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  2. Originally posted by LikeASong:[..]
    You are right and that's exactly what made (and still makes) me angry about the Joshua Tree Tour(s): U2 had always been in the opposite field. Even having produced masterpieces with huge commercial success like Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby, they always kept writing and promoting new albums, they never relied on past success to sell their tours out.

    It's not their fault it's the audience age demographic all bands from the 1980s and beyond suffer the same fate ,In fairness U2 are still creating new music and touring it when they don't really need to they could just do greatest hits or classic album tours and most of the audience would be happy or wouldn't care as nostalgia is certified box office gold for established acts.
  3. Originally posted by popmarter:[..]

    It's not their fault it's the audience age demographic all bands from the 1980s and beyond suffer the same fate ,In fairness U2 are still creating new music and touring it when they don't really need to they could just do greatest hits or classic album tours and most of the audience would be happy or wouldn't care as nostalgia is certified box office gold for established acts.
    Exactly. I think U2 has done the best they can in terms of the public's reception of NLOTH, SOI, and SOE. It's an uphill battle when you are in your 60s and your average fan is in their 50s. People connect with music when they're young.

    Crazy to think that NLOTH is already twelve years old!
  4. i agree with the "natural progression" of a tour theory, when it comes to 360's changes. The long delayed legs, and the band's history of liking to freshen things up even just for themselves, the album promotion not a priority by 2011 the way it was in 2009, preparation for Glastonbury, and Willie's admitted influence of suggesting the return of ZooTv songs.... I really think these were the factors. And not any need of "selling tickets" in repeated markets. I dont know a soul that compared 2009 vs 2011 setlists to make sure there were some changes before buying their 2011 tickets. The hardcore fan was going no matter what. And only-casual fan was going to see the U2 spectacle in a giant stadium. That leaves a very, very small group that was only going because they would see Real Thing open instead of Breathe
  5. Personally, the best (i.e. my favourite) songs on NLOTH weren't the ones that were necessarily "performable" on a grandiose stage/tour like 360 anyway (Cedars, White as Snow, etc.) - so the 2011 setlists were nothing short of fantastic for me. I think of that tour less as the NLOTH promo tour, and more just as a U2 tour, if that makes sense. Sure, maybe that's a bummer for those who loved NLOTH for what it was - but as others have pointed out, it's nothing new for U2.

    That aside, I maintain that if U2 had released an EP like this instead:

    Fez - Being Born
    Soon
    Winter (original version)
    White as Snow
    Moment of Surrender
    Cedars of Lebanon

    it would've been seen as something special. Instead, they released Boots, and then other singles that barely represented what I consider to be the more "interesting" side of that album.

    I'll also never get over the fact that the title track has such a cool vibe, but such a (I believe Pitchfork put it this way) "fart of a hook/chorus". It just sounds like they thought of that title/phrase and were adamant about including it as a lyric. The chorus barely matches the verses at all, and is just sort of deflating. But the intro, verses, bridge - all glorious.

    Also - it needs to be said - Linear is far superior to NLOTH, as like a standalone piece of work/project.
  6. Lately I find myself taken back to how I first felt about NLOTH. Before any outside factors influenced my opinions, and it was just me and the music. Then there was the promo tour where they played 5 nights on Letterman, playing a new song each night (and once playing Beautiful Day, oddly enough). It was an exiting time for sure.
  7. I said it before and i say it again: the whole album sounds way better remastered!!!

  8. Chiming in to say their third masterpiece is actually Passengers.
  10. Does anyone remember the strange speculation about the album being recorded as mp3s and that was what the CD was made of?
  11. I don't recall such a thing but dismantling that theory it would be as easy as going to the shelf, taking the NLOTH CD out of its case for the first time in a decade and performing a spectral analysis.
  12. Originally posted by LikeASong:[..]
    I don't recall such a thing but dismantling that theory it would be as easy as going to the shelf, taking the NLOTH CD out of its case for the first time in a decade and performing a spectral analysis.
    It was some forum nonsense on atu2 I think. That said, I wasn't that interested in the theory.

    I think it'd be an easier speculation of SoE being a waste of space and time.