tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6753277.post1098200715330721535..comments2023-11-08T17:10:11.990-08:00Comments on The Rob Report: No Line on the HorizonTheRobRogershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04456512460459087043noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6753277.post-25958299291501089462009-03-17T12:38:00.000-07:002009-03-17T12:38:00.000-07:00Nice review, Rob. Very good analysis, I enjoyed i...Nice review, Rob. Very good analysis, I enjoyed it. I'll admit I'm nowhere near as educated on this subject, other than to say I think Bono is an excellent (if not one of the best) showman/stage performers. Which is not to say he can speak well, at all. I saw his lecture on Africa on Ted and it was HORRIBLE. Awful. Maddeningly arrogant, illogical, and inarticulate. The Southpark lampoon of him as a #2 pretty much ruined him, at least for me.The G-Funk!https://www.blogger.com/profile/18357488723513033145noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6753277.post-42140474189560114462009-03-15T10:29:00.000-07:002009-03-15T10:29:00.000-07:00I see one big similarity between Pop and this late...I see one big similarity between Pop and this latest effort. Both have great ideas and moments that are on the verge of brilliance. <BR/><BR/>I do like this album for its depth and exploration. But I agree that a couple of the songs are just inches from becoming classic. <BR/><BR/>The quote from Eno is spot on. U2 seem to be too calculating in the crafting of their songs. This is true with Bono as well. I like his writing better then his lyrics these days. Why? Because it is more off the cuff and spontaneous. <BR/><BR/>I agree with you Rob about them being on the backside of innovation and exploration. They will always hold some relevance but more as a Rock Star emeritus sort. <BR/><BR/>I like the album a lot. Unfortunately U2's past work has set such a high standard that always needs to be dealt with.Ronifer269https://www.blogger.com/profile/10387571703530121753noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6753277.post-86060222943716348792009-03-15T08:23:00.000-07:002009-03-15T08:23:00.000-07:00Thanks for sharing your U2 wisdom, RR.Here is part...Thanks for sharing your U2 wisdom, RR.<BR/>Here is part of an interview Eno did in the latest Mojo magazine.<BR/>Q:When you work with bands it seems that your role is more as a creative catalyst than a producer. Which of the artists you've worked with have taught you the most?<BR/>Eno:Probably U2, I was thinking about this, funnily enough, this morning when I was having a swim.One of the things that I find very , very interesting and sometimes infuriating about them is that they won't leave anything alone. So sometimes they will come up with a song, a really good song, just like that. And they'll totally ruin it by trying to make it better. So the graph with them . . . (draws the axes of a graph on a piece of paper)Here's zero down here, the songs up there. You think, "Wow fantastic, what an amazing piece." Then they will start smashing it to bits and it gets worse and worse and worse, and then it starts to get better and it goes back up there. And you think, "OK that's great. Now leave it alone!" Then the whole process goes down again.<BR/>Now the reason this can be infuriating is if the record release date fall there (points to peak), then that's wonderful. But (points to trough)if it happens to fall there (laughs) . . . and it's a little bit like that, it's like a roulette wheel spinning . . . Time is like a roulette wheel deciding when the thing comes out and it doesn't necessarily fall on a peak.<BR/>That's the word from Ol'Eno.<BR/>I miss you Rob.Blessing to you and yours.cdillonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17464173254370782343noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6753277.post-4358869443718807042009-03-15T07:35:00.000-07:002009-03-15T07:35:00.000-07:00"For the first time you could hear the band trying..."For the first time you could hear the band trying. You could hear the effort in something that used to sound effortless."<BR/><BR/>You're right on, Rob. You and I have talked about this before, but POP was a great album and at least they were trying to be unique unlike "Atomic Bomb" and "All That..." which were just plain meh recordings. I also agree that they need to ditch Eno et all and go with a producer that isn't so comfortable with the U2 sound. Blow it up, man! Get Dave Friedman (Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev, MGMT, etc) on board to shake things up. Or is it too late? This album is their Tattoo You, half decent half rubbish and if they don't do saomething barnburning soon they're going to make their Undercover Of The Night next, or end up singing Dancing In The Street with David Bowie. And that would be it for me. Great analysis.Uncle Ehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04570327775449916376noreply@blogger.com