Bono: 'U2 album was too challenging'

[ultraviolet353]

Interesting, as WITS has a theme of nostalgia when NLOTH has a theme of futurism.

I think the last three albums (and material from the 00's) are all in the same ballpark sonically. I do not see a huge departure on NLOTH that would rule out the inclusion of WITS.

 

[Snowlock]

Interesting, as WITS has a theme of nostalgia when NLOTH has a theme of futurism.

I always thought it was just about an average friday

NLOTH - alarms go off, morning
Mag - Looking in the mirror, brushing your teeth, fixing the hair
MOS - stuck in traffic on the way to work, arriving late
UC - At that dead end job, crabby coworkers/customers, wanting to escape
GOYB - Home now, ready to go out
Crazy - Picking up your friends on the way downtown
SUC - Partying at the bars and clubs
Fez: BB - Bars close, and you've acquired a companion who you take home, to ah, get to know better (it does actually work as a passionate boot-knocking song)
WAS - Laying in bed after said boot knocking in one of those "deep" how the world works conversations
Breathe - Saturday morning, making coffee, some breakfast for the two of you but
COL - She's left.

 

[torn vinyl]

As Bono has said many times, the song is about hedonism. It doesn't have much of a save-the-world theme. And it fits into the show! The song is a happy embrace of hedonism on the album, because that's what is happening in the progression of thoughts on the album through several characters (though it could be written down to one character if they wanted to). And what do they do live? The make it dancy and trippy to create a similar effect as Discotheque's - hedonism is bad, but it traps the mind into dancy and trippy thinking if one is happy living a hedonistic lifestyle. And then they punch you in the face with the true reality of the world in SBS. It's really fucking genius.

Thing is, the album version doesn't sound very hedonistic to me, unless the characters idea of hedonism is to double the does of honey in his chamomile tea.

And I doubt the band think that hedonism is "bad". They're a little more intellectually well rounded than that, and they are ROCK STARS, who are by nature hedonistic. You are aware of their 90s output, right? Seems like they may have been fond of a line or ninety-nine.

 

[digitize]

Thing is, the album version doesn't sound very hedonistic to me, unless the characters idea of hedonism is to double the does of honey in his chamomile tea.

Are hedonists not usually thrilled with their hedonism?

And I doubt the band think that hedonism is "bad". They're a little more intellectually well rounded than that, and they are ROCK STARS, who are by nature hedonistic. You are aware of their 90s output, right? Seems like they may have been fond of a line or ninety-nine.

You are aware that the band's 90s output was almost entirely sarcastic, right?

 

[torn vinyl]

Don't say that too loud, they will cut off your subscription to Pitchfork.

Are you aware that P4K gave Unforgettable Fire 9.?, right? They love U2 when U2 deserve to be loved. U2 are the only band P4K judges correctly.

Bomb is a piece of shit, Leave Behind is pretty good except for Elevation and Walk On.

 

[torn vinyl]

Are hedonists not usually thrilled with their hedonism?


You are aware that the band's 90s output was almost entirely sarcastic, right?

They usually enjoy it quite a bit as long as it doesn't get out of control.

And yes, the 90s output was sarcastic but there was truth there too. Popmart and ZOO TV are sterotypical drugged out art rock madness. And that BS about Adam being too hung over to play? Hung over...wasted, too high, ODed more like it.

 

[digitize]

They usually enjoy it quite a bit as long as it doesn't get out of control.

And yes, the 90s output was sarcastic but there was truth there too. Popmart and ZOO TV are sterotypical drugged out art rock madness. And that BS about Adam being too hung over to play? Hung over...wasted, too high, ODed more like it.

I'm not sure what Adam's alcoholism has at all to do with the thematic content of U2's 90s albums, especially when Adam didn't write a single lyric in the 90s, other than increasing the emotional desperation of the work. The Zoo and Pop eras sarcastically embraced lifestyles and themes to prove points. There was truth in the emotional desperation of the work, yeah. But I doubt U2 really believed in mass-media addiction or hyper-consumerism.

 

[BVS]

Are you aware that P4K gave Unforgettable Fire 9.?, right? They love U2 when U2 deserve to be loved. U2 are the only band P4K judges correctly.

Bomb is a piece of shit, Leave Behind is pretty good except for Elevation and Walk On.

Did you see what the post I was commenting on?

 

[BVS]

Hung over...wasted, too high, ODed more like it.

Now you're just trolling... A true od wouldn't be allowing you to play the next day.

 

[digitize]

They usually enjoy it quite a bit as long as it doesn't get out of control.

And yes, the 90s output was sarcastic but there was truth there too. Popmart and ZOO TV are sterotypical drugged out art rock madness. And that BS about Adam being too hung over to play? Hung over...wasted, too high, ODed more like it.

Also, it doesn't really matter if U2 themselves are the crazy hedonists that you think they are or not... Bono himself has said that the damn song is about hedonism. The character in it is happily embracing hedonism.

Wait... I forgot. Why does Bono LIE???

 

[mikal]

Are you aware that P4K gave Unforgettable Fire 9.?, right? They love U2 when U2 deserve to be loved. U2 are the only band P4K judges correctly.

are you Cactus Annie's evil twin?

 

[torn vinyl]

Also, it doesn't really matter if U2 themselves are the crazy hedonists that you think they are or not... Bono himself has said that the damn song is about hedonism. The character in it is happily embracing hedonism.

Wait... I forgot. Why does Bono LIE???

Yeah, he says it's about hedonism, but it doesn't sound like it. Maybe the protagonist is going to put 4 flavours in his slurpee instead of his usual two. Boots, that's hedonism.

 

[digitize]

Because I'm an arrogant bastard who needs to prove my points:

http://i542.photobucket.com/albums/gg414/cometU2/U2 Magazines Books/RS10-15-0911-1.jpg

"Suddenly, from this song about hedonism and self-destruction... you're on the streets of Tehran. 'It's not a hill, it's a mountain/As we start out the climb' - your personal odyssey is thrown into the harsh relief with what's going on in the outside world. Maybe this is how I've sorted my life - all the addest people I knew were people focused on their own well-being. 'I, I, I, I, I, me, me, me.' The way I found a route out of depression, the way I found a route out of idiocy, has been the harsh juxtaposition of other lives, be they around me or in the wider world. I love that moment in the show - I really understand that feeling."

 

[digitize]

Yeah, he says it's about hedonism, but it doesn't sound like it. Maybe the protagonist is going to put 4 flavours in his slurpee instead of his usual two. Boots, that's hedonism.

It sounds so falsely happy because hedonists are so falsely happy!

 

[torn vinyl]

Did you see what the post I was commenting on?

yeah, I think you were making a snarky comment about P4K being U2 haters, which makes about as much sense as your claim that Bad has no build when it is all about building up to that release.

 

[BVS]

yeah, I think you were making a snarky comment about P4K being U2 haters, which makes about as much sense as your claim that Bad has no build when it is all about building up to that release.

No I was making a snarky comment about someone who said Pitchfork is the cornerstone of "relevance" yet loves Bomb... that's it. And once again you are not understanding my comment about Bad.

 

[torn vinyl]

It sounds so falsely happy because hedonists are so falsely happy!

I'm not saying it sounds falsely happy - it's genuine. it's just boring and tame. It's not "hedonistic".

"Ooh, I went nuts last night, guys! I had a double Americano instead of a single! I'm a fuckin ANIMAL!"

 

[torn vinyl]

No I was making a snarky comment about someone who said Pitchfork is the cornerstone of "relevance" yet loves Bomb... that's it. And once again you are not understanding my comment about Bad.

That's actually the first time I've referred to your comments about Bad. And i have a problem with anyone who loves Bomb expecting respect when it comes to musial opinion!

 

[digitize]

I'm not saying it sounds falsely happy - it's genuine. it's just boring and tame. It's not "hedonistic".

"Ooh, I went nuts last night, guys! I had a double Americano instead of a single! I'm a fuckin ANIMAL!"

Okay, let's just ignore everything the band say about the song and come to judgment about it despite the evidence thrown in front of our faces, mocking those who dare to... listen to the people who created the song.

Also, Where The Streets Have No Name is about sex.

 

[partygirl43]

are you Cactus Annie's evil twin?

I think I love you.

 

[torn vinyl]

Okay, let's just ignore everything the band say about the song and come to judgment about it despite the evidence thrown in front of our faces, mocking those who dare to... listen to the people who created the song.

Also, Where The Streets Have No Name is about sex.

Dude, I AM NOT SAYING THAT IT ISN"T ABOUT HEDONISM. I am saying that it does not SOUND hedonistic.

And I could see streets being about sex.

 

[digitize]

Dude, I AM NOT SAYING THAT IT ISN"T ABOUT HEDONISM. I am saying that it does not SOUND hedonistic.

Does not compute. I really, really don't understand how 2 + 2 =/= 4 here. The song sounds sugary-happy. Hedonists are sugary-happy. Their main goal in life is in-the-moment-pleasure. Kind of like Crazy Tonight.

Does. Not. Compute.

 

[LemonMelon]

Does not compute. I really, really don't understand how 2 + 2 =/= 4 here. The song sounds sugary-happy. Hedonists are sugary-happy. Their main goal in life is in-the-moment-pleasure. Kind of like Crazy Tonight.

Does. Not. Compute.

Hedonism is connotative of sleaze, and Crazy Tonight sounds whitewashed. That's what he means.

 

[ozeeko]

You run into a problem when you judge things only by how they sound on the surface without considering what's happening below. As I've said about 234908234908 times now to no response from any people who attack NLOTH, Crazy Tonight is a song about hedonism. The character is happily ignoring the rest of the world, living only in the present, from the giddy confidence earned at the end of UC (I realize they're not the same character, but the progression of thoughts is there). If the character in the song is giddily hedonistic, why shouldn't the music be? Similarly, Boots, is about another character seeing the world collapse into warfare around his eyes, but keeping it only in his peripheral vision. It fits the music perfectly, especially with the under-the-surface Middle Eastern rhythms of the song. And then there's the ironic quasi-attack on egoism... the very self-centered egoism that is embraced by the two songs before it, Bono is embracing in a very tongue-in-cheek way, suggesting that all is not well in hedonism-world. Again, the hard edge of the music fits this perfectly. And then the world collapses into chaos with the renewed chaotic surrealism of Fez.

What doesn't fit?

What?

The fuck?

Is Bono even talking about the right song?

There is nothing, and i repeat, nothing hedonistic about CT. I don't care what Bono says, there is nothing in the lyrics to suggest that, there's nothing in the music to suggest that, there is absolutely positively NOTHING hedonistic about CT. This song is about as wild as going to Arby's for a roast beef sandwich. Actually, i take that back...this song wishes it was that wild.

I'm looking through the lyrics right now...the only lines that could possibly support your flimsy case are: "every sweet tooth needs just a little hit" - makes sense...and the much more vague "every beauty needs to go out with an idiot" - which maybe Bono means is about morons fucking beauty queens, but to me it pretty much means everyone should be given a chance (which is also quite lame)...but then "shout into the darkness, squeeze out sparks of light"??? This is not hedonism, this is a squeaky clean motivational "look on the bright side of things" very friendly pop song, about as wild and daring as a Miley Cyrus party anthem.

And I'm no slouch when it comes to dissecting lyrics and detecting sarcasm. But there's not a hint of insincerity in this song. In My O-fucking-pinion.

 

[digitize]

What?

The fuck?

Is Bono even talking about the right song?

There is nothing, and i repeat, nothing hedonistic about CT. I don't care what Bono says, there is nothing in the lyrics to suggest that, there's nothing in the music to suggest that, there is absolutely positively NOTHING hedonistic about CT. This song is about as wild as going to Arby's for a roast beef sandwich. Actually, i take that back...this song wishes it was that wild.

I'm looking through the lyrics right now...the only lines that could possibly support your flimsy case are: "every sweet tooth needs just a little hit" - makes sense...and the much more vague "every beauty needs to go out with an idiot" - which maybe Bono means is about morons fucking beauty queens, but to me it pretty much means everyone should be given a chance (which is also quite lame)...but then "shout into the darkness, squeeze out sparks of light"??? This is not hedonism, this is a squeaky clean motivational "look on the bright side of things" very friendly pop song, about as wild and daring as a Miley Cyrus party anthem.

And I'm no slouch when it comes to dissecting lyrics and detecting sarcasm. But there's not a hint of insincerity in this song. In My O-fucking-pinion.

The "in my o-fucking-pinion part" was obviously sarcastic, so I'll disregard it. The song is about hedonism. The song is written from the perspective of... a hedonist. The lines are by someone who is looking on the bright side BECAUSE HE IS A HEDONIST AND CAN SEE NO OTHER SIDE of life. It is from the perspective of someone who would enjoy Miley Cyrus party anthems. The song itself is neither positive nor negative on the subject of hedonism. It's not sarcastic, because, in itself, it isn't making a point (the album as a whole, of which this song is a piece, does that). It is simply putting the attitude of hedonism into the form of a song. It is sincerely, not sarcastically, happy... because hedonists are sincerely, not sarcastically, happy with their lives and hedonism! But are the lyrics a sincere representation of Bono's personal feelings? No way in hell.

Also...

I don't care what Bono says, there is nothing in the lyrics to suggest that

I'm not sure what credibility your post has left after this statement, lest we forget that Bono wrote the damn lyrics.

 

[Mr. V]

I think some people need to realise that hedonism does not mean Vegas, coke and strippers.

 

[ozeeko]

Hedonism is about devoting life to pleasure. I don't get that from this song. It's just not there. This song is about selfmotivation and overcoming darkness. "We're gonna make it all the way to the light?" And the stuff about climbing mountains, and the slow changing of hearts...if this was about hedonism the character wouldn't even care about this stuff. he'd be too deep into whatever was the focul point of his hedonism, whether its books, food, sex, drugs, music...whatever makes the guy happy. he wouldn't say "just a little hit" - he'd say "take as many hits as you want", because all that matters is your own private pleasures. It feels like Bono came up with this theory after writing the lyrics, trying intellectualize what is really just a simple song about overcoming darkness, not through selfish overindulgence in pleasure, but by remaining positive and trying to find the light in darkness. hedonism isn't about finding the light in darkness, it's about doing what stimulates you. It's not about thinking. It's about pleasure, sensation.

 

[mikal]

can we change the thread title to "General Thoughts about I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight" please?

 

[ozeeko]

can we change the thread title to "General Thoughts about I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight" please?

Who are you, the class clown?

just playing

 

[digitize]

It's about pleasure, sensation.

Which is exactly the state of the character. What he is saying is that he doesn't give a damn about how complicated the world seems, he is happy in his own personal pleasure. And that gets more extreme in Boots. What he is sensually obsessed with is his own life, not necessarily... well, as was said earlier, Vegas, coke, and strippers.