U2
Songs of Innocence
Island Records
2014
Back after a 5-year hiatus… and what do we get? First of all, everyone on iTunes (hehe I do not have iWhatever) got U2’s new album for free!!! Hooray! How cool is that?! Outrageous! After the first shock of happiness here come some very crucial questions. Why’s that? Let me make this clear to you. U2 along with Apple gave “Songs of Innocence” digitally to all the iTunes store customers at no cost… but that was until October 13th 2014. The free digital release reached over 500 million iTunes customers!!! Can you see the paradox? It also reached people who are totally irrelevant with U2 or even rock music!! Swell! But the whole thing is totally successful! Does this thing “legalize” the music piracy?! In a way?! Or something like that… I guess you can do such fancy moves when you are a millionaire right? It’s all for the public!!!
After the 13th October the album got a physical release by Island Records with a different cover artwork. By the way both covers are very cheap, uncreative and flavorless. Let’s see how this “free digital thing” will help the album’s sales. Let’s see what this experiment will bring to the table.
Musically, the album is one of the same but with less (or better say no) inspiration and bland songwriting. It’s been quite some time since U2 released a strong album and even though “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb”, which was released a decade ago, was OK, it couldn’t be compared to their older works. What can you expect from U2 nowadays? Apart from their die-hard fans that find every new album from the band the “best ever”… I somehow believe that U2 have lost “that thing” they used to have which gave them fame and fortune. They just rely on the past and do whatever they like… but in truth to be told, they have lost their “musical identity” in a way…
It’s true that in terms of music U2 are not what they used to be and all creativity seems to have left them many years now… but who really cares? They can make deals with Apple, be on every iTunes account & their music can literally reach millions of people… so why should they care about music quality? It’s not what you give but who you are and how you “serve” it to the masses. The lead single “The Miracle (of Joey Ramone)” pays a tribute to the legendary late Joey, but it’s rather tedious and bland on the whole. The same goes for “This is Where You Can Reach Me Now” which is also dedicated to the renowned late Joe Strummer (The Clash). It’s fine to honor your roots but better do it with some decent tracks…
All things considered, do you honestly think that the band or the label give a shit about the overall album sales or anyone’s opinion… when they have spent about $100 million on the lead single which was in an Apple television commercial as part of a promotional campaign for the band?!! Please re-read the previous number again… un-freakin-believable! I think the title “Songs of Blandness” describes the album more properly…
After the 13th October the album got a physical release by Island Records with a different cover artwork. By the way both covers are very cheap, uncreative and flavorless. Let’s see how this “free digital thing” will help the album’s sales. Let’s see what this experiment will bring to the table.
Musically, the album is one of the same but with less (or better say no) inspiration and bland songwriting. It’s been quite some time since U2 released a strong album and even though “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb”, which was released a decade ago, was OK, it couldn’t be compared to their older works. What can you expect from U2 nowadays? Apart from their die-hard fans that find every new album from the band the “best ever”… I somehow believe that U2 have lost “that thing” they used to have which gave them fame and fortune. They just rely on the past and do whatever they like… but in truth to be told, they have lost their “musical identity” in a way…
It’s true that in terms of music U2 are not what they used to be and all creativity seems to have left them many years now… but who really cares? They can make deals with Apple, be on every iTunes account & their music can literally reach millions of people… so why should they care about music quality? It’s not what you give but who you are and how you “serve” it to the masses. The lead single “The Miracle (of Joey Ramone)” pays a tribute to the legendary late Joey, but it’s rather tedious and bland on the whole. The same goes for “This is Where You Can Reach Me Now” which is also dedicated to the renowned late Joe Strummer (The Clash). It’s fine to honor your roots but better do it with some decent tracks…
All things considered, do you honestly think that the band or the label give a shit about the overall album sales or anyone’s opinion… when they have spent about $100 million on the lead single which was in an Apple television commercial as part of a promotional campaign for the band?!! Please re-read the previous number again… un-freakin-believable! I think the title “Songs of Blandness” describes the album more properly…