U2 is a 'singles' group? BS!

[asr]

I disagree with this article as I think U2 is an 'album' band:

U2 make great songs, but where are the classic albums? | Alan McGee | Music | guardian.co.uk

Anyone else agree/disagree?

 

[nielsgov]

What an awful article. He's probably only listened to the singles looking at his "list".

 

[cobl04]

The article is from 2009 and I got about four paragraphs in. Absolute garbage.

 

[LemonMirrorSky]

Wow. So let me get this straight... He kept buying their albums even though only 1 or 2 songs from each album appealed to him?? What a moron! A moron with a lot of money to throw away.

 

[LemonMirrorSky]

One of the most hilarious parts of this pathetic excuse for an article was this:

And after 10 listens to it, I'm afraid the album is completely underwhelming, with the exception of the propulsive soul stomper The Magnificent (another one for the list). And so my quest for the classic U2 album continues.

Honestly, I think this must be some sort of joke. It reads more like something a troll would write on a U2 message board.

I can't believe that the OP here has even bothered to ask if anybody agrees to this!?? I think we can safely say that this "article" is one thing all EYKIWers will agree on that it is complete and utter shite.

 

[Galeongirl]

What the heck? The Magnificent a propulsive soul stomper??? It's the second worst song on NLOTH!!


What a dweeb!

 

[U2girl]

They have two universally acclaimed great albums.

 

[jeevey]

That's hilarious. They have four albums in Rolling Stone's Top 500 Greatest Albums list, two of them in the top 100. Somebody just is feeling cranky about U2.

Plus... thirteen years between AB and Discotheque, which he seems to think is on HTDAAB?

Journalist, please.

 

[Galeongirl]

Who cares what is universally acclaimed?


By that logic Justin Bieber and NIcki minaj and that kind of garbage would qualify as having good albums. I beg to differ.

 

[U2girl]

When they have masterpiece albums like JT or AB in their repertoire, they can qualify.

 

[nbelcik]

How the hell did this person forget Pride, Streets, Zooropa, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Beautiful Day, City of Blinding Lights, and Moment of Surrender in his list of their best songs?

 

[Aygo]

Many non-fans know songs like "Until The End Of The World", "Gone", "Love Is Blindness", "Miracle Drug" or "Bullet The Blue Sky" among many others...

 

[LemonMelon]

 

[lemonfly]

I believe this is the same Alan McGee who founded Creation Records and signed Oasis. In other words, he's a major league a-hole who probably thinks Heathen Chemistry is a "classic" album

 

[The Panther]

Writing a blog article about U2 is probably the easiest way to get attention when you desperately need some. Noel Gallagher does the same thing when his name hasn't been in the British media for more than 12 minutes.

Alan McGee used to be an idiot, obviously still is an idiot, and seemingly will always be one.

 

[Rhiannon64]

A singles group? I don't know what that last poster in the article is talking about. U2 were a great example of a cult rock group. They made it big primarily through college radio stations, concerts and the exposure from MTV in the 80's. They didn't make it big on their singles success. We know it took almost seven years for them to have a number one single in the US. They weren't a boy-band! If anything, they were an album oriented group back in the day when radio would play album cuts.


As for the journalist who wrote the article--he seriously needs to relisten to at least Boy, yes--TUF (he was disappointed), JT and AB--to start. How can JT or AB not be considered classic albums? There really is no depth to the article, is there?

For more than 29 years I've been compulsively buying U2 albums looking for the song. It's fair to say U2 don't make classic albums.

They still haven't delivered an album I could call "classic", but they've made plenty of great tunes.

What is a 'classic' album in this writer's opinion? How and why does JT and AB not live up to the definition of a classic album? It's too bad the journalist didn't give examples to support his case.


I realize the article is several years old but it is still infuriating to read stuff like this.


To each his own.

 

[Nick66]

I don't mind U2-hating by journalists, but if you're going to do it, at least educate yourself and have an informed opinion. That piece was just downright embarrassing. Though it is just an opinion piece from a second tier newspaper...and a four year old one at that. The first couple sentences are a pretty clear indication that he knew the reaction his article would cause and he just wanted to stir the pot.

Anyway, yeah. Idiot. Thank you Alan McGee and The Guardian for finding the one thing that all of Interference can agree on.

Though...

U2 were a great example of a cult rock group.

Um, no.

 

[digitize]

Anyway, yeah. Idiot. Thank you Alan McGee and The Guardian for finding the one thing that all of Interference can agree on.

I was about to post nearly exactly this. Damn you for reading my mind.

 

[OpenG180]

Ha Ha Hee Hee, is all i can say to you, Alan McGee.


U2 a singles band! Ha Ha Hee Hee!

 

[jeevey]

Ha Ha Hee Hee, is all i can say to you, Alan McGee.


U2 a singles band! Ha Ha Hee Hee!

Maybe it was a dare of some sort. That would explain things better than just him being stupid enough to really think it, which sort of stretches credulity.

 

[Rhiannon64]

Um, no.

U2 did not have a 'cult' following in the early to mid 1980's? I wouldn't say they were in the mainstream. The college radio stations were playing their music in a heavier rotation as opposed to the major stations. And again my point being that I was agreeing that U2 are/were not a singles band.

Could you please elaborate your POV?

 

[The Panther]

To clarify, Alan McGee is not a journalist. He's a Scottish man who co-founded and ran Creation records, one of the famous indie labels of the 80s/early 90s. He signed people like Primal Scream, The Jesus and Mary Chain, and My Bloody Valentine. In 1993, he saw Oasis live, signed them, and then made an enormous fortune off them in the next few years (hence, his eternal loyalty to them, even though they sucked after about 1997).

What I don't understand is why people bother writing articles that have no point. Standards for publishable material are incredibly low, it seems, if the writer is a well-known person. McGee's article can be summarized as, "I only like a few U2 songs". Which does not require an article.

 

[LemonMirrorSky]

I was about to post nearly exactly this. Damn you for reading my mind.

I said the same thing on page 1 of this thread!

I think it is safe to say that this is by far the worst U2 related article I have read in my entire life.

 

[gvox]

U2 did not have a 'cult' following in the early to mid 1980's? I wouldn't say they were in the mainstream. The college radio stations were playing their music in a heavier rotation as opposed to the major stations. And again my point being that I was agreeing that U2 are/were not a singles band.

Could you please elaborate your POV?

Without getting all wrapped up in reviewing chart stats and awards, I'd say they got more attention for the sum of the parts of their albums rather than individual singles, for sure.

As for whether or not they were more of a cult band/had more of a cult following, of course that was the case early to mid-80s.

Which is probably why you used the past tense "were"....amirite?

 

[gvox]

I think it is safe to say that this is by far the worst U2 related article I have read in my entire life.

You've not even been here 6 months. You'll see a great many more if you stick around.

 

[Rhiannon64]

Without getting all wrapped up in reviewing chart stats and awards, I'd say they got more attention for the sum of the parts of their albums rather than individual singles, for sure.

As for whether or not they were more of a cult band/had more of a cult following, of course that was the case early to mid-80s.

Which is probably why you used the past tense "were"....amirite?

Yes, you are correct. That was exactly my meaning. Thank you.

 

[doctorwho]

What the heck? The Magnificent a propulsive soul stomper??? It's the second worst song on NLOTH!!


What a dweeb!

NONONONONONONONONONONO!

Please don't make your opinion look as bad as the author of this article. You may not like that song, but I do and I feel it is one of U2's better tracks overall. Are there better on NLOTH? Yes! But this is not second worst track on the album by any means.

 

[LemonMirrorSky]

Magnificent is U2 doing what they have always done best. It is nothing new and nothing adventurous but it is still a great song! I would go so far as to say that it is the first song since Beautiful Day (although City of Blinding Lights comes close) where they have played it safe and still absolutely killed it! Love it!

 

[LemonMelon]

NONONONONONONONONONONO!

Please don't make your opinion look as bad as the author of this article. You may not like that song, but I do and I feel it is one of U2's better tracks overall. Are there better on NLOTH? Yes! But this is not second worst track on the album by any means.

She likes Stand Up Comedy so it's ok.

 

[gvox]

She likes Stand Up Comedy.

Fixed.


Personally, I "get" "I've got a submarine you've got gasoline" in a cheesy pop song much better than I "get" "stop helping god cross the road like a lil old lady", in an even cheesier pop song. The GOYB line is somewhat relevant. The SUC line is just indulgent.