Socrates

Nick, you start from a premise that, at least for me, is wrong, and that is praising the album simply because it is by U2. Instead, it seems to me, listening to your moralistic critiques, that the thumbs down against Bono and his companions would have come "regardless," as Totò would say.
No one has talked about settling. Others and I have simply highlighted the lack of justification for the harsh criticism. We didn't raise a hymn of praise. We rebelled against what seemed to us, rightly or wrongly, an unfounded critique fueled by a certain prejudice. I ask you: if the album hadn't been by U2, would you have spoken about it in such negative terms? I don't think so.
You’re not the only one who listens to many albums and seeks out the unknown yet talented artist. The difference between you and me is that you consider all music that "sells" a bad weed to be uprooted; I, on the other hand, believe that more sophisticated listening can coexist perfectly with more playful, immediate tastes, if you’ll allow me the term. Likewise, I disagree with the notion that U2 and other more famous bands sap the lifeblood from underground ones. I don't think things are quite that way. The discourse is more complex. In fact, sometimes the opposite is true: Creation, for instance, was able to publish amazing bands thanks to the sales of the undervalued Oasis.
The low level and poor quality of those who listen to rock/pop music today is not due to those who buy a few chart records, but to those who exclusively purchase and listen to that type of music. The problem is how to broaden horizons, not eliminate the charts.

You could have spared us this...bringing the Queen into it, too.

there's an extra "not," as is evident...
Socrates

Thank goodness for the connoisseurs who point us towards the true path of rock. It’s perfectly legitimate that the album might not appeal to everyone, of course. But I find it irritating this air of someone who knows it all, this oracular tone that doesn’t allow for any rebuttals; this need to subordinate aesthetic judgment to some (pseudo) moral aspect, or rather, let’s call it moralistic. And what if I told you that to me "Innuendo," with the exception of a few tracks, doesn’t seem like a 5-star album and perhaps not even a 4-star one?

"Now he lives in Atlantis/with a hat full of memories/and the face of someone who has understood..." That was also my continent. Thank you for reminding me.

Certo! Inviami il testo che desideri tradurre e provvederò a farlo.

Thank you for the advice: they are two really fun albums, the first one is better than the second.

Remarkable review. It's a pity I don't know the album. I have to say that the latest Manu Chao doesn't excite me.

If it helps to better frame Bejar, I would add that he is a co-writer of the songs for an interesting indie-pop group, the New Pornographers.