Album Focus: U2 - Pop
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bambooneedle
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Album Focus: U2 - Pop
I just kind of picked one at random, and will return later with some thoughts after listening to it a couple of times. Looking forward to any other posts on it.
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martinfoyle
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I've been meaning to do the same. I gave Zooropa a spin the other day and realised I'm more likely to listen to that album than the albums they've put out since. Still keenly anticipating their next album, even though they're on producer #3 trying to get it done, never a good sign.
I, too, will report back later.
I, too, will report back later.
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selfmademug
1990's U2 is better than 1980's U2. Zooropa reminds me of a very good summer of music which included Belly and Sugar and others.
EC was pretty on the money about Pop; he referred to it as great songs which when put together didn't make a great album,or something like that, I'm paraphrasing wildly.
DrJ
EC was pretty on the money about Pop; he referred to it as great songs which when put together didn't make a great album,or something like that, I'm paraphrasing wildly.
DrJ
Tlentifini Maarhaysu
Pop and the single "The Sweetest Thing" are probably why I hated U2 for quite a while as a teenager. It wasn't until I delved into 80's U2 and Achtung Baby that I discovered I actually liked them.
With that said, maybe I should give another listen to the 90's U2 material. The only 90's U2 album I own is Achtung Baby, but I don't think it will match my enjoyment of The Joshua Tree, The Unforgettable Fire, Rattle & Hum, or even War.
With that said, maybe I should give another listen to the 90's U2 material. The only 90's U2 album I own is Achtung Baby, but I don't think it will match my enjoyment of The Joshua Tree, The Unforgettable Fire, Rattle & Hum, or even War.
This morning you've got time for a hot, home-cooked breakfast! Delicious and piping hot in only 3 microwave minutes.
I like post 1990 U2 better overall, because a lot of the 80s stuff lacked a sense of fun. Don't get me wrong, Boy, The Joshua Tree, etc. are brilliant and important albums, but I kinda liked when they quit wearing funny hats and started wearing funny sunglasses.
Pop was a bold, if not completely successful experiment, but I think it has aged rather well. Anyone who has experienced Staring at the Sun live will attest to the power of some of the songs. Zooropa was a little more dense to me, but I still kinda like it. Achtung Baby and All That You Can't Leave Behind are both essential classics for any collection of popular music, IMHO.
Pop was a bold, if not completely successful experiment, but I think it has aged rather well. Anyone who has experienced Staring at the Sun live will attest to the power of some of the songs. Zooropa was a little more dense to me, but I still kinda like it. Achtung Baby and All That You Can't Leave Behind are both essential classics for any collection of popular music, IMHO.
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King of Confidence
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martinfoyle
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It's on volume 9 of thisIf I recall, Elvis was particularly taken with Please, and considered covering it.
http://www.elviscostello.info/informati ... wn.html#10
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bambooneedle
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I love all their albums with the exception of War... i doubt I listen to it more than 2 or 3 times a year now. Achtung Baby ('91) sounds somewhat dated now IMO (funny since then considered such a big sonic leap), at least in light of both Zooropa ('93) and Pop ('97)... still undeniably great though.
I enjoy Pop best of those three... more top rate songs IMO than both (many more than Zooropa, not surprising since that took only 6 weeks to record --the most experimental sounding and least 'real album'-like one), and the most interesting arrays of sounds. 00's more pared down All That You Can't Leave Behind is more soulful and better realized than all of those, but I really like the complexity of the sounds of, and ideas provoked by, Pop. If only they'd done it with the focus they had on ATYCLB, I can only imagine how staggeringly great it might be... Still, it restored a lot of my faith in U2. And so did the charm of the The Sweetest Thing video, with the Chaplinesque performance, the elephants and everything following the car in the parade.
I think it was around when I heard Bono sing on Lemon that I switched off of them for ages... all through the Pavarotti collaboration -- Jazz Passengers, etc... I appreciated the idea of the Mephisto character and that they'd gone all very ironic and post-modern and all that around Zooropa but I mustn't have been able to stomach that at the time.
Anyway, back to Pop: There's really not a bad song song on the album, and several excellent ones - Mofo, Please, Gone, Last Night On Earth, Staring At The Sun (some of the alternate mix bonuses of these from the 2CD Best Of 1990-2000 sound even better), and Discotheque is undeniably killer. To delve into the subject matter of any of the songs would be to open up cans of worms... they have a meditative effect, being sonically complex and never very literal. It's obvious that the apparent ambition of anything like Pop would kind of plague it in many ways...Pop... It seemed to just reek of self-importance. It had to be big, sell huge amounts, have the critics take notice, U2 had to supposedly have a big impact on 'rock and roll' (and even save it!), had to have a lot of important high concept ideas... There were huge expectations and constant pressure to not be too grim about it. And it was easy to accuse them, especially Bono in imparting-some-great-wisdom mode, of trying to be just too clever for their own good. And of course many critics had to and did. So yes the final result sounds a bit forced at times, but you've gotta admire them for trying to pull it off. And I admired the way they handled interviews, tv appearances, and the like, under those circumstances... with humour and grace. I remember their surreal appearance on Letterman... "rock and roll needed a big kick up the arse", he was told.
After listening to it for about a week, as well as other U2, I'm enjoying the album more than ever. Can't wait till the new one. They're getting better and better. On ATYCLB Bono seems to have shaken off his old self images almost completely. It'll be interesting to see how they alter their themes this time.
I enjoy Pop best of those three... more top rate songs IMO than both (many more than Zooropa, not surprising since that took only 6 weeks to record --the most experimental sounding and least 'real album'-like one), and the most interesting arrays of sounds. 00's more pared down All That You Can't Leave Behind is more soulful and better realized than all of those, but I really like the complexity of the sounds of, and ideas provoked by, Pop. If only they'd done it with the focus they had on ATYCLB, I can only imagine how staggeringly great it might be... Still, it restored a lot of my faith in U2. And so did the charm of the The Sweetest Thing video, with the Chaplinesque performance, the elephants and everything following the car in the parade.
I think it was around when I heard Bono sing on Lemon that I switched off of them for ages... all through the Pavarotti collaboration -- Jazz Passengers, etc... I appreciated the idea of the Mephisto character and that they'd gone all very ironic and post-modern and all that around Zooropa but I mustn't have been able to stomach that at the time.
Anyway, back to Pop: There's really not a bad song song on the album, and several excellent ones - Mofo, Please, Gone, Last Night On Earth, Staring At The Sun (some of the alternate mix bonuses of these from the 2CD Best Of 1990-2000 sound even better), and Discotheque is undeniably killer. To delve into the subject matter of any of the songs would be to open up cans of worms... they have a meditative effect, being sonically complex and never very literal. It's obvious that the apparent ambition of anything like Pop would kind of plague it in many ways...Pop... It seemed to just reek of self-importance. It had to be big, sell huge amounts, have the critics take notice, U2 had to supposedly have a big impact on 'rock and roll' (and even save it!), had to have a lot of important high concept ideas... There were huge expectations and constant pressure to not be too grim about it. And it was easy to accuse them, especially Bono in imparting-some-great-wisdom mode, of trying to be just too clever for their own good. And of course many critics had to and did. So yes the final result sounds a bit forced at times, but you've gotta admire them for trying to pull it off. And I admired the way they handled interviews, tv appearances, and the like, under those circumstances... with humour and grace. I remember their surreal appearance on Letterman... "rock and roll needed a big kick up the arse", he was told.
After listening to it for about a week, as well as other U2, I'm enjoying the album more than ever. Can't wait till the new one. They're getting better and better. On ATYCLB Bono seems to have shaken off his old self images almost completely. It'll be interesting to see how they alter their themes this time.
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bambooneedle
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