Daniel Lanois quote in EW
- Thread starter Clawgrabber
- Start date
The friendliest place on the web for anyone that follows U2.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
Same here!
BVS
Blue Crack Supplier
corianderstem
Blue Crack Distributor
I are smart. 
BVS
Blue Crack Supplier
I wish he had stayed away from the Mac lingo, it reminded me of the latest James album, Tim Booth uses an obscene amount of cellphone references and terms that will be outdated in 5 years. But other than that I really like the concept of the song...
corianderstem
Blue Crack Distributor
Yeah, but if all authors and songwriters stayed away from any sort of technology/pop culture/news reference that's going to be dated in five years, then that's pretty limiting.
I mean, I don't want to hear a song all about Lindsay Lohan's courtroom exploits or read a book that's chock full of Twitter and Facebook references, but I don't think that you should steer clear of them altogether for fear of sounding "dated" in a few years.
I mean, I don't want to hear a song all about Lindsay Lohan's courtroom exploits or read a book that's chock full of Twitter and Facebook references, but I don't think that you should steer clear of them altogether for fear of sounding "dated" in a few years.
BVS
Blue Crack Supplier
I played a song for my 12 year old nephew that had references to an answering machine and tapes, and he looked at me completely befuddled...
I felt so old.
powerhour24
ONE love, blood, life
Unknown Caller only comes of as 'embarrassing' if you don't buy into the metaphor, or it goes right over your head. The song like some of what was actually released falls right into the latter day hymns concept, right down to the hymn the Edge adapted his solo from.
DoctorGonzo, I'm with you in the feeling that NLOTH could have been stronger, but not necessarily on the points you chose to criticize. I'm pretty sure we all love NLOTH2, but the song would not have fit on the album (in any incarnation) the same way the album version does (which is one of the stronger tracks on the album), perhaps if they'd recorded the hybrid arrangement they created for the live performances that would have been a correct compromise.
DoctorGonzo, I'm with you in the feeling that NLOTH could have been stronger, but not necessarily on the points you chose to criticize. I'm pretty sure we all love NLOTH2, but the song would not have fit on the album (in any incarnation) the same way the album version does (which is one of the stronger tracks on the album), perhaps if they'd recorded the hybrid arrangement they created for the live performances that would have been a correct compromise.
beachball
Refugee
I don't think it's a disadvantage if a song has a few "what the hell does that mean" moments. 
shart1780
Rock n' Roll Doggie
UC's lyrics are truly bad, but I still like the song a lot. If it had good lyrics I'd love it.
Vlad n U 2
Blue Crack Addict
- Joined
- Jul 6, 2008
- Messages
- 28,386
I happen to think that the lyrics to Unknown Caller are awesome. But then again this is coming from a guy who doesn't hate "intellectual tortoise". They don't irritate me at all.
ozeeko
Refugee
I don't own a Mac so the metaphors aren't so cringeworthy. But still, I haven't listened to this song (or the album it's from) since prob last spring, and it was a listen I hadn't taken in a while so who knows when I listened to it before then. NLOTH has aged pretty bad I'm sorry to say. I've listened to ATYCLB a hell of a lot more than NLOTH in the time since NLOTH has been released.
I wouldn't go so far as to say that Bono's lost his lyrical touch(I think Kite, IALW, Sometimes, White As Snow, Cedars, MOS are all spectacular) but I think the volume of really great lyrics has declined.
Look at it like this:
Does anyone see an odd man out? Is this odd man out clear? It should be.
Out of Control
New Year's Day
ASOH
Bad
Streets
Heartland
Hawkmoon
Until the end, Whos Gonna Ride, So Cruel, Ultraviolet(most of the rest of AB really)
Stay
Gone
Please
Unknown Caller
Unknown Caller loses by miles and miles and miles and miles.
Sorry.
Wears off after a few listens on the album, puts you to sleep live.
Look at it like this:
Does anyone see an odd man out? Is this odd man out clear? It should be.
Out of Control
New Year's Day
ASOH
Bad
Streets
Heartland
Hawkmoon
Until the end, Whos Gonna Ride, So Cruel, Ultraviolet(most of the rest of AB really)
Stay
Gone
Please
Unknown Caller
Unknown Caller loses by miles and miles and miles and miles.
Sorry.
Wears off after a few listens on the album, puts you to sleep live.
God Part III
Rock n' Roll Doggie Band-aid
Haters gonna hate.
It's an awesome song, some of the best lyrics on the album.
It's an awesome song, some of the best lyrics on the album.
i love the music of unknown caller... i think the verses are very good, and i very much get the metaphor.
the chorus is embarrassing, and takes what should have been an epic song and turns it into merely good.
am i missing something here? the reason you picked those particular songs to compare it to is... ?
gvox
Ghost of Love
macphisto54
The Fly
- Joined
- Jan 29, 2009
- Messages
- 105
I think the lyrics are pretty poor throughout the album. Bono needs to get his act together for the next one.
nirniva
Rock n' Roll Doggie Band-aid
I loves me some Unknown Caller, but I can definitely see how it could rub some people the wrong way. Different strokes for different folks, I guess.
catlhere
Rock n' Roll Doggie VIP PASS
I think they made 3 good albums in a row now. This one just wasn't a commercial/radio hit. That's too bad, 'cause I really liked it.
The chorus with the techno-lingo brings down the song.edit: As for great Morocco stuff...from what we heard the Magnificent/MOS/UC stretch is supposed to be the closest to "future hymns" they talked about. Very good/possibly classic in the case of latter two songs, but I don't see inspiration and reinvention they were looking for, ie the comparisons to AB just don't hold up.
powerhour24
ONE love, blood, life
ozeeko, we all have our own tastes which is fine, but it would be one thing to say you've soured towards NLOTH and another to say it has 'aged badly' the album is less than two years old and nothing on it makes you go 'ugh that reminds me of 2009, it's so old' like you do when you hear bad synthy 80's music. We'll talk about aging in a decade or so, but as none of the album really sounds like what is out there in the mainstream now as has been true of pretty much every U2 album with the exception of the earliest days, I doubt we'll ever be talking about how '2000's' NLOTH sounds. (How '2000's U2 it sounds could be a different matter )
)monsieur fly
War Child
- Joined
- Sep 23, 2008
- Messages
- 793
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpPFJ315Fw0]YouTube - U2 - Electrical Storm (demo)
YouTube - U2 - Electrical Storm (William Orbit Remix) Full Song
YouTube - U2 - Electrical Storm
the different versions of electrical storm have always fascinated me in their production and arrangement... both have very similar elements, but one is a slow build and one is more guitar driven. it really gives a good look into the internal debate on musical direction that u2 seem to be going through this past decade... and how they just can't figure out which way to go. it looks as if the guitar driven version came more from the demo, but then at some point they thought it needed to be more atmospheric and that's when orbit's version came in.
It's interesting. I think the ultimate version of the song would involved Orbit's atmospherics combined with the haunting chorus of the demo rather than the rock guitar by numbers approach we actually got.
You didn't miss anything.
A lot of the discussion on previous pages was U2's lyrics in the past vs now with UC as a frequent example.
DoctorGonzo's post was what I had in mind, should have quoted it for clarity.
To which I responded with what you quoted.
I don't buy his point exactly, but going through the U2 songbook chronologically, there is a bit to that argument.
I just picked out some examples as we go through. No particular reason why each song is there, aside from the fact that they are great lyrically.
IMHO, of course.
phommel
Refugee
cringeworthy
Lyrically their worst song since years.
And then that live karaoke version...even more embarassing.
But tastes differ...
Lyrically their worst song since years.
And then that live karaoke version...even more embarassing.
But tastes differ...
bonocomet
Blue Crack Distributor
But if you are comparing songs that you feel are great lyrically to one that you feel is bad lyrically, it really isn't a fair comparison, even within your own opinion. If you are going to do it at all it makes more sense to compare songs from those past eras that you feel are not great lyrically with UC, wouldn't it?
Screwtape2
Blue Crack Addict
My only problem with the Unknown Caller lyrics are that the tech-lingo lines sound like they are from an instruction manual. They stick out a bit for that.
Salome
you are what you is
what's the problem with UC's chorus?
at least Bono actually wrote one that is more than repeating 1 sentence a dozen times, which he doesn't do that often
at least Bono actually wrote one that is more than repeating 1 sentence a dozen times, which he doesn't do that often
VintagePunk
Blue Crack Distributor
Isn't that the point, though?
powerhour24
ONE love, blood, life
That's what I was gonna ask.
No.
I was following the point that doctorgonzo made, which was that over time, the lyrical quality has declined somewhat.
I said I didn't buy that 100%, but that the weak lyrics have become a bit more frequent since 2000. (though again, plenty of gems like MOS, WAS, E Storm, etc)
I used UC as an example.
It may not be the worst lyric ever, but in context with the ones I mentioned?
Similar threads
- Locked
- Sticky
