I LOVE some of the most HATED U2 songs:
Unknown Caller
Playboy Mansion
Elevation
I'll Go Crazy
Stand Up Comedy
Love Rescue Me
Volcano
Wild Honey
AND, I'll go even further. With the exception of Elevation & Volcano, these songs are wildly different from one other (even Elevation vs Volcano are different - the latter has a funk groove, while Elevation is much brighter pop-rock/punk.) And U2 are a better band, partially for having songs like these. The wide variety of strong responses to these songs are proof that they are not just forgettable throwaways or boring. (and YES, the responses are strong. Actions speak louder than just words, and if you repeatedly bring up the hatred, than your actions tell everyone how strong your response is.) These songs are proof that U2 is indeed going against what is expected, not just catering to fans. They just gave some fans how crave for a certain era, or sound, something that they don't like, and were not hoping for. Period.
Claims of being overly pop or overly "Elevation-like" so the band has lost it are ridiculous and statistically false. This is NOT opinion, this is fact. In 13 studio album (not including SOE), there are not more than 5 Elevation-type of songs. Correct me if I am wrong on that count. 5 out of roughly 130 songs (underestimate of 10 song x 13 studio album, not even including the many brides, or Passengers, that is 3.85%. That negligible amount is what many people base theories on.
I'm thinking the count of "pure" pop songs and percentage is even lower.