You guys been checking out U2 on Letterman all week ?

[HAT]

Excellent youtube post Gogo....

But I think you missed the point I was trying to make about Dave. I think we can all agree that he is amazing at what he does with his effects and in my mind, anytime you can here a few bars of a song and identify who is playing....well, the guy must be special.

As to what qualities makes one an "all time great"....everyone is going to have their own opinion there. For me, speed has nothing to do with it. But neither does how creative you can be with your foot pedals. There's teeny boppers out there that think Brittany can sing because of the effects. If you want to impress me as a guitarist....grab nothing but a practice amp and a guitar with a whammy bar and show me what you can do....or better yet, an acoustic. (Brian Setzer, for example)

Anyway...I wasn't trying to come off as anti-U2. I still remember being in awe as a 10 year old who first caught a listen to his older brothers recordings of U2 Boy and The Alarm Eponymous. Four bands shaped my musical interest for life....U2, The Alarm, Big Country & Midnight Oil. And I still enjoy all of each bands old stuff but only the current reincarnation of The Alarm keeps my interest to this day.

U2 lost me when they started dressing up as the Village People....and yes, I get the irony that they were going for with the Pop Mart tour and have really tried to like each and every album since then. And yes, they are still capable of an amazing song here and there and are still great live...I can spend hours surfing U2 live on youtube.

 

[WharfRat+]

Be curious to see the answers to these questions myself. I can certainly understand someone not caring for their sound but not to understand why others would like them is baffling.

I would go off on my pro U2 tirade but I doubt I could add anything that GOGO did'nt already say. 30 years later they are putting out arguably their best stuff ever. Unlike other legendary Bands like the Stones, Zeppelin, Aerosmith and others who put out absolute rubbish the last 10, 15 years of their career theses guys are still capable of an incredible record.

My favorite bands in not much of a particular order:

Neil Young
Ween
Grateful Dead
The Band
Bob Marley
Van Morrison
The Beatles
Phish
Steely Dan
Flaming Lips
MGMT
Rolling Stones
Dylan
Talking Heads
My Morning Jacket
G Love

Least Favorite
U2
REM
Aerosmith
Country music

 

[Teddykgb]

C'Mon Wharf.....Flaming lips???? your jerking our chain here.

 

[GoGoBird]

Excellent youtube post Gogo....

But I think you missed the point I was trying to make about Dave. I think we can all agree that he is amazing at what he does with his effects and in my mind, anytime you can here a few bars of a song and identify who is playing....well, the guy must be special.

As to what qualities makes one an "all time great"....everyone is going to have their own opinion there. For me, speed has nothing to do with it. But neither does how creative you can be with your foot pedals. There's teeny boppers out there that think Brittany can sing because of the effects. If you want to impress me as a guitarist....grab nothing but a practice amp and a guitar with a whammy bar and show me what you can do....or better yet, an acoustic. (Brian Setzer, for example)

Anyway...I wasn't trying to come off as anti-U2. I still remember being in awe as a 10 year old who first caught a listen to his older brothers recordings of U2 Boy and The Alarm Eponymous. Four bands shaped my musical interest for life....U2, The Alarm, Big Country & Midnight Oil. And I still enjoy all of each bands old stuff but only the current reincarnation of The Alarm keeps my interest to this day.

U2 lost me when they started dressing up as the Village People....and yes, I get the irony that they were going for with the Pop Mart tour and have really tried to like each and every album since then. And yes, they are still capable of an amazing song here and there and are still great live...I can spend hours surfing U2 live on youtube.

Fair enought Hat. The distinction with U2 is they have changed albeit sometimes in crazy direction. But that is probably what has kept them passionate about making good music for 30 years. Not having the desire to change has kept bands like Aerosmith, Rolling Stones, etc from making relevant music for decades. You either mix things up at the sacrifice of some fans or you stay status quo in which case you end of breaking up because you have no good ideas left or you make stale music trying to please fans from 15 years ago. They chose the change direction. They have put on a lot of window dressing over the years on how they present themselves but at the end of the day the core music that makes them good is still there. As a fan GoGo can put up with the window dressing because of the strong core music still being there.

BTW, on the latest album Edge has thrown in some interesting Zeppelin like sounds on a few songs. Certainly a departure for him.

 

[GoGoBird]

My favorite bands in not much of a particular order:

Neil Young
Ween
Grateful Dead
The Band
Bob Marley
Van Morrison
The Beatles
Phish
Steely Dan
Flaming Lips
MGMT
Rolling Stones
Dylan
Talking Heads
My Morning Jacket
G Love

Least Favorite
U2
REM
Aerosmith
Country music

Interesting list. It looks like you are a fan of more classic sounding rock and acts that are no longer around which is fine. There is plenty of music styles out there for everyone. Do you still enjoy the new Stones music from the last 15 years?

 

[GoGoBird]

not the best from the new album but a new sort of 70's style from Edge.

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[HAT]

Fair enought Hat. The distinction with U2 is they have changed albeit sometimes in crazy direction. But that is probably what has kept them passionate about making good music for 30 years. Not having the desire to change has kept bands like Aerosmith, Rolling Stones, etc from making relevant music for decades. You either mix things up at the sacrifice of some fans or you stay status quo in which case you end of breaking up because you have no good ideas left or you make stale music trying to please fans from 15 years ago. They chose the change direction. They have put on a lot of window dressing over the years on how they present themselves but at the end of the day the core music that makes them good is still there. As a fan GoGo can put up with the window dressing because of the strong core music still being there.

BTW, on the latest album Edge has thrown in some interesting Zeppelin like sounds on a few songs. Certainly a departure for him.

Agreed....Bands must evolve. I'm not one of those guys that wants U2 to release Joshua Tree versions 2,3,4,5, etc. But for me, what they have evolved into is not my cup of tea musically.....doesn't make them any less talented obviously.

Selfishly, I just wish they would put out an old fashioned rock'n'roller more often....in the vein of Out of Control or I threw a Brick....That's why I still dig The Alarm...

(see below)

BTW...that Stand Up Comedy song could grow on me!

 

[HAT]

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[WharfRat+]

Interesting list. It looks like you are a fan of more classic sounding rock and acts that are no longer around which is fine. There is plenty of music styles out there for everyone. Do you still enjoy the new Stones music from the last 15 years?

No. But I still enjoy Exile on Main street and Sticky Fingers.

 

[KeithRichard]

There are no bad Stones songs. Some are just better than others. If you Know RS music you would realize this band has experimented with just about every style of music there is be it jazz, blues,R&B,country,disco,reggae,or rock,etc.!~~~!

 

[WorldNumberOne]

i like the new song " magnificent " a lot... nice sound coming out of edge's guitar..

 

[billhill999]

When the late great Warren Zevon died, upon arriving in Rock and Roll Heaven he noticed Janis to his left, when he looked to his right he saw Jimi, when Zevon looked over his shoulder he noticed Bono.

Zevon said to St. Peter, "When did Bono die, I didn't realize?"
St. Peter replied, "oh no Warren, Bono is still alive, he just thinks he's Jesus"

 

[TheKinz]

GoGo had a perfect write up. U2 is one of the top bands of all times. They are one fo the few bands that I like every single song on a articular album (October, Unforgettable Fire, How To Dismantle, Jshua Tree, Boy, All That You can't) BUT there is one album I dislike tremendously Zooropa. I actually gave it away. The beauty of U2 is how they change and still put out great music that spans generations. Edge is by no means the best guitarist ever but I believe a good guitarist (or musician for that matter) is someone who you know by hearing just a few chords. No one can say you don't recognize his sound immediately upon hearing it. He is original and that is rare nowadays.

I have seen U2 6 times including front row on their All That you can't Leave Behind show (this was my favorite due to their long gap between albums and the excitement of their new album). They are by far the best live band you can see in my opinion. I have see the Dead multiple times, the Foo Fighters, Bruce Springsteen, the Stones, The Police 2008 and 1985 but no one is close to U2. You might not like their political views etc but you can not deny their unbelievable talent in song writing and live perfomances.

All I can say about Bono at least he actually DOES something rather than just talk about it. He has given millions of dollars and countless hours of his own time to causes he believes strongly in. There are not too many artisits who get the chance to sound off their political views one on one with the President of the US and Prime Minister of England (and numerous others) and have them actually listen.

I will see them again this tour and I am sure I will not be disappointed.

 

[celticGreen+]

my comment at the begining of the thread wasn't to bash them, bono & the edge are just very easy targets (and deservedly so to some extent).

either way - they're a great live band - saw them at the tail end of the achtung baby tour & twice on the pop tour (foxboro when it was still foxboro, and the olympic stadium in montreal). i do think achtung was their last great album though.

the only live shows that i've enjoyed more was pink floyd on the division bell tour, but i think that's more for sentimental reasons - and maybe a show /w the roots, outkast and j5.

 

[WharfRat+]

GoGo had a perfect write up. U2 is one of the top bands of all times. They are one fo the few bands that I like every single song on a articular album (October, Unforgettable Fire, How To Dismantle, Jshua Tree, Boy, All That You can't) BUT there is one album I dislike tremendously Zooropa. I actually gave it away. The beauty of U2 is how they change and still put out great music that spans generations. Edge is by no means the best guitarist ever but I believe a good guitarist (or musician for that matter) is someone who you know by hearing just a few chords. No one can say you don't recognize his sound immediately upon hearing it. He is original and that is rare nowadays.

I have seen U2 6 times including front row on their All That you can't Leave Behind show (this was my favorite due to their long gap between albums and the excitement of their new album). They are by far the best live band you can see in my opinion. I have see the Dead multiple times, the Foo Fighters, Bruce Springsteen, the Stones, The Police 2008 and 1985 but no one is close to U2. You might not like their political views etc but you can not deny their unbelievable talent in song writing and live perfomances.

All I can say about Bono at least he actually DOES something rather than just talk about it. He has given millions of dollars and countless hours of his own time to causes he believes strongly in. There are not too many artisits who get the chance to sound off their political views one on one with the President of the US and Prime Minister of England (and numerous others) and have them actually listen.

I will see them again this tour and I am sure I will not be disappointed.

No offense, but ucking:

 

[TheKinz]

hey I am listening to Dead live 11/29/79 in Cleveland..Eyes of the world was a Jerry classic..he goes on for 10+mins.

 

[Syklone]

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Love The Alarm. Mike Peters still bringing the good stuff.

 

[TescoVee]

U2 Tour kicks off in Barcelona tonight. the wife went.

 

[mickj]

No. But I still enjoy Exile on Main street and Sticky Fingers.

Have you heard A Bigger Bang, some quality stuff on there.

 

[Illini]

I'm a huge U2 fan, but this album sucks. Just can't get into it at all. Listened to it several times, and I might pitch it. Does it grow on you, like the last one did?