Recently, the new U2 album, Songs of Innocence, was downloaded on every phone, tablet, and computer connected to iTunes. To Apple’s surprise, the album has caused a great deal of confusion and frustration with its customers.
Ever since I was a child, U2 songs have been playing in my house. My parents have been huge fans ever since the band debuted. However, our generation doesn’t know much about them. Contrary to some of the statements which I’ve seen on my Twitter feed, U2 is not some sort of new boy band trying to gather a fan base. They started out in Dublin, Ireland in 1976. By the 1980s, the group was extremely popular all over the world. Judging by the hate I have seen for the album on the internet, I don’t think many people have thoroughly listened to the entire collection. Since I’m familiar with the band and it was already downloaded on my phone, I gave the album a chance.
The band has a reputation for mixing in rhythms from past decades. Beats from the 1980s and 1990s are subtly thrown in to their newest music. “Songs of Innocence” has an eerie resemblance of “The Joshua Tree,” produced in 1987. After more research, I found that they actually used an old Beach Boys chant in the beginning of “California (There Is No End To Love).” As they brought back the old, they also brought in the new. A new and upcoming artist, Lykke Li, was featured in “The Troubles.” Li has her name on the soundtrack of the movie The Fault In Our Stars, and is fairly new to the music industry.
In addition to using a wide range of rhythms, U2 took a different approach to this album that they wouldn’t normally take. Songs of Innocence can be described as very personal. The songs in this album tell stories. They tell of love, marriage, break ups, and sadness. These kinds of emotions are not expressed so deeply in their other albums. Songs of Innocence has caused a lot of debate over the past couple weeks. People have argued over its significance, meaning, and quality. Although it has received some mixed reviews, U2 didn’t fail to put out another astounding album.
