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  1. Originally posted by SJKamal:[..]
    It's not the fanbase, it's this site. I've noticed that this site is mainly negative (I contribute to that - I'm looking at you Berlin DVD), the Twitter fanbase is mainly positive and Facebook tends to be mixed.
    I would say that the fans on this site are very objective and rational in the thinking and critic.
    If you want to read overpraised and non-critical comments on U2 join U2friends on facebook, its awful....
  2. Originally posted by justinpushplay:This is slightly on and slightly off-topic probably, but does anyone feel like as a Fanbase we are Wayover critical of the band? I see a post in this thread about Bono not having a hit in 15 years, another post another about how Glastonbury wasn’t the greatest show ever... I feel like the only reason we’re privileged enough to bitch about this sort of thing is because we have such a wealth of good experiences with the band. I really can’t think of another example, of a group that’s been together for 40+ years, that’s managed what they have and has been doing it as well as they have. The stones kept it together, and semi-relevant till about 1993, Aerosmith did it till 2001, Foo Fighters are 25 years into their career and they’re doing it. But for 40 years U2 have maintained themselves, as a success and as the biggest band in the world, when the music that they play, isn’t anywhere near what’s popular in the world, and that in itself is a fucking massive of achievement. In 10 years time I think will be very grateful for this period, So let’s maybe not retroactively long for it, and appreciate it while it’s still here. Just a thought from a very easily pleased fan


    just as we can praise and spend zillions of £$£$£ on going to see the band and on memorabilia, vinyls, cds, dvds, downloads and the like - we can also have a fucking opinion if we think a song or a collaboration stinks

    what should we do? get up every morning and salute a statue of bono then put on a beanie hat and pray that we all have a beautiful day?

    praise upon praise leads to complacency and mundanity and is the villain of creativity - and if you are a U2 fan then you know how much they are lead by adulation and admiration whereas i want isolation, desperation, dislocation, separation, condemnation heck i want fucking desolation

    you want a day to be 'beautiful' i want it to be 'bad'

    so just as much as you don't want constant criticism - i don't want constant praise

    you admit that you're 'easily pleased' well i'm not - and though i really appreciate all their great stuff (subjective i know), i also think a lot of their output post 2000 is poor

    we can live side by side though - just don't try and dictate opinion
  3. Originally posted by justinpushplay:This is slightly on and slightly off-topic probably, but does anyone feel like as a Fanbase we are Wayover critical of the band? I see a post in this thread about Bono not having a hit in 15 years, another post another about how Glastonbury wasn’t the greatest show ever... I feel like the only reason we’re privileged enough to bitch about this sort of thing is because we have such a wealth of good experiences with the band. I really can’t think of another example, of a group that’s been together for 40+ years, that’s managed what they have and has been doing it as well as they have. The stones kept it together, and semi-relevant till about 1993, Aerosmith did it till 2001, Foo Fighters are 25 years into their career and they’re doing it. But for 40 years U2 have maintained themselves, as a success and as the biggest band in the world, when the music that they play, isn’t anywhere near what’s popular in the world, and that in itself is a fucking massive of achievement. In 10 years time I think will be very grateful for this period, So let’s maybe not retroactively long for it, and appreciate it while it’s still here. Just a thought from a very easily pleased fan
    Absolutely. I am over critical with the band because I love them so much that and I've been following them for literally all of my life, so they're an important part of me. I prefer to be critical than indifferent, that means I still care for them. Of course the general audience don't have the same vision of the band as we have, and that's actually the reason why they're still together. If they were a cult band they wouldn't sell out stadiums and arenas around the world and they might have disbanded long ago, so we gotta be thankful of these 80-90% of fans that buy their expensive tickets tour after tour ( * ) and allow us to keep coming back to the joy of seeing U2 live - even if we criticise them afterwards. But as Gerard said, it's all a matter of perspective.

    ( * ) That being said, their popularity -both between hardcore fans and casual fans- is in a constant decline since 2011. Their last peak ever was the 360 Tour, they'll never reach that level of ticket sales and global awareness about them. More and more often I read comments like "oh, but U2 are still together? hadn't heard from them in a long time".
  4. Originally posted by TheRealEdge:[..]


    just as we can praise and spend zillions of £$£$£ on going to see the band and on memorabilia, vinyls, cds, dvds, downloads and the like - we can also have a fucking opinion if we think a song or a collaboration stinks

    what should we do? get up every morning and salute a statue of bono then put on a beanie hat and pray that we all have a beautiful day?

    praise upon praise leads to complacency and mundanity and is the villain of creativity - and if you are a U2 fan then you know how much they are lead by adulation and admiration whereas i want isolation, desperation, dislocation, separation, condemnation heck i want fucking desolation

    you want a day to be 'beautiful' i want it to be 'bad'

    so just as much as you don't want constant criticism - i don't want constant praise

    you admit that you're 'easily pleased' well i'm not - and though i really appreciate all their great stuff (subjective i know), i also think a lot of their output post 2000 is poor

    we can live side by side though - just don't try and dictate opinion
    It wasn't hard to smoke out the exact type of people that they are talking about .
  5. Originally posted by Peterrrrr:[..]
    I would say that the fans on this site are very objective and rational in the thinking and critic.
    If you want to read overpraised and non-critical comments on U2 join U2friends on facebook, its awful....
    Haha yeah that group is all flowers and butterflies over everything that smells like U2. Don't dare to say anything negative about the band there There's a lot of casuals there though. Casual fans tend to be much more forgiving than us diehards.
  6. woohoo - there's bono - everything he and u2 have done is brill-i-ant

    happy now

    sheesh - wow
  7. I think the point of the original post was more that fans can often be glass half empty than glass half full type of people. Nobody expects fans to love everything the band do or to keep quiet about their dislike for a song or album but I do think there are a certain group of fans that seem to be looking to be negative rather than positive and that is strange for a fan I think. I try and look at my least favourite album October and if they released that today. I would probably be disappointed but I’d be pointing out how great I thought October and Gloria were, that I really enjoy with a shout and I fall down. Yes I’d be saying that on the whole I think it’s a poor album but I think I’d still be grateful for the release and the bits I did enjoy. I just find it crazy that a fan can listen to SOE or SOI and not have a few songs they like on each the way I like October and Gloria and a few they like in the with a shout and I fall down category. Most fans can identify a few songs they like but some seem to want to talk about the ones they dislike more.
  8. Originally posted by deanallison:[..]
    I think the point of the original post was more that fans can often be glass half empty than glass half full type of people. Nobody expects fans to love everything the band do or to keep quiet about their dislike for a song or album but I do think there are a certain group of fans that seem to be looking to be negative rather than positive and that is strange for a fan I think. I try and look at my least favourite album October and if they released that today. I would probably be disappointed but I’d be pointing out how great I thought October and Gloria were, that I really enjoy with a shout and I fall down. Yes I’d be saying that on the whole I think it’s a poor album but I think I’d still be grateful for the release and the bits I did enjoy. I just find it crazy that a fan can listen to SOE or SOI and not have a few songs they like on each the way I like October and Gloria and a few they like in the with a shout and I fall down category. Most fans can identify a few songs they like but some seem to want to talk about the ones they dislike more.
    Can't remember in which topic (yes i'm getting old 😉), but i said before: even the worst album of U2 is more enjoyable to me, than someone else's best.

    Still, SOE is not a good album compared to other albums in my opinion. But you're right: i do like LIAWHL, LOH, Blackout and realy love TLTTGYA
  9. Reckon you can have it both ways though,we all have an opinion and imagine how boring things would be if we all just liked the same thing.
    I don't mind when fans get critical,the amount of time and money most of us have put in following our favourite band gives us that right,but I wouldn't say the site is negative.The amount of times post 2000 U2 gets trashed on here (my fav era) doesn't upset me,it's interesting to read everyone's views.
  10. I do like to think for the most part that those of us who do be critical do so in a manner that is constructive and adds to the conversation. Bashing for bashing’s sake is just fodder and has no place.

    It’s also true (certainly in my case) that a lot of my gripes are born out of frustration at the band rather than out of some sort of hatred. It is so so easy to become jaded after spending 15 years in a super fan bubble but you have to remember what makes you keep coming back here. It’s the music, the shows and the people you meet along the way. Remember these things amongst all the bullshit.
  11. Well said @germcevoy
  12. Originally posted by deanallison:[..]
    I think the point of the original post was more that fans can often be glass half empty than glass half full type of people. Nobody expects fans to love everything the band do or to keep quiet about their dislike for a song or album but I do think there are a certain group of fans that seem to be looking to be negative rather than positive and that is strange for a fan I think. I try and look at my least favourite album October and if they released that today. I would probably be disappointed but I’d be pointing out how great I thought October and Gloria were, that I really enjoy with a shout and I fall down. Yes I’d be saying that on the whole I think it’s a poor album but I think I’d still be grateful for the release and the bits I did enjoy. I just find it crazy that a fan can listen to SOE or SOI and not have a few songs they like on each the way I like October and Gloria and a few they like in the with a shout and I fall down category. Most fans can identify a few songs they like but some seem to want to talk about the ones they dislike more.
    You have spoken my mind