From what I've observed, U2 has two decisively different sounds throughout the years. The change from the 80's to 90's onward has been quite a dfferent contrast. Personally, I prefer the older stuff. I like the message and the spunkiness of their 80's sound.

What do you like better, if any?

Thanks,
Wash Jones

I'm not really a big U2 fan, but if thier older songs come on the radio ("Sunday Bloody Sunday" etc) I do listen to them. I voted for the older stuff even though I really liked "Elevation."

I'm not a U2 fan, but I can enjoy some older U2 songs. I do not like "Elevation", on the other hand. That song kills me. Especially, the "ooh" or "wooh" (or whatever it is) part.

Is this even a question? The last listenable U2 album for me was Achtung Baby. I thought I liked the most recent one for a couple of months, then its suckiness became apparent. They almost do it on that album, but miss the mark too many times, mostly because Bono can't sing anymore & writes cheesy lyrics now. I think Zooropa was crappy, but I have to admit that sometimes I like to hear Lemon. I'm a sucker for any man singing falsetto.

So I'm sure I'm the biggest U2 fan on this board. I love all of their stuff, I celebrate their entire catalog, etc. They are geniuses and the best band of our generation, in my opinion. They were the first band that I ever loved, and I've gotta hand it to them for staying relatively relevant through over 20 years.

So I like the older stuff a lot, but I voted for the newer material. Although I think that All That You Can't Leave Behind was for the most part pretty weak, and NOT that great, Zooropa, Achtung Baby, and Pop are their finest work. Yes, I LIKE it when U2 is not being so fucking ernest. Bono can get on my nerves when he's taking himself so seriously. Also, throw in some other random stuff that they did in the 90s ("Hold Me, Thrill Me...", Passengers, b-sides, etc), and, well, the 90s were just a great time for U2. And what's funny is that "the critics" call Zooropa and Pop their weakest material. Ha! They can listen to "One Tree Hill," I'll take "Daddy's Gonna Pay for Your Crashed Car."

And so here, now is jamiecarroll's ranking of U2 albums:

01 Zooropa
02 Achtung Baby
03 Pop
04 Rattle and Hum
05 The Joshua Tree
06 War
07 The Unforgettable Fire
08 All that You Can't Leave Behind
09 Boy
10 October

I agree about the lyrics on All That You Can't Leave Behind - very subpar. But I think that Bono can sing just as well now as he ever could.

Maybe if he grew out the pony tail and started wearing leather vests with no shirts underneath he'd be a better singer?

Bono needs his mullet back. He was like Sampson, and his song-writing strength came from it.

I like U2 in small doses. Achtung is good. R&H is good. Joshua Tree is OK. War is OK.

i prefer "old" U2 over their latest efforts......i really liked "beautiful day" though. too bad they didnt deliver on that promise.

my favorite is unforgettable fire. i also like war & boy. i've heard all those songs on the joshua tree too much so that album doesn't really do much for me. i've always loved "one" -- did anyone ever hear the cover stipe & mills did with adam clayton and the edge? it was really good.

i voted for newer u2. "achtung baby" is one of my favorite albums ever, for the sonics and the songs. "zooropa" is really cool too. i skimmed the newest one and didn't care for it, and i should listen to "pop"(i avoided it for silly reasons:no eno). i haven't heard an older album that i like all of the way through.

Yes! It was called "Automatic Baby." It was at some MTV function, maybe Rock the Vote or something. Very interesting.

(Edited by jamiecarroll at 8:24 pm on Feb. 16, 2003)

you can find a video download of this on some p2p servers. i got it off kazaa.

oh and i think jc, elt, and i are the only people on the planet who enjoy zooropa. what a shame.

i think the funniest aspect of the memphis U2 show in 97 was afterwards in the lot when all the thirtysomethings (high school teachers, day camp counselors, over the hill grad students, presbyterian youth pastors and interns) cranked up joshua tree, rolled their collective car windows down, and breathed a healthy sigh of relief from all that crazy dance music they had just witnessed.

I'm a big fan of guitar and the sound The Edge had in the earlier records. So I'll continue to be more of a fan of that era.

Slight change of subject (though U2 would be included in this so I guess maybe not). I'm really sick of how there seems to be a few "rock" acts out there that are so incredibly over-saturated in the media. I would really like to go a week without seeing Sheryl Crow and Kid Rock. Is that too much to ask? Can I say a hate Kid Rock? Oh wait, I just did...

I got sucked into Cosmic Bowling at Plaza Lanes last night. For the first half hour we were treated to the absolute ass that is Kid Rock. I thought the singles were terrible, but they played some album tracks and they were actually worse! I mean, if I can be in a dark room with blacklights throwing 14 pound neon balls into glowing white pins in the middle of a mullet convention with music blaring and I still can't enjoy myself, then something is very very wrong. After that excruciating 30 minutes I actaully felt great relief when they starting playing the Def Leppard block.

HaHaHaHa...so true, lawnwrangler. It was an amazingmulti-mediadancepartyspectacular, and I loved it. But I can see how the Birkenstock'n'CS Lewis crowd wouldn't have liked it.

Can I vent for a minute? Have you guys heard that new Kid Rock and Sheryl Crow song? It is (and I mean literally) one of the worst songs that I have ever heard. So so awful. I mean...I expect such shit from Kid Rock, but Sheryl Crow? For the most part, I am a Sheryl Crow fan. Well, I love her first 3 albums anyway. But with her participation in this duet, she has flushed down the toilet whatever shred of credibility she had left.

U2 are the new Rolling Stones- Old farts that don't realize they need to hang it up because 38-year-old women still find them sexy and are willing to pay $59.99 and Ticketmaster fees to see them play "One." I thought "Beautiful Day" was a catchy song, but not much better than anything the Stones, Santana, or any of the other old "credible" artists are doing these days.

I guess I don't blame them for cashing in while they can, but I wouldn't call them relevant in the year 2003.

I agree with you Mr. Carroll. As I have been bashed for many times in the past, I really do love Sheryl Crow's music (her first three albums definitely). This whole Kid Rock friendship thing is what brough about C'Mon C'Mon, at least that is what she has said in interviews, and it's really sad. Sheryl is capable of much more than "Soak Up The Sun." Oh well...I still haven't listened to the new duet because I can't bring myself to. It saddens me. I hope she can regain some credibility by producing good music again that isn't trying to be catered to the masses and that doesn't involve Kid Rock.

I prefer older U2, but I would include Achtung in my list of favorites... hmm... definitely not All That You Can't Leave Behind... *shudders*

I can't stand U2. Not really the music as much as Bono himself. And he did a cover of "When the Stars Go Blue" that sucked.

And yes, the new Sheryl Crow and Kid Rock song is awful. So is the video.

Keith, my Keith. You are always entitled your opinion, of course, but I personally think that you are wrong about U2. So they put out a sub-par album. I think it's a bit hasty to start calling them "the new Rolling Stones." All That You Can't Leave Behind could be just a bump in the road. Let's wait until they completely quit pushing the boundaries, and put out several bad albums in a row that all sound the same before we start making Rolling Stones comparisons.

Keith, my Keith, isn't it sad how wrong the king of the message board can be. I almost made the same exact analogy in my post, but I was babbling too much already. I fear for my boys going down that path. I think what makes me the saddest is that everything post-Achtung has glimmers of greatness that are overshadowed by mediocrity. Except Passengers- I do love that record.

I'm so sick of U2 it makes me ill. I think it was the extremely gratuitous halftime show last year that killed them for me. That and that horrible song "Stuck in a Moment you Can't get out of." I got the new album the day it came out and when that song came on I knew the band was finished. I dunno... it seems like they're just treading water, and I really hated Pop, and Bono is more self-indulgent than ever, and you add it all up and I just want to get sick.

Will

Keith, my Keith (also), I think I agree with you...OK, I do.

Well, if you're going to make a rediculous statement like that, I can see that we have nothing left to talk about on this subject.

I've thought for some time now that Achtung is almost a perfect album. It was the one that put U2 at the #2 spot on my "3 Favorite Bands" list.

Publish said list. I'm curious.

Will

jamie, you're a dick

Wow, thank you my people. Actually I was just trying to annoy JamieCarroll. I never cared much for U2 in the first place.

check this out.......

http://nme.com/news/104220.htm