Why Do U2 think "ABOY" is so great?

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Personally; I think ABOY is the weakest thing on HTDAAB. I can't understand why it's a single.
And as for it being in the encore; I agree alot better things could take its place.
 
Edge's guitar solo is awesome, the song just rocks....i have recently gotten sick of it but thats just cause of overplay.
 
MrBrau1 said:
Interference, "Before and After"

Before HTDAAB: "I want U2 to play some LOUD Rock N Roll songs!"

After HTDAAB: "I hate LOUD Rock N Roll songs!, ABOY sucks, Vertigo sucks, Crumbs sucks."

:applaud:
 
JOFO said:
I mean, this tune is so average IMO. Plus, the whole hook riff is a direct ripoff of the bridge in "Behind Blue Eyes". For them to constantly place this tune in the encore section live is silly. Plus, they've released it as a single twice now; in north america last fall and now in europe. IMO the chorus is awful, and it seems (based on the outake version) that they had this riff they couldn't find a chorus for.
not only that, but the live version it so EMPTY sounding; why couldn't bono play guitar on it? (you know, instead of having the acoustic guitar as a backing track).

Because it just is exceptionally great
 
Almost forgot:

Tortoise%20471097.jpg
 
I love both ABOY and "Elevation". I'm so happy U2 made them. Both songs are thought-provoking - perhaps not as much as "Pride" or "Desire", but oceans more than the typical rock song about sex, women or partying. Both songs are arguably about God - how *less* rock is that?! Yet, U2 created great rocking songs, one of which is now a concert favorite. :up:

Here's to more ABOY's and "Elevation's"! :yes:
 
Edge's Guitar Solo >>> "I'm alive, I'm being born" verse = great moment in u2's musical catalog.
 
Does anyone here actually like U2??

I love ABOY though I have to say the alternate version is much better than the album version, I wish they would have kept that...and live it doesn't do as much for me as I thought it would. The Brooklyn Bridge version is fantastic but after that it just sounds sorta flat...maybe I haven't been listening to the boots of it enough. The solo sure kicks ass though it could have been extended for the live version.
 
AtomicBono said:
Does anyone here actually like U2??
Fuck, she's on to us.

Someone start another "Heartland" appreciation thread to throw her off.
 
ok, I guess most people here really like this tune.

not a bad tune, but I still think it's a really weak chorus, shouldn't have been a single, and doesn't fit well in the encores live.

and by the way, I'm not one of those people who said "u2 should make a really rockin stripped down rootsy album".

I just wanted them to make a great album, and this tune ain't great IMO.
 
doctorwho said:
I love both ABOY and "Elevation". I'm so happy U2 made them. Both songs are thought-provoking - perhaps not as much as "Pride" or "Desire", but oceans more than the typical rock song about sex, women or partying. Both songs are arguably about God - how *less* rock is that?! Yet, U2 created great rocking songs, one of which is now a concert favorite. :up:

Here's to more ABOY's and "Elevation's"! :yes:

Seconded. I must say I like Elevation more - simply because I feel it's far better live. Lyrically, I think ABOY's better and has more depth. I too like how un-rock and roll the lyrics themselves are - it's a refreshing breath of fresh air. I'd also argue that ABOY is lyrically deeper than Desire and both ABOY and Elevation are better unless Edge does Desire's shredding solo.
 
I really like HTDAAB, but I usually skip ABOY. When I hear Bono sing/scream "Aahaaal because of you" I wanna cringe. It's off-key. If they just took that part out, I'd like the song :happy:
 
Reggie Thee Dog said:
A gopher's ballsack? Dude, what do you do for fun?


Best post of the day...:lol:

This is one of the few U2 songs where I really like the lyrics but I find the approach musically very average. Usually when I find a U2 song to be average it has to do with lyrics ie Elevation, New York, and Miami.
 
karinlv said:
I really like HTDAAB, but I usually skip ABOY. When I hear Bono sing/scream "Aahaaal because of you" I wanna cringe. It's off-key. If they just took that part out, I'd like the song :happy:

That's exactly why the alternate version sounds better! Also, I like that guitar jangle in the chorus! The lyrics are better. 'All because of you, I'm down' sounds better to me than 'I am'. :shrug:

And of course one of the best lines... 'I had the universe decoded and the atom split'.

But the last minute or 2 on the album version is excellent!
 
Zootlesque said:


That's exactly why the alternate version sounds better! Also, I like that guitar jangle in the chorus! The lyrics are better. 'All because of you, I'm down' sounds better to me than 'I am'. :shrug:

But the I am, changes everything to a spiritual level. For 'I am' is the name of God.
 
That's exactly why the alternate version sounds better! Also, I like that guitar jangle in the chorus! The lyrics are better. 'All because of you, I'm down' sounds better to me than 'I am'

I think it's the inverse. "I am" sounds better than "I'm down".
The "Aaaaahllll Because of you" may sound off-key because the notes are decreasing in a scale, like he was doing solfeggio.

I still think that All Because Of you was a good choice as a single (what I always wanted) and it's better than other songs on the album (thinking about AMAAW, Crumbs, MD...)
 
If U2 didn't put songs like Vertigo and ABOY on HTDAAB it would be boring as hell and sound like Coldplay. That's why U2 is better than Coldplay, they know how to rock :rockon:
 
BonoVoxSupastar said:


But the I am, changes everything to a spiritual level. For 'I am' is the name of God.

I totally agree with you. It's the "I am" aspect of this song that gives it the enduring meaning and power to me.....and I'm spiritually bankrupt. I think it's another in a long line of U2 songs that represents an individual's desire to be closer and know God better, but frustrated by never finding what you're looking for. And, it's cleverly disguised in lyrics that can be ambiguous enough to mean lots of different things to different people (or mean nothing at all).

The song rocks in and of itself (notwithstanding the U2 music scholars that want to pick it apart for hyper-technical reasons). If you don't like the song -- fair enough. You can move on to many other songs (U2 or otherwise) that do speak to you. There's lots to choose from. But this one does work for me.
 
I second the opinion that it does not work very well live without the second guitar part on the album. It would be so awesome with two guitars!

I think the song is great on the album. The "I'm alive ..." part is fantastic.
 
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