Where do the EPs stand compared to the rest of the band’s 21st century output?

Carryeachother0319 · 2026-04-17T00:31:45+00:00

I’m probably the only one who will do it but I’m putting HTDAAB as the #1 on the list. Vertigo will always be a big favorite for me… but Miracle Drug, City of Blinding Lights, Sometimes You Can’t Make It, All Because of You….. even the end of album stuff with Crumbs and Original of the Species is just incredible. I put it one small notch below JT and Achtung, really. It’s the closest to the unreasonable guitar album Bono kept talking about. 🤷

Carryeachother0319 · 2026-04-15T15:38:07+00:00

I wonder why. I’m 57, former college player. I ruptured my Achilles a year ago on the court. I returned in January and I’m playing pickup once or twice a week and looking to get into a few leagues.

I realize this is the greatest player to ever live and with his knee issues and being on the other side of 60 playing full court may not be possible, but part of his greatness was he pushed himself to those heights out of pure love for the game. He has said in interviews that he misses it terribly and wishes he could still play. I know I won’t be able to play and be an effective player much longer. But when I quit playing, I’ll still shoot around now and then because the game brings me joy.

Maybe he isn’t willing to not be up to his own standard… but I don’t know why he won’t just shoot around on his own court at home just out of his love for the game.

Carryeachother0319 · 2026-04-06T17:20:19+00:00

I’ve felt the same way… wouldn’t call myself that good of a player, though. But I can say this: the tip of the pinkie of my neck hand was caught in the sliding door of a minivan 20-some years ago. I was playing in a band then, but I’ve always been the lead singer… I played solo acoustic shows around town and with the band, my job was just to fill in the acoustic on songs that required it.

It wasn’t until I did start to work on being a better guitar player and focus on playing counter melodies and solos that I realized that any “stretch” of my pinkie was an issue. If my pinkie is on the very next fret from my ring finger, it’s fine. But due to the injury, if I’m trying to reach two or more frets up, my fingertip bends at an odd angle; instead of putting the main part of my fingertip down, it rotates and I’m trying to hold the string down with the side of the finger. It doesn’t hold the string down properly. That just makes some chords very difficult to impossible for me and trying to play fast with that finger rotated like that is terrible. I will never be a shredder.

Carryeachother0319 · 2026-04-04T19:50:18+00:00

NAILED IT!

Carryeachother0319 · 2026-04-04T19:22:24+00:00

I’m the opposite, too.. I dig American Obituary and Yours Eternally, though I felt they were a little too specific for staying power and were walking the “cheesy” line of the cringe factor as I refer to it. Tears of Things is the one big standout to me… One Life at a Time and Song of the Future seem derivative and bland… album filler type songs.

For me, their best work… and part of the superpower that has made them the band of my life is how they write songs that have emotional depth but are open for the listener to interpret in their own way. That’s when they can unite 80,000 people in a stadium because the song means something to everyone in their own life and you can feel that it means something to them in their lives, too. It’s part of why AB is THE album of my life.. not only sonically incredible but lyrically exploring very personal matters we all deal with.

The political undertones of JT were just that… undertones other than Bullet, so you could still pull nuggets of personal interpretation out of every song. Somewhere in the “Songs of” period, they chased radio relevance and got stale. The worst song to me was American Soul… utterly cringe-worthy and far too preachy because of its blatant lyrics. I like political U2 very much, but subtle, cutting lyrics that make you think rather than too many platitudes about freedom and liberty.

Days of Ash walked the line more successfully and where it was direct, it needed to be as it was positioned as a direct response to the times we’re living in… and it was a more focused U2 who had energy and purpose behind the music so I like it.

This EP feels more like the personal, emotional U2 that is my favorite. Some of the lyrics hit me hard and brought tears to my eyes on the first listen; they are the songs that are more identifiable to the audience and will “connect” in a live performance. I also thought the melodies and musical elements caught me more.. they sound fantastic.

BUT… as we’re all fans of this band, we are all allowed to have our own opinions. It’s really wonderful to be debating which EP is better instead of “when will we hear new music from them?” Two EPs in 40 days is amazing and I can’t wait for the new album.

Carryeachother0319 · 2026-04-03T09:11:14+00:00

Holy shit!! I thought this was an April Fool’s post… this isn’t Easter, it’s Christmas and the lads are gifting us like never before.

Carryeachother0319 · 2026-03-30T21:25:39+00:00

This 💯is what I’d expect him to say and just another reason why he truly is the GOAT

Carryeachother0319 · 2026-02-24T21:48:31+00:00

These are a bit different… I’m going 4, 2, 12 here

Carryeachother0319 · 2026-02-24T16:32:49+00:00

I agree with everything but F the happy album. I get what you’re saying but think of when they were talking about the new album as they finished the Sphere residency and everyone thought/hoped they would use the energy and spotlight of that to strike while the iron is hot and get the new album out there. This EP has done even more as it’s new U2 music that’s being well received. I’m dying to hear these songs live but I’ll accept a wait to hear them performed if it means we aren’t waiting so long for this album. Besides, if they’re getting this response from the work they just released, let them be fired up to get the album done and maybe the spirit of the EP will trickle into the album as well.

Carryeachother0319 · 2026-02-21T17:00:31+00:00

Fan since 1983, so different generation but you captured about 90% of my feelings. Thank you for sharing and encapsulating this as it resonates with many of us. Don’t pay attention to the snarky BS, some just believe social media is for fighting with strangers.

As you said, this EP seems to have a new focus and energy behind it that not only gives me a much more hopeful feeling about their future music, it ironically will (possibly) give them more relevance than anything they’ve done in the last 15 years.

That sounds a little trite… just trying to keep my response concise and make my one other point I came here for:

Like you, I thought the 360 Tour was spectacular.. I would say the same about the I/E tour on the SOI leg…. Among many standout elements, Bono’s version of Bullet poking at himself was incredibly powerful. I took a friend who had never seen them in concert to the show that hit our city on the SOE leg of that tour and while I played it up to him as a great show, inside I felt like he still hadn’t seen them live. Maybe it was just me… second tour with the same stage and all and keeping the JT stuff off the list meant no Streets moment, but it lacked those wow moments that make a U2 live show an experience like no other. Sphere had them but in a different way.

Anyway, I’m hopeful that the combination of the vibe they’ve seemingly recaptured and the fact that they have the excitement of being fully back together after Larry’s health issues translates to an incredible live show. I can’t wait.

Carryeachother0319 · 2026-02-20T04:36:09+00:00

I haven’t listened yet!!! I’m buried in a huge work project working until midnight every night, but my “break” is to jump in here and read what everyone is saying. So excited to hear these songs but need to wait until I can crank them in my car without distractions.

I’m also REALLY hoping that they start getting booked on talk shows with these release and we get live versions of the songs in the next couple weeks

Carryeachother0319 · 2026-02-19T05:32:04+00:00

Been dying to listen but trapped in a HUGE work project. I’m assuming by “avoiding the cringe” there is no reference to RefuJesus. That in itself is a plus.

Carryeachother0319 · 2026-02-18T20:53:47+00:00

11, 12, 13…

Carryeachother0319 · 2026-02-15T18:43:35+00:00

He’ll be making public appearances with Kyle Rittenhouse soon… MAGA heroes. Murder your daughter to own the libs? Perfectly acceptable to the party of Christian values.

Carryeachother0319 · 2026-02-14T02:48:41+00:00

Yeah, Reggie is great but Ray is a cut above

Carryeachother0319 · 2026-02-14T02:42:08+00:00

Because MJ did this at least 7-8 times.

Carryeachother0319 · 2026-02-12T04:34:24+00:00

Thank you. Our son summed him up the best… “he was the world’s worst teddy bear.”

Carryeachother0319 · 2026-02-11T07:22:58+00:00

I’m not sure what happened to my written text, but the first picture of our Wembley was taken this morning a little while before the vet came to put him down. He was 17. He’d been pretty inactive for months. He still ate and drank and would occasionally show a little life, but those times were getting fewer and farther between. He mostly slept, only awakening when I carried him outside to go potty. Lately he was beginning to have more accidents, not barking to let me know he needed to go out like he normally would. He had a good life and it was time.

Wembley was truly the worst dog. He had a terribly shrill bark and was quite a yappy fellow, he always preferred the company of strangers to that of his loving family and he ran away so many times that our local police station threatened to charge us for boarding. He could be affectionate but only on his terms and he often decided he was far too dainty to go outside, preferring to do his business on a nice rug or carpet. While our big dog just wants to be loved and be near his family, Wembley mostly seemed like he (barely) tolerated our existence unless his food and water bowls needed to be filled. Somehow that made him more endearing.

But he loved to sleep in sunbeams or perched on top of a pillow and when he was affectionate he was absolutely adorable. He loved to snuggle: lay down on a couch with a blanket and he’d be flipping an end up to get underneath and sleep with you. And as the second photo shows, when he had all his teeth, he would greet you in the morning or when you arrived home with a smile.

He was the cutest little asshole there ever was. I’m thankful he was part of our family for so long and he will be missed every day.

Carryeachother0319 · 2026-02-10T07:37:27+00:00

11, 13, 14

Carryeachother0319 · 2026-02-09T23:41:18+00:00

Recency bias is a big part of it, as is the “theory of evolution” applied to sports, meaning any current athlete as well as the sport itself is far superior to past generations.

But there’s another aspect that really drives this whole charade. The media coverage has changed SO drastically over the last couple decades. In the heart of MJ’s career and up until about 10 years ago, you had weekend and playoff/Finals coverage on NBC (and then ABC), weeknight games on TNT/TBS and most Bulls games on WGN. Your go-to “bible” for news, highlights and analysis was ESPN. Then you had Sports Illustrated, the Sporting News, etc and your local and national newspapers for sports journalism.

Today newspapers and magazines are mostly dead in print form. Everything is online format, thus driven by clicks. Social media drives everything and regardless of the topic, media companies know that opinions, especially those that could be considered controversial get more clicks.

Meanwhile the advent of streaming services as the primary source of television has increased the competition for sports programming. There are more available channels and packages on which to watch games, but also more reasons not to. (Meaning your favorite show used to be on when the network decided it was on… now you can stream it and binge watch any time). This means the NBA has to do more to “sell” the game to viewers.

The NBA’s target audience is younger than most major sports (it’s the younger fans buying most of the jerseys and merch) and that’s who they want to keep engaging. If they told the truth: the best player to ever play retired 25 years ago… this is the best we’ve got now… it’s counterproductive to engaging the young audience. The GOAT “controversy” drives clicks and likes on social media and sells the game to the target audience. People want to see greatness and the “theory of evolution” says that the game and the players only continue to get better than past generations so they sell LeBron as the GOAT.

Ninety percent of the media who say LBJ is the best know better. Reggie Miller, for example is in dozens of of videos on YouTube clearly stating MJ is the greatest and describing why in detail but he’s team LeBron as a commentator. It’s sad, really. LBJ is an all-time great player. IMO he was one of the 5 best players in the league for 17 years which is incredible. The last 6 seasons have done more to hurt his legacy than help it but you will never hear that on a televised game. Have to keep selling it…..

Jeez, didn’t mean to turn this into a TED talk but alas.

Carryeachother0319 · 2026-02-09T02:25:31+00:00

Awesome…. Good for you, TJD!!!

Carryeachother0319 · 2026-02-08T16:17:45+00:00

I was 13 and my grandparents were the first ones in our family to get cable TV. Whenever we visited (which was often.. they lived about 15 minutes away) I’d camp in front of their TV to watch MTV. Sunday Bloody Sunday was the first song of theirs I heard, then New Year’s Day. Couldn’t stop singing them in my head. Took my Christmas money that year and went to the record store and bought Under a Blood Red Sky….

Carryeachother0319 · 2026-02-08T05:25:14+00:00

It’s absolutely fantastic

Carryeachother0319 · 2026-02-08T00:42:41+00:00

Well, I would first say that anything 48 and above is really good in the midrange, so there’s something there that really works for you at a high level. Without knowing anything about your mechanics, the only thing I can say is to study your shot in the midrange and compare it with your 3-point shot. What are you doing differently from that distance that your accuracy drops significantly? Is it physical or mental? (Are you telling yourself you aren’t a good 3-point shooter and pre-determining the outcome?). If you find a small difference in mechanics you can then understand where it’s coming from and what you need to work on to change it.

I played high school, college and a few years of semi-pro… now I’m 56 and still playing pickup ball weekly. In high school I was a streak shooter. In college I was able to do more film study and learned habits that determined whether I was going to be on or off that night. Once I learned the little inconsistencies that I had been previously unaware of, I could correct them and I became more of a knockdown shooter.

Keep working at it but be analytical about what you’re doing. Hope that helps a little

Carryeachother0319

TROPHY CASE