"Magnificent vs. Mercy"

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Which song do you prefer?

  • Total voters
    155
Magnificent wins only because it is in it's final form.

Mercy has the potential to be one of the best U2 songs ever--much better than Magnificent. It sounds a bit incomplete as is, but a little fine tuning and it would be incredible.
 
How in the heck did 31 people vote for Mercy over Magnificent????? Did your mouse slip and you accidently hit the wrong button? I know people are entitled to their opinion but come on ye people (thats right, Stand up Comedy reference for all you haters). Anyway, here is how they match up to me:

In a Soccer match
Magnificent: 9
Mercy: 1 (magnificent pulled their goalie in the last min. because he had a family emergency)

In a Baseball Game:
Magnificent: 23
Mercy: 2 (Magnificent brought in Get on Your Boots Crookers mix in the 9th and they promptly gave up 2 runs)

In a football game:
Magnificent: 56
Mercy: 3 (late field goal)

In a hockey game:
Magnificent (remix): 6 (the Fred Falke mix)
Mercy: 0

Note-Magnificent the song didn't want to play hockey, so the new remix showed up and didnt give up a goal.

Just my thought......:sexywink:
 
My god, the hyperbole here is so pathetic.

So is the delusion. "U2 cut it from the album therefore it MUST be unfinished!!"

:rolleyes:

Keep toeing that company line, sheep.
 
I thought the company line was
"it needs a bit more tweaking"

if tweaking also includes changing a song's complete structure so that it doesn't feel like it just drones on for 56 minutes then I'd agree though :hmm:
 
Salome said:
I thought the company line was
"it needs a bit more tweaking"

if tweaking also includes changing a song's complete structure so that it doesn't feel like it just drones on for 56 minutes then I'd agree though :hmm:
Click to expand...

...and you'd be saying the same thing about Bad had it been left off its respective album.
 
lazarus said:
...and you'd be saying the same thing about Bad had it been left off its respective album.
Click to expand...
come to think of it


no I wouldn't


I actually don't see the comparison you're making at all
(but I guess your point is more that I don't like anything that's not a 3:30 pop single :shrug: )
I don't mind songs that last for 6+ or 8+ or 12+ minutes as long as it goes somewhere
even Elvis Presley & America (though not a favourite of mine) while in essence very close to a demo at least has a musical build up

I enjoy the first 2 minutes of Mercy musically
unfortunately it doesn't go anywhere after that
 
Well to be fair there, if it had gotten a proper release they probably would've chopped a minute or so off it. And when it's that good doesn't matter if it goes somewhere.
 
U2's current penchant for songs over 6 minutes on their latest record makes me think the length wouldn't be an issue. It doesn't meander and repeat and drone like some people are saying [god knows why] it goes places, in my opinion and I think the whole unreleased factor just brings its stock down where some people are concerned. It clouds people's judgement i think which is a massive shame because it's a great song and in my opinion better than a few on Atomic Bomb.
 
gareth brown said:
U2's current penchant for songs over 6 minutes on their latest record makes me think the length wouldn't be an issue. It doesn't meander and repeat and drone like some people are saying [god knows why] it goes places, in my opinion and I think the whole unreleased factor just brings its stock down where some people are concerned. It clouds people's judgement i think which is a massive shame because it's a great song and in my opinion better than a few on Atomic Bomb.
Click to expand...
worrrrd
 
well, I have no problem with people who do love the song
personally I don't get it
I tried once to randomly listen to 10 second fragments from the song and trying to see whether I could guess where in the song the 10 seconds were from
I scored 0 out of 4 tries

to me the song does just meander on
and I'm perfectly able to judge for myself whether I like a song or do not like it
the whole idea that I would suddenly change my opinion if the song had been released is weird and somehow slightly offensive

when to me a song sounds unfocused musically and rather daff lyrically then I'm not going to say I think it's great so that some people will not call me a mindless sheep


:drool:
 
As far as it not going anywhere, you're simply wrong. I couldn't tell you about chord changes or anything, but there's a clear delineation between the verses and the chorus (which I'd certainly call a catchy melody "love is when I lie...") and more importantly, a crescendo that the song reaches with Bono's plaintive singing, the guitar solo and that big "Whoo-hooo!" Compare that to the studio version of Bad, which builds and builds, but unlike the live version, doesn't really take off. That's meandering. It still works to an extent, but it's a pale shadow of what it would become later.

As for Mercy's lyrics, considering the cliched pap that's all over ATYCLB and HTDAAB, it's a bit of a relief to hear him doing something more akin to his 90's work. Personally, I think "you wanted violins/and you got Nero" is one of his better lines of the decade.

Again, I feel that people know it's unreleased, and just start looking for what's wrong with it. They want the band to be right in all of these circumstances. To me, it was a longer, more atmospheric track that didn't fit in with the concise pop/rock of HTDAAB. Funny how it was mentioned in the Blender article that Fast Cars was cut at the same time as Mercy for reasons of ALBUM LENGTH, and when that song pops up as a bonus track everyone seemed to love it and don't talk about how it "needs more work".
 
Bad really doesn't go anywhere at all. It is essentially the same two chords over and over again with a slight change in the chorus. Yet, for whatever reason, it feels like a, ahem, musical journey of sorts.

Mercy, though it may take some time to get to where it needs to go, does indeed have a punchline. The way it builds up to "I hear you talk/Fear nothing" is a classic epic U2 crescendo, and it didn't even need to clutter its arrangement to get there. Plus, lyrically, it beats the shit out of Magnificent.

However, I still haven't voted. Magnificent is a much stronger song overall, but there are so many things about Mercy that fascinate me. It has loads of potential.
 
FitzChivalry said:
:lol: Relax. I like what I like. You like what you like. It's all good.

I was just stating my preference and why.
Click to expand...

:no: I understand that we all like what we like but... IMO... this song is overly hyped by too many. Doesn't it make you wonder why it's never even mentioned by the band... ever? It's weak.
 
Zooropa man said:
:no: I understand that we all like what we like but... IMO... this song is overly hyped by too many. Doesn't it make you wonder why it's never even mentioned by the band... ever? It's weak.
Click to expand...

U2 has discussed Mercy with fans on numerous occasions. :shrug: It's not as if it was some fan-created track with a history fabricated by Interference.
 
LemonMelon said:
U2 has discussed Mercy with fans on numerous occasions. :shrug: It's not as if it was some fan-created track with a history fabricated by Interference.
Click to expand...


Okay, so they have. I don't have anything personal against anyone. I just don't understand the obsession with it. I know that they have a whole lot of diamonds in the ruff out there but this one just makes me yawn. So I hope nobody takes my comments personal or anything. :wave:
 
gareth brown said:
U2's current penchant for songs over 6 minutes on their latest record makes me think the length wouldn't be an issue. It doesn't meander and repeat and drone like some people are saying [god knows why] it goes places, in my opinion and I think the whole unreleased factor just brings its stock down where some people are concerned. It clouds people's judgement i think which is a massive shame because it's a great song and in my opinion better than a few on Atomic Bomb.
Click to expand...

While the song is good, you are kidding yourself if you think that its unreleased status has done anything besides bolster its reputation on the internet. This in turn has created a noticeable backlash to the song. By remaining unreleased, Mercy has become trapped in a world of unending hyperbole from both sides.
 
I listened to Magnificent at least 8 times this morning on my way to work. I might have to purchase another copy of NLOTH or rip this one to my hard drive to make a back up copy. I already know my current copy is gonna start skipping/messing up soon because I play it so much. Magnificent rules:applaud:.
 
Also, while the results of this poll might seem like a slaughter, please take note that Mercy, an unreleased track, has received 1/4 of the votes, against a new album's most popular song.

Still impressive.
 
lazarus said:
Also, while the results of this poll might seem like a slaughter, please take note that Mercy, an unreleased track, has received 1/4 of the votes, against a new album's most popular song.

Still impressive.
Click to expand...

Take that with a grain of salt. One thing about this forum is that there are MANY different musical tastes when it comes to U2 songs. If you had a poll that pitted Walk to the Water Vs Vertigo or Beautiful Day, there would be a lot of people who would vote for Walk to the Water. With that said, I do agree with you that a lot of people did vote for Mercy...a song that I dont even know if it was a b-side to anything, let alone on an album.
 
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