take it you've yet to caffeinate this morning?

Rank the responses you considered before choosing this one. Give each a star rating and a write-up, please.

Ever since http://www.pearljamsongranker.com/ I've found myself unable to engage in any kind of ranking or rating without the aid of a website. It's a serious problem.

[tommymtcom]

Love all these people making it into a big deal about a free album.. As if anyone's paid for an album since the late 90s

I paid for an album last week. It was weird.

[stip]

You know, I wonder if something like this, which clearly feeds into the expectation that recorded music should be free, is actually bad for smaller bands who need every dollar from every sale.

That could be a total non issue, obviously, I just wonder if something that seems like a really cool thing for a huge band to do could have unintentional consequences.

Maybe smaller artists have already left this model behind and depend on bandcamp or sites like that.

[spike]

don't be fooled guys, U2 is getting our hard earned money somehow.

[McParadigm]

Which songs would you classify as "true garbage"? Haha.

I was only on my second listen when I wrote that.

I think the opening track is pretty forgettable. And the California one. I can't remember anything about them, once they're over. But maybe with time...

As if anyone's paid for an album since the late 90s

I respect that a filthy rich band, at this stage in its career, doesn’t just crank out cynical “product.” I get the sense that they put a huge amount of effort into their albums, recording, re-recording, scrapping ideas that aren’t working, reviving old ideas anew, working with different producers in different locations. I think they really care. They’ve said as much and they have the work ethic and the hours to prove it. Compare that to somewhat similar bands like PJ, who can barely tolerate a couple of weeks in the studio before calling it a day or the Stones (who haven’t made a record in a while) who have completely run out of creative juice.

I agree with all of this, except that the Stones are more in a place where they've been allowed to believe their own bullshit for so long that they've long since become mired in terrible disconnect. I think they'd be capable of decent creative output, if they were still human beings. Maybe.

Richards may get that Exile was their pinnacle, sure, but that understanding is still part of a larger belief that any time he writes a generic Stones riff and the other guys poot around over it, it's a masterpiece that everyone in the world adores and no other band could hope to match. Meanwhile, Jagger's....uh....whatever it is that is going on there....is extreme enough to render him inhuman. He's like a cartoon. Or maybe he's just...hell, I don't even know. In interviews, he always comes across as normal. But in his case, "normal" ends up feeling really creepy, because it leaves you looking at all that bullshit on-stage and thinking "wait, you're doing that on PURPOSE? You're tell me THAT'S the part that's calculated? Oh, god."

[McParadigm]

don't be fooled guys, U2 is getting our hard earned money somehow.

Thanks a lot, Obono.

[Heathen]

You know, I wonder if something like this, which clearly feeds into the expectation that recorded music should be free, is actually bad for smaller bands who need every dollar from every sale.

That could be a total non issue, obviously, I just wonder if something that seems like a really cool thing for a huge band to do could have unintentional consequences.

Maybe smaller artists have already left this model behind and depend on bandcamp or sites like that.

If in order to survive these bands depend on the kind of audience who needs Apple/Bono's input to figure out where they stand on this issue, we're probably better off without them.

[Kaius]

On first listen..

"Sleep LIke a Baby Tonight" is the first song that has really grabbed me, and it is good.
"This Is Where You Can Reach Me Now" and "The Troubles" round off a really strong 3-song punch to end the record.

Everything before that kind of blended together and came off pretty generic and by-the-numbers, but I'll give it another listen with some headphones.

[stip]

You know, I wonder if something like this, which clearly feeds into the expectation that recorded music should be free, is actually bad for smaller bands who need every dollar from every sale.

That could be a total non issue, obviously, I just wonder if something that seems like a really cool thing for a huge band to do could have unintentional consequences.

Maybe smaller artists have already left this model behind and depend on bandcamp or sites like that.

If in order to survive these bands depend on the kind of audience who needs Apple/Bono's input to figure out where they stand on this issue, we're probably better off without them.

It's not a question of where a band personally stands, it's whether or not events like this alter the buying habits/expectations of the audience

[spike]

this is exactly the kind of thread bono would want to see about his new album. i think he'd actually be disappointed if the business/distribution side of the album wasn't talked about more than the actual musical merit of the record.

[McParadigm]

Apple/Bono

Few word combinations are more guaranteed to draw both lunatically fanatical support and a compulsive desire to mock.

whether or not events like this alter the buying habits/expectations of the audience

don't be dumb

[McParadigm]

this is exactly the kind of thread bono would want to see about his new album. i think he'd actually be disappointed if the business/distribution side of the album wasn't talked about more than the actual musical merit of the record.

Is he fat now? I feel like he should be fat now. But I don't know that I've seen him since he made fun of Pride at the inauguration or some such, and he seemed like he was working on it then.

[Heathen]

You know, I wonder if something like this, which clearly feeds into the expectation that recorded music should be free, is actually bad for smaller bands who need every dollar from every sale.

That could be a total non issue, obviously, I just wonder if something that seems like a really cool thing for a huge band to do could have unintentional consequences.

Maybe smaller artists have already left this model behind and depend on bandcamp or sites like that.

If in order to survive these bands depend on the kind of audience who needs Apple/Bono's input to figure out where they stand on this issue, we're probably better off without them.

It's not a question of where a band personally stands, it's whether or not events like this alter the buying habits/expectations of the audience

I wanted to reply to that but I don't think I can top don't be dumb.

[Kaius]

Just go for it.

[stip]

Surely people as jaded and cynical as yourselves can imagine a world where immensely important bands to lots of stupid people with terrible taste get into the habit of giving away their albums for free, and that this might condition people to expect more and more artists to give stuff away (saves the trouble of stealing it, after all)

[VinylGuy]

Why is this a flawed experiment? I dont get that.

Listened to the first 7 songs and i believe this might be a great album guys.

The delivery, not the record. It's a good record.

Three whole sentences before this became about pearl jam? I take it you've yet to caffeinate this morning?

Rank the responses you considered before choosing this one. Give each a star rating and a write-up, please.

Yeah i was talking about the delivery...flawed? why?

[stip]

Just go for it.

it's so sad to see people with so little confidence in their own abilities.

[McParadigm]

Surely people as jaded and cynical as yourselves can imagine a world where immensely important bands...get into the habit of giving away their albums for free, and...condition people to expect more and more artists to give stuff away (saves the trouble of stealing it, after all)

Today I learned that, for all my disappointment in the world of man, even I have more faith in people than stip stipperson does.

His newly-revealed "failed masses" cynicism is quite alarming. By which I mean it has potential.

[Kaius]

The dark side is attempting to pull you in, stip.

Resist.

You must resist.

[Heathen]

Surely people as jaded and cynical as yourselves can imagine a world where immensely important bands to lots of stupid people with terrible taste get into the habit of giving away their albums for free, and that this might condition people to expect more and more artists to give stuff away (saves the trouble of stealing it, after all)

This is actually exactly what I was trying to say. If there are bands out there whose success depends on people stupid enough to be influenced by what Apple and Bono do or don't do then I sure as hell don't think it's a bad thing if these bands die.