Four Men Chopping Down The Joshua Tree

[Benjm]

Four Men Chopping Down The Joshua Tree

E10 Rifle wrote:

It's obvious that so much of the derision U2 face is down to Bono being such a cock.

Iain Sinclair's Lights Out For The Territory features a memorable riff on the idea that a pit bull terrier is, essentially, a big hairy bollock on legs. As, for slightly different reasons, is Bono.

That said, and in the interests of fairness, I quite like Gloria.

[Mr Beast]

Four Men Chopping Down The Joshua Tree

I had some time for U2 up until War and that live at Red Rocks bollocks. Bono is obviously a massive twat, but to my ears the problem with U2 lies at least as much with The Edge - or Dave as I believe he's called.

For at least 20 years it seems he's playing the same notes in the same order on every song I've heard by U2. The Edge has only got one riff. He is the Derek Zoolander of music.

[Benjm]

Four Men Chopping Down The Joshua Tree

They made a hilarious appearance on the Tube around the time of War/Under A Blood Red Sky, with Bono signally failing to tone down his stagecraft to take account of the indoor setting.

[evilC]

Four Men Chopping Down The Joshua Tree

A blogger speaks, recently.

[Beatle Simon]

Four Men Chopping Down The Joshua Tree

Spearmint Rhino wrote:

By the way, looking at their singles discography, who knew that "In God's Country" was released as a single? Didn't even make the Top 40.

According to the Guinness Hit Singles and Albums book I've got, it was an import release, similar to "That's Entertainment" by The Jam.

[evilC]

Four Men Chopping Down The Joshua Tree

Let's face it - we just don't understand U2-culture!

(Works better in french.)

[Purves Grundy]

Four Men Chopping Down The Joshua Tree

I hate U2 because they have so plainly made a pact with Satan. All that Christianity rubbish they were spouting in the 80s was just careful window dressing. The biggest rock band in the world, with a 35-year career behind them. Where are the fucking corpses?

Every other major band worth a toss has a casualties list almost as long as their discography. U2, however, safe beneath Lucifer's leathery wing, can barely even point to a guitar technician with a bit of a headache. They are protected. By forces.

And speaking of discographies, you know how many individual tracks they've recorded in their career? Six Hundred and Sixty-Six! The track listing on How to dismantle and Atomic Bomb? An acrostic: "Hades Welcm". Go and check.

They are agents of the horned beast and should be burnt at the stake as befits their malevolent kind.

[evilC]

Four Men Chopping Down The Joshua Tree

but...

Uh-oh! You've done it now!

Seems you've 'outed' him. Phone call for Mr. Grundy:

-

[Benjm]

Four Men Chopping Down The Joshua Tree

Oh god, I'd managed to forget about all that Macphisto nonsense.

He really is an irredeemable tool, isn't he?

[G-Man]

Four Men Chopping Down The Joshua Tree

I thought that was King of "Love & Pride" fame channelling Spearmint Rhino and Als Jolson.

[evilC]

Four Men Chopping Down The Joshua Tree

Is that a German ex-pat typo, G-Man?

[Mumpo]

Four Men Chopping Down The Joshua Tree

stonelephant wrote:

They lost some momentum and went a bit too self-important with Rattle & Hum

Thing is, though, wasn't Rattle and Hum initially supposed to be a low-key, fast and loose type filler-album, full of off-cuts, tracks written on the road etc.? Ironically, it came to represent U2 at their most bloated and self-regarding.

And don't get me started with One being the best track on Achtung Baby. Amongst the otherwise stripped-down, vaguely groovy tracks, it stinks the album out.

Oh yeah, and what kind of title is 'Achtung Baby' for an album anyway? Shockingly bad, is the kind. Thought so the first time I heard it, and still do.

[evilC]

Four Men Chopping Down The Joshua Tree

What Mumpo just said.

'Achtung Baby' is like them saying "We stayed in the same hotel as David Bowie once. Not at the same time, but..."!

[Mitch]

Four Men Chopping Down The Joshua Tree

It's still better than their Plan A, which was to call it "Adam", and have a picture of the bassist's knob on the cover.

[E10 Rifle]

Four Men Chopping Down The Joshua Tree

Right, you cunts. All this talk has had me scrabbling around for a U2 top 10*, so here goes

* With, as ever, the proviso that they are, in the main, hideous, and that Bono Vox is a gargantuan bell-end

1 Drowning Man
2 The Unforgettable Fire
3 One
4 I will Follow
5 With or Without You
6 Bad
7 Stay
8 Like a Song
9 Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses
10 In God's Country

[Mumpo]

Four Men Chopping Down The Joshua Tree

1. Mysterious Ways
2. The Fly
3. Numb
4. Even Better Than the Real Thing
5. That one off Batman
6. Er...

[meregreen]

Four Men Chopping Down The Joshua Tree

Other than the odd track, One being an obvious highlight, With or Without You being another, it's been all downhill since Boy for me. I kind of see them as a football highlights band now, like the Lightning Seeds only with absurd pretensions.

A friend of mine saw them at the Half Moon in Herne Hill circa 1980 and she said they only had about 7 songs. They were so rapturously received that the small crowd demanded an encore, but Bono said they didn't know any more songs and asked if it was alright if they played the set again, which they did. Apparently, he was endearingly overwhelmed by the reception.

Fast forward two years to the only time I saw them and my sole recollection was of Bono marching around the stage waving a flag while singing Sunday Bloody Sunday. Even at that early stage the Jesus complex had kicked in and the world was going to be put to rights whether it liked it or not.

[Gerontophile]

Four Men Chopping Down The Joshua Tree

Top 10:

1. Rejoice
2. A Celebration
3. The Unforgettable Fire (they played an absolute blinder with this... I wonder how much was Eno's doing?)
4. A Day Without Me
5. Gloria
6. An Cat Dubh/Into The Heart (2 tracks which have to be listened to, together)
7. With or Without You (Sorry, its superb.)
8. Is That All? (Actual song title, not me giving in!)
9. Desire (A good romp)
10. [strike]A Day Without Me[/strike] Out of Control (live, anytime, anyplace, anywhere)

and
11. Twilight, because it resonated with me for a line in it: ' An old man tried to walk me home. I thought he should have known. '

Incidentally, I fucking hate 'Sunday Bloody Sunday'.

Oh, and
12. Stranger in a Strange Land, for the great use of a fantastic book title, in a very good (lyrically) song.

[evilC]

Four Men Chopping Down The Joshua Tree

1. The Unforgettable Fire
2. Love Is Blindness
3. The Fly
4. So Cruel
5. Lemon (Bad Yard Club Mix)

[Gerontophile]

Four Men Chopping Down The Joshua Tree

evilC wrote:

1. The Unforgettable Fire
2. Love Is Blindness
3. The Fly
4. So Cruel
5. Lemon (Bad Yard Club Mix)

oooooooo the 'Lemon' video, with the kick arse bass beat to it, is possibly magnificent.

[Gerontophile]

Four Men Chopping Down The Joshua Tree

There was a remix/morph (cant remember the name of what it is... but The Strokes vs Christina is an example) of something U2 did with some dance record, which was rather good.

(Link, if anyone has the faintest idea what I am on about, please)

Found it: Paul Oakenfeld remix of 'Lemon', downpage.

[Gerontophile]

Four Men Chopping Down The Joshua Tree

Mumpo wrote:

1. Mysterious Ways
2. The Fly
3. Numb
4. Even Better Than the Real Thing
5. That one off Batman
6. Er...

Batman, just for you, Mumpo.

However, the blond 2some, did a fab Mission Impossible version with

this which sounds nothing like anything ever, honest guv.

However, if I may insert some reason here... Batman themes, die at this which is highly underrated by almost everyone. or, just me, who only just remembered the funk your ass off-ness of it.

[Gerontophile]

Four Men Chopping Down The Joshua Tree

The next best thing to Monserrat and Freddie

[G-Man]

Four Men Chopping Down The Joshua Tree

1. Bad
2. Gloria
3. New Year's Day
4. A Sort Of Homecoming
5. I Will Follow
6. Angel Of Harlem
7. Vertigo
8. City Of Bling Lights
9. Unforgettable Fire
10. Sunda Bloody Sunday (the live version)

[evilC]

Four Men Chopping Down The Joshua Tree

Gerontophile wrote:

evilC wrote:

1. The Unforgettable Fire
2. Love Is Blindness
3. The Fly
4. So Cruel
5. Lemon (Bad Yard Club Mix)

oooooooo the 'Lemon' video, with the kick arse bass beat to it, is possibly magnificent.

Up until just now, I'd never seen a video for any version of 'Lemon', but I've looked it up and here is the one in question, if anyone is interested. (Guess what, though? They're all really annoying in it!)

It's when the synth chord kicks in that I like it in particular. Makes it kind of ominous (somehow)!

(edit: I ought to mention that it's an Arthur Baker remix, which kind of explains why it's so good. I love the little keyboard run in it. That and the beat make me think of Sylvester for some reason.)