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Originally Posted by Diezel Jim
(Post 15810642)
Wow, I'm starting to suspect you and WMG are smoking from the same bong.
Your second-to-last post about U2's last good song being Sweetest Thing seems a clear sign that you don't know them well enough. Then again, maybe you hated Walk On, Beautiful Day and Vertigo. (Opinions, opinions...)
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Beautiful Day and Vertigo IMO weren't that great of songs, and certainly not among U2's best. Walk On I had to listen to since I hadn't heard it, but I just did and while it's better than Beautiful Day and Vertigo, it's still typical U2 and they did songs like that better in the 80s and early 90s.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Diezel Jim
(Post 15810642)
Overall versatility: Anybody who truly pays attention to rock music, whether devoted fans or critics, speaks of U2's range and ambition. The Joshua Tree sounds nothing like War; Achtung Baby is like nothing they've done; Rattle & Hum was their homage to American legends; Pop was experimental as well (but their least-successful, no coincidence); How to Dismantle An Atomic Bomb was a solid shakeup after the mellow All That You Can't Leave Behind.
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Well all the U2 that's fresh in my head is pop rock, pretty similar beat, chord changes, etc...for the most part straightforward songs. You mentioned the Beatles earlier as a band many consider overrated, and while I do too and don't think they should be outright WORSHIPPED like many people do to them, listen to a song like Tomorrow Never Knows and it's evident how revolutionary they were at times, how much they shaped future music, how non-straightforward they could be at times. I get absolutely NOTHING of that from the U2 I've heard. Beautiful Day may have a different beat for instance, but IMO it's just not a GOOD song compared to their others. Just because they might experiment doesn't mean they're not simply good at one type of song, and that's how I view them personally. Like Vertigo and Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me Kill Me pop out in my head as attempts by them to be more contemporary and "cool" but just not that good.
I dunno, I realize music is very subjective and one man's trash is another man's treasure, and I'm not saying they're trash, but I just don't think they're worthy of being considered among the greatest bands of all time. They were good in the 80s and early 90s - even if they had a similar sound to most of their hits back then, they were GOOD at that kind of music, and I just don't think they've really done anything good since Sweetest Thing...Walk On was okay, the other 2 IMO just not. Perhaps it's Bono's ego coming through the music, which is what I'd say is happening to Chris Martin with Coldplay. In fact Coldplay is very much a similar band to U2 IMO - even less versatile than U2 however but smart given they do 1 type of song well and they stick to it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Diezel Jim
(Post 15810642)
Hey, I love your Chili Peppers -- but they simply can't match that diversity. Where's their artistic growth after all these years? Better yet, it's your turn to explain how in the hell RHCP is more important than U2's music. This ought to be interesting...
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Heh, well I'm at a disadvantage here since I'm not that heavily into RHCP...of their stuff prior to Californication, I know only their radio hits - that said, they helped shape a lot of alternative rock, along with Nirvana, Alice In Chains etc. A ton of alt rock bands owe a lot to RHCP IMO. They're not all that versatile in their style, but the themes and feel of their songs are a pretty wide variety and they are pretty musically talented too (Flea arguably one of the greatest bassists in modern times). U2 on the other hand has 2 main notable offspring, Radiohead and Coldplay, near carbon copies in the characteristic lead singer with ego department but Radiohead is actually innovative and IMO better than U2. Other bands that may have had influence from them suck balls IMO...I was going to use Jet as an example for some reason (I guess thinking of Apple-featured songs) but probably not a good example...yea, not sure what to say. Radiohead maybe wasn't even influenced by U2 - they just seem very similar in their commercial presence and ego. Anyways, to me, if U2 were the sole influence of all bands in existence today, music would be pretty boring. Just like if early straightforward Beatles were the sole influence of all bands in existence today, music would be pretty boring.
My personal all-time favorite band I have left out of the discussion because they were very short lived, but wtf I'll mention them - Sublime. Their prominent radio hits alone (Date Rape, What I Got, Santeria, Wrong Way, Doin Time) show some range but the rest of their albums had a ton more and there was just very little they didn't do extremely well (hell, Doin Time alone has about 4 or 5 different sounding versions, all GREAT). They were limited to only 3 studio albums, all very good in their own right, but even their first posthumous album, Second Hand Smoke, showed Bradley was just a freakin genius songwriter - filled with songs that didn't make their LPs and it's arguably better than at least one of their LPs. He's basically the lesser-known Cobain only with a shitload more range. He died in '96 but there's no doubt in my mind they'd still be together today and easily would still be commercially successful, largely because of Bradley's prolific and diverse songwriting talents.
I would not enter them into the discussion of greatest of all time because of their short longevity, just like I would not enter Nirvana into that same discussion even though a lot of people do. Still, the little bit they were able to contribute to the world of music while they existed is a lot more interesting than the 30 years that U2 has contributed, but AGAIN that's just IMO and I don't know THAT much U2...I'm not about to go sit down and listen to their 3421032899 albums as I haven't heard anything to really make me want to.