You're the Best Thing About Me - Song Discussion Thread #2

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That thread was starting to become unbearable...this one will head that same direction in a few posts. :wink:
 
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It's still a terrible song.

At least the live version sounds a bit better by virtue of not possessing the overproduced studio sheen. Not that I'm sure Edge is particularly happy with how they're playing it yet. And I'm still mystified why on earth they chose this copy-and-paste clunker as the lead single. They were clearly more ready to play The Blackout live, that's for sure!
 
U2 produced by Four Tet.

Four Tet is not that bad.

YATBTAM may be a "better" choice for 1st single regarding radio support (compared to Miracle) .. but they cannot really do much with this song in a live setting.

Edge singing his verse is the best thing about this ....song
 
Kind of frustrating to hear this song, for I do enjoy the verses a lot. They just sound natural to me, and live in that that sunny, California pop-land. I imagine they're great to blast while driving the west coast. However, that chorus is so Bruno Marsy, I just can't. Sure, it's catchy, but so what? Catchy does not necessarily equal good. I can think of an infinite # of "catchy" songs I can't stand.

Something I've noticed about U2's singles recently is that often there are too many parts. Many of their classics don't stray too far (if at all) from the main groove. NYD, SBS, Pride, Streets (after the intro), ISHFWILF, Desire, AIWIY, Stay, HMTMKMKM,...even the more subtly complex tunes like WOWY, One, effortlessly build onto the main structure; the center holds. The occasional different sounding/chord changing middle 8's: Mysterious Ways, IWF, Angel of Harlem, even BD, they all sound as if the song organically grew to that moment. Look at Lemon, a song with multiple parts, that works because of the consistent strong rhythmic backbone.

While we all go on and on about how U2 should experiment and push themselves, I think maybe they'd benefit more from being less ambitious, form reining it in. I'm just talking about song structure. Get the essence of the song first, and then after you can Eno the fuck out of the arrangement.

Songs like YTBTAM, The Miracle, IGCIIDGCT, WITS - It's like I just pick and choose the parts I like, as if it's some kind of song buffet. I don't want little snacks to nibble on. I want a meal.
 
Was at the show last night, very fun to hear it live. Energy was way better and I thought it sounded pretty good. Only issue was Larry's drumming into the big chorus... He kind of just stops and then switched to the chorus beat. Needs to have a Streets like explosion.

Also thought it came off about as well as a "new song" could played live. WAY better than Little Things that is. Better slot in the set, better energy, and the crowd response afterwards was solid enough.

Still a pretty straightforward pop tune that won't become a classic, but it has grown on me after having seen it live.
 
Was at the show last night, very fun to hear it live. Energy was way better and I thought it sounded pretty good. Only issue was Larry's drumming into the big chorus... He kind of just stops and then switched to the chorus beat. Needs to have a Streets like explosion.

Also thought it came off about as well as a "new song" could played live. WAY better than Little Things that is. Better slot in the set, better energy, and the crowd response afterwards was solid enough.
I was in Indy last night and I really thought it went over well. I loved it
:up: Good to hear, guys.
 
Well this sucks. Why did you guys start a new thread?

The old one isn't locked and we must have been setting some kind of record. And you also basically gave the thread the same name, so it's impossible to tell which is the new one in the "recent threads." You've sewn chaos and confusion.

Lame. And the song still sucks. All the new threads in the world can't change that.
 
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It's still a terrible song.

At least the live version sounds a bit better by virtue of not possessing the overproduced studio sheen. Not that I'm sure Edge is particularly happy with how they're playing it yet. And I'm still mystified why on earth they chose this copy-and-paste clunker as the lead single. They were clearly more ready to play The Blackout live, that's for sure!

Ax\Nick...:hug:


It's not a 'terrible' song...it's a very catchy, sugary, pop-tune, but it's not terrible...:no:

U2 might be reaching a bit here, but the song is miles better than "The Miracle"...and I like that song...:)
 
Don't worry...before the album comes out, The Edge will change The Best Thing completely. They might even replace it with the original, slower version on the album, who knows. Or maybe the Polka mix of it.
 
It's still a terrible song.

At least the live version sounds a bit better by virtue of not possessing the overproduced studio sheen. Not that I'm sure Edge is particularly happy with how they're playing it yet. And I'm still mystified why on earth they chose this copy-and-paste clunker as the lead single. They were clearly more ready to play The Blackout live, that's for sure!



Well this sucks. Why did you guys start a new thread?

The old one isn't locked and we must have been setting some kind of record. And you also basically gave the thread the same name, so it's impossible to tell which is the new one in the "recent threads." You've sewn chaos and confusion.

Lame. And the song still sucks. All the new threads in the world can't change that.


Ugh, it's sad, but I agree so much.

At least I've had Matt Berninger mumbling about anonymous castrati to keep me satisfied on the new music front this weekend. :)
 
Well this sucks. Why did you guys start a new thread?

The old one isn't locked and we must have been setting some kind of record. And you also basically gave the thread the same name, so it's impossible to tell which is the new one in the "recent threads." You've sewn chaos and confusion.

Lame. And the song still sucks. All the new threads in the world can't change that.

:rolleyes: A few individuals (like me) like this song and want to keep talking about it. Plus, it's way over 1,000 posts. That old thread is yours if you want to keep talking about why they should go back to Eno and Lanois.
 
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Posted this in the 'old' thread before I realized a new one was started.

TBT is not a bad song. Pretty catchy in fact.

But it's pretty amazing that the band went around for a year blaming the album delay on Trump, and this is what they give us. FFS, the song is from Page 1 of the contemporary U2 playbook. Not a whole lot different than the other recent attempts at pop (EBW, Crazy Tonight) and it even has the cheesy lyrical boxes checked off, just like those songs (with self deprecation, Bono's signature cringe point, included).

Maybe the rest of the album will deliver the punch that they have implicitly promised since their little world was shaken by Hillary's ignominious defeat, Brexit etc. But this song is just... not it.
 
:rolleyes: A few individuals (like me) like this song and want to keep talking about it. Plus, it's way over 1,000 posts. That old thread is yours if you want to keep talking about why they should go back to Eno and Lanois.

Well, I don't see an issue with discussing Brian & Danny. They're sort of important to U2, and if we're discussing this single, that's invariably going to lead to comparisons with their previous singles.

Anyway, I'm not annoyed that you want to discuss the song! Just that you ruined a perfectly good, recording breaking thread!

Besides, after 1,000+ posts, hasn't everything about the song that could be said has been said? But if you have some new thoughts on it...by all means, let's hear them....
 
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Hated the Fallon version.

Enjoyed the Indy version. Much better than how they performed it on Fallon.

Still love the album version even with production issues.
 
Post #1 on each new thread should have a roundup of news etc - not all of us have time to trawl through heaps and heaps of posts of abuse, injokes, arrogance, bickering, and bullying.
 
What kind of news would you expect in a thread that's just discussion of a new song?

Here's your news roundup:

Some people really hate the song.

Some people really like the song.
 
I mean...the lyric video, Tonight Show and Indianapolis performances should be considered "newsworthy". That's why they're in the 1st post. :wink:
Now to wait for the music video.
 
Having listened to it a few times now, I still don't like it but definitely don't hate it as much as I did when I first heard it. The ending is plain wrong though, it feels that they just decided to abruptly stop the song so that they could have it under 4 minutes and get more radio play. Another chorus at thee end is what the song needs.
 
Just listened to the Kygo version again...

Goddamnit, still really good. Has the exact explosion of energy in the chorus that I was hoping for in this mix. And that part of the song isn't even that danc-ey/EDM-ey. I think a lot of it is the more throbbing drum beat and Edge's guitar part from the bridge on the latest mix.

I really wonder what mix they had before they completely changed it up before release.
 
Having listened to it a few times now, I still don't like it but definitely don't hate it as much as I did when I first heard it. The ending is plain wrong though, it feels that they just decided to abruptly stop the song so that they could have it under 4 minutes and get more radio play. Another chorus at thee end is what the song needs.



The abrupt ending is perfect for the lyric "why am I walking away", it's the first chorus to verse that needed changing.
 
I've listened to The Best Thing and The Blackout about the same number of times (which is many) and noticed a strange phenomenon - The Best Thing stays stuck in my head but I cannot remember how The Blackout goes without listening to it, even though I like The Blackout better. I was discussing this with my weekend roomie for the Indianapolis show this weekend, and she said the same thing. So maybe the band does know what they are doing when picking singles...
 
I've listened to The Best Thing and The Blackout about the same number of times (which is many) and noticed a strange phenomenon - The Best Thing stays stuck in my head but I cannot remember how The Blackout goes without listening to it, even though I like The Blackout better. I was discussing this with my weekend roomie for the Indianapolis show this weekend, and she said the same thing. So maybe the band does know what they are doing when picking singles...



They do know (this time). The Blackout is the better song IMO but TBT is not for us fans. Rather it's to get mainstream appeal for non-U2 fans (IMO).

I like TBT now and it do s get stuck in your head. There is soooo much going on in that song that I like. I get why some don't like the song around here but again, it's not for us (at least that's my take)
 
Just listened to the Kygo version again...

Goddamnit, still really good. Has the exact explosion of energy in the chorus that I was hoping for in this mix. And that part of the song isn't even that danc-ey/EDM-ey. I think a lot of it is the more throbbing drum beat and Edge's guitar part from the bridge on the latest mix.

I really wonder what mix they had before they completely changed it up before release.

For us that love the Kygo version, based on Edge interviews this past week the version they were going with up until 24hrs before was actually a 'slower' ' mellower' version that what was just released. So not even close to the Kygo version.
 
For us that love the Kygo version, based on Edge interviews this past week the version they were going with up until 24hrs before was actually a 'slower' ' mellower' version that what was just released. So not even close to the Kygo version.



You realize the Kygo version was a REMIX of that version right?
 
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