ehhh....they're getting older but at least they're not trying to be young. as they age, they take new direction and yet try to keep to their roots in regards to the upstarts who refuse to indulge in any new direction the band might have once tried to take.....

it's a mellow album, softer, more touching....it hasn't grabbed me though, so my first reaction is to listen to it twice and toss it aside till i remember it exists again. but i always had a soft spot for U2. good integrity running in the band....and yes, this means that i don't think they're sellouts...

i was dissappointed that there weren't a few more lively tracks. it's alright..but not worth buying, unless you really want the DVD that comes with it, which i haven't watched yet....

Sadly, the only track I like so far is "Vertigo." Haven't listened to all of it yet, but the songs I've spun are yawners.

oy. you popped my bubble. i was trying to refrain from slamming the album, but being blunt is the best...

only other track than Vertigo i like is Miracle Drug....

U2 really let me down on this album....wtf.....?

The last time they didn't let me down was with the release of Achtung, Baby, heh. I dunno... they evolve, which is good, but when you're as huge as they are and as old as they are, there isn't really much new & exciting ground to cover. For instance, I frickin' loved The Edge's riffs on their earlier albums, but now, he just kinda blends into the background. When music catches up with you, you really have to go balls-out to stand out. I just don't think they have it in them anymore.

I have always liked them, but not enough to buy thier stuff, but thanks for the input on this new album, I doubt I will even bother to DL it now.

this might be better suited on a full out music discussion, but it brings up a few thoughts i've wondered to myself for a long time...a few things...

of course we know that the old artists that are still making music grapple with modern noiZe and to stick to their roots (various reasons...who they are, not selling out, what/how they know to write music, etc..)

since System of a Down (SOAD) came out, there really hasn't been a huge (mainstream) buzz of a new band really making different sounds, which begs the question of: if "being new and unique" is really what modern music needs today? i think not. putting musical tastes aside, there are many bands that are finding success by going and tapping into the roots of the oldies, (these being young musicians) and even going so far as to chumming up to who they can and then taking what they've grown up with naturally too...us "Nirvana" generation for example and fusing the two together to form whatever comes out.... in other words, hybrid bands.

these bands are not trying to really be unique either; rather, they are using every catch that is possible to our ears (from as far back as you want to present day) and desperately trying to mesh the sounds together to catch our ears...cause... if anything, EVERYONE's in a band these days....(except me, god fucking mother of christ damn).....

another thing...Queen is still relevant to my ears to this day. they still have aspects that no other band has been able to copy. Freddie's voice for one. Vocals are usually not as important to me as the Music but Freddie is Freddie....and Brian May's sporatic changes in rhythm and just the whole dynamic sounds within each song (to match Freddie's voice? although i think he sings to the bass line a lot) are just ....marvelous. of course there are more than a few bands that fit this profile, but just using Queen will suffice.

the "middle" bands now (not old but not new)...for instance, i'll use Billy Corgan...putting aside that his voice is love/hate...most people generally admit that the music is pretty different than most bands. also, his themes as well, i should add. now, the man knows he can't sing and yet he goes about his success in other ways. exploiting his voice AFTER he's proved that he's quite capable at taking his influences and incorporating them into who HE is in HIS music was what made him successful. in fact, i think the same goes for Thom Yorke (and i know you're a Radiohead fan too (antihero)... )

coming full circle though, putting aside the few unique bands that have stuck out, there is still a lot of "good" stuff by bands that aren't really unique but have the talent to keep us hooked (at least for a while) with other things, such as Fashion/Sex, stealing/ripping a certain style that's popular at the moment, cultural tones, etc...

and yet, it's funny..cause ~I~ for one almost refuse to buy anyone's music unless it strikes that "unique" chord with me. i do like a lot of good (and i might say successful) attempts that new musicians have made to catch my ear, but i know i'll tire of it (very) soon. blame marketing? i don't watch TV or even keep up to date anymore really, so it can't be that....maybe i'm just to into myself and don't have time or something.....anyway, i've blabbed enough.

"Standing out" and "being unique" aren't necessarily the same thing. Look at this whole garage rock revival thing... The Strokes, The Hives, The Vines and all those "The Somethings" () bands owe their sound pretty much entirely to the past, and when they started being recognized, people ate it up, just because it was a breath of fresh air. I think that in many ways, experimentation is focused on too much in indie circles these days; half the time, "standing out" just means "releasing a solid album." It doesn't necessarily have to be the next Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain or even Nevermind... it's just gotta give us what we aren't used to at that particular point in time, even if it's been done ages ago.

"pink is in" ...at least this year.

I hear what you're saying. I suppose it's just disheartening that we live in a time where it will forever be a constant revival of faded loves affairs with whatever genres and not when new music was actually being made.

Everyone's a critic these days and criticism is great but only when it points towards progress. Not repetition. Again, you're right though. Hah! Nirvana's 4CD box set has remarkable and tactful timing in its emergence right after all the "The Somethings" have made the comeback for them......I expect Puddle of Mudd to be back in gear then too....

blargh. maybe all the globalism will bring about a new sound to all of our ears.