Fast Cars

[U2opra]

Do you think the sound of fast cars is any indication of the type of sounds and music they are making in morocco?

I like fast cars, it's okay, but I prefered the xanax and wine song it was before fast cars.

Thoughts?

 

[An Cat Gav]

I certainly hope so!
I hope they don't water down their Moroccan stuff too much. I'm sure the stuff they wrote with Eno and Lanois is brilliant. Hope it doesn't get the Lillywhite-jackknife lee treatment!

 

[elevated_u2_fan]

Hope it doesn't get the Lillywhite-jackknife lee treatment!

I agree with this, there is something I dislike about all this over-production they have used on the last two albums that kind of bothers me.

With Achtung/Zooropa/Passengers/Pop it was fine because they were making (for the most part) more "electronic" music that leant itself to heavy production.

With ATYCLB/HTDAAB they were supposed to be a "stripped down" and a return to a classic rock sound. Lillywhite is debatable but why do you need Jacknife Lee and William Orbit for that?

 

[IrishDawg]

Fast cars bugs the crap outta me. I seem to be the only one here who holds that opinion, however.

 

[LemonMelon]

Fast Cars is genius, and I sincerely hope that's where they're going.

Eno/Lanois helping them craft great tunes? Check.

Possible new musical direction? Check.

New producer? Check.

LP12 shall be a monster.

 

[patske]

^
couldn't agree more.. Best song from HTDAAB by far (in my humble opinion..)

 

[gherman]

Fast cars bugs the crap outta me. I seem to be the only one here who holds that opinion, however.

Not a huge fan of it either. I feel its over-rated.

 

[INSTCUWSUMVC]

i agree with IrishDawg on Fast Cars it bugs the crap out of me it sounds at least to me that in some parts Bono smoked a pack or two before they recorded and the gutair is well it isnt my favortie thing about the song

 

[last unicorn]

Fast Cars is genius, and I sincerely hope that's where they're going.

I agree. Fast Cars is a song I loved from the beginning. I just couldn't believe they made something like that. And I didn't even have the album version for quite some time. The only thing I don't like is its position on the album, I still feel it shouldn't be the last song.

But I would love to have another song like that on the new album.

 

[ElectricalVoice]

I like the lyrics a lot and the song is cool, very cool, but I don't hope they go for too many songs like that. Actually I think one is enough.

 

[Scorpionac]

I like Fast Cars, but I don't want any white boy rap on the new album. It's good, but too generic sounding. Morocco should be more inspiring than that.

 

[Earnie Shavers]

With ATYCLB/HTDAAB they were supposed to be a "stripped down" and a return to a classic rock sound. Lillywhite is debatable but why do you need Jacknife Lee and William Orbit for that?

They tried it, shat themselves, gave up on it.

I really liked Fast Cars until I heard Xanax & Wine. I think the stripped back rock album was most definitely in the works, and they just couldn't spin it into the hits they wanted so they ditched the producer and overhauled everything into plastic. I think it would have been awesome, they probably think it wouldn't have washed over in stadiums or sold enough.

I think it's definitely what they were shooting for originally though. In between ATYCLB and HTDAAB came the return of the simple band. The Strokes in 2001 on through to, I guess, someone like Franz Ferdinand perhaps being the main big thing at about the time they were recording, and in between there was a long run of these '4 guys in a room' bands making fairly simple, catchy, short burst of energy, hook and riff laden songs that have done very well. U2's inspiration in sound and genre for an album is rarely if ever original, is pretty much always chasing down something else thats going on around them. I think they saw that, and wanted to out do them all - the old legends showing up the young bucks etc.

I think they probably started down that path and simply didn't think they had the material to quite match it with them, so they switched back to the safety default that has always been there for them should they need it: In Case of Emergency, Break Glass, Retrieve Big Fuck Off U2 Anthems, Mid Tempo Ballads and Catchy Pop Singles. To Enable, Press the Red Over-Produce Button and Release the Soul & Spirit a Long Way from the Album.

Out goes Xanax, in comes Fast Cars.
Out goes Native Son, in comes Vertigo.
Out goes a raw sounding, balls to the wall All Because of You, in comes the slick overproduced teen-pop-does-rock version.
Out goes the mid-album, calm & reflective Sometimes You Can't Make it On Your Own, and in comes the BIG SINGLE Sometimes.
Out goes god knows what that brought us the pure evil of Robbie Williams' dream song (Original of the Species), the U2 button on the 80's Casio atrocity (Yahweh) and the formulaic stadium anthem clunker (Miracle Drug).

 

[dr. zooeuss]

They tried it, shat themselves, gave up on it.

I really liked Fast Cars until I heard Xanax & Wine. I think the stripped back rock album was most definitely in the works, and they just couldn't spin it into the hits they wanted so they ditched the producer and overhauled everything into plastic. I think it would have been awesome, they probably think it wouldn't have washed over in stadiums or sold enough.

I think it's definitely what they were shooting for originally though. In between ATYCLB and HTDAAB came the return of the simple band. The Strokes in 2001 on through to, I guess, someone like Franz Ferdinand perhaps being the main big thing at about the time they were recording, and in between there was a long run of these '4 guys in a room' bands making fairly simple, catchy, short burst of energy, hook and riff laden songs that have done very well. U2's inspiration in sound and genre for an album is rarely if ever original, is pretty much always chasing down something else thats going on around them. I think they saw that, and wanted to out do them all - the old legends showing up the young bucks etc.

I think they probably started down that path and simply didn't think they had the material to quite match it with them, so they switched back to the safety default that has always been there for them should they need it: In Case of Emergency, Break Glass, Retrieve Big Fuck Off U2 Anthems, Mid Tempo Ballads and Catchy Pop Singles. To Enable, Press the Red Over-Produce Button and Release the Soul & Spirit a Long Way from the Album.

Out goes Xanax, in comes Fast Cars.
Out goes Native Son, in comes Vertigo.
Out goes a raw sounding, balls to the wall All Because of You, in comes the slick overproduced teen-pop-does-rock version.
Out goes the mid-album, calm & reflective Sometimes You Can't Make it On Your Own, and in comes the BIG SINGLE Sometimes.
Out goes god knows what that brought us the pure evil of Robbie Williams' dream song (Original of the Species), the U2 button on the 80's Casio atrocity (Yahweh) and the formulaic stadium anthem clunker (Miracle Drug).

wow.

this is the first time in awhile i've spent a lot of time on the board- there's quite a bit of dissatisfaction with Bomb evident on the forum that i wasn't really aware of.

my biggest dissappointments were the plasticizing of native son>vertigo... some months before the album was released, an article interview quoted the working title "Full Metal Jacket" which Bono referred to as a dragon and//or monster of a rock song... and indeed in the end it was a bit of an ipod commercial ..


love and peace (don't know where to start suggesting fixes) and one step closer (the lyrics may be fine, but the music reminds me of a snooze alarm). miracle drug had such potential, but somewhere it didn't quite gel

the rest of the album is pretty good-

and to me, COBL, A Man and a Woman, Yahweh and Original of the Species stand with their best from any album.

 

[U2girl]

Dr zoeuss, don't base your impression on interference's view on Bomb on the vocal minority. Especially the most ardent hater. Don't believe the "they got scared" hype either, since the official info on making of Bomb doesn't add up with that.

Fast cars is a good song, would be better off as a starting point for LP 12, with Mercy (both are overrated). It doesn't fit on Bomb (hurt by the armada of producers instead of letting Lillywhite handle stuff), musically or lyrically.

 

[schnumi]

A whole album of Fast Cars songs isnt great.

Al whole album of Xanax and Whine songs is great.

 

[last unicorn]

Out goes Xanax, in comes Fast Cars.
Out goes Native Son, in comes Vertigo.
Out goes a raw sounding, balls to the wall All Because of You, in comes the slick overproduced teen-pop-does-rock version.
Out goes the mid-album, calm & reflective Sometimes You Can't Make it On Your Own, and in comes the BIG SINGLE Sometimes.
Out goes god knows what that brought us the pure evil of Robbie Williams' dream song (Original of the Species), the U2 button on the 80's Casio atrocity (Yahweh) and the formulaic stadium anthem clunker (Miracle Drug).

I don't agree with all the Bomb bashing, except that I too think that it is a) a little overproduced and b) not very coherent as an album.

I go with some of the above mentioned about the original songs being replaced by what ended up on the album, but to me it's clear U2 wanted to have songs to go on tour with.

Yes, I may prefer Xanax and Wine to Fast Cars and also the original version of Sometimes to the final product, but I don't see these songs having live potential.

I don't agree about Original of The Species and Miracle Drug, both are, to me, the album's strongest songs.

And Bono made it pretty clear that he never wanted to sing Native Son live, hence the replacement by Vertigo.

I like Native Son more, but I see where the band is coming from. Vertigo is just the ultimate stadium rocker.

 

[blackrockpark]

Besides their early stuff, I'm not sure what U2 album isn't overproduced.

Pop had raw moments, but it seems like only a few songs were conceived to be that way. A lot of songs were just not finished.

But U2 has always modeled themselves as professionals who are thorough with production. When the idea to make an album in a short period was discussed during Million Dollar Hotel, they debated but ended up chucking the idea because they didn't believe a good album would be made in a short time. Try telling that to the White Stripes.

I actually liked the production on Atomic Bomb. The whole album was well thought out musically. There was not a string of weak songs like recent albums but every song seemed well put together (according to the concept design).

The problem was in the lyrical capabilities. As National Review pointed out, Atomic Bomb was the "marriage album" for U2 while Achtung Baby was the "divorce album".

I saw that idea but I got general stuff on Atomic. The lyrics were personal, but not as thorough and complex as on Achtung Baby. Atomic Bomb had songs that were based on formulas that were either too vague or simple. I like Miracle Drug, but the message of the song was vague. I have ideas but I feel I need Bono to tell me in an interview to really say everything the song has to say. That isn't a good thing.

What I hope with the new album is that they have a quality lyrical context to the music. I don't want general love anthems. I want U2 to attack the Islam world with vision and ideas. I'm hoping they will mesh the music with the lyrics perfectly.

They did this with Joshua Tree, the original music on Rattle and Hum, Achtung Baby and attempted it on Pop but after that they have gotten away from it.

 

[ahittle]

I would love Fast Cars except that it seems like Bono didn't finish the lyrics. What's up with him repeating that first verse over and over? What's the story there?

 

[Aygo]

What I hope with the new album is that they have a quality lyrical context to the music. I don't want general love anthems. I want U2 to attack the Islam world with vision and ideas.

WTF... Attack the Islam??? And tear down all the humanitarian/political job he's been doing?
And what's the point in making contraditions with the "Coexist" theme the band has been talking about the last years? This just doesn't make sense. This idea gets stronger if we remember that the band was in Fez recording and seeing sacred islamic music shows. It leads to understand better that culture and its ideas.

 

[Zoocoustic]

U2 think too much when making an album. They should quit second guessing everything which only ends up sounding worse than the original idea, as has been pointed out. Bomb was ready at least a year before it was released as evidenced by the fact that the early takes are better than the versions that finally made the album.

U2, give us the songs you're working on now. They're no doubt in better form than they will be when you actually release them in late 2008. Stop worrying about trying to have another huge single. You've already had dozens. Now its just time to be yourselves and who cares what a bunch of 12 year old girls think. You have a big enough following that whatever you put out, it will sell well and receive good press.

 

[cobl04]

Fast cars bugs the crap outta me. I seem to be the only one here who holds that opinion, however.

No, I agree with you. It's alright, but there are about seven songs on Hutdab I would rather listen to. It's always annoyed. If they go down that path I imagine most people will be pretty happy though.

 

[silvrlvr]

I like Fast Cars because it is musical, and different. The rhythms are hot, especially in the bridge where Edge gets to let loose. If they do work like this on the new album, that's fine with me.

My only fear is that Moroccan/Arab motifs are showing up everywhere from Sting to Justin Timberlake and I do not want them to end up with reviews that say, "U2 is the latest in a wave of rock stars to adopt a Middle East influence..."

 

[LemonMelon]

Out goes the mid-album, calm & reflective Sometimes You Can't Make it On Your Own

AKA SYCMIOYO (Piece Of Crap Mix).

You're reeeeaaaaallllly stretching it with that complaint. Honestly, that version has no redeeming value whatsoever. Alt ABOY has no chorus, Native Son's lyrics clash with the music horribly, and Xanax And Wine is just...different. Lillywhite Bomb > Thomas Bomb, because Thomas Bomb clearly wasn't finished. If any U2 album containing a song as lazy and unfinished as alt SYCMIOYO came out, I would be insulted.

So yeah, they decided to actually finish the songs they were working on before releasing the album. Those sellouts.

 

[xaviMF22]

So yeah, they decided to actually finish the songs they were working on before releasing the album. Those sellouts.

yea too bad the finished versions sucked..


Alt HTDAAB

 

[LemonMelon]

Alt HTDAAB

Alt HTDAAB = Salome Outtakes

 

[xaviMF22]

vertigo

native son

Alt ABOY>>>Intellectual tortoise version

 

[LemonMelon]

vertigo

native son

Alt ABOY>>>Intellectual tortoise version

Yes, I know. You've told me several times already. It won't suddenly become true just because you have to mention it in every HTDAAB-related thread.

 

[purpleoscar]

The cut versions are obviously laughable compared to the finished versions. HTDAAB is a great album. A great album to me is an album I can listen to all the songs from beginning to end without skipping.

 

[bazza]

agree - HTDAAB is bloody great. a classic. all i ask is that the new album
- have a 'reinvented' feel to it
- hard lyrics / no soft songs like OOTS etc - more so like AB lyrics which in my books are the best
- plenty of guitar & attitude

so there you go bono if your reading this take note .

 

[xaviMF22]

Yes, I know. You've told me several times already. It won't suddenly become true just because you have to mention it in every HTDAAB-related thread.

I have to when you're spreading lies

about HTDAAB being great