Classic or Dud: U2

Unforgettable fire, joshua tree = less classic, but classic

rattle & hum = dud

acthung baby = classic

zooropa = less classic, but classic

since "pop" = so completely dud it is almost insane.

It's not that hard, trust me.

de gustibus est non disputandem bla bla bla

I like people who still think that 'good' is an objective term. You make me happy.

Now way up at the top of the thread you'll actually see that in the past I had quite a fondness for them, though never a full on 'must own everything' obsession. This fondness has been shot and has rotted away in the ground for almost fifteen years now.

The first few records are brilliant. And they always craft one terrific tune per CD.

But Bono is such an annoyance. I wanna break his glasses bad.
Plus, The Edge still calls himself The Edge. He's what, pushing 50?

Their current claim to quality is that they're not Sting.

has u2 ever had any grace or dignity? their entire career seems riddled with fashion don'ts. they were cuter in their youth, but they were still guilty of numerous crimes against decency (ok starting with war, I really don't know the first two albums well at all).

Well, i suppose it's all relative. Circa The Unforgettable Fire it certainly seemed like they were both graceful and dignified, but I'm sure it struck some that they were overreaching and pious at the time. Seems to me, though, that they stumbled after Achtung, Baby and still haven't re-found their footing.

Blasfemy!

But without them, we wouldn't have the Negativland thing.

ranking 'em, personal choices:

Zooropa
Achtung Baby
Pop
The Joshua Tree
War
ATYCLB
Boy
The Unforgettable Fire
Rattle and Hum
October

Passengers would rank up high, but that ain't all U2. Never understood the dislike of their '90s work. Bono tones it down, better musically, better lyrics. Seems to be a good formula.

I think of Bono as an Irish David Lee Roth doing a bad impersonation of Springsteen. Sure, he says something quotably dumb and ridiculous every time he's interviewed...but thats why we* like like him.
* = The "we" in question is me and my buds. "Bad Bono Quotes" is our favorite impromptu bar game.

Zooropa remains their best album, and a largely unappreciated precursor to the likes of Kid A (Wake me up when Thom Yorke writes a song as good as "Lemon"), but I quite like their last two retro-80s efforts as well.

that said, I put on "Pop" for the first time in a long, long while at work today and I have to say I really enjoyed it. I liked U2 a lot more in high school, ive kinda grown out of it, but both Auchtung Baby and Pop are classics in my mind, fuck all the haters.

and achtung is a precursor to OK Computer. hmm, come to think of it Zoo Station and Airbag are similar in a lot of ways. never thought of that till now.

not that I love u2 by any means, I just love that album. it's that "ham-fisted attempt at soul or gospel whose title ends in a preposition" that's probably what gets me more than anything. and the pompousness that goes with it.

"You can't forget or cancel something you genuinely liked at some point", I was told. But for U2, I could. DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUD

20+ years later, I'd change that to "they *could* be one of the greatest bands ever, but post-Zooropa (which is the only other U2 album I listen to all the way through) they seem to be content just doing the same thing and load up the albums with one song for the old fans, one oddball song, and another overblown ballad which is their equivalent to an Aerosmith soundtrack theme.

Anyway, both classic AND dud simultaneously.

This is probably the closest to the truth of all of the responses to this question.

I'll always love "I Will Follow."

Ah well, fuck you 15 yr old Tom, you're too skinny anyway. DUD.

I heard "Gloria" subsequently, and went off them.

As for Bono's political activism, personally I find him annoying, but I'm easily able to put that annoyance aside because his efforts certainly have helped many people around the world, and my personal opinions are pretty tiny and selfish compared to that. I can't stand Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt either, but they're still doing great things, even if it's partially to improve their image (which I'm not claiming, but is certainly possible). We do have to remember that despite the fact that these folks have lived pampered lives, they've also had the opportunity to see horrible things that most of us haven't, and that's bound to affect anyone who still has the smallest degree of humanity.