Bono reviewing U2 albums

[U2girl]

...and you would be wrong. In terms of thematics, The Joshua Tree is mostly about America, the country and the continents, and if you watch the Classic Albums documentary the band members and producers explicitly say that it was conceptual.

Bono says in the recent RS interview that Zooropa was a kind of concept album. I was hearing that back when it came out. At the end of Achtung Baby we exit the personal where Bono says "dream out loud", which becomes the opening call on the next album--"she's gonna dream up the world she wants to live in/dream out loud". This seems to be the point of departure for the rest of the recording.

One could even argue that POP has a thematic cohesion, with its ruminations on crises of faith. That doubt is found on Discotheque, MOFO, If God, SATS, LNOE, Gone, Playboy, Please, and WUDM. That's sounds like a theme to me.

How many songs on JT are really about America(s)? Bullet the blue sky, Exit, Mothers of the dissappeared, In god's country. Musically, I agree it is influenced by American music.

Streets, I stil haven't found... WOWY aren't about any specific place. Running to stand still is about Ireland, Red hill mining town is about the coal miners strike in England. Trip through your wires doesn't seem to be about US, One tree hill definitely isn't.

The only theme Zooropa has is "let's experiment" IMO.
I could see a theme going for Pop, though. (I don't see Mofo, Gone or Please being about crisis of faith, and I have a different interpretation of SATS but anyway)

On the other hand, every song on AB can be seen as a part of the story of a broken relationship. The whole album tells a single story, the way I see it.

 

[Flying FuManchu]

Zooropa has a theme or at least a concept. At least there is a lyrical connection. Zooropa, Babyface, Lemon, Stay, etc... in terms of media, communication, the post moden, etc...

The band has mentioned the Joshua Tree and America connection....

You're also wrong about Streets.... Bono wrote Streets with South America in mind AND whatever else that pops into his head. You're also too focused on specific songs having to be about specific places. Every song doesn't have to be about a place in America for the album to be about America. WOWY is universal and could fit in any number of albums. Although Red Hill Mining Town is about the coal miners' strike, that isn't to say the story doesn't have resonance or connection to America.

 

[blueyedpoet]

the orbit mix of ES is so frustrating...that song rocks on the b-sides album...i'm all for synths, strings...but the orbit mix is lame

 

[Hemlock]

You're also wrong about Streets.... Bono wrote Streets with South America in mind AND whatever else that pops into his head.

Interesting, in the RS interview he talks about creating the song in the context of his and Ali's first visit to Africa.

 

[doctorwho]

"The sea it swells, like a sore head and the night it is aching. Two lovers lie with no sheets on their bed, and the day it is breaking"



"If the sky can crack, there must be someway back"

"with or without you...
I can't live...
with or without you.
Oh, oh, oh, oh,
oh, oh, oh, oh,
oh, oh, oh, oh,
with or without you..."



"baby baby baby...
baby baby baby,
oh baby baby baby,
light my way...
come on now,
baby baby baby,
baby baby baby,
oh baby baby baby,
light my way"



Want more examples? I can play along as long as all of you can!

 

[U2DMfan]

more examples of what? Arbitrary lyrics pulled out of the air?

That is the first verse of Electrical Storm you quoted, and you compare it to not only two of U2's most repetitive choruses, but generally choruses are repetitive in themselves. Not exactly apples to apples.

Compare the chorus of Electrical Storm with the opening verse of WOWY and Ultraviolet and let's see how well your example adds up.

Doesn't make any sense does it?