Attention! Fan Reaction Article For "Vertigo"

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Awesome song, Rock Radio Pitch Obvious

Been a fan since they played the Malibu Night Club in Lido Beach, NY on their second leg of Boy.I(i think) Heard it on the radio - WLIR. 1981 - I was too young to get in.

U2 has been my favorite band ever since. I have not contributed squat to the U2 online community and "I feel very sad in my soul about that..and I hope you do too" (guess when B said that) Anyway - you guys are doing an awesome job of keeping may favorite band alive - my hat is off to you and here is my impression of Vertigo...

Fun , Joyful, Mischeivous

Its mood fits in with EBTTRT and Discoteque. Not so serious here, the boys
are focused on rock'n it. Trademark middle-eight calms the song in the middle than bursts out. Think OOC and IWF. I never get tired of this formula - They do it so well that it always feels like you're hearing the trick for the first time. I heard someone here say it would blend in perfect with IWF when they tour. I couldn't agree more - But who knows?

Look forward to a better album mix of this song in November. I would not be suprised if this version is a bit different than what we hear on HTDAAB. Everyone is right about Adam, - He flies on this song. Edge's spanish background vox remind me of POP. The drum/guitar count-off at the beginning sounds like Refugee. This is why I love this band. ATYCLB is really a central philosophy to U2. They bring back little traces of their history in everything they do and re-invent themselves at the same time. . Who the hell knows what this album will sound like? Judging by the speed of which they developed these songs with Steve Lilliwhite,(BOY, WAR, OCTOBER PRODUCER) I'd say we're in for a very special album.

Produced For Rock Radio?

Absolutely - Vertigo is desinged for a station we have here in NYC - KROCK(and those like it) - sponsors of the greatest U2 show I ever heard - Irving plaza - which was broadcast live on 12/05/2000. They want to hit a hard note on this one. Since reaching "elder-rock-statesmen" status, they need one last pitch at hard-rock. Pop is dying and the only hope rock has at the moment is an album by Green-Day that Howard Stern called, "the next SGT. Pepper". I seriously doubt it... My Lady who loves Tool and Incubus and Perfect Circle said to me the other day, "rock is dead - There just isn't anything good coming out now."

I said, "don't worry, Baby - help is on the way".

Look for an Eno-Lanois production the next time around... Now U2 is taking a leap - A leap of faith - I like this song and God bless me - I'm jump'n in - See you at Madison Square Garden in 2005!
 
This song is nothing short of brilliant. While it is not a masterpiece such as Streets, it is the perfect opening single and is probably much deeper than some will give it credit for being. To me, the song sounds like it is a commentary on modern society, through both direct criticism ("give me what I want and no-one gets hurt") and the visual imagery U2 is famous for in the first two verses. It describes the confusion of daily existence, where we really do live in a place called Vertigo. If the information overload of the days of ZooTV was severe, it is surely worse today.

Like any U2 song, this song has a spiritual side, which specifically comes out in the first verse and the final chorus. I am sure many complex explanations will soon come out, but as others have mentioned, it would seem some of this has to do with the Holy Spirit and the temptation of Jesus by the Devil. Lyrics relating to the Holy Spirit should come as no surprise to U2 fans, considering the fact that "the Spirit moves in mysterious ways."

Musically, the song is brilliant. It initially seems to be a direct rocker harking back to U2's roots in The Ramones. In that sense, it counters the poor 'punk' music being made today by people that have no idea about what the punk movement meant. Once you look deeper at this song, it is more intricate than the surface shows you. Edge shows off his talent, playing a broad variety from harmonics to power chords, and adding some intriguing Spanish backing vocals that add a real flavour of interest to the song. Adam's bass carries the song, and I haven't heard him playing this well in a long time. The bass line thumps and surges through the song, combining perfectly with Larry's rock-solid drumming. Bono's vocals are the best they have been since Achtung Baby, and this is definitely a style of singing we have never heard from him before, with the quick delivery in the verses combined with the talking before the last chorus.

Ultimately, this song does not sound like it was made by men in their forties. U2 sound much more youthful than they have in a long time, and considering the overwhelmingly positive reaction, it is going to have a far-reaching impact. It is a credit to U2; they have made a catchy, infectious, and rocking song full of brilliance. Some of it harks back to earlier works, with I Will Follow seeming to meet HMTMKMKM, but some of it is completely new, and this single reveals at least a portion of U2's direction for the next couple of years.
 
elevation said:


Hmm, I'm a little amazed that someone can settle with "a good little throwaway rock song". I mean this is U2! The band that wrote Pride, The Fly, Bullet, Stay, The Blue Sky, One, Streets just to mention a few... How come is "Vertigo" sonsidered "enough" for bleeding sake? Well, maybe my expectations are too high. But CAN they be when we´re talking U2? I mean U-2? The Elite? The Superkids? The Best band in the world?...

Sorry...I better get some sleep I can only hope a miracle will happen during the night... and that I actually love the song the minute I wake up
Click to expand...

It's 8.37 a.m. and I've been listening to the song for about an hour or so - non stop... I guess I've got myself some sort of tinnitus or something :D I think I my thoughts now are different from my initial ones. The song makes me more and more think of the Irvin Plaza concert which I LOVE... No, they're not breaking new musical ground... but I'm actually finding my self liking it... Now there´s only one thing I dont like: That's the "swinging into the music part" - and with the whoa's in the background...

Then again: I just listened to The Fly, and I most admit: The Fly are classes beyond "Vertigo". It's intelligent, dark, innovative and incredibly sexy... Maybe I should put AB on repeat again...For the 89787 th time
 
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I just heard the song played on radio... and my tuner is connected to a much better system and my god, the thing with this tune is to listen really really loud, that's when it's the best. It's so big and fierce!
 
The new U2 song ROCKS !
I've heard it ten times now, and it's still amazing! It's The Who meets The Ramones. This is where we were waiting for. No difficult music with intelectual lyrics (nothing against it), it's time for pure and simple rock and roll !! From Boy (unos), october (dos) and war (tres) to How to dismantle an atomic bomb (quatorze). In certain way it reminds me of I will Follow and Out of Control, but it's not repeating. It is ENERGY and Edge's guitar power chords are fuckin' brilliant. But also Larry/Adam are great! It's also much better than Elevation, don't know why but this song has attitude and emotion. You have to set the volume LOUD !!!!
 
U2 to me don't always have to go out and break new ground every single time they make a new record. I've now just got into my work, downloaded it from the e-mails I sent last night on it, and now the dust has settled, I'm still really feelin' it. Edge is rattling and is plugged in, Adam, well it's all been said before his bass line is a killer, Bono is smooth, his flow is really nice. It took me a while to get into the delivery of his vocal with that stop/start quality to it, but now I'm into it and feelin' it. The only thing about the mix at the moment is to bring Larry up just a little bit, he's the less promient one out of the lot of 'em!

It's what I wanted ATYCLB to be like, just turned up and plugged in, they are a rock band after all. It's a great song to come back with, a great energy, sweeter vibe and they sound tight. Good job lads.
 
Isn't vertigo the fear of heights? The band must not have it since the song gives you the same rush as a free fall from an airplane. :wink: For once, Bono hasn't overexaggerated a single.
 
In some ways I preferred the initial "mix" of the song from the Croatian webfeed - it made the guitars sound really dirty. They're a bit too "polished" on the version that surfaced later.
 
This song is a big punk rock n roll song......

To be honest its nothing like i expected, i felt that it was going to be very beautiful dayish after listening to that windy clip......then when it kicked in on nova and mmm in melbourne at 830 this morning, i was like wow....what have u2 done now?

How could they write a song like this after writig songs like Gloria, Streets, Running to Stand still,heartland, heartbreak hotel, wild honey?

Well they did and geez its a mighty fine effort! It's soaring, the guitar kicks arse, good to see adam back in fine form and im lovin larry's work, larry stands out on this for me....

It's a pheonomenal song, really good and moody...i love moody music....

Bono's voice is about 60times better than i expected, after seein his effort on a pavarotti and freinds thing a few months back i thought "the poor bugga, hes worn his voice out'.....his voice aint what it used to be in VERTIGO....but his singing matches the mood of the song and thats all i ask for.....brilliant effort.....


This song reeks of Achtung baby which is great, but cross the style of achtung baby with 11 oclock tick tock and thats what VERTIGO reminds me of....really sweet effort....

Even so, the song aint no gloria, and i dont think its gonna have the success of beautiful day (hope im wrong), but its feel good and thats what the world needs..

Kinda hope the album isn't full of 12 Vertigo-like tracks though....just want some variety...


Even so, im loving this song
 
i've said it before somewhere:
IT MADE MY SOUL SMILE!!!
it's U2-punk, it's innovation!
now give us the version with the longer guitar soloooooooo!!!! :yes:
 
I LOVE IT!

I am SOOOOOOO Happy about the single! It sounds almost like they "time warped" back to the Boy era!!!! I can't wait until November! Vertigo Rocks!
 
IT'S BREATHTAKING!

It's bloody brilliant! All I'd hoped for and more!

It feels like the mature fulfillment of the enthusiastic young graspings in their earliest stuff.
War and Boy of course come to mind..

But while the raw remains, the energy is so deliciously focused and their abilities to create a *song* are now soo masterful.

Punk-y rock sure, but that trademark atmospheric U2 quality still emerges as you listen more.
Achieved this time via the visceral basic elements at a rock band's disposal, in fine form indeed!

Bono's vocals sound fabulous, best since Achtung Baby, strong and smooth and emotive.

Adam and Larry haven't lost a beat (I'm aging along with the boys, and find it amazing that they crank it out like when they were 20 but better!).

And Edge surely is on fire. But still in that gorgeously understated way. Part of what you hear is where he chooses *not* to go with his guitar...you just feel the restraint like the little silence before the "amen", like the little breathless gasp before the big panting orgasm!!

Ah, look at what U2 can do with driving, head-wagging rock & roll!!

I thank them for making us wait til they got it to this perfect state...

I can't wait to see this performed, mercy me!!!

cheers all!
 
Pros: Edge's guitar, Adam's bass, Bono's voice, the bridge (!!), closness to early 1980s U2.

Cons: SOME of the lyrics are a bit lame, the 'Holas', etc cheapen the song IMO. I would be interested in hearing it without all that Spanish stuff, I think it might sound better.

Rating: 7.5/10
 
Adam's contribution is outstanding.

Edge's guitar sounds closer to the Hansa demos on this song than on any of the final Achtung Baby tracks. In some parts I'm back in summer 1990 !

Also, does anyone else kind of expect Bono to sing "your eyes, make a circle" in the quiet middle section. It's just SOOOO "I Will Follow".
 
Also, does anyone else kind of expect Bono to sing "your eyes, make a circle" in the quiet middle section. It's just SOOOO "I Will Follow
Click to expand...

Yes, lol!
But I like it there...it's like a dizzy little fall thru to another time, pulling back just before you get there too fully. I wonder if intended!

What's the deal at the beginning...uno, dos, tres, 'catorce' did I hear?! intentional too?!

I agree that the 'holas' are a bit trashy, but I can take 'em as "throwaway" as the boys seem to like to term it. Replace it with whatever wherever echoed back up from the pit he's calling hello into at the moment.

I'm soo loving this ditty! It's SO BIG but tasty-morsel at the same time...
 
Another observation: assuming some of the lyrics are describing themselves ("can't dance")

then we can surmise that U2 can't dance

and in Elevation, he sings "I can't sing, but I've got soul"

so he can't sing or dance. lol
 
Pitchfork media has reviewed the song.
I was surprised. They usually give U2 rotten grades...but here they reluctantly give them kudos.

for an indie e-zine reviewing U2, 3.5/5 is basically a perfect score.
I agree with the energy factor. Like I said, I appreciate the hyper backing vocals and bass.
I'd probably give it 2 1/2 - 3 stars out of 5

U2 - VERTIGO(www.pitchforkmedia.com)

One, two, three, fourteen-- and they're off! U2 have returned from the calculated "comeback" of 2000's All That You Can't Leave Behind with "Vertigo", a surprisingly uncalculated single that may not constitute a return to form, exactly, but recaptures much of the boundless energy that has characterized their best work-- minus Bono's heavy affectation and the band's traditionally stadium-oriented sound. The song sounds delightfully tossed off, from its silly Spanish count-off to the effervescent post-punk of its verses, replete with affably shallow lyrical imagery ("Those bullets rip the sky of ink with gold/ They twinkle as the boys play rock and roll").
The band sporadically adds a few grandiose flourishes: The Edge manages to drench the song's bridge in his trademark anthemic guitar stabs, and Bono momentarily stops preening and resumes brooding, belting out the song's climactic line ("I can feeeeel!") in heartfelt, self-glorifying agony. But for the most part, U2 avoids layered sonic grandeur, instead using an animated bassline and bouncing pop beat as an anchor through most of the song. The band members really seem to be enjoying themselves here, which, given the plethora of political and social causes available for some good old-fashioned heart-on-sleeve wall-of-sound monster rock championing, is actually kind of refreshing. Enjoy it while you can-- someone's bound to tell Bono there's a war on. [David Moore; September 24th, 2004]
 
Well I 'll be one of the last to hear it but after playing the song 2 times I really don't like it it's the worst single ever IMHO. Please don't shoot me for having an opinion
 
cool on the good review from a generally critical media source!

But now that I think about it, though the 'tossed-off' feel of the spanish seems right...
perhaps it's not so throw-away..

Spain, where they shot the video right with big ol' targets underfoot, had their own "11" , their 3/11 train attack, widely billed as the dangerous precedent for terrorist success in achieving political goals, yes?
All of this, all of this can be yours...
Just give me what I want, and nobody gets hurt...

is that the US getting spain to commit troops, is that the terrorist fuckers getting what they want...makes you dizzy. your head can't rule your heart..
I'm thinking it's brilliant U2 hiding a little war tidbit inside a toss-away head-wagging tune!

(3+11 = catorce, btw...)
cheerio all!
 
Oh cool! I have it at 3:12, but maybe on the recording it'll be 3:11...cool cool...

I'd love it if all the critics...especially the ones who can't stand it when Bono gets all political-comment-y...missed their tricks initially!!!

BRILLIANT!
 
Ronald42 said:
Well I 'll be one of the last to hear it but after playing the song 2 times I really don't like it it's the worst single ever IMHO. Please don't shoot me for having an opinion
Click to expand...

taking it back just a little, and I have to say It grows on me. Still not my fav. track though.
 
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