[goyb.u2.com] preview the song there.

is promising.

Well... No, it doesn't.

At best, this voice reminds me of Thom Yorke, but not of Reznor.

Sure, I'd agree the bass is reminiscent of Discipline.
The song as a whole though tends to remind me of Beck without the innate mellowness that comes with Beck's voice.
Also, from the article,

posted:

And rather than let his voice soar above the music with melodramatic lead, Bono lets his lyrics ride the beat a lot more.

This suggests less Thom Yorke and more Beck in terms of vocal style.

But these comparisons can be skewed to whatever you want it to be. I'd rather simply enjoy it for what it is - a U2 song.

sounds like a wierd combination of Thom Yorke and the Muse... i don't like it at all. I like this band but this doesn't hold a candle to other debut singles from them, like Vertigo or Beautiful Day.

Sounds like "Vertigo" meets "Discothéque". It's definitely new, but it still sounds like U2. Sort of. There's also an interesting chord bit around the "You don't know how beautiful you are" part.

Well, the whole album has leaked.

I like it a pretty good bit. The first four songs are pretty good right off the bat, and the rest of it takes a little getting used to. There's a few lighthearted numbers...with a little bit of cheesy lyrics here and there... but basically, a pretty good album overall.

I'm sure some people will hate it.

(p.s. I'm re-titling this thread to reflect general U2 discussion overall, rather than just the new single.)

Love U2. The new song is incredibly mediocre though.

Looking forward to the album though, their lead singles are usually poor in comparison to the album.

They gave it five stars in Rolling Stone. I gotta say I'm disappointed that the album cover looks like Ghosts (even though I know they used an artist, who I believe is completely unrelated to NIN, to do the album art).

And I'm hearing echos of Queens of the Stone Age in that first single "Put on your Boots".

I have almost all of their albums except the last two. I will always be a fan though...but...I think they need to do another Achtung. They went away and really questioned whether or not they should keep doing this then, and they created some of their best music.

I think they are prolific and they have it in them to go deeper and do more. This first single almost seems like they are trying to hold on to the same basic U2 sound, and frantic phonetic line beats, while stretching to remain relevant. The new song has a kitchy chorus that stays with you and that's it. Other than that it's the same U2 over and over again.

I think that is why I like NIN and TOOL, and other bands in this genre so much, they EVOLVE. They aren't afraid to branch out and try new stuff/new sounds; experiment. U2, I don't think, has really done that since Achtung, POP and Zooropa. I love them don't get me wrong, but I'm hearing other bands in their work now, and it's music that's already been released; it's not them influencing other bands.

Going back to their roots for "How To Dismantle The Atomic Bomb" was cool, but you almost expect them to move in a new direction from there and it doesn't sound like they did; at least not from the first single. But, that said, maybe the rest of this album is different IDK.

To put it another way...You can go anywhere in the world and say the name NIN or Nine Inch Nails and not everyone will know them. You say U2 and chances are people know this band. They are THAT prolific. They have reached a pinnacle in their career and the music industry that rivals The Beatles. The world is their oyster and has been for quite some time.

They have a solid fan base and could probably do whatever they damn well pleased musically and their fans would follow...instead it sounds like they're settling for the same old same old. I think they're selling themselves short. They need to do a "WHITE ALBUM" DAMN IT! LOL I love em but they need to take a chance IMHO!



Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 02/23/2009 05:35AM by janedoepa.

I think the new album is great. The lead single is always a weaker song, but even it has grown on me a bit...not a whole lot though.

I think there is a bit of achtung on this one...if you listen the whole way through, you can hear elements of all their albums. whatever the case, this album does seem to break away from the pattern they've held on their last two albums.

there are easy targets for criticism on this album...but generally, i think it's pretty good.

my only complaint, really, is that the edge is really underrated as a vocalist. I would love to hear more songs with him singing lead. Bono is a great frontman and all, but the edge's think country-irish accent is severely underused.

Bar the NINesque art and fonts, what do you think of the new album?

I was put off by lead single 'Get on Your Boots' but the rest of the album is fantastic!

Your thoughts?

Hate get on your boots... however the album is brilliant. The final two tracks are magnificent.

This is quoted from thesuperficial.com and it's hilarious and totally sums up my opinion of U2:

Apparently, U2 frontman Bono is putting aside his yammering about eliminating word hunger long enough to make an actual difference in people's lives. The singer and his bandmates commemorated their five-show run on The Late Show With David Letterman by shoveling the sidewalk in front of the Ed Sullivan Theater. Which seems about right, since the sound of shovels scraping against a cold sidewalk provides roughly the same amount of aural entertainment that their new album, No Line on the Horizon, does. But you have to give them credit for bonding over the honest activity of manual labor. The band that sweats together, stays together. And builds up a powerful, manly aroma together. In this case, probably an aroma not unlike the mingled odors of stale Guinness and self-righteousness.

CLeek posted:

Hate get on your boots... however the album is brilliant. The final two tracks are magnificent.

What makes me feel like this is a great album is it gets better with each listen.

At first, it feels like U2 haven't really done anything new on this cd, but then, in some weird way, I feel like they have.

they've managed to throw in Achtung Baby sounds on a few songs, a very live vibe on a few songs, a weird classic u2 goes to church vibe on a song or two, and what's weirdest of all, is that some of the album feels like the beatle's "the white album" at times. did anyone feel like that at all?

anyways, i'd say the album is great. the fact that it's getting such a varied amount of reviews is a good sign I'd say..some hate it, some love it, --and that's typical for U2, but with this album there's also a lot of "not horrible, not great" reviews... which is unusual for a band like U2, who people tend to love or hate because they're so big.

Overall, I think a great album. It's hard to "figure out" the album, and some critics say that it feels jumbled...but I disagree with that. it feels like a "typical" u2 cd in some ways, but if you listen through a few times, you see that it's not "typical" as much as you originally thought that it was, but does maintain that "u2 vibe" throughout.

I love the edges backing vocals. why the hell he doesn't get to sing lead on a few more songs, i have no idea. Bono, let the dude sing lead every now and then, on the album, not just live.


edit: I disagree with the statements like "U2 are nothing without Brian Eno; he made them what they are." The album "Pop" is one of my favorite U2 albums, and Eno has nothing to do wit it. It's a very dark, bleak album for the most part, and is what first got me into U2. I would love another album like "Pop." I think U2 need to go dark every now and then to keep things interesting. "Pop" had hope, but it was hope almost drowned out by a tough world.

to generalize:
Typical U2 album theme: the world is tough, BUT HOPE/FAITH/OPTIMISM is greater!
"Pop's" theme: THE WORLD WILL KILL YOUR FAITH/HOPE/OPTIMISM, EVERYONE IS A SELLOUT, but you keep believing anyway.

Pop and All That You Can't Leave Behind are two of my favorite U2 albums. Joshua Tree is great, yea, but ATYCLB has "Kite" and a bunch of other songs that are great to sing to, and Pop is U2 being too artsy and depressing for the common folk.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/05/2009 11:57PM by dolemite.

U2 is one of my favourite bands. Great music, old and new. It has changed a lot, but it's all incredible.

I think it would be nice if U2 experimented with some new styles. They are consistently good, so whatever kind of music they make, I know I'll like it. I'm waiting to hear some big wowness from them.

The Edge rocks...seriously.