tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23042008.post2859757545062933774..comments2024-03-28T03:13:15.831-04:00Comments on Remarkable: U2 ReviewGeoff Klockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09080580776997273785noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23042008.post-20044147530377364432009-03-09T21:17:00.000-04:002009-03-09T21:17:00.000-04:00Scott91777: I haven't listened to any *new* Smashi...Scott91777: I haven't listened to any *new* Smashing Pumpkins. I own Gish, Siamese Dream and Mellon Collie and that's it. Siamese Dream is still my favorite, hands down.<BR/><BR/>For me, the Pumpkins are about a certain age and time in my life, and while it's probably unfair to the band (well, Billy Corgan) and their fans, I like to keep them that way. Whenever I throw one of those albums on it's like stepping into my 16 year old self again and I am happy enough that way. I don't care to discover their new stuff I guess.<BR/><BR/>I have a weird relationship to music in general tho.sara d. reisshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18229743478023552805noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23042008.post-32370246381146130782009-03-08T15:36:00.000-04:002009-03-08T15:36:00.000-04:00Gordon,You're definitely right about their oddly s...Gordon,<BR/><BR/>You're definitely right about their oddly sequenced albums. Achtung Baby (my favorite Album... not my favorit U2 album, just my favorite album ever) is probably one case where I feel they got it right. <BR/><BR/>Even the Joshua Tree, has too many of the weaker tracks at the end, with "Exit" and "Mothers of teh Disapeared" as the last two tracks, it's like they couldn't decide which they wanted to end withso they used both.<BR/><BR/>Also, there will apparently be another album released in the next year that will be composed of the more ethereal Enoesque songs that came out of these sessions, kind of like Zooropa was to Achtung Baby.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23042008.post-72109245943755517592009-03-07T14:50:00.000-05:002009-03-07T14:50:00.000-05:00Ba,I just watched the video again (which may be th...Ba,<BR/><BR/>I just watched the video again (which may be the best ‘made on the cheap’ video ever, the bits where THE EDGE! Just steps into various frames from the first Tomb Raider film still cracks me up.)<BR/><BR/>U2 SAVE NEW YORK! WITH! THE! HEALING! POWER! OF RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWK!<BR/><BR/>G.Gordon Harrieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10752143420582279303noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23042008.post-77669393888585787172009-03-07T14:48:00.000-05:002009-03-07T14:48:00.000-05:00Scott: I think the traditional U2 album has been a...Scott: I think the traditional U2 album has been a poorly sequenced thing, actually. (which is something they share with contemporizes REM. Neither band, in my opinion, make great albums. They make great tracks.) and I should probably say that whilst I wouldn’t call myself a U2 ’fan’, a good friend does routinely point out that I like five of their albums, which is more than he does and he IS a fan.<BR/><BR/>I was re-reading you’re piece just now and it occurs to me that one of the more symmetrical bits is the use of cadence on ’No Line’ itself (maybe my favourite track by the way, it both works as an opener and is not what you’d expect) and ’Lebanon’, in that more than one of the band members sing key parts of the non-chorus. <BR/><BR/>I think one of the reasons I dislike ’Breathe’ (which I like in my head, but not on the record) is that it sounds kind of obnoxious sandwiched between the two tracks you mention. (and, honestly, I think that ’White as Snow’ should have been regarded as an off-cut. It’s neither especially good or bad, it’s just there.)Gordon Harrieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10752143420582279303noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23042008.post-82861188439131172852009-03-07T14:28:00.000-05:002009-03-07T14:28:00.000-05:00Sara,What do you think you think of the 'new' Smas...Sara,<BR/><BR/>What do you think you think of the 'new' Smashing Pumpkins? I rather liked Zeitgeist myself.<BR/><BR/>And "Sympathy For The Devil" is one of my favorite songs to Jam on... I'm a pretty crap guitarist but even I can't screw up E-minor pentatonic :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23042008.post-42390559096936481722009-03-07T13:55:00.000-05:002009-03-07T13:55:00.000-05:00Gordon, the tomb raider mix? Yeah, it's pretty goo...Gordon, the tomb raider mix? Yeah, it's pretty good.<BR/><BR/>And....HOLLA ROCKET, sara!bahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14892528094367274617noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23042008.post-36852264146193901382009-03-06T23:07:00.000-05:002009-03-06T23:07:00.000-05:00oh. and Cherub Rock, Today and Rocket.oh. and Cherub Rock, Today and Rocket.sara d. reisshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18229743478023552805noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23042008.post-63811074632950582492009-03-06T22:56:00.000-05:002009-03-06T22:56:00.000-05:00riffs i like: Sympathy for the Devil, Ziggy Stardu...riffs i like: Sympathy for the Devil, Ziggy Stardust and Bohemian Rhapsody.sara d. reisshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18229743478023552805noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23042008.post-76985377229210327902009-03-06T21:51:00.000-05:002009-03-06T21:51:00.000-05:00Gordon, you're definitely right about the tail end...Gordon, you're definitely right about the tail end of the album; I'll have to disagree with you about "Breathe" though (which has fast become my favorite track on the album), on the one hand I think it provides a nice break between "White as Snow" and "Cedars of Lebanon"... on the other hand it feels out of place in the sequence of those last four songs. It's like if it wasn't there though, that the album would just kind of taper off. <BR/><BR/>This was also part of the problem with How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb... in fact, I think it took me a long time to realize that I actually liked the song "Original of the Species" because it was sandwhiched between "One Step Closer To Knowing" and "Yahweh" the two worst tracks on the album (the acoustic arrangement o "Yaweh" that they performed live on the tour though was really quite good).<BR/><BR/>To a lesser extent, I think All That You Can't Leave behind suffered from the same problem towards the end ofthe album.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23042008.post-389493562310982942009-03-06T19:32:00.000-05:002009-03-06T19:32:00.000-05:00Ba: the REMIX of 'Elevation' is six tons of fun.Ba: the REMIX of 'Elevation' is six tons of fun.Gordon Harrieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10752143420582279303noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23042008.post-17397794367356746902009-03-06T18:35:00.000-05:002009-03-06T18:35:00.000-05:00Born to Run is great. My Generation is great to h...Born to Run is great. My Generation is great to hear once every 5 years and then it's like...enough of that. Not many Bruce songs are in Born to Run's league, but I like a lot of Who songs better than My Generation, and I like even more U2 songs more than Vertigo.<BR/><BR/>Haven't bought the new album.Jakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03485251215002705726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23042008.post-13673464530799550382009-03-06T18:05:00.000-05:002009-03-06T18:05:00.000-05:00I couldn't even remember how Vertigo went until so...I couldn't even remember how Vertigo went until someone posted the first lyric, so...that's how memorable that song was.<BR/><BR/>I did kind of like "Elevation," though.bahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14892528094367274617noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23042008.post-70399386984344123342009-03-06T17:09:00.000-05:002009-03-06T17:09:00.000-05:00Honestly, the first time I heard ‘Vertigo’ (it may...Honestly, the first time I heard ‘Vertigo’ (it may be --in part-- a lyrics thing, every time I hear ‘HELLO … HELLO.. I’M AT A PLACE CALLED VERTIGO…’ I kind of cringe and think how very clunky it is.) I was watching MTV and my then housemate and I just sat there going ‘so, you’re an absolutely MASSIVE band and you’re away for YEARS and you come back with THAT?’<BR/><BR/>I’m actually writing a piece on the album as we …speak… and think that one of the reasons I may dislike it (not as much as some, but less than you) is the streak of ponderousness that dominates the back third of the album (‘White as Snow’, ‘Breathe’ and the musically awful ‘Cedars of Lebanon’) really starts to grate as one listens to it again and again.<BR/><BR/>And whilst I LOVE ’My Generation’, I’m afraid that I think ’Born To Run’ is not BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCCCCEEEEEEEEE' at his best.<BR/><BR/>:)Gordon Harrieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10752143420582279303noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23042008.post-84446647599350058922009-03-06T17:04:00.000-05:002009-03-06T17:04:00.000-05:00I don't like U2. This is not the band for me. This...I don't like U2. This is not the band for me. This is why guest bloggers are so important -- so we can get some other perspectives. GGeoff Klockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09080580776997273785noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23042008.post-13473574622451870122009-03-06T16:58:00.000-05:002009-03-06T16:58:00.000-05:00I don't like "Born to Run."I don't like "Born to Run."Jasonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13298753675007196538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23042008.post-30454283711450466252009-03-06T16:51:00.000-05:002009-03-06T16:51:00.000-05:00I'll admit that I am, perhaps, biased as U2 are my...I'll admit that I am, perhaps, biased as U2 are my favorite band, but, really, no love for "Vertigo"? I think it's a great song all around. Not liking it for me is like not liking "Born To Run" or "My Generation"... It's not so much there's any reason you have to like them, it's more like How can you NOT like them?<BR/><BR/>:)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23042008.post-7262452772224502722009-03-06T13:03:00.000-05:002009-03-06T13:03:00.000-05:00Oddly, I like thinking about ‘Breathe’ more than I...Oddly, I like thinking about ‘Breathe’ more than I like listening to it. Musically, it seems to hold together better in my head and the sub-cormac mcarthyisms of the lyrics aren’t as grating.<BR/><BR/>I REALLY like the title track, ‘Magnificent’, ‘Moment of Surrender’, erm.. ’Track 7’ and the final few lines of the album. (in fact the last song is, lyrically, petty strong.)<BR/><BR/>I think ’Vertigo’ is a pretty poor song in any context I’m afraid.Gordon Harrieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10752143420582279303noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23042008.post-58167463134353852242009-03-06T11:41:00.000-05:002009-03-06T11:41:00.000-05:00Two live performances of "Breathe":http://www.yout...Two live performances of "Breathe":<BR/><BR/>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-DJCYt6nhg<BR/>BBC Radio One Live Lounge - 27.2.09<BR/><BR/>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGurpsGKPCg<BR/>David Letterman Show, March 3rd, 2009Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23042008.post-83452719354918563992009-03-06T11:30:00.000-05:002009-03-06T11:30:00.000-05:00I like "Breathe" very much, too. Bono just soars o...I like "Breathe" very much, too. Bono just <I>soars</I> on passages like<BR/><BR/><I>Every day I have to find the courage<BR/>To walk out into the street<BR/>With arms out<BR/>Got a love you can’t defeat</I><BR/><BR/>Or<BR/><BR/><I>The roar that lies on the other side of silence<BR/>The forest fire that is fear so deny it</I><BR/><BR/>And especially<BR/><BR/><I>Walk out into the street<BR/>Sing your heart out<BR/>The people we meet<BR/>Will not be drowned out</I><BR/><BR/>There's so much life-affirming power in these lines that you almost believe existence could be grand instead of dreary. Sometimes "Breathe" even brings tears to my eyes. Yes, really!<BR/><BR/>I envy Bono for his life enthusiasm.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23042008.post-40416237347085524662009-03-06T11:12:00.000-05:002009-03-06T11:12:00.000-05:00I love Vertigo. It's just everything I want in a...I love Vertigo. It's just everything I want in a rock song. Mostly, though, I think its that riff.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23042008.post-25844437275935353052009-03-06T11:10:00.000-05:002009-03-06T11:10:00.000-05:00I don't really understand the Vertigo love. Never...I don't really understand the Vertigo love. Never warmed up to that tune. Maybe the incessant chorus. I dunno.Jakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03485251215002705726noreply@blogger.com