Invisible Discussion Thread II (Do not post song requests - discussion only!)

[last unicorn]

I don't care if you can't see anything, as long as the album is not INAUDIBLE.

 

[corianderstem]

U2 defies the loudness wars by recording an album that no one can hear.

 

[mikal]

A surprise release. That we can't see. Because it's... Invisible.

I think you're really setting yourself up for disappointment on Tuesday.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using U2 Interference mobile app

 

[last unicorn]

The miracle happened and our radio station just played Invisible

They have a hit service live tweet and I just saw it the minute the song kicked off. Sounds so good on radio

 

[rennowba]

In the uk u2's albums always come out on a Monday, it's only in the states were cd's come out on a Tuesday.

 

[rennowba]

Invisible charted at number 65 in the uk. Would have been interesting to see we're it would of charted if the free downloads counted and the song was promoted here

I really think U2 are still capable of having at least a top ten hit

 

[asr]

Daily Beast article on 'Invisible.'

U2 Drops ‘Invisible’ to Remind You the Band Exists - The Daily Beast

 

[ShellBeThere]

While the song and Bono's vocals are transporting quite a "warm" feeling, the lyrics, for me, are quite chilly. But there's hope and consolation at the end. It's almost like with "There is no them" another voice, maybe a more mature one, is coming in. There's certainly the theme of the young, still unexperienced, emotionally raw, insecure and impulsive man vs. the older, more mature man with a sense of conciliation in this song.

That's a very good point, and I think that this juxtaposition is one of the problems I have with the song. That at one level it seems like a conversation, either in-the-world or in-the-head, with a resolution of the "there is no them" either as stated or in a meditation; but at the same time, we've been hearing the "there is no them" theme from the very opening of the song. And, yes, Bono's vocals are warm-sounding even when he articulates the chilly "more than you know" theme, and so the effect is that it comes off sorta like those teeny-bopper smug statements of "you don't know me, but I will triumph" pop music thing. I think the jangly sparkly bits of guitar and percussion that glide over and under the whole production add to that, to create an effect that maybe it's not really a serious statement, or that any pain needed to be sanitized and prettified, or at least glossed over. I think without all that the "I am not invisible"s would be stronger and more meaningful-feeling. And I wish the semi-bridge before Bono finally launches with his vocals into the "There is no them, ooonly us" that we've been hearing in loud hints throughout would have been longer and stronger and more developed.
I can't help feeling mad at this song lol, like it demands my attention with its good bits but I want to shush it and tell it to state it again, slower and clearer That there are interesting tensions and elements there, but I don't quite feel how we are to see them woven together. Like I don't 'get' the shorthand, the cast of characters, or the 'point' in the communication the song represents. I can accept complex or multiply-interpretable messages, but I can't quite parse this one.
I think lyrically it's very interesting and like the multiple interpretations available to us of a personal struggle, a larger struggle, a voice of the single and of the multitudes, but I feel like the song is a couple of U2 songs playing at once, clamoring for attention at once, and I never feel like that tension is resolved and get left with the impression of a couple of slogan-y bits embedded in noise (maybe that was the desired effect?!)
I'd love to see it remixed, and it should be interesting live for sure. I'd like to see it done with more space inside the song so I can work out the elements more clearly, either via a mix that buries some of the sonics a little deeper and out of the way or via a re-working.
Bono is sounding really great, that's surely promising!
And I don't dislike the way the new production stylings sound on Ordinary Love at all, which I find very pleasing, so perhaps it's more the mix specifically on this one I'm not wrapping my head around happily.
I wish indeed that the "there is no them" theme were instrumentalized differently, or carried just in Bono's vocals...I find the instrumentation on it annoying somehow, like it's attempting to be clarion-like, revelatory, and misses that mark. Or maybe that too is intended, like a 'nagging' idea that finally gets articulated?!
Grr, this song is surely creating in me a desire to understand it better, which is something I guess...
Did Edge or Bono at some point mention that they were making something that was going to be 'intellectual work' for the listener ?

 

[Super Yo]

U2 > News > Visible

 

[jeevey]

Yes, Edge did, ShellB! When he was on BBC2 last week. I'll see if I can dig up the quote.

 

[jeevey]

Here it is.

"We're trying to make a hard record ... meaning intellectually hard, rigorous, raw but potent"

Edge Finally Explains What the Heck U2 is Still Doing in the Studio

The interview is up somewhere on SoundCloud. U2place, I think?

 

[ClaytonsKitten]

Intellectual work for the listener? Without clear meanings??

This place is going to dissolve into flame wars.

 

[redhill]

I agree. Smaller threads are not that bad an idea if there is only a song or two to discuss. Especially when its the 'there is no them, only us' line which is probably the most contentious aspect of the song on these boards. And anyway there is another thread about invisible, I love Edge's nod to stuart adamson. While this was about lyrical matters that was musical and talked about influence. That could have been on this thread too. But I preferred it separate. Could it be that the adamson thread was positive and this could have turned out to be negative? I dont know. Just know that fellas gotta chill here.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using U2 Interference mobile app

Agreed...and agreed.

 

[redhill]

Really confused. The thread about the coda gets merged into a thread about Hitler jokes and the TV show Lost?

 

[JOFO]

And like I said 3 weeks ago:
album Nov. 2014, tour spring 2015.
Done.

 

[LemonMelon]

Still sounds like June to me.

 

[JOFO]

Oh, and also....ATYCLB Part 2.

 

[JOFO]

Still sounds like June to me.

Not a chance.

 

[LemonMelon]

not a chance.

ok

 

[JOFO]

 

[Peter_The_Roman]

Pretty enthusiastic review.

But I'm going on record now. I am not...fucking NOT...chanting "There is no them, only us" at the concert. No, no, no, no, no, fucking no. The line must be drawn here, no further, and it's one line I won't cross.

Why won't you chant it?

 

[ahittle]

I agree that Bono sounds great, but I'm feeling like the production is part of why I feel so weirded out by it. I feel like it's *all* chorus, one or the other, "more than you know", or "there is no them; there's only us"; the structure of it feels off to me somehow. Like there's a good core there but the arrangement of the bits feels funny to me, and maybe the approach taken with the production is part of why it strikes me that way.

It definitely rushes to the chorus, but it's designed to deliver an anthemic U2 moneyshot, that's for sure. Makes me wonder if there is an unedited version with two verses at the top.

I don't mind the production. I like the dinky drums and the cold synths.

 

[Peter_The_Roman]

Makes me wonder if there is an unedited version with two verses at the top.

Maybe that will be on the new album?

 

[AndrewCowley]

A paint by numbers article about U2.

 

[digitize]

I'm a pretty big fan of U2'a artier side, but I think that there's some truth in the article's last paragraph:

At their best—on Unforgettable Fire, Joshua Tree, Achtung Baby—U2 managed to satisfy both art and commerce. At their worst they lean too far in one direction or another. We will soon know whether they have found the sweet spot yet again.

Of course, one could argue that NLOTH tried to be that perfect blend and fell on its face in the commercial sphere.

 

[doctorwho]

Of course, one could argue that NLOTH tried to be that perfect blend and fell on its face in the commercial sphere.

Perspective.

Per U2's standards, maybe NLOTH didn't sell as well. It still sold over 1M in the U.S. per SoundScan thus earning a "true" Platinum status. Other big names, like Madonna, Springsteen and REM haven't had all of their albums go Platinum or better. NLOTH also sold 5-6M worldwide.

Plus, album sales are pathetic. In the past 5 years or so, there may have been only one or two albums that sold 3M or more copies in the U.S. in a given year. I don't think any broke 3M last year. U2's NLOTH was one of the biggest selling albums released in 2009. I'm not really sure how much better it would have done had GOYB been a break out hit.

But U2 are U2 and they want big in everything. So we'll see what this next album brings.

Although I would argue against the "artiness" of JT. An album of folk songs with some atmospheric rock is hardly "art".

Oh, and also....ATYCLB Part 2.

While I enjoy OL and "Invisible", they very much remind me of the ATYCLB era (which includes "Million Dollar Hotel" soundtrack). I do think we will see an ATCLB Part 2 - but with some twists, like another MOS type of song and/or additional facets due to Danger Mouse.

Part of me loves ATYCLB - especially the first half of the album. Given that Bono's lyrics, IMO, and voice are both much better now than they were then, a "Part 2" wouldn't be horrible if U2 can bring everything up a notch.

Those expecting more may be disappointed. I do not think we'll hear a TUF, JT or AB Part 2 at all given recent releases.

 

[AndrewCowley]

> NLOTH also sold 5-6M worldwide

You sure the numbers are that high?

 

[ChargedVT]

> NLOTH also sold 5-6M worldwide

You sure the numbers are that high?

I think it was about 4 million.... plus however many downloaded it illegally, so it's possible that many people have a copy of the songs in one form or another.

 

[CMIS]

Okay, here's an update on my Invisible impression. After listening to the song almost exclusively for a week (it was punctuated by a few spins of TUF thanks to this forum) the euphoria has died down. I was one of the majority on this site who liked the song and I still do. I said it seemed like a heavyweight on the second day. Not sure about that now, maybe it is, maybe not. Time will tell. I don't think this is U2 4.0, not saying that the album won't be. This, to me, is a very good U2 song. But I feel encouraged by the fact that I was compelled to go back for so many repeated listens. Didn't happen with Boots but did happen with NLOTH2, and I still love the latter. Invisible gives me hope for the new album, genuine hope that it is going to be better than their last two. The reason for this hope is in no small part due to Bono's measured and assured vocals and the unpretentious lyrics. I think the strongest part of Invisible (apart from that almost magical 'all those frozen days, and your frozen ways) is the simplicity of the lyrics, which somehow sink deeper upon repeated listens. It makes the song at once immediately accessible and (for lack of a better word) intellectual. In summation, chuffed with the new song and eagerly waiting for the album. Drop baby drop (don't for a minute think it will be a minute sooner than June).

 

[CMIS]

Oh, and also, the only negative thing I have to say at this point (like many have said before me) is that the song seems to end too abruptly. If the album version is longer, this could be a heavyweight in U2's post-Pop catalogue.