Lowest Point in U2's Career

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Aviastar

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Lowest Point in U2's Career
« on: February 22, 2018, 12:43:51 PM »
What do you think is the lowest point in the band's history? It could be a song or album release, performance (i.e. 2009 Grammys with Get On Your Boots), or an event - anything really.

I think I'd have to go with the 'magic touch' between Tim Cook and Bono at the Apple/SOI release event.
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guest346

Re: Lowest Point in U2's Career
« Reply #1 on: February 22, 2018, 02:00:13 PM »
I will go with the past few months;  the recent public political statements aimed at the US policies and the release strategy for SOE,   followed up by promoting 2 clunkers off of the album (american soul,  get out),  the performances of said clunkers,  and the icing on the cake would be the awful GOOYOW video. 

Nothing the band has done up until this point has really bothered me,  all of those supposed "low points" of the past;  Rattle & Hum,  PoP,  the cringeworthy politician photo-ops,  the 09 Grammys,  the SOI iphone release,  none of those really bothered me as much as what has taken place over the past few months. 

As u2 ages so does a lot of their die hard fan base.  Also, at least here in America,  a lot of people who were very liberal in their youth tend to grow a bit more moderate to conservative in their middle age.  The fact that u2 seem determined to use their stage to sound off on current american politics at this particular time is a huge turn off for a lot of people who once loved them and would have followed them to the ends of the earth. 

That said,  i don't really care what they think deep down in their hearts, i just don't need to know it or hear it every time Bono opens up his big mouth or with every new song.  Just because someone is rich and famous doesn't make their opinion more valuable than anyone else's. 

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The Exile

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Re: Lowest Point in U2's Career
« Reply #2 on: February 22, 2018, 02:01:09 PM »
What do you think is the lowest point in the band's history? It could be a song or album release, performance (i.e. 2009 Grammys with Get On Your Boots), or an event - anything really.

I think I'd have to go with the 'magic touch' between Tim Cook and Bono at the Apple/SOI release event.


Part of me wants to say the release of ATYCLB, simply because it has led to modern-day U2 and the quest for relevance and universal acclaim. But if I weren't overthinking it, I'd say the guyliner Boots performance.
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Shank Asu

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Re: Lowest Point in U2's Career
« Reply #3 on: February 22, 2018, 02:09:10 PM »
The release of No Line.

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guest94

Re: Lowest Point in U2's Career
« Reply #4 on: February 22, 2018, 02:14:08 PM »
I think the last year or so has been pretty bad. It's the first time since becoming a fan where I've been truly embarrassed for the band.

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DoYouFeelLoved

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Lowest Point in U2's Career
« Reply #5 on: February 22, 2018, 02:40:04 PM »
The SOI release without doubt.

It was the nail on the coffin of their faltering reputation and I still find people on youtube and twitter trashing them for that reason.

Before that, there was only a handful of people hating on Bono. With the Apple thing, the whole band became target of mockery and hate on large scale.

They have never truly recovered.
« Last Edit: February 22, 2018, 02:50:19 PM by DoYouFeelLoved »

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ShadowMac

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Re: Lowest Point in U2's Career
« Reply #6 on: February 22, 2018, 02:48:50 PM »
The release of No Line.

I agree with this. The guy liner look was also not a good one for Bono.

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So Cruel

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Re: Lowest Point in U2's Career
« Reply #7 on: February 22, 2018, 02:55:38 PM »
Boots guyliner

First time I was actually embarrassed for them. Watched it with my wife and felt like a turtle retreating into its shell. It was like watching your team lose a big game. “We’ll get ‘em next time”

Runners Up

KMart Pop press conference/ Discotheque Village People Dress Up - I love Pop. I loved the Popmart shows I went to. It must be said the marketing of Pop and Popmart was horrible. Young kids in suburban America were never going to love the Edge dressed as the gay Cowboy. If they would have marketed Pop better I think it would have performed much better in North America.

Stuck in a Moment U.S video - I think it’s a damn good song that got a horrible video. A song about a friends suicide and the video is the Lemons vs the Flys and the kicker misses a field goal?
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catlithco

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Re: Lowest Point in U2's Career
« Reply #8 on: February 22, 2018, 02:59:53 PM »
I love them for telling on stage what they think about Trump and the current political situation and Bonos big mouth.
And I think the SOI release via iTunes for free was a really cool thing! People get something for three and complain about it...?
Well, I've turned off the automatic synchronization thing in iTunes, thats why I had to download it to my phone manually.

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an tha

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Re: Lowest Point in U2's Career
« Reply #9 on: February 22, 2018, 03:40:04 PM »
The public lapping up ATYCLB.

Pretty much killed the band as the one I loved and was the demon seed that led to the MOR pop rock u2 of today.

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DoYouFeelLoved

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Re: Lowest Point in U2's Career
« Reply #10 on: February 22, 2018, 05:57:50 PM »
The public lapping up ATYCLB.

Pretty much killed the band as the one I loved and was the demon seed that led to the MOR pop rock u2 of today.

In your opinion, what do you think it would‘ve happened had ATYCLB be a massive flop? I don’t remember if we ever had this discussion in the old forum...

I love the album, so it really does not bother me a single bit, but I think its success was in the best interest of their survival as a band...

I can’t imagine them, at the time, being able to sustain another commercial and critical smack like the one they had suffered with Pop (it hurts... but we all know it’s true).

Would they had collapsed and ultimately disbanded? Or maybe carried on with a more scaled back approach? Certainly their mainstream career would had been irremediably compromised and we would see a very different U2 nowadays...

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il_capo

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Re: Lowest Point in U2's Career
« Reply #11 on: February 22, 2018, 06:03:58 PM »
The public lapping up ATYCLB.

Pretty much killed the band as the one I loved and was the demon seed that led to the MOR pop rock u2 of today.

The public liked it, the critics liked it.  I don't like this snobbery that if the public likes something it must be shite.  Sure, didn't Discotheque go to number 1?  Shite?  ATYCLB for me is a great U2 album, their last classic, far better than HTDAAB or any subsequent U2 release, so I certainly won't see the release of that album as their lowest point.

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guest4

Re: Lowest Point in U2's Career
« Reply #12 on: February 22, 2018, 06:07:17 PM »
Maybe their lowest point was when they almost broke up, around the same time as Edge's split with his first wife. Supposedly discovering the music to "One" helped bring the band back together.

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Zeropartii

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Re: Lowest Point in U2's Career
« Reply #13 on: February 22, 2018, 06:09:53 PM »
Meeting in Larry’s parents kitchen.  Jk

I had a thread in atu2 similar to this called Jump the Shark moments.  Low points

1. Guyliner performance of Boots at the Grammies
2. SOI spam release
3. GOOYOW cartoon video


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an tha

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Re: Lowest Point in U2's Career
« Reply #14 on: February 22, 2018, 06:12:04 PM »
The public lapping up ATYCLB.

Pretty much killed the band as the one I loved and was the demon seed that led to the MOR pop rock u2 of today.

The public liked it, the critics liked it.  I don't like this snobbery that if the public likes something it must be shite.  Sure, didn't Discotheque go to number 1?  Shite?  ATYCLB for me is a great U2 album, their last classic, far better than HTDAAB or any subsequent U2 release, so I certainly won't see the release of that album as their lowest point.

It isn't about snobbery or the public liking it meaning it is shite.....what it is about is if the public hadn't lapped it up then u2 IMO wouldn't have carried on with the MOR pop rock that has blighted their output since.

They wouldn't have tried to rewrite Beautiful Day about 5 times since and so on..