I know exactly what he means. That one about the sexy boots always reminded me of the Three Colours Trilogy.

Thanks Jim for lifitng the morning! with this post.

“I would have to admit that. If I was a teenager, it would be like a European movie, it’s art house.”……… lol

“not very accessible, lyrically or musically”. ……………. lol lots

“I would have to admit that. If I was a teenager, it would be like a European movie, it’s art house.”.. lol convulsions

when thinkiing of this “fine” example from the said album……..

“Get On Your Boots :
The future needs a big kiss, winds blow with a twist
Never seen a moon like this, can you see it too?
Night is falling everywhere rockets hit the fun-fair
Satan loves a bomb scare but he won’t scare you

Hey! Sexy boots
Get on your boots yeah!

Free me from a dark dream, candy floss, ice cream
All the kids are screaming but the ghosts aren’t real
Here’s what we gotta be: love & community
Laughter is eternity if joy is real ”

I think theres a future a a hallmark greeting card writer in that lyric somewhere or maybe one who does fortune cookie inserts thats about as “Arthouse” as it gets really. I also think it is more Universal then “European” as in Universally woeful.

Una – chuckle. Well, this critic is sticking by his original take – http://www.irishtimes.com/blogs/ontherecord/2009/02/23/u2-no-line-on-the-horizon/ – I assume my peers will be along shortly to stand up and admit they were wrong

Adam – chuckle x 2.

Uli – chuckle x 3

It is funny that despite our collective disappointment/annoyance/apathy with their recent produce, we are still interested in them. Why do we do we keep doing it to ourselves!

James D – good point. As I said in the original post back in Feb ‘09, “this album will fill stadiums, newspapers, radio stations, web sites, quarterly target spreadsheets, bank balances, pension funds and investment opportunities in the tech sector.” They’re a big band and thus, just like events like Oxegen, that seems to warrant coverage in the media. For as much as I’ll write here about new music and acts, the biggest reaction is always when the piece is about acts like U2 or Arcade Fire.

U2……art house – wow

What exactly does he mean by ”difficult”? Are they admitting it was difficult for them to come up with any discernible tunes, melodies or memorable songs? Then he is correct.

I would have a lot more respect for the band and for Bono if they just admitted they released a turkey rather than wrapping up their growing disdain for the album with stuff like ”really difficult record“ or bullshit like ”If I was a teenager, it would be like a European movie, it’s art house.” It’s just a shit album. Bono.

Una makes an excellent point. I think Rolling Stone said it was their greatest album ever and Uncut and Q gave it glowing reviews. Obviously these publications were afraid to give honest reviews as any real negativity shown towards the band – the biggest rock band in the world with a massive and loyal fanbase – would affect sales and might invite a backlash from militant U2 fans.

Fiachra – you do getting the feeling Camp U2 know that the rules have changed in ‘the music biz’ but have no idea what they’re going to do to try keep up

Very good observation. It reminds you that U2 as an act are one who’ve done the dog with the old industry ways and have succeeded hugely because of that (look at how Paul McGuinness did a deal to get the band a chunk of Island Records in lieu of outstanding royalties, which they then cashed in when Universal bought out Island). But those days are OVER. Other bands of U2’s ilk have accepted their heritage band status and hit the greatest hits circuit but U2 still bring out new albums. While this is admirable in itself, it’s of fuck all use when the albums aren’t (a) any good or (b) not as good as the tunes the band’s fans want to hear (ie The Hits). As we saw with McGuinness – http://www.irishtimes.com/blogs/ontherecord/2010/08/23/some-managers-do-ave-em/ – the solution which the old industry favoured (ie turning the clock back) is just not possible.

Quint – reviewers far closer to home were also raving about the album but then again, as Una pointed out back in Feb ‘09, “I just get so bored at the predictability of reviews, especially in Ireland, when it comes to big records like this.

I didn’t read those comments as Bobo being disdainful of the album or even admitting it wasn’t great. I think it sounds arrogant, i.e. “people didn’t get, it went over their heads.”

JC – that will be on “No Tunes On The Horizon – the 10th Anniversary Deluxe Download”

Quick question: How many people here who like ‘difficult’ or ‘inaccessible’ music bought No Line on the Horizon?

NLOTH is a mediocre album with about 5 tunes worth listening to. Get on your boots musically and lyrically is one of the worse songs they’ve ever released and the feeling off the album was that they had come full circle and were now creatively running on empty. Their is only so many fx pedals the Edge can play around with and Bono’s songsmith was never going to challenge the Cohens, Morrisseys of this world this opus saw it reach a particular nadir. They always talked about how artists often deliver their best work in their 50’s/60s etc and they saw themselves as a band who could continue to produce quality albums. Somehow I don’t ever see U2 taking a risk and delivering a “Kid A” or “Funeral” album that would capture a zeitgeist. Nope it’ll be back to formulaic rock a la “ATYCLB” with vacuous lyrics that will aim to fill airwaves in good old Uncle Sam. In their defence they do put on a great live show…albeit the exception being when Bono opens his gob and pontificates and preaches on his latest charity venture or human rights issue….zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Ro@19..”Quick question: How many people here who like ‘difficult’ or ‘inaccessible’ music bought No Line on the Horizon?”

I was in Tower the other day and bought the new Autechre album, some Aphex Twin, These New Puritans and a Swans and Throbbing Cristles best-of and….No Tune on the Horizon. I’m having a lot of trouble with the U2 album. Unlistenable. Pure genius.

I for one love NLOTH. I’m a pretty loyal U2 fan, and have to admit, I was a little disappointed after the first listen, but I “wanted” to like it, and sort of deliberately listened to it over and over again for a day to hear “new” sounds, and shapes not heard on the first listen. It grew on me, and I soon was into a groove of listening only to this CD, to a point where my wife thinks I’m a little crazy, as I tend to do with any music I really like. Right now, my obsession is Radiohead. Anyway, critics are useless. If you want the best opinion of a musical collection, there’s none better than your own.

Breathe, Unknown Caller, Magnificent, Stand Up Comedy, and Moment of Surrender are some of the best songs I’ve heard in years.

The only problem I see with NLOTH is the misjudged choice of single order. Get On Your Boots is a great song to dance around to, and in the context of the album it’s perfectly placed, but U2 should have chosen a song which sounded more like the signature U2 sound, chime and echo – such as Breathe or Magnificent – to introduce the album as lead single.

What I love about the criticism is that U2 are damned if they do, damned if they don’t. No classic U2 anthemic chime? “U2 sound nothing like they used to and have lost their unique touch”. Tons of chime? “U2 sill sound the same, there’s nothing new here and it’s getting old”. Now they release an album which is split between modern sounds and classic U2 sounds, and critics STILL aren’t happy?

If NLOTH had been a debut album from a new artist everyone would have been singing its praises. U2’s problem is not what they are writing, it’s that there are so many different expectations of them that they can’t possibly live up to the illogical expectations demanded of them. Strip away what you THINK U2 should sound like, pretend that you have no idea who is singing the songs, and I’ll bet you’ll suddenly start listening to how great the actual music is than how well it fits in with some imaginary “path” you think U2 should be walking…

U2 should ask Jez Coad to produce future albums.
Jez and Simple Minds are unstoppable!

never heard this album, just the singles like most folk. i still think that there was a coy evil genius bono at work putting together ‘magnificent’ – as a single that became the tabloid standard issue gig review. Sort of in the same way vertigo and elevation hinted at that skyscraper they wanted to build.

If NLOTH had been a debut album from a new artist everyone would have been singing its praises

Paul – nope, they wouldn’t. Regardless of whose name was on it, “No Tune on the Horizon” would be regarded as a pompous, unfinished, unfocused, lash-it-out-there-lads dog of an album. The band have finally clicked that the public and, more importantly, the fans ain’t biting, hence the focus on new material, three unreleased albums and all that spin. Next time around, I hope the critics who praised the emperor’s new clothes this time out actually LISTEN to the album before filing their reviews.

Ronan – i’m not paid enough! While I hear you on the reviews, I will defend David Fricke as he is a brilliant writer especially when it comes to new music and gnarly garage rock. He is also the only music hack I know who could pass for a member of The Ramones. All writers have a blind spot – long-suffering OTR readers know mine is Bruce Springsteen – so maybe his is U2? He is the RS journalist who did the interview with Bono quoted above, though, so I wonder did he go ‘dude, I gave that turkey five stars!’

I think NLOTH is a really good album – streets above HTDAAB, and they had guts releasing such a non radio friendly album. IMO what helped kill it was the dreadful choice of first single. What I don’t like is U2 now bashing this album they originally so praised – they should stand by their album and thier convictions, and bring back some tracks to the tour. Admittedly U2 can’t win- release a “poppy” and popular song and they are ” selling out”; release a more complex album that does not sell well in the mainstream and they are dinosaurs. They have such a high standard to live up to how can they meet it. U2 is an amazing band and they inspire me.

Perhaps U2 need to get back to their roots, and write an album about growing up in “sectarian Ireland”.

See Bono’s NAACP speech for details of his extraordinary early life, spent in war-torn Glasnevin:
http://weekendfisher.blogspot.com/2007/03/bonos-acceptance-speech-at-naacp.html

It doesn’t really matter what Bono thinks, or says he thinks, about the album. Around the time of Born in the USA, Bruce said he thought Darkness on the Edge of Town was overrated. Which of those records is the better? Which was the more successful? What I think Bono is saying is, he wishes NLOTH was a bigger hit. I’ve no idea why Jim Carroll seems to think his review of the record was the correct one and that anyone who disagreed has somehow been found out, or was a sycophant. I thought the first four tracks, along with Breathe, rank with the best music U2 has made, and I continue to think that.
All rock stars are obsessed with success, and don’t like the idea of slippage, and Bono may well be trying to put a brave face on low sales. But sales are not the same as quality; if it was up to the public, U2 would still be stuck in the Joshua Tree. What Bruce was saying was, “I’ve just had a huge hit (USA) and a load of rock snobs are saying, we prefer Darkness, but it wasn’t a huge hit, so they’re wrong.” But we weren’t.
And if Jim Carroll insists on reprinting a review, it really should have a bit more going for it than, Magnificent is good and everything else is no good. Really? Breathe is no good? Moment of Surrender, NLOTH are no good? If you think so, you should have spent more time saying why; as it stood then, and stands now, you just come across like an indie guttersnipe.

What a piece of moronic trite this article is. Nevermind if you love, hate, dont know, or dont care for U2 for a moment.

The author of this article quotes Bono as saying:
“This week, Bono described the album as “not very accessible, lyrically or musically”.

“We put out a really difficult record,” he told Rolling Stone magazine. “I would have to admit that. If I was a teenager, it would be like a European movie, it’s art house.”

Any idiot who speaks the English language can clearly see that this is not a “diss” or “disdain for the album” as the article’s author attempts to assert. There is no sense of even word that you can point to that suggests Bono even has even the slightest negative feeling about the album itself. As one previous posted noticed, his comments speak more about its reception and if you wanted to take a negative shot at him or the band its would make sense in terms of claiming Bono’s arrogance or disconnect from the masses, or delusion. Instead the author of this article just put out more evidence of his ineptness.

It you are gonna take shots at people, come prepared with real ammo, dont set off a bomb in your own face. You could have said that came from anyone, replaced Bono and U2 with any other artist and your assessments would still come off as insipid and foolish.

A commenter on this board outdid your slam on U2, but for some stupid reason you get paid for lazy writing and pathetic analysis. If you disagree, please point out exactly how “difficult” and “not very accessible” = dislike

I bet you anything that the majority of people here, as well as the author praise albums for the very same quoted phrases above. This is not to say that difficult automatically equals good, it is merely pointing out the flaw in the entire article.

Part of the problem surely is that many, many, many big name artists have limited muscial ability. Radiohead, Arcard Fire even Lisa Hannigan’s band are unusual for the breadth of the musical talent on display. Leonard Cohen’s troup of troubadours are brilliantly talented and have taken a clutch of “suicidally depressing” songs and reimagined them.

I listen to a lot of Jazz and the real greats while treading water occasionally rarely release bad records. They are just too gifted muscially and hang around and jam with so many virtuosos that something interesting is always going on. Listen to the album Herbie Hancock and Duke Ellington recorded together for the clash of the old and the new.

U2 do not lack a back catalogue and are a pretty good live act that are adept at the pyrotechnical end of things but they are about as credible as KISS these days. They need to be more (not less) permissive with their collaborators and maybe even look beyond the confines of light rock like Blur, Beck and others have had the guts to do.

Bryan Ferry’s last two records (Bob Dylan covers and American Songbook standards) were outstanding records and a thousand miles away from Roxy Music. David Bowie and Bob Dylan constantly added new people to their touring party (as the Beatles did in the late 60s) to keep things interesting.

I have been reading with interest all of the comments in reference to U2 and Bono, as I have followed them most of my life. Here in the States there is really not alot of legitimate music commentary on the subject of U2, just blind admiration. The real problem I have with U2 is the same that I have with a lot of long standing acts, that after a while their music sounds the same. The worst example of this sameness is Aerosmith, Love in an elevator sounds like Ragdoll. Where the Streets have No Name sounds like I Still have not found what I am looking for. This problem gets worse after a while. That is why I hestitated with NLOTH, while I like the album I just do not like it the same as I like Auchtang Baby or Joshua Tree. I am not an Indie Rock snob, I just know what I like, speaking of which:

To Declan Hughes @41 I have to ask are you the same person who wrote City of Lost Girls, featuring Dective Ed Loy? If so, this summer I read the entire series in reverse and really loved the series. I sincerely hope that you continue to write the character Ed Loy as he reminds me of a dear friend of mine who lives in Dublin, a place I miss.

Critics are worthless. Which is why no one ever built a monument to any. Unless they can do what they expect others to do, artistically/musically they serve only one purpose. To be forgotten.

I’m sorry Jim, who are you again?

INCA – good to know that you felt the need, all the same, to come here to tell me that.

keith – the only answer is to go the Damon Albarn route and create something completely different to expectation with a new band, or to go the solo route..

That’s an interesting idea. I think Albarn has showed himself to be one of the most innovative musicians around through what he’s done outside of Blur – ie Gorillaz, the Godo The Bad & The Queen, the Africa Express project etc. On the other hand, I can only think of a handful of non-U2 musical projects which any of the four members have been involved in – Bono’s duet with Clannad, Edge’s work on “The Snake Charmer” with Jah Wobble and Holger Czukay, Larry Mullen drumming with Emmylou Harris on “Wrecking Ball” – but nothing which has overshadowed or challenged the supremacy of what the band are about. I really don’t think U2 are capable of springing musical surprises – they might be able to write about one in the press release to go with the album or persuade their media followers to help them spin that but, as we’ve seen with “No Tune on the Horizon”, their fans and the public are not so easily fooled.

I think nowadays they have a lifestyle to afford and a reputation to uphold. They’re a billion euro corporation with house extensions, studios, a hotel, crafty assistants and massive tours to pay for, they can’t afford an excursion like Passengers that would dilute the campaign to sell as many U2 albums as possible, and they can’t afford to take chances on a new direction that could alienate the fan base they rely on. U2 are McDonalds and the four boys are just Ronald without the makeup.

It was an awful album, in a perverse way though I wanted to like it. I’m sure they’re capable of releasing more decent (in u2 terms) material but it seems from the outside they spend too much time having band meetings about what they’re going to sound like rather than just going and writing some good songs. You get all these stupid statements from Bobo like ‘this is our first ever rock & roll album’ before the each release.

I’ve just nipped over to youtube and listened to “Get On Your Boots” again. Hilarious! I’ll be singing that all day tomorrow…