[gloco]

Spoken like a true gentleman MacDEF

 

[Beagle]

Quote:

Originally posted by MacDEF I think it's fair to say that they'll also be remembered as one of the greatest rock bands ever, due to their longevity, willingness to explore new sounds, and ability to put out high-quality work over three decades

I think it would be inaccurate if U2 were considered to be in the same class as The Beatles, Stones, Zeppelin, Floyd, Bowie etc. I would even say that Simple Minds put out better albums than U2 did. I still maintain that U2 are poor musicians and songwriters. I just found the songwriting and musicianship non-existant. And that jangly phasey guitar thing got old after the first album. So rather than learn to play and come up with some groundbreaking stuff, they gave up and played with machines to try and be 'cool and hip'. And can anyone ever recall hearing an acoustic guitar on a U2 album? There was nothing else for them to do, I can't really blame them. If you have musical ability and a creative imagination, you can come up with things like "The Wall" , "Abbey Road", "Sticky Fingers", "Physical Graffiti". When you don't ,you produce garbage like "POP" or overrated muddy bass heavy tuneless stuff like "Joshua Tree" and "Unforgettable Fire".

Maybe I am shortchanging them in the songwriting and creatvity department, maybe they do/did have some ideas but could not execute them because they couldn't play their instruments well enough. In that case, they should have hired studio musicians or hired a producer, a real producer, who had the foresight to dump that lame rhythm section and guitar player and get in some people who could play, and try to have U2 communicate some of their ideas so the musicians could get something worthwhile down on tape. If they had done this, U2 could have been as good as the Motels, who came into their own when studio musicians were used on their breakthrough albums "Little Robbers" and All Four One". Once these songs were down and the album was out, the actual Motels band had no choice but to become better musicians to be able to go out on tour to promote these records. After the experience, they no longer required studio musicians as the band had become adept enough to play on it's own records and this helped them.

But songwriting and musicianship do not matter when you can create an aura, a monolith as Eno would put it. It becomes larger than life, and this becomes bigger as more people get pulled in and hypnotised, all the while forgetting that there is no band, no songs and the bassist looks and plays like a dork.

I'm going to try Achtung Baby, Joshua Tree and Unforgettable Fire through my AKGK501 and determine it there is something I was heretofore not getting. If it's there, the AKG will tell me.

 

[redshifter]

Quote:

hired a producer, a real producer

hello?! steve lillywhite and brian eno!!

it's especially funny you should quote eno as well. hell, eno is almost a 5th member of u2.

i think you are confusing the edge's spare style with lack of musicianship. just because he's not flashy doesn't mean he lacks skill. he is and remains one of my favorite guitar players. he has a unique sound and has stuck by it all these years.


Quote:

And can anyone ever recall hearing an acoustic guitar on a U2 album?

sure: joshua tree, "running to stand still".

no offense beagle but your statements about u2 sound more like bias than experience.

 

[Jacobh]

Discrediting U2's music because of Bono's tremendous ego and political views isn't really fair. Unfortunately, because of these things, it is easy to overlook their music. Their experimentation has definately not always been an attempt to seem cool or hip. Bringing in a gospel choir or BBKing on Rattle and Hum were not things aimed at taking a bigger stake out of the pop market (although the musical worth of Rattle and Hum is questionable).

Saying they haven't or will not be remembered as having a large impact on the music world is also silly. Even if you hate their music, Bono defines rock star. The Beatles are probably the only group that showed larger egos and louder mouths.

Maybe my perspective is way out of wack, but if you took any person who grew up in the late 80's/early 90's and had to only pick one album that you thought they owned, picking Joshua Tree is probably your best bet. To me that puts them in pretty good company.

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Quote:

Originally posted by redshifter it's especially funny you should quote eno as well. hell, eno is almost a 5th member of u2.

Isn't Eno like a 5th member of any band he produces?

PS I just want to pipe in on the love/hate U2 thing -- I'll take "hate". I loved War and Achtung Baby and won't deny that they've done some great work, but...they just suck. (PS This is a troll, feel free to ignore.)

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Quote:

Originally posted by Masonjar hi.. first post here!

Hi, Mason! You've been insta-buddied...welcome!

 

[disturbed]

Quote:

Originally posted by Masonjar Wow, just goes to show you what different worlds people live in.. my first Massive Attack album *was* No Protection .. I got it because I was a fan of the Mad Prof, and I read a review that it was great.. I don't know how you think he ruined it.. unless you simply *must* have vocals in your music.. are you that unfamiliar with the dub genre? He dubbed it, he took out the vocals and added cool effects like reverb, delay and echo.. I think it works quite well, but I realize that if you're not a fan of dub you wouldn't understand.. I do think the original is a great album, but it's hard to compare it to the remix.. to me the remix is an extension of the original... they're both fine in their own way.. Mezzanine on the other hand, is a masterpiece that trumps them both in my opinion -jar

You are right I am not famliliar with the dub genre pls excuse my ignorance

I think I expected to hear something as good as Protection or better with No Protection but in reality I got something totally different than what I bargained for. I remember in an earlirer thread I wanted to burn No Protection but since you just educated me on the dub genre I'll listen to Protection again and after that I'll "try" *gulp* listening to No Protection

Music is so subjective and personal...if I dont liike it and start ranting someone will get enraged and lash out...not saying that you did.....but I've seen that sometimes

Nevertheless its always good to try something new and you reminded me of it...let me go and try *gulp* No Protection again

Cheers

 

[disturbed]

Quote:

Originally posted by Dusty Chalk (wipes brow) You had me going there.

Heh

Yknow something?

Your nick reminds me of something happend in school...we had chalk and blackboards and there was a teacher who had a dust allergy...so she went out and bought a big box of "DUSTLESS CHALK" as it said on the box. Well it turned out just the opposite and the second she opened it......dust wafted out and she began to sneeze like crazy...then..... she told me "Get rid of this god-damned chalk otherwise I might just do something horrible to it"

LOL

I think this would be much funnier in real life than text.....



Back on topic...I really liked achtung baby too

but the others were kinda ranging from ok to nice

but they grew on me.

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Quote:

Originally posted by disturbed Your nick reminds me of something happend in school...we had chalk and blackboards and there was a teacher who had a dust allergy...so she went out and bought a big box of "DUSTLESS CHALK" as it said on the box. Well it turned out just the opposite and the second she opened it......dust wafted out and she began to sneeze like crazy...then..... she told me "Get rid of this god-damned chalk otherwise I might just do something horrible to it" ... I think this would be much funnier in real life than text.....

No, that's a great story, even in text. Let me tell you a story: I met a girl online, she thought I was a teacher because of my nick...

Alright, yours was a better story. I especially like the quote...in fact...

 

[grinch]

you loser! mezzanine is ****ing awesome!


Quote:

Originally posted by disturbed Massive Attack - Protection All The REST SUCK especially the one that *** mad professor remixed protection MAN HOW CAN SOMEONE RUIN SUCH A GREAT ALBUM??? If I ever see him...ill make sure hes tortured for a long time...should bring a childish giggle back to my face

 

[grinch]

i have a different vote for most overrated crappy band in the world: DAVE MATTHEWS BAND. wow is their music pathetic. i simply cannot understand how each of the members of that band are so amazingly talented (cept for dave) and their music is just so blah. so fed upon by the mindless heavily-drinking abercrombie and fitch wearing wanderers of college campuses all over the united states, it makes me ill.

i still feel that if you actually like dave matthews band you either:
a) haven't heard what a good band actually sounds like
b) too afraid to admit they suck because your friends (clones) will get pissed

/me dons the flame-retardant suit and radiohead t-shirt..

 

[gloco]

Quote:

Originally posted by grinch you loser! mezzanine is ****ing awesome!

You putz

Read the rest of his posts, he apologized profusely for his outburst

 

[Masonjar]

Quote:

Originally posted by disturbed You are right I am not famliliar with the dub genre pls excuse my ignorance I'll listen to Protection again and after that I'll "try" *gulp* listening to No Protection Music is so subjective and personal...if I dont liike it and start ranting someone will get enraged and lash out...not saying that you did.....but I've seen that sometimes Nevertheless its always good to try something new and you reminded me of it...let me go and try *gulp* No Protection again Cheers

Hi again.. sorry if I came off sounding brash.. I can kind of see how, if you love an album, the remix of it might seem like sacrilege

I didn't mean to imply that you were ignorant, but I'm glad you're going to give it another chance.. just listen to "Bumper Ball Dub" and try to forget the original.. try to hear it as a new piece of music and see what you think..

I'm here to make friends.. anyone who likes Massive Attack obviously has good taste in music

Take care,
-jar

 

[blr]

Back on topic.
For me this was Shinead O'Connor.
Her's first album "The Lion and the Cobra" was great.
The rest of them suck more or less.
Just my opnion. Don't jump on me.

 

[DarkAngel]

Grinch
You are right about Massive Attack "Mezzanine" being great album and easily their best. I almost used this group as an example where they had one great album and the rest are so-so.
I have "blue lines" but find it very tame/laid back compared to the more creative "mezzanine" I had a couple other Cds by this group but sold them.

U2 , Best CD Is
Without hesitation I must rate 1st CD "boy" as their best. The song "follow" is perfect example of the energetic creative style they burst onto the scence with, great sound before they became commercial and lost their "Edge" so to speak. The follow up CD
"October" is just a step bellow Boy and well worth having.

Then from War-Joshua Tree their sound changed. Although each of these CDs have a few stand-out great tracks, we begin to see these ballads and more epic productions that sound somewhat bland and less creative. Joshua Tree is perfect example, first three tracks are great:
-streets have no name
-haven't found what I'm looking for
-with or with out you
From here they loose focus and the rest of the CD are these meanandering ballads/epics (kind of like being lost in the desert

) that sound bland and indescript to me, in other words they sound generic like I've heard it many times before, without much energy or passion. Also the fact that everyone loves/buys this CD is a warning sign to me.

U2 made a brief creative ressurection with Achtung Baby, not my favorite U2 (I would rank this 3rd best overall) but now at least they have some conviction are being creative putting out a solid CD and experimenting with new sounds.

To Sum up I would buy these 4 CDs by U2
-Boy
-October
-Achtung baby
-U2 best of 1980-90 (to get the essential tracks of War-Joshua Tree)