U2 wrote Miami

[intedomine]

It's probably not a song I revisit that often individually, but when I do, I really dig it.

I appreciate its existence in the U2 catalogue more than most other songs - I love that the band created and put to record something as left field as this.

 

[Fly-2000]

After listening to this I decided to check out some of the old PopMart shows over on U2Start, and I don't for the life of me remember there being a soundboard version of their London show on the 23rd of August. I went to that show with my sister, and loved every minute of it:

https://u2start.com/shows/1113/?review=1846#!audio

 

[Montrose]

I didn't care much for Miami for the first few spins, but then two things happened:

- Miami's neighbor, Playboy Mansion ,really got on my nerves. The hate Miami gets should really be diverted by the gravity of that song. It sort of shone a bit more next to it.

- I saw a special on TV about regarding U2 and POP/Popmart, and it had Allen Ginsberg doing a little adhoc reading of Miami's lyrics. Hearing it through his voice made the song click for me. I understood how to hear the lyrics, something that I've never gotten past for Playboy Mansion.

 

[lazarus]

If only they had filmed Hugh Hefner reading the other lyrics.

 

[Montrose]

If only they had filmed Hugh Hefner reading the other lyrics.

Heff's poetry was always underrated.

 

[Moser]

U2 ought to just spend a few months re-recording Pop. And just really overcook it. Layers upon layers of overdubs. Tons of sampling. Trashy guitar tones cranked up in the mix. Make it just unplayable live. But give it that overt commercialism feel Pop deserved. Get Gavin Friday involved. That dude knows how to mix a dark, twisted version of a U2 song. I'm being vague, I know.

 

[RockNRollDawgie]

A couple of the lines are outdated, but I like this song. I can't understand the hate for this song.

 

[ChurchBay]

U2 ought to just spend a few months re-recording Pop. And just really overcook it. Layers upon layers of overdubs. Tons of sampling. Trashy guitar tones cranked up in the mix. Make it just unplayable live. But give it that overt commercialism feel Pop deserved. Get Gavin Friday involved. That dude knows how to mix a dark, twisted version of a U2 song. I'm being vague, I know.

Is there any precedence in the music world of re recording something to that scale? I can think of Mike Oldfield's pointless re recording of Tubular Bells and even, to an extent, the more purposeful reconstruction of Smile by Brian Wilson (a few years before the Smile Sessions was released in 2011).

Pop is in that tricky zone between it's very public disowning by the band and it's reverence amongst hardcore fans.
With regards to re recording it, is it's failure to fulfill it's lofty potential what makes it treasured by fans in that it adds to a mythology about the album and would re recording spoil that aura about it? That said the Howie B interview that was conducted recently was fascinating in how he would be willing to go back to it on account of how they really brought out the hidden aggression/anger in a live format and how that should have been replicated on recor.

 

[Gzusfrk]

Is there any precedence in the music world of re recording something to that scale? I can think of Mike Oldfield's pointless re recording of Tubular Bells and even, to an extent, the more purposeful reconstruction of Smile by Brian Wilson (a few years before the Smile Sessions was released in 2011).

Pop is in that tricky zone between it's very public disowning by the band and it's reverence amongst hardcore fans.
With regards to re recording it, is it's failure to fulfill it's lofty potential what makes it treasured by fans in that it adds to a mythology about the album and would re recording spoil that aura about it? That said the Howie B interview that was conducted recently was fascinating in how he would be willing to go back to it on account of how they really brought out the hidden aggression/anger in a live format and how that should have been replicated on recor.

It MAY be interesting, but if the "new" versions of some Pop songs are any indication of what it would sound like, then I'm out. I thought every "new" version was watered down and neutered of it's magic.

 

[ChurchBay]

It MAY be interesting, but if the "new" versions of some Pop songs are any indication of what it would sound like, then I'm out. I thought every "new" version was watered down and neutered of it's magic.

Yeah I see what you mean. The Discotheque version on the best of was an insult. That said, I didn't mind the Gone mix even if it was indicative of the band retreating completely from the ethos of Pop into safe rock territory. Some may even say the final product released in March 1997 was already a few steps back from what it's original final vision was.

 

[EdgeFest]

Can we agree that ATLU2 is a legend for bumping this up again in 2018.

 

[ATLU2]

It was my son, dammit.

 

[MattD]

The re-recorded Pop songs for the 1990-2000 compilation are a complete bastardisation of the originals, particularly Discotheque.

What in god's name they were thinking in taking a dynamic and multi-layered groove laden song like Discotheque and turning it into dad rock, I will never know.