How brilliant is mercy?!!!!!!!!!!!

[xaviMF22]

if i've said it once, i've said it a million times... i wipe my ass with mercy

it's an average song that's too long and underproduced and the only reason people think it's so friggin great is because it's "unreleased"

u r my hero

 

[Sleep Over Jack]

the thing that ABOY, A Man and a Woman and One Step Closer have over Mercy is that they don't sound like Echo and The Bunnymen.

Mercy is a good rock song, but it's not that great.

The Bunnymen were a great band..U2 have been influenced by them before, I don't see how this is a bad thing.

 

[ShellBeThere]

originally posted by HeadacheinaSuitcase
if i've said it once, i've said it a million times... i wipe my ass with mercy
it's an average song that's too long and underproduced and the only reason people think it's so friggin great is because it's "unreleased"

I can tell you it's not why I like it...funny how you think you know *why* people think what they think...are you in marketing?! psychology major?!!

It is long, tis true...as you point out, it hasn't been released so it t'aint "finished". I honestly feel funny (call me old-fashioned and superstitious) about even listening to unreleased stuff most of the time. It's not in the intended state yet, and all...
But I gave into my hunger and there are some really delicious bits in Mercy.
"underproduced"...what does that mean exactly when you're talking about something unreleased? "average"....hmm....that's a little vague too...
but hey, you made a pretty toilet paper graphic....
cheers all !

 

[Sleep Over Jack]

if i've said it once, i've said it a million times... i wipe my ass with mercy

it's an average song that's too long and underproduced and the only reason people think it's so friggin great is because it's "unreleased"

zzzzzz

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

funny how you think you know *why* people think what they think...are you in marketing?!

actually yes... thanks for asking.

 

[Numb1075]

I've only listened to Mercy a couple of times. I really like it. Bono's vocals make it for me.

I think it has the drums of COBL w/ the style and vocals almost like Bad but w/o any Whoo Hooos

 

[GibsonGirl]

Mercy has got to be one of the most average songs I've heard U2 record in recent times. In that respect, it would have fit perfectly on HTDAAB.

 

[Numb1075]

^ not so subtle HTDAAB poke

 

[ImOuttaControl]

Good song--could be great with a little reworking.

The bridge really kills the momentum in my opinion. There was an edited version floating around here last spring that cut the bridge out---it sounded MUCH better.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

ok i'll tell you exactly what i don't like about this song.

1. that everyone thinks it's the greatest thing they've ever done
2. the whiney guitar in the background at the start... it carries on through most of the start of the song... it sounds like a police siren. don't like it... the chiming guitar part i do like... if they got rid of that weeoooweeeoooweeoo guitar, i'd like it better
3. highly over-rated lyrics... what exactly is the point of the song? it's like a bad version of playboy mansion, which is saying something. people complain about freedom smelling like baby poop yet they think "love puts the blue back in my eye" is the greatest thing since sliced bread.
4. the octave switch... this needs to go for me to like this song. the part i'm talking about is the "i'm ripping the stiches... digging the ditches..." don't like it, hate it even. jumps around too much.
5. i don't like the "feeel nothing, feeeeleleeleeleeeleeel" part at all.
6. i do like the light shift after the crappy "feel nothing part" where the edge's guitar changes up a bit... i like that alot, actually.
7. don't like the way it ends... it doesn't really have an ending. if larry wasn't in the studio yelling at bono he probably would have went on for another 5 minutes about everything that love is. which leads to my last complaint...
8. too long... it rambles.

with a major editing job, this could be something. there are some keepable parts, and it could eventually develop into a very good song... but in it's current form to me it's worth nothing more than a passing listen, ala the axtung bebe outtakes.

 

[popacrobat]

ok i'll tell you exactly what i don't like about this song.

1. that everyone thinks it's the greatest thing they've ever done
2. the whiney guitar in the background at the start... it carries on through most of the start of the song... it sounds like a police siren. don't like it... the chiming guitar part i do like... if they got rid of that weeoooweeeoooweeoo guitar, i'd like it better
3. highly over-rated lyrics... what exactly is the point of the song? it's like a bad version of playboy mansion, which is saying something. people complain about freedom smelling like baby poop yet they think "love puts the blue back in my eye" is the greatest thing since sliced bread.
4. the octave switch... this needs to go for me to like this song. the part i'm talking about is the "i'm ripping the stiches... digging the ditches..." don't like it, hate it even. jumps around too much.
5. i don't like the "feeel nothing, feeeeleleeleeleeeleeel" part at all.
6. i do like the light shift after the crappy "feel nothing part" where the edge's guitar changes up a bit... i like that alot, actually.
7. don't like the way it ends... it doesn't really have an ending. if larry wasn't in the studio yelling at bono he probably would have went on for another 5 minutes about everything that love is. which leads to my last complaint...
8. too long... it rambles.

with a major editing job, this could be something. there are some keepable parts, and it could eventually develop into a very good song... but in it's current form to me it's worth nothing more than a passing listen, ala the axtung bebe outtakes.

agree 100%

 

[KUEFC09U2]

i like it but dont think its the greatest thing they have ever done like some do here, infact i would be inclined to take all of bomb over it

as headache say, without a good production, and little reworking then the song just wouldnt do it for me

 

[Numb1075]

people complain about freedom smelling like baby poop [/B]

CLASSIC Headache quote !!

 

[kcrays]

if i've said it once, i've said it a million times... i wipe my ass with mercy

it's an average song that's too long and underproduced and the only reason people think it's so friggin great is because it's "unreleased"

Then why do I think most of the AB outtakes are crap? Oh wait, I know, because they're all incomplete undeveloped ideas.

We like the song because it's a great song, and everyone I've played the song for, including many non-fans think it's a good song, want to know what album it's on and then want to know why it's not on the album.

It's not because it's unreleased.

 

[doctorwho]

Mercy has got to be one of the most average songs I've heard U2 record in recent times. In that respect, it would have fit perfectly on HTDAAB.

Or JT. In fact, it really seems like a JT song to me. The difference is, U2 did NOT release "Mercy" - while they did release such gems like "Trip...".

 

[Canadiens1131]

Mercy is good, but the arrangement and mixing is as sloppy as a drunk BJ in a St. Laurent night club bathroom.

 

[kcrays]

ok i'll tell you exactly what i don't like about this song.

2. the whiney guitar in the background at the start... it carries on through most of the start of the song... it sounds like a police siren. don't like it... the chiming guitar part i do like... if they got rid of that weeoooweeeoooweeoo guitar, i'd like it better

I won't say I know exactly what you dislike, but here's my guess, the sound is loud and grating.

My guess is this song was never mastered. We don't even know if this was the final mix.

Here's what I do know, if you EQ the song and cut out some of the mid-highs and perhaps cut the volume at the beginning it no longer is grating.

 

[popacrobat]

Mercy has got to be one of the most average songs I've heard U2 record in recent times. In that respect, it would have fit perfectly on HTDAAB.

I love Mercy, but I do think it's just slightly overrated here.

 

[xaviMF22]

Mercy is overrated

 

[XHendrix24]

Mercy rules.

If it gets mastered/produced a tiny bit more and officially released, it could be U2's best song since Lemon.

 

[angelordevil]

I'm pretty sure your opinions are allowed to evolve over time.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

I won't say I know exactly what you dislike, but here's my guess, the sound is loud and grating.

My guess is this song was never mastered. We don't even know if this was the final mix.

Here's what I do know, if you EQ the song and cut out some of the mid-highs and perhaps cut the volume at the beginning it no longer is grating.

the first guitar sound you hear... it continues on throughout the begining of the song. i do not like it, i think it sounds like crap. get rid of it, and i already like the song better than i do now.


if there were a bunch of threads that said "hey, mercy's not a bad song," then i would probably respond with "eh... it's alright. needs work though."

but every damn thread is staing how great... how BRILLIANT it is. the lyrics are very elementary, and the production is sub par. it is far from brilliant.

 

[gareth brown]

if i've said it once, i've said it a million times... i wipe my ass with mercy

it's an average song that's too long and underproduced and the only reason people think it's so friggin great is because it's "unreleased"

Oh my dear christ...NEVER have i seen a joke pummeled into the ground so many times...!

Nobody (not even anyone here at Interference, hard as it is to believe) is so stupid and elitist enough to go round lauding up a track simply because it's unreleased. That would be completely pathetic. I think people, yourself included, are being too hostile towards people liking this track for what it is! People are entitled to think what they like about the track and saying over and over again how you enjoy wiping your ass with it isn't exactly going to make people say 'Oh my god! We've been wrong all along!'

Plus that guitar loop from the beginning is brilliant, especially with the bass when the bassline goes back to D. Love the track. Love it to bits, always have always will! kthxbye!

Ps. Anyone claiming the song "Needs a bit of work" or is "Unfinished" etc. Are there any tracks on 'How To...' that you feel are unfinished too because if Mercy is unfinished then I have no problem listing one or two tracks that could do with some work

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

People are entitled to think what they like about the track

you are absolutely right. and i'm entitled to think it's a pile of dog shit.

 

[jonnytakeawalk]

7. don't like the way it ends... it doesn't really have an ending. if larry wasn't in the studio yelling at bono he probably would have went on for another 5 minutes about everything that love is.

By the way wasn't Larry the one resbonsible for U2 not putting it on Bomb?!

If it was, curse him!

 

[one4u2]

Mercy

 

[Zoots]

Oh my dear christ...NEVER have i seen a joke pummeled into the ground so many times...!

Nobody (not even anyone here at Interference, hard as it is to believe) is so stupid and elitist enough to go round lauding up a track simply because it's unreleased. That would be completely pathetic. I think people, yourself included, are being too hostile towards people liking this track for what it is! People are entitled to think what they like about the track and saying over and over again how you enjoy wiping your ass with it isn't exactly going to make people say 'Oh my god! We've been wrong all along!'

Exactly! It's ridiculous.

 

[Zoots]

Then why do I think most of the AB outtakes are crap? Oh wait, I know, because they're all incomplete undeveloped ideas.

We like the song because it's a great song, and everyone I've played the song for, including many non-fans think it's a good song, want to know what album it's on and then want to know why it's not on the album.

It's not because it's unreleased.

I still haven't warmed up to AB outtakes! They're almost unlistenable to me. And Achtung is my fav U2 album. So I'm definitely with you. I like Mercy cos it is good.

 

[AtomicBono]

Exactly! It's ridiculous.

zootles! I love you, even though all you did is agree with someone else's statement

Okay these are all the things I like about Mercy:

1. IT'S UNRELEASED THAT MAKES IT AWESOME LOLZ

Those were all the reasons that I love Mercy.

No, really:

1. The atmosphere. I hate to go on and on about "atmosphere" because it sounds silly, but really, the song sort of creates its own little world. I think the looped guitar intro helps with that.

2. The way it builds up. I guess that sort of goes with the atmosphere, but I like how elements are added in as the song goes on, especially the drums.

3. The lyrics. There are some lines that I don't care for ("you know I'm weedkiller honey/and you're sugar") but the majority of them are some of the best I've heard from Bono in a long time. I especially love the intro: "I was drinking some wine/and it turned to blood/what's the use of religion/if you're any good." what a way to start a song

4. Bono's voice! His voice sounds so deep and beautiful when the song first starts, like AB era! Overall I think it's a very strong vocal performance. My only complaint is the bridge, which I think he's saying fear nothing, not feel...but he's pretty hard to understand.

5. Edge's guitar...it's simple, but the part during the chorus, especially the last time when it's really prominent...

6. the little part where Bono falsettos "HooOoooOo" before the final chorus...okay that could have gone under the part about his voice, but I'm trying to make my list look bigger here

I think the key to Mercy is the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Yes, the bass and guitar are simple, yes, though Bono's voice is good there's no totally amazing note (the bridge is nice, but he can do better, really), the drums aren't necessarily Larry's best or anything...but somehow it works. Listening to Mercy takes me to another place, which is what the best of U2's music does to me. It has "it," the magic, whatever you want to call it. Maybe it doesn't to some people, and that's fine. But I can say that possibly the calmest I've ever felt in my life (or at least within the last couple years) was listening to Mercy. Sometimes...it just fits.

 

[Zoots]

1. IT'S UNRELEASED THAT MAKES IT AWESOME LOLZ