So why dont you like Boots?

[MooMoo!]

I, for one, like it. But a (somewhat large) percentage of the peeps on here don't seem to. To the point where its expected that its disliked.


I would just like to know, why?

And, if you don't like Boots, do you also dislike Vertigo and Elevation (TR mix)?

 

[mikal]

i like Boots, and it sounds nothing like Vertigo or Elevation.

 

[Purplereign]

I love boots too . . . catchy little thing and I think it actually gets better after a few listens

 

[super fly guy]

I love boots,its a rocking tune. And that running into vertigo on the tour would be awesome!

 

[stealthboy]

I liked it when it first came, but seeing it live on the BBC Radio 2 performance took it up a notch, IMHO. I *really* like it now and can't wait for the tour.

 

[gareth brown]

I hope I get to see them live because I really don't like it that much anymore. The verses just make me think of the ting tings more and more with each listen which ive already said

 

[MooMoo!]

Yeah...well I appriciate the BootsLuv, but is anyone actually going to own up and explain why they dont like it??




Though rolling pins arnt the most inviting thing...

Er, come on in, we have wine!


Seriously why.

 

[MooMoo!]

I hope I get to see them live because I really don't like it that much anymore. The verses just make me think of the ting tings more and more with each listen which ive already said

Ah hello thar.

Does it remind you of the Ting Tings because of the drums by any chance?

 

[catlhere]

More people like it than dislike it. There was a poll a while ago when it was the only song off the album we knew and the rating was a solid 7-8 out of 10, with most votes for 8 if I remember correctly. I think the only thing that happened was people heard the rest of the album and decided Boots wasn't as good as the other songs and somehow that translated into "Boots is complete and utter shit". I still love it, and it's really fun and rocking. U2 seems to have a great time playing it.

 

[bdogm]

I don't because a somewhat large percentage of the people on here told me not to.


Just kidding, I've always liked it.

 

[Anji]

It's funny I love it and hate it at the same time! Pretty much like I do with Veritgo! I nearly always skip Boots on the album now, like I do with Vertigo on Bomb.

They are poles apart in every way, but for some reason they both wind me up and I don't know why?

When Boots came out I adored it (I think because it was the first U2 record for so long) then I thought, no, that's only because it is U2 and I stopped listening to it. Then the Video came out and I fell in love with it all over again.

Watching it being peformed live at the Grammys makes me cringe, it is so poor. Yet when I was in London and saw it peformed on the top of Broadcasting House it was bitchin and so was Vertigo I even cheered when I heared the opening bars of Vertigo

So my conclusion is that these two songs are really only going to get played when I am in the mood to hear them if that makes sense?. Whereas the like of Magnificent and Breathe I could happily have on repeat all day

 

[Galeongirl]

I don't mind the album track, though it's certainly a weaker track.

Live is where I start disliking it. After seen 3 performances, they ruined the bridge at ALL three. And with them I mean Bono. THAT I really dislike.
I wouldn't mind it if he ruined a lesser part of the song, but that's the best part of the song.

 

[digitize]

I like Boots a lot. I just like everything else on the album (except SUC) more.

 

[last unicorn]

I like it, a lot. It has improved live with their recent performances for the BBC. They'll be able to pull if off rather well for the tour, I'm sure. But I'd like to see more new songs performed for the promo shows, not just and not always Boots, I think I may get a little tired of that track. But it's fine on the album, I never skip it, I think it fits very well.

 

[gareth brown]

Ah hello thar.

Does it remind you of the Ting Tings because of the drums by any chance?

the vocal delivery and all that, just the way the tracks constructed, not listened to it much since getting the CD so can't really remember the drums

 

[paultjr]

I think Boots is OK, not a horrible song. I just think it kills the mood and vibe of the album. And it has too much of a Vertigo vibe going on - no need to repeat themselves considering Vertigo is an average song at best.

 

[Niceman]

I liked it a lot at first and then I went off it at around the time the album leaked. Part of that was because there was newer U2 material and the repeated playing of being a lead single is A LOT to put on a single song. But I think that another part of that is that there are far more experimental songs on the album.

But I've come around again. It's a really good song. It's deep, its good to dance to, and the live versions have been greatly improving! LOVE the Jonathan Ross performance!!!

Yes, I could imagine it being on HTDAAB. (And it's the only one of the 11 songs I'll say that about.) I've always felt that Vertigo stuck out like a sore thumb on that album. It didn't have anything else cut from the same cloth on the album. It needed a "compatriot" song. But it's a much better song than Vertigo, and um..... HTDAAB WAS a quality album!!! LOL!

 

[MMP]

Still on my U2 top 10.

 

[alison0313]

I like every other song on the album more than Boots, and yet Boots is constantly stuck in my head. The lyrics are fun and catchy. I love "Free me from a dark dream, candy floss, ice cream".. maybe thats exactly what they are giving us, a break from the dark themes on the rest of the album

 

[standrums]

I liked it when it first came, but seeing it live on the BBC Radio 2 performance took it up a notch, IMHO. I *really* like it now and can't wait for the tour.

Me too - I've always liked Boots and imagined it would be great live - after seeing the BBC roof top performance about an hour ago (first time) I was amazed.

This will be a cracker when I see it live, it has something about it that I can't quite put my finger on.
I love the riff, I love the "you are so beautiful" bit and then the climax of meet me in the sound...genius.

 

[The Passenger]

I think perfomance is pretty good, but I can't really get into the chorus. The whole "Sexy Boots" thing. I find it kind of weak. It does sound a bit like "Vertigo" to me, in the way it is constructed...with a little "Discotheque" thrown in. I also feel it panders a bit, like U2 are trying to connect a bit too hard with the Ipod generation. I like it better in the context of the of the album, but I think it was a really bad choice for a first single. It doesn't really give you a feel of what the album is like. It might be the weakest first single they ever put out. I'm afraid if people don't like "Boots" they might pass on the rest of the album, which would be a shame, because most of it is top shelf IMO. For me, "Magnificent" or "NLOTH" would have been better choices for a first taste of the album. U2 are pushing 50 now. They are unlikely to have hit singles anymore (at least in the US). I think that ended with "Vertigo". "Boots" seems kind of formulaic attempt at a hit single, and the bulk of the album is anything but formulaic. I think "Boots" would have been better off as a B-side. If they wanted to go really pop, I think "Crazy" would have been a better choice.

 

[Clean187]

I think the song is to "mish mash". You can tell it wasn't written naturally, that was a long process. The chorus and lyrics are weak. The only interesting part of the song is the "let me in the sound" breakdown.

Even though this is no fault of the song itself, it just isn't a lead single. It was crushed under the weight of trying to carry the albums expectations on it's shouldars. Thankfully, the album sounded nothing like boots, and my fears were not realized. In fact, most U2 fans that I personally know have said something like "Why did they make GOYB the first single???" after they finish listening to NLOTH.

By the way, I just don't get people who say "This sounds nothing Vertigo". Yeah, the instruments are different, and there is more going on in the background, but the song is constructed EXACTLY like Vertigo. It's like Vertigo with shiny bells and whistles instead.

 

[MandyMarie]

Boots is one of those songs that I tend to skip over on cd, but it sounds so much better live.

 

[Screwtape2]

I like Boots but it loses a lot after too many listens.

 

[U2girl]

Average song. Weak first single, and unlike every lead single (except maybe Pride), it isn't indicative of the album.

I like the "let me in the sound"... part and "you don't know how beautiful you are" should have been the chorus instead of "sexy boots...get on your boots".

 

[MMP]

I like the "let me in the sound"... part and "you don't know how beautiful you are" should have been the chorus instead of "sexy boots...get on your boots".

It is the chorus. The "sexy boots" part is just the pre-chorus.

 

[U2girl]

Then why isn't the song called "you don't know how beautiful you are" ?

 

[MooMoo!]

Title of the song doesnt have to be in the chorus...or even in the song for that matter.



I agree that GOYB wasnt a great first single. I wouldnt have chosen it. NLOTH itself would have been far better.

 

[MMP]

Then why isn't the song called "you don't know how beautiful you are" ?

There's a good argument...

Y'know... the song's title can be somewhere other than the chorus.

 

[Earnie Shavers]

I like the song on it’s own. It warmed up to me rapidly as a single (on first listen I thought they’d totally f*cked it, to be honest), and I still like it individually. It will end up being very good live. But it’s not too flash on the album though. At all. Crazy Tonight and Magnificent are all the light pop-rock relief that album needs, and they both fit sonically. Breathe is another super-easy to digest track for the masses. Boots and Stand Up Comedy though stand out like a honeymooners dick. Neither should be there. They both feel slapped on.