Zack: There are four U2 albums on the list, and this
is the second one for us. I distinctly remembered listening to the first one on
a train ride to see Emily, so I guessed summer of 2011. But I wasn’t super
confident in that (it could just as easily have been 2012) and I couldn’t even
remember which album it was. Turns out I was right about the time and it was
The Joshua Tree. I know I didn’t like that album (and, after re-reading my
review from back them, I’m not sure if I outright hated it that much or was just
trying to be Edge-y and cool…see what I did there?), but that’s about it. Back
then, I would take an hour-long train from rural NJ to Philly, wait for the
next train, then take a 45-minute train from Philly to Emily’s hometown. I
would normally try and knock out like three albums each way, and I’d inevitably
be reading or playing Fire Emblem on my laptop while I did it. They’d all kind
of blur together. Now, for Achtung Baby, I tried to give it a little more
attention. I listened to it on a Saturday morning, other than the last few
songs from Off the Wall that I had to finish up, it was the first thing I was
doing that day, so I wasn’t super burned out when I got to it, and instead of
playing video games I was just giving issue codes to speeches I’d already read
before. I was in a little bit of a less divided headspace. And I think I
appreciated the album more than I otherwise would as a result. I wouldn’t say
that I had a “come to Jesus” moment or anything. In fact, my scores for this
album were hyper polarized. I gave most songs either 5 stars (my equivalent of
super good; if I’m just throwing on tracks and not listening to an album
straight through, these are the ones I’ll play) or 3 stars (my equivalent of
meh meh meh meh meh). But the songs that popped out, I really liked. They were
alternative rock with a bit more complexity to it. I noticed traces of Bowie in
the formula, which really perked me up. Overall, Achtung Baby showed me flashes
of what real U2 fans adore, and those flashes were pretty impressive.
Favorite Tracks: One; Acrobat; Ultraviolet (Light My Way)
Emily: Based on the limited information I have (i.e. Phoebe Robinson from 2 Dope Queens and my friend's freshman year roommate), if you're a U2 person, then you are wholeheartedly a U2 person. I, however, am not a U2 person. I just don't get the appeal. I'm not opposed to alternative rock growing to stadium proportions as a general matter - the Foo Fighters are great! - but U2 always comes off more preachy and self-righteous than fun and freewheeling. To me, the result is just kinda boring. Achtung Baby fit right in to that impression. There were a few very good songs that made me take notice - the kind that you can definitely hear as a stadium sing-a-long, but otherwise I just found it dull. U2 just isn't my thing, and based on my impressions of this album I don't think it ever really will be.
Favorite Tracks: One; Ultraviolet (Light My Way); Until the End of the World
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