City Of Blinding Lights(Buildup Mix)

[namkcuR]

No, there's no new mix of COBL. Just something I was thinking about as I was listening to it today...I think with some relatively minor rearrangement/restructuring of verses/choruses, the song could've had a buildup along the lines of Bad or RTSS. I've outlined it below, with my commentary in paranthesis...

Start out normal...

(Instrumental Intro)

The more you see the less you know
The less you find out as you go
I knew much more then than I do now

Neon heart, day glow eyes
A city lit by fireflies
They’re advertising in the skies
For people like us

(Here's where it starts to change...instead of going into bridge and chorus, Bono just sings the melody of the 'I miss you.../I'm getting ready...' bridge without words)

(then into next verses)

Don’t look before you laugh
Look ugly in a photograph
Flash bulbs, purple irises
The camera can’t see

I’ve seen you walk unafraid
I’ve seen you in the clothes you made
Can you see the beauty inside of me
What happened to the beauty I had inside of me

(now, finally into the bridge and chorus, except omit the final line of the chorus [the song title] before the 'time' stuff, have 'tonight' go right into the 'time' stuff, and the 'time' stuff go back into the chorus this time, culminating in, finally the song title's parent line)

And I miss you when you’re not around
I’m getting ready to leave the ground

(blast into long-awaited chorus)

Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh
Oh, you look so beautiful
tonight
Time, time, time, time
Time won’t leave me as I am
But time won’t take the boy out of this man
Oh, you look so beautiful tonight
Oh, you look so beautiful tonight
Oh, you look so beautiful tonight

(finally, the title line)
Yeah, in the city of blinding lights

(end with outro)

The more you know the less you feel
Some pray for, others steal
Blessings are not just for the ones who kneel
Luckily

Thoughts?

 

[Zoots]

Very interesting! I think I really like it the way you're describing. It reminds me of a some other songs I can't remember right now. It'll be awesome if they at least made an alternate version along these lines.

 

[Zoots]

(Here's where it starts to change...instead of going into bridge and chorus, Bono just sings the melody of the 'I miss you.../I'm getting ready...' bridge without words)

Oh... but what do you mean here? He just hums the 2 lines in the bridge? But the final note is a high one that goes right into the Ooh Ooh's of the chorus! It would have to be modified.. brought down.

 

[namkcuR]

Re: Re: City Of Blinding Lights(Buildup Mix)

Oh... but what do you mean here? He just hums the 2 lines in the bridge? But the final note is a high one that goes right into the Ooh Ooh's of the chorus! It would have to be modified.. brought down.

Not exactly humming, but something like that. And you're right, it would have to be modified just a bit.

 

[Zoots]

This really does seem like a good idea to me. Maybe the song will improve and become more interesting.

namkcuR... why don't you mix it up and make something at least close to it!

 

[namkcuR]

This really does seem like a good idea to me. Maybe the song will improve and become more interesting.

namkcuR... why don't you mix it up and make something at least close to it!

Now that you mention it...I should. I'll give it a try

 

[namkcuR]

Ok, here it is. Tell me what you think. Oh, I don't have the ability to edit out just one layer of a section, so the first bridge still has Bono singing the words...use your imagination

http://s25.you sendit.com/d.aspx?id=21BD39R0ZQZQY0ITL49MLRMQ8M

 

[Zoots]

Wow, that was fast!

I think your mix is very promising. I like it a lot already! With slightly smoother transitions (I know it's hard), it may be just perfect! I love the concept of releasing the chorus slowly one step at a time... and not giving it away completely at the first opportunity. One of my complaints with the album version is that after all the build-up and anticipation of the "I'm getting ready to leave the ground", you expect the song to totally skyrocket into the stratosphere and instead... you get a temporary high with the couldve-been-better line "oh you look so beautiful tonight" and then immediately the music falls flat like a pancake when the song name comes by. You know what I'm saying? Your mix avoids that situation. It really makes the "leave the ground" and "Ooh Ooh" build-ups worth it! Also, I don't really mind vocals during the first bridge. It just has to be modified so it doesn't end on a high note.

What software do you use for editing, btw?

 

[namkcuR]

Wow, that was fast!

I think your mix is very promising. I like it a lot already! With slightly smoother transitions (I know it's hard), it may be just perfect! I love the concept of releasing the chorus slowly one step at a time... and not giving it away completely at the first opportunity. One of my complaints with the album version is that after all the build-up and anticipation of the "I'm getting ready to leave the ground", you expect the song to totally skyrocket into the stratosphere and instead... you get a temporary high with the couldve-been-better line "oh you look so beautiful tonight" and then immediately the music falls flat like a pancake when the song name comes by. You know what I'm saying? Your mix avoids that situation. It really makes the "leave the ground" and "Ooh Ooh" build-ups worth it! Also, I don't really mind vocals during the first bridge. It just has to be modified so it doesn't end on a high note.

What software do you use for editing, btw?

It's called 'Wave Studio'. It came with a Soundblaster sound card I got about six years ago(that I'm not even using anymore). I kept the two files needed to operate it(the application and a dll file) 'cause I liked the software. It's simple and lacks the ability to edit wavs in a complex way, but it's good enough to do what I do.

 

[Zoots]

It's called 'Wave Studio'. It came with a Soundblaster sound card I got about six years ago(that I'm not even using anymore). I kept the two files needed to operate it(the application and a dll file) 'cause I liked the software. It's simple and lacks the ability to edit wavs in a complex way, but it's good enough to do what I do.

So... do you share my thoughts about the album version?

 

[namkcuR]

So... do you share my thoughts about the album version?

Yes...the chorus comes too quickly and then it gets repetative. U2 are one of the best if not the best band ever at the art of buildup songs, where they start a whisper, grow to a roar, and finish a whisper again. COBL should have been like that, imo. This is what I set out to accomplish.

 

[Zoots]

Fine observation!

 

[mobvok]

Whoa! I'm not really a fan of the album version at all, but this is really good.

Maybe not with the same conceit as a "buildup mix", but what about this sort of re-ordering for OOTS or Crumbs?

 

[LemonMelon]

^ OOTS could use some help.

 

[typhoon]

"City of Blinding Lights" with fewer choruses is like, I dunno, Hustler with fewer naked women. It misses the point (I suppose you'll want to make "Original of the Species" less poppy after this). The best thing about the song is that it doesn't hold back. The midly artsy intro is all the teasing the song needs. Sometimes you don't need more subtlety than that.

The chorus ("OH! YOU! LOOK! SO!...") isn't even that great; it's mainly the pre-chorus whoos and the middle eight ("tiiime...") that make the song memorable. That's all the build up it needs. You need the chorus there so the pre-chorus and middle eight have somewhere to go (can't very well build up to nothing), even if the chorus is sort of dumb (at least it's energetic).

 

[mobvok]

^ OOTS could use some help.

On second thought, maybe not a structural re-ordering, but certainly musical tweaking. As it stands now, I feel like there are really strong parts but also droopy parts that I hope the single version excises.

Which is also how I felt about COBL.

 

[ValKnight007]

I would like to hear the COBL remix, can someone either repost or send to my email?

 

[the tourist]

No, there's no new mix of COBL. Just something I was thinking about as I was listening to it today...I think with some relatively minor rearrangement/restructuring of verses/choruses, the song could've had a buildup along the lines of Bad or RTSS. I've outlined it below, with my commentary in paranthesis...

Start out normal...

(Instrumental Intro)

The more you see the less you know
The less you find out as you go
I knew much more then than I do now

Neon heart, day glow eyes
A city lit by fireflies
They’re advertising in the skies
For people like us

(Here's where it starts to change...instead of going into bridge and chorus, Bono just sings the melody of the 'I miss you.../I'm getting ready...' bridge without words)

(then into next verses)

Don’t look before you laugh
Look ugly in a photograph
Flash bulbs, purple irises
The camera can’t see

I’ve seen you walk unafraid
I’ve seen you in the clothes you made
Can you see the beauty inside of me
What happened to the beauty I had inside of me

(now, finally into the bridge and chorus, except omit the final line of the chorus [the song title] before the 'time' stuff, have 'tonight' go right into the 'time' stuff, and the 'time' stuff go back into the chorus this time, culminating in, finally the song title's parent line)

And I miss you when you’re not around
I’m getting ready to leave the ground

(blast into long-awaited chorus)

Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh
Oh, you look so beautiful
tonight
Time, time, time, time
Time won’t leave me as I am
But time won’t take the boy out of this man
Oh, you look so beautiful tonight
Oh, you look so beautiful tonight
Oh, you look so beautiful tonight

(finally, the title line)
Yeah, in the city of blinding lights

(end with outro)

The more you know the less you feel
Some pray for, others steal
Blessings are not just for the ones who kneel
Luckily

Thoughts?

Too bad we'll never hear it that way, huh?

 

[U2Jadey]

Thatd be cool!!