onyourkneesboy
The Fly
- Joined
- Sep 23, 2004
- Messages
- 244
From another thread (Zootlesque):
..."Moving on to HTDAAB... The weak chorus of COBL!
Okay, I won't go on because I don't wanna come off as an ATYCLB/HTDAAB hater, because I'm not. I do like other things about these albums and they still sound better than 90% of what's out there!"...
I said it before, but again:
As Eno would put it: “this song has quite a few problems”. Well, to my opinion the whole song is a problem! I know I’m offending a lot of people now and that’s not my intention, but as a longtime fan, it’s just how I hear the song.
First of: The piano intro. I understand U2 decided they wanted a simple piano riff. But this riff is so slow, predictable that a toddler would come up with something more original. But one of the biggest problems is about to come: The “slaaiiiide-guitaaahhr!!!” Yugh!!
This is the most WHINING, ANNOYING, MOANING guitar slide-riff Edge ever produced!! He must have had a very uninspired, bad day otherwise he would never come up with such a boring, whining slide-riff. He seeks a certain emotion, I hear that, but instead he takes a wrong turn and it gets enormously cheesy, I’m sorry.. I can’t believe, he himself, and the other members of the band let him get away with it!
Then you get the high ooooh, ooooh’s together with Adam’s pumping bass which sounded pretty good to me on first listen. I remember getting a little pumped up the first time I heard this part. This sounded very promising for the BIG chorus to come…
So I held on tight and then…: “oh…you…look…so…..biejooedifohohol…tonaaaiit………..” What??????? That’s it? Just a stupid yell over the same chord-sequence as the “ooooh, oooooh’s?? I couldn’t believe my ears!! And like it still wasn’t enough, that annoying “slaaaaiide-guitar” again. And although I heard the song for the first time I knew Bono was about to sing:…”in the city of blinding lahaits..” And he did!! How predictable…
Man, I could not believe how much of a caricature U2 themselves were making of this song. The chorus should have gone in a whole new direction so that one really could go: WOW!!! What a great surprising chorus!!! That would have saved the song (from mainly the intro!)
O.K. back to the song: Then you get a bridge and Bono start whining like he wants ice-cream: ..”tssaaahm, tssaaahm, tssaaahm, won’t leave me as I am” to wreck again my nerves with: “oh…you…look…so…biejooedifohohol…tonaaaiit………..” on repeat. And this supposed to be the climax!! Truly this is the worst chorus I have heard from this band in 20 years. Then it fades with the same dull piano…
I can’t believe they want to display so much recklessness and laziness regarding the chorus of this song and the cheesiness of Edge’s guitar. I can’t believe they skipped a song like “Mercy” for this track. Already in demo-form this song grabs your hand and flies off with you. Much more passion and drive!
Conclusion: They should have left City Of…on the shelves and rework it later to a really good song with more inspiration. And give more effort to get the cheesiness out. In this form it’s U2 unworthy. U2 are know for their superb intro’s but this one is so thin, vague, whiney.
Like I said: The song is a U2-caricature. Live it sounds a little better though. (I’m sorry if I hurt somebody’s feelings about this song.)
Of course a lot comments I will be getting now will again be:
- "I like everything on HTDAAB, if you don't like it: don't listen to it"
- "you say your a fan? F... off!
- "Yawn"
- all kinds of oneliners
etc...
Hardly anyone comes up with a structural comments when it comes to being critical in this forum!
Let me tell you this:
I don't care about some of those intollerant "U2-fundamentalist-fans" around here and their fanatic comments!
I'm a huge fan since the UF-era, and I have very warm feelings for UF and POP as well. And everything in between. That's for the originality. But when I find some things aren't as good as they could be now with HTDAAB, I think I'm entitled to make my point here too!
With HTDAAB I think their reverse-gear backlashes at them, musically, not when it comes to succes, I know... Their so big now whatever they would record, the tour would sell out!
Of course there's difference of taste, I know that... But a true fan stays critical at his favourite band at all time. Not bowing and yelling: "hallelujah, amen" to everything U2 may record, like some "fans" do around here. Most of the time some critical comments can turn things for the better, especially from someone who cares...
I just think U2 took some wrong turns when it comes to electing the songs for example. "Levitate" and "Mercy" have this highness to their music that I miss so much nowadays. Although it's there in "A Man And A Woman" and "Yahweh". Which are my favourites of HTDAAB!!
..."Moving on to HTDAAB... The weak chorus of COBL!
Okay, I won't go on because I don't wanna come off as an ATYCLB/HTDAAB hater, because I'm not. I do like other things about these albums and they still sound better than 90% of what's out there!"...
I said it before, but again:
As Eno would put it: “this song has quite a few problems”. Well, to my opinion the whole song is a problem! I know I’m offending a lot of people now and that’s not my intention, but as a longtime fan, it’s just how I hear the song.
First of: The piano intro. I understand U2 decided they wanted a simple piano riff. But this riff is so slow, predictable that a toddler would come up with something more original. But one of the biggest problems is about to come: The “slaaiiiide-guitaaahhr!!!” Yugh!!
This is the most WHINING, ANNOYING, MOANING guitar slide-riff Edge ever produced!! He must have had a very uninspired, bad day otherwise he would never come up with such a boring, whining slide-riff. He seeks a certain emotion, I hear that, but instead he takes a wrong turn and it gets enormously cheesy, I’m sorry.. I can’t believe, he himself, and the other members of the band let him get away with it!
Then you get the high ooooh, ooooh’s together with Adam’s pumping bass which sounded pretty good to me on first listen. I remember getting a little pumped up the first time I heard this part. This sounded very promising for the BIG chorus to come…
So I held on tight and then…: “oh…you…look…so…..biejooedifohohol…tonaaaiit………..” What??????? That’s it? Just a stupid yell over the same chord-sequence as the “ooooh, oooooh’s?? I couldn’t believe my ears!! And like it still wasn’t enough, that annoying “slaaaaiide-guitar” again. And although I heard the song for the first time I knew Bono was about to sing:…”in the city of blinding lahaits..” And he did!! How predictable…
Man, I could not believe how much of a caricature U2 themselves were making of this song. The chorus should have gone in a whole new direction so that one really could go: WOW!!! What a great surprising chorus!!! That would have saved the song (from mainly the intro!)
O.K. back to the song: Then you get a bridge and Bono start whining like he wants ice-cream: ..”tssaaahm, tssaaahm, tssaaahm, won’t leave me as I am” to wreck again my nerves with: “oh…you…look…so…biejooedifohohol…tonaaaiit………..” on repeat. And this supposed to be the climax!! Truly this is the worst chorus I have heard from this band in 20 years. Then it fades with the same dull piano…
I can’t believe they want to display so much recklessness and laziness regarding the chorus of this song and the cheesiness of Edge’s guitar. I can’t believe they skipped a song like “Mercy” for this track. Already in demo-form this song grabs your hand and flies off with you. Much more passion and drive!
Conclusion: They should have left City Of…on the shelves and rework it later to a really good song with more inspiration. And give more effort to get the cheesiness out. In this form it’s U2 unworthy. U2 are know for their superb intro’s but this one is so thin, vague, whiney.
Like I said: The song is a U2-caricature. Live it sounds a little better though. (I’m sorry if I hurt somebody’s feelings about this song.)
Of course a lot comments I will be getting now will again be:
- "I like everything on HTDAAB, if you don't like it: don't listen to it"
- "you say your a fan? F... off!
- "Yawn"
- all kinds of oneliners
etc...
Hardly anyone comes up with a structural comments when it comes to being critical in this forum!
Let me tell you this:
I don't care about some of those intollerant "U2-fundamentalist-fans" around here and their fanatic comments!
I'm a huge fan since the UF-era, and I have very warm feelings for UF and POP as well. And everything in between. That's for the originality. But when I find some things aren't as good as they could be now with HTDAAB, I think I'm entitled to make my point here too!
With HTDAAB I think their reverse-gear backlashes at them, musically, not when it comes to succes, I know... Their so big now whatever they would record, the tour would sell out!
Of course there's difference of taste, I know that... But a true fan stays critical at his favourite band at all time. Not bowing and yelling: "hallelujah, amen" to everything U2 may record, like some "fans" do around here. Most of the time some critical comments can turn things for the better, especially from someone who cares...
I just think U2 took some wrong turns when it comes to electing the songs for example. "Levitate" and "Mercy" have this highness to their music that I miss so much nowadays. Although it's there in "A Man And A Woman" and "Yahweh". Which are my favourites of HTDAAB!!