bjaiken

So true!

Very cool. Have fun, and I look forward to an update.

Oh, and speaking of the Killers, how did Hot Fuss not make it? That album should have been NMEish enough.

Yes, this is more what I meant.

^ I don't get the Strokes in general. Everything they do is super catchy, yet it never sounds like disposable pop. You would think that a band that could successfully merge those two ideas would be on top of the world. But it's almost like they are intentionally derailing their own career. Even their last album (which is my least favorite of the 3) should have done better. "You Only Live Once" is, in my opinion, one of the best songs the Strokes have ever done. But it was the third single from the album, and it came out long after all momentum had been lost. Then you see bands like Coldplay and the Killers. Part of their success is due to the fact that they have good songs, but it is almost equally attributable to the fact that they just want to be big.

And you know another thing that I find funny - How can The Stokes first album be #1 while their second album didn't even make the list? I just don't see that big of a drop off, and I sometimes even prefer Room On Fire.

No, that's not what I meant.

in general, I have no problem with lists like this. It can make for fun discussion. What I hate is when I hear people spit up opinions taken strictly from music magazines along the lines of NME. In other words, NME naming an album as a top 100 of the decade is in no way empirical evidence that it is. It's just one rags opinion. However, I have seen people shape their entire opinion on an artist/album based purely on what they read in magazine, especially the larger publications. You can tell because it is some tired old viewpoint that you know you've heard elsewhere. Now that bothers me!

^ This. I have no problem with any list so long as there is some internal consistency to it. I don't read NME, and I don't like a lot of NME bands. However, if they are going to have a "best of" list, I would expect it to be filled with a lot of bands they have written about over the decade. That appears to be the case, so I have no beef. Do I believe that this is the best 100 albums over the last decade...not even close!

They don't have to move the claw. They have 3 of them, so one can be used for the current concert and another can be set up in the next city. You may, in fact, get a 2nd show. Who knows?

Got my tickets for Anaheim night 2 today. Back to back nights of U2 is almost too good to be true.

That's fine, I never had a beef. But your statement makes me out to be a u2 homer. U2 and pearl jam are 2 of my 3 favorite bands, but I am still critical of their work. Calling atyclb and htdaab uninspired is a play I've heard many times, and I rail against it every time I hear it. Pearl jam can do whatever they want because being the biggest, most popular band in the world is something they never strived for. But I think it's very important to u2, who got killed by fans when they tried to venture out with zooropa and pop (both very good and underrated albums in my opinion). So they responded to the criticism by producing a collection of songs that go back to what u2 does best. Granted, atyclb and htdaab do not flow as well as other albums, but they are not trying to. They are a collection of individual songs, and some are better than others. But beautiful day, walk on, kite, miracle drug, city of blinding lights, stuck in a moment..., etc. are some of their best overall songs, and those are just the ones that come to mind in 2 seconds.

So what? I am also a fan of pj and, save backspacer and a portion of self titled, I have found recent pj albums to be far more uninspiring. That's what's so great about backspacer - it sounds so fresh and rockin'. As for u2, I can easily say that some of their best material has come from atyclb and htdaab. Even nloth has a few songs I would throw into the list of all time great u2 songs.

I agree with the self titled comment. It marked a new direction for the band that has carried over to Backspacer. As for the U2 comment, I couldn't disagree more.

In some ways they are...but not every way. Coldplay is a better band in certain areas.

Dp

Dp

I don't think the fixer is drastically different from other stuff pj has done. It's a pop song, and pj has written several of these. It just happens to be a really good one, and one of the better ones they have written in recent times.

I don't think the fixer is drastically different from other stuff pj has done. It's a pop song, and pj has written quiet a few of these. It just happens to be a really good one, and one of the better ones they have written in recent times.

I agree 100%. I think Zooropa and Pop are hugely under rated albums, and U2 never got the credit they deserve for being so innovative. Instead, they got grief for trying to go outside the box and explore new sounds. Then when U2 came back to the big arena rockers that everyone wanted with ATYCLB and HTDAAB, which are both an amazing collection of songs, they get criticized for a sound that is safe and too similar to stuff they've done in the past. They couldn't win. Do you want them to be innovative or produce U2ish sounding songs? Either way they went, they received criticism.

I do understand the criticism of October. I say that because it is the only u2 album that I don't love. But I have friends who really like it. So to each their own.

Unforgettable fire is probably my favorite, but I don't know if it is their best. I like the mood and atmosphere of that album. For me, it's the most emotional U2 album.

It feels good to have a ticket in hand for a U2 show. I've seen them 3X, and on every occassion, I picked up my ticket the day of the show. I am still trying to upgrade, but at least I know I'm in (and I have been known to move away from my assigned seat). I think they are going to add a 2nd night in Anaheim, which should lesson some of the demand. However, ticket scalping is very bad in Los Angeles. Those vultures always make a ton off U2 tickets, so I don't suspect they will stop anytime soon.

I'd say the fixer is a top 50 song (granted, toward the back side). That is a good song.

Just got my ticket for Anaheim. Missed out on GA, so I just took the cheapest ticket in - $30. I was lucky to even get that. This whole thing is nuts. They were selling tickets @ $250 a pop, and they were lousy. If I'm going to be unhapy with my seat, there is no way I'm paying $250.