SOE
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U2 - Songs Of Experience (2017)
 Tracks: 14
  1. Originally posted by robotsandmonkeys:[..]
    Totally agreed. Not understanding how people can heap praise on an album so dreadfully uninspired, timid, and mediocre.

    Bono is especially cringe-worthy on this album - his lyrics are amateurish, awkward, and tone-def. His subjects are far from novel...here we have:
    - 2 songs about Ali (adding to how many others already written?)
    - 4 songs about love/love in the title (again...we get it...we love love too...but damn! We GET it!)
    - 2 songs about Bono writing about how absurd/transparent Bono is (nothing new here either)
    - 1 song about America (we could have a quintuple album of U2 Songs of America at this point)

    If he wrote a song for his mother we'd all win Bono bingo or something.

    So...
    Music? Mediocre at best.
    Lyrics? Sounds like a 13 year old wrote them, or Bono decided to read a fortune cookie
    Topics? Stale as hell. Almost every subject has an analog in their catalog that is MUCH better.
    Effort? If THIS is the product of YEARS of work? They are in a lot of trouble.
    Masterpiece? I understand a lot of you think so, personally I think this is easily the worst album they have ever released


    Well... actually, I see 2 songs about America.

    But that's the beauty of art... it's all in the eyes (or ears) of the beholder...
  2. "Rock 'n' roll is ridiculous. It's absurd. In the past U2 was trying to duck that. Now we're wrapping our arms around it and giving it a great big kiss. It's like onstage, Some of this bullshit is pretty cool." - Bono, 1992
  3. " ah!don't say you agree with me.when People agree with me i Always feel i must be wrong"

    Oscar Wilde - the critic as artist,II
  4. Originally posted by Fly40:" ah!don't say you agree with me.when People agree with me i Always feel i must be wrong"

    Oscar Wilde - the critic as artist,II


    btw - anyone who hates the record will most certainly be disappointed with the tour. i motion that you all aid your fellow u2starters by using your codes to help purchase tickets for those who have no luck with the on-sales!
  5. Originally posted by robotsandmonkeys:[..]
    Totally agreed. Not understanding how people can heap praise on an album so dreadfully uninspired, timid, and mediocre.

    Bono is especially cringe-worthy on this album - his lyrics are amateurish, awkward, and tone-def. His subjects are far from novel...here we have:
    - 2 songs about Ali (adding to how many others already written?)
    - 4 songs about love/love in the title (again...we get it...we love love too...but damn! We GET it!)
    - 2 songs about Bono writing about how absurd/transparent Bono is (nothing new here either)
    - 1 song about America (we could have a quintuple album of U2 Songs of America at this point)

    If he wrote a song for his mother we'd all win Bono bingo or something.

    So...
    Music? Mediocre at best.
    Lyrics? Sounds like a 13 year old wrote them, or Bono decided to read a fortune cookie
    Topics? Stale as hell. Almost every subject has an analog in their catalog that is MUCH better.
    Effort? If THIS is the product of YEARS of work? They are in a lot of trouble.
    Masterpiece? I understand a lot of you think so, personally I think this is easily the worst album they have ever released


    Worst ever? Nah...SOI is to me Hands Down worst. I want to agree with some of your points, but only to a certain extent. The lyrics are pretty weak, but Bono has been all over the place lyrically his entire career, placing words where they don't really belong, just to rhyme, which all songwriters do, as I do, sometimes they sound so good they mask the weakness of the lyrics, sometimes they don't.
    Mediocre music? Perhaps, but some of the songs soar where SOI was flat. "Little Things" just may be their best song in ages, just too early to tell myself.
    Masterpiece? No, probably will rank from 11-13 on my list of ranking U2 albums, easily #13 right now, but I like all the albums.
    Years of Work? I think they had months of work. I think at their age, they are so stuck in the cycles of make album, tour, long long break, make album, tour...that spending too much time songwriting bores them. Sad, but the result being SOE, not bad for someone over 50. Young bands are not exactly knocking it out of the park these days.
  6. Played this to my brother for the first time yesterday and he was utterly bored by Summer of Love and told me to turn it off.
  7. Everyone their dues
  8. Originally posted by blueeyedboy:[..]


    btw - anyone who hates the record will most certainly be disappointed with the tour. i motion that you all aid your fellow u2starters by using your codes to help purchase tickets for those who have no luck with the on-sales!
    You mean purchase them and scalp at ridiculous price? Sure!
  9. Originally posted by iTim:Played this to my brother for the first time yesterday and he was utterly bored by Summer of Love and told me to turn it off.
    Bummer...Summer Of Love through Landlady is the best part of the album for me. Might actually be the only U2 album where I enjoy the middle of the album more than the beginning or end, though that's a gut reaction still at this point.
  10. Originally posted by robotsandmonkeys:[..]
    Totally agreed. Not understanding how people can heap praise on an album so dreadfully uninspired, timid, and mediocre.

    Bono is especially cringe-worthy on this album - his lyrics are amateurish, awkward, and tone-def. His subjects are far from novel...here we have:
    - 2 songs about Ali (adding to how many others already written?)
    - 4 songs about love/love in the title (again...we get it...we love love too...but damn! We GET it!)
    - 2 songs about Bono writing about how absurd/transparent Bono is (nothing new here either)
    - 1 song about America (we could have a quintuple album of U2 Songs of America at this point)

    If he wrote a song for his mother we'd all win Bono bingo or something.

    So...
    Music? Mediocre at best.
    Lyrics? Sounds like a 13 year old wrote them, or Bono decided to read a fortune cookie
    Topics? Stale as hell. Almost every subject has an analog in their catalog that is MUCH better.
    Effort? If THIS is the product of YEARS of work? They are in a lot of trouble.
    Masterpiece? I understand a lot of you think so, personally I think this is easily the worst album they have ever released


    to me this resumes All That You Can't Leave Behind, but is a good album also.

    SOE is awesome, not a masterpiece (the only 2 albums in this category is Joshua tree & achtung baby) have many good songs, 2 weak songs (like the most of u2's good albums) SOI still better, but SOE is a very good complement
  12. Best since AB is really pushing it !

    I am still trying to get into it
    Best or worst since SOI is where I am at !

    Some good tracks, some excellent parts of tracks where overall the song goes limp and doesn't get anywhere.

    Lyricslly and metaphorically very interesting.

    I am looking for stand out tracks remembering that all their albums of the last 20 years are patchy in this regard but there are great tracks on all the albums (SOI being the weakest)...

    But here I am struggling to find a Moment of Surrender, Walk On, Miracle Drug, Kite, Unkown Caller.... even Cedarwoid Road.

    In my personal experience going back to TUF in 84... When you first hear the album the stand out songs have a familiarity with them (even as ltough you have never heard them before witch leads to a growing love for the track... You can't stop listening to it !

    I remember hearing TUF, JT & AB fit the first time and being blown away. Less so the others, but this like SOI is not a damp squib, more of a half-baked loaf that could be rescued if toasted on the road (like SOI was !).

    SOE has not done it for me yet.... It obviousky needs a lot more listening to click.

    Oh to bring back the braveness, the irony, the Eno, the Lanois.....the LEMON !