U2 Band • Page 8

The podcast made me more of a casual fan rather than just familiar with their greatest hits

 

A lot of people hate this band for no real reason and most of them haven't heard more than a few songs. It's frustrating, but I like how UTU2TM helped tweak the narrative slightly.

 

seems like there's a rumor of a 2019 joshua tree tour going around...

 

Looks like Australia.

 

ah, bummer. wasn't sure if it was a world tour but the aussie ticketmaster was the only one that dropped the ball early

 

why would they tour joshua tree again in the US?
Not that i'd complain but

 

Decided to finally give U2 a fair shake. Always found them off putting but have decided to listen through the discography along with the Scotts. Same way I got into REM. Best part is I really haven't heard a lot of their songs before. Even the big hits I would have heard a handful of times each, tops.

 

This is awesome. Keep us posted. They’re one of my favorite bands ever, and I really do think the entire catalog is worthwhile.

 

Will do, which reminds me you'd asked for a report when I told you I was finally going to listen to Some Mad Hope. Not to get off topic in the U2 thread but I liked it a lot, didn't love it. Very consistent and some great songwriting, although the lyrics haven't grabbed me and kept me coming back -- at least not yet

 

Ah, well, hopefully it clicks a little more. Definitely a record that came along when I really needed it.

 

Hell yes, enjoy the ride.

 

So far so good, have listened from Boy through to Pop already (pods and albums). Some great stuff there, I'll get right through then go back and listen to the albums more intently.
I cannot stress enough that I really did not know much U2. Never heard anything pre Joshua Tree. When that album came on I recognised the opening three tracks but certainly haven't heard any enough to be burned out. After that I knew Desire, Mysterious Ways, One (which I'd never liked but it was better in the context of their discography) and so far that's it. I think the only songs I'll know from here are Beautiful Day, Elevation and Vertigo.

 

It's definitely an enjoyable listen, maybe just lacks a bit of an edge that I gravitate toward, something similar pop-rock singer songwriters like Butch Walker and Andrew McMahon have a little more of. Their pop-punk roots shine through which appeals to me whereas Nathanson doesn't seem to have that element. Which Some Mad Hope tracks are your favourite? Oh is this an episode of Some Mad Hoping?

 

I think it is an episode of Some Mad Hoping, Scott!

You might enjoy Matt's later stuff a bit more, based on that assessment. He definitely never had the pop-punk roots that Andrew and Butch do, but he started doing some kind of off-the-wall stuff with pop and stadium rock influences around 2013's Last of the Great Pretenders.

"Car Crash," "Wedding Dress," and the closing four on Some Mad Hope have always been my favorites. "All We Are" is, I think, the one that means the most to me, looking back.

 

I second those tracks and would like to add "Falling Apart." The pre-chorus has always really resonated with me.

Edit: In terms of singling out - I didn't notice the "last four tracks" part initially. Haha!

 

Update: Have listened to the discography from Boy through to All You Can't Leave Behind. Can't comment on the latter yet as I'm only listening for the first time while I write this. It's good. I was 10 when it came out but remember liking Beautiful Day and Elevation (then later thinking Elevation was kinda dumb).

The first two records I just listened to the once each. Boy has some good tunes but nothing grabbed me on October. Maybe later.

War is a step up although I've never been overly enamoured with post-punk and there's definitely a lot of that influence in there still.

For me, the band really came into its own on The Unforgettable Fire. That record is when they seemingly started reaching for the stratosphere with their songwriting and musical direction. I see a lot of talk about it being transitional and strange/soundscape-y. But I didn't notice much of that, I just enjoyed the tunes, especially in the first half.

I can definitely see why Joshua Tree is so beloved. My favourite so far by some margin. I'm a sucker for sweeping, epic rock music and this would have to be one of the best examples out there. Since the hits on the A side haven't been overplayed for me I enjoy the whole thing a lot. Have gone back to that one several times.

Rattle and Hum, I liked Desire and Angel of Harlem, likely because I'd heard them before (I assume).

Achtung Baby is really growing on me. Just listened to it again and it might be their most consistent record front to back. Doesn't reach the heights of Joshua Tree but is more varied and nails the change-up in sound the band was aiming for.

Beyond that I've only listened to Zooropa and Pop once apiece. Neither grabbed me but I'll try some more.

Interested to see how this lines up with the preferences of yourself and those in the thread...

 

Boy is great
October is ok.
War is one of the absolute best
Unforgettable Fire is quite good
Joshua Tree is Great
Rattle and Hum is better if you listen to just the album tracks and b-sides or just the live stuff
Achtung, Baby is one of the greatest albums ever made
Zooropa is fantastic
Pop is messy, but pretty great
ATYCLB is hit and miss
HTDAAB is probably my least favorite
NLOTH is good, but should have been great
SOI is pretty great
SOE is pretty great

 

JT > UF > AB > War > ATYCLB > Boy > October > R&H > Pop > Zooropa > NLOTH > SOE > HTDAAB > SOI

 

All That You Can’t Leave Behind is all hit for me. I know I’m in the minority, but I love side 2.

Songs of Experience is probably top five for me at this point. I adore that record and I’m constantly surprised at how much it continues to resonate with me.

October is my least favorite of theirs by a fair margin. Nothing about it really moves me.

 

Zooropa and Pop fuckin rule don't @ me

 

honestly i really enjoy all of mine in my ranking through NLOTH. after that it falls off a bit

 

i grew up hearing U2 a lot because my parents (mostly my dad) really liked them, but ATYCLB is special to me because that was my first U2 record .... was 12 y.o - i think i probably rank it #2 only below JT just because of my attachment to it.

 

I'd put both of their most recent albums way ahead of No Line.

 

Currently drunk and playing "Bullet The Blue Sky" VERY loud. That bass tone fucking rules.