Random links

Ganymede

Pretty much. U2 is about as bland as it fucking comes.

What the fuck?

Like, seriously, girl, you kidding me? Bland as it fucking comes?

Where the Streets Have No Name is a blazing 1980s anthem that has absolutely no equal from that time. None. And I'll take the Pepsi challenge: find me something matches The Edge's arpeggio, and then have someone try to play it as crispy and cleanly.

Sunday Bloody Sunday was written before then (1983), and is one of the greatest protest songs I've heard. Its lyrics are as poignant now as then:

And it's true we are immune
When fact is fiction and TV reality
And today the millions cry
We eat and drink while tomorrow they die

I'm not really much of a U2 fan, to be honest, but I'm not going to call it "bland, processed garbage."

Shit, you kids, save that for Ariana Grande.

Auspice

@ganymede

Out of 14 studio albums, you were able to name 2 songs. Both of which came out over 30 years ago.

Even a broken clock is right twice a day.

Because I love me the hell out of Ariana Grande's "Bang Bang," aight.

Ganymede

@auspice said in Random links:

Out of 14 studio albums, you were able to name 2 songs. Both of which came out over 30 years ago.

I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For

Raised by Wolves

Pride

Wouldn't call them bland then, but, I suppose, you young punks probably think Mozart's pretty bland too.

Frankly, what gets passed off as rock music these days blows chunks. The genre's changed a lot. What was once "alternative" or "prog" is about the only interesting rock, and what's left -- the vestiges of NuMetal and Metal -- is boring and trite. (I really hate Imagine Dragons.)

But, under your standard, the Rolling Stones are apparently also bland, even if they wrote part of the book on the genre. Journey as well. The Manic Street Preachers. And the latter, I really don't consider bland, even if their music is kind of ... well, what the hell is it?

Because I love me the hell out of Ariana Grande's "Bang Bang," aight.

You are dead to me.

Auspice

@ganymede

I quite enjoy classical, tyvm.
And Journey, as well. (Though I think I stopped believing last Tuesday for a few minutes...)
So, hush.

But U2 has just never hit the points, I'm sorry. They've had a couple songs, but they've fallen short. I feel the same about Coldplay and I know a lot of people love them, too.

Music, for me, has to hit more than just 'this has really good lyrics' (the only person who can do that for me is Bob Dylan; the man is a lyrical genius, but his voice...). I have a slight hearing issue that makes actually parsing lyrics hard, so it's all about the beat and cadence. U2 is absolute garbage for that. It's flat.

This is why I've actually watched a lot of producers who have moved into making their own music; those guys are often amazing.

ThatGuyThere

@auspice said in Random links:

Music, for me, has to hit more than just 'this has really good lyrics' (the only person who can do that for me is Bob Dylan; the man is a lyrical genius, but his voice...). I have a slight hearing issue that makes actually parsing lyrics hard, so it's all about the beat and cadence. U2 is absolute garbage for that. It's flat.

In this thread we learn that me and Auspice should never ever listen to music togerher since lyrics are 90 percent of what gets me to like a song.

Ganymede

@auspice said in Random links:

I quite enjoy classical, tyvm.
And Journey, as well. (Though I think I stopped believing last Tuesday for a few minutes...)
So, hush.

But U2 has just never hit the points, I'm sorry. They've had a couple songs, but they've fallen short. I feel the same about Coldplay and I know a lot of people love them, too.

I think you may have missed the part where I said I wasn't a U2 fan. I'm still not.

You said you liked beats and cadences. I'm going to point back to Where the Streets Have No Name and Pride. Both of these songs hook on the sort of melismatic melodies that you can find in Muse or Dragonforce. U2's 1980s music is technically difficult and wonderfully layered in a way that you won't find with Coldplay -- or, at least, that I don't. I mean, I like throwing Where the Streets Have No Name in with Baby, I'm Going to Leave You by Led Zeppelin when I want to chill out and listen to awesome melodies.

But don't you dare accuse me of liking Coldplay. Fie on thee for that.

I love you as much as I did last night, but when I hear Where the Streets Have No Name's melody, I hear this. I'll give that a pass.

I guess I'm also a bit nostalgic. 1980s music is my jam.

Auspice

@ganymede said in Random links:

But don't you dare accuse me of liking Coldplay. Fie on thee for that.

I didn't accuse you of liking Coldplay, but they suffer from a lot of the same issues (in my mind) that U2 does. It just feels flat, each song much the same as the last.

I can see good in Where the Streets Have No Name, yes, but by and far, since the early 80s, U2 hasn't managed to get it up as it were. 14 albums and the vast majority is worthless. Again: broken clock.

deadculture

@auspice said in Random links:

@ganymede said in Random links:

But don't you dare accuse me of liking Coldplay. Fie on thee for that.

I didn't accuse you of liking Coldplay, but they suffer from a lot of the same issues (in my mind) that U2 does. It just feels flat, each song much the same as the last.

I can see good in Where the Streets Have No Name, yes, but by and far, since the early 80s, U2 hasn't managed to get it up as it were. 14 albums and the vast majority is worthless. Again: broken clock.

You're forgetting they plagiarized If I Could Fly by Joe Satriani with Viva la Vida

Lithium

@deadculture I don't mind covers, but there are some I think that give respect to the source material, and some that annoy the piss out of me because they try to take ownership of the song that /is not fucking theirs'/.

I'm looking at you Five Finger Buttmunch.

Ganymede

@auspice said in Random links:

I didn't accuse you of liking Coldplay, but they suffer from a lot of the same issues (in my mind) that U2 does. It just feels flat, each song much the same as the last.

It's fair to say that a band's repertoire can feel repetitive. Like the Offspring, for instance.

But I think it's unfair here. U2 moved from a synth-rock band in War towards the more palatable pop-rock in The Joshua Tree. In doing so, you have louder protest songs like New Year's Day and Sunday Bloody Sunday shifting towards With or Without You and Where the Streets Have No Name. After that, there was Rattle and Hum, from which you have Desire, which is far more bluesy and their prior work.

I'm not a huge fan of Achtung Baby, and that's where I stopped being interested in U2's work. One and Mysterious Ways felt out-of-date in the grunge era. Later hits like Beautiful Day and Vertigo didn't resonate at all with me. But I wouldn't say that they were reminiscent of their older stuff at all.

So, I'm going to contest the opinion that their music sounds the same as the last. It doesn't. That doesn't mean that they are great, mind you.

But they aren't Coldplay, woman, ye Gods.

I concur that U2 isn't really relevant in music any more. And I can't argue with you if you just don't like U2; that's fine as well. But their music is far from bland and isn't exactly the same all the way down, so I'll object to that.

Still, fuck Imagine Dragons and Five Finger Buttmunch.

Deleted

I once decided not to go see my favorite band because they were co-headlining with FFDP. I don't regret not exposing myself to that garbage and that garbage's fanbase.

Insomnia

This isn't a random link, but I have no idea where else to put this. Talking with a friend on Skype, linked them something from here.... this is the picture Skype gave it:

...Chicken porn.

Auspice

@insomnia said in Random links:

This isn't a random link, but I have no idea where else to put this. Talking with a friend on Skype, linked them something from here.... this is the picture Skype gave it:

...Chicken porn.

That would be @Taika's avatar right thurr.

Aria

@auspice said in Random links:

Lemme just...

leave this...

right here

https://dangerousminds.net/comments/stranger_dongs_of_course_theres_a_stranger_things_dildo

Did.... did you guys somehow miss the baby Jesus butt plug that's been around for, like, almost two decades?

https://www.divine-interventions.com/

Auspice

@aria said in Random links:

@auspice said in Random links:

Lemme just...

leave this...

right here

https://dangerousminds.net/comments/stranger_dongs_of_course_theres_a_stranger_things_dildo

Did.... did you guys somehow miss the baby Jesus butt plug that's been around for, like, almost two decades?

https://www.divine-interventions.com/

Oh no. I've never missed that.
But they've never made two episodes devoted to it.

Insomnia

@auspice Less random then!

Arkandel

For more than the lawbots among us, this will be a very interesting case to watch unfold throughout 2018.

Namely, the duration of copyrights have been steadily extended in the US after their inception, from an original 28 years, extended by another 28 in 1978, and then another 20 in 1998... spearheaded, of course, by Disney who want to keep their control over Mickey and all intact. By this year's end we'll probably see it prolonged by longer than most of us will live.

surreality

This one, too, Ark. (Warning: potentially angry-making and depressing.)

Auspice

A fundamental design flaw in Intel's processor chips has forced a significant redesign of the Linux and Windows kernels to defang the chip-level security bug.

'Why do you keep insisting on buying AMD chips, Auspice. Intel is just fine.'

deadculture

@auspice This flaw exists since Skylake and I'm surprised they didn't fix it already.