You've heard GET ON YOUR BOOTS? - Post all thoughts, reviews, discussion HERE Part 4

[MadForIt]

Well for once i can leave the forum on reasonable terms

I'll be back (tomorrow in part 5 probably)

 

[dan_smee]

Well for once i can leave the forum on reasonable terms

I'll be back (tomorrow in part 5 probably)

laters

 

[MMP]

Oh, but now I want to talk bout Oasis.

 

[astepcloser24]

I like the melody of Boots, but lyrically, I think Beautiful Day and Vertigo were better singles. Boots makes me want to dance, but the lyrics kinda suck. I think they could've done a lot better.

 

[Marko]

I'm not a biggest fan of this single, but when I read the comments on rottentomatoes forum it made me somewhat sad

Forums - The new U2 single is abysmal.

 

[last unicorn]

Lyrics sucked much more on Vertigo. Actually, these latest lyrics are pretty interesting, there seems to be a lot going on and they are much more open to interpretation.

 

[LyricalDrug]

In the interest of totally dodging the flame war going on, let's take a turn in direction...

...Because we've hit a point in this thread where we're talking about the song's "substantive lyrics" (or lack thereof), allow me to post my thoughts on the lyrics:

I think the song is much deeper than what people read into. It's not just a "rock song", it's something more than that. "Some Days Are Better Than Others" was throwaway, this is actually quite deep.

It's a condemnation of war and terrorism tactics, as well as the media and public reaction to it. Bono's "never seen a moon like this", where things are as dark as they are. Because, though he lived through the Vietnam War and the troubles in Ireland, there was political action being demanded from the public. We're living in times where, at least in America, the youth is largely indifferent to anything political (before you youngsters try and tell me I don't know what I'm talking about, I'm 22. And I am definitely ashamed of the apathy of my generation.)

"Satan loves a bomb scare" is definitely a reference to suicide bombers/the WMD issue of the Iraq War. "Sexy boots", as stated above, is super sarcastic, implying army boots. But I think it's a double sided image: the image of army boots, and soldiers fighting.

But also the image that Bono stated in 2004: "these are not sandals on my feet. I'm no hippie. These are boots. I come from punk rock." The "boots" seem to be those punk rock boots, it's Bono urging the public to "Get their boots on" and get involved, politically.

"The future needs a big kiss" because we've never seen times like this. Times are dark and things need to get better quickly.

I find "fun fair" to be sarcastic as well. Bono seems to be mocking the idea that the youth is generally uninterested in politics and have become intensely materialistic. Anyone who turns on MTV at any hour of the day can see this. "Satan loves a bomb scare but he won't scare you" means that terrorists are aiming to drive fear into the hearts of citizens, but the youth doesn't care because they don't pay attention. The only people scared by terrorists are people Bono's age because they're the only ones paying attention!

"You free me from the dark dream: candy, floss, ice cream." It's a condemnation of how bubblegum the music scene has become. Bono grew up with Dylan, with "Fortunate Son", and other huge political anthems. The United States, in particular, is in the throes of a massive recession and war and what are the young people listening to? "Got Money", "Stacks on deck, Patron on ice, you can have whatever you like..." It's all materialistic, bubblegum shit. The kids go nuts for it but "the ghosts aren't real", as in the songs have no substance.

Bono seems to make one last plea for the youth: "Let me in the sound." As in "listen to us. Let us in the debate. Let's get political. Forget about the Womanizer, forget about the Patron you have on ice, forget about the lollipops. We're here to talk about important stuff - LISTEN to us, or people like us."

He stated that on this record, they'd be going for the younger crowd. I don't think he just means in terms of sonic quality, but in lyrical content as well.

Great, great review!

 

[Earnie Shavers]

Over 24hrs (for me) in, and I’m still not totally sold.

I don’t think it’s bad. It’s infinitely better than Vertigo (but that’s not hard, there are Pink songs – sorry, P!nk – that are better than Vertigo). But it certainly has not hit me the same way the Fly, Discotheque or Beautiful Day did straight out of the box. Maybe more like Numb. In a totally different way to Numb, of course, but with a similar level of feeling.

Kind of… okay, thanks, it's good, but I need to hear more very soon, as I’m really not taking anything away from this. That's what Numb was like too. Enjoyed it, but it wasn't a religious experience or anything. With the Fly, Discotheque and Beautiful Day it was more like… holy shit, awesome, yes, get me another drink but goddam I need a cigarette first. Not happening this time.

But yes, it's lightyears ahead of Vertigo.

 

[Earnie Shavers]

This is a quote from some poster on the Rotten Tomatoes forum. This is pretty funny:

Not offensive, merely boring. It is a song that doesn't know what it is, created by a band that does not know what it is. A brace of producers, a relaxed schedule, some "creative space" in a luxury resort in Morocco - patched together out of vague notions to show 'em we can still rock and also roll, to let the rock be the message this time - straight ahead. And then crapped up with endless nipple-tweaking. Laborious sponteneity. With a touch of indiginous Morroccan flavourings. Without the bullshit, but in so doing, heaping on extra bullshit.

 

[clerks]

I think it's only bad compared to great songs like The Fly, B. Day, Disco... but I see hope. As I think B.Day and Disco were the best or at least top 3 on their respective CDs, I hope GET ON YOUR BOOTS is the worst song on the album because then it may be AMAZING.

I like Vertigo, great song. But think it's number 7 on ATOMIC.

So I see this as a good thing. It is not as good as some of the more traditional singles, but I really think they picked a single this time for some other reason than they believe it to be their best. Maybe it's just the shortest, radio friendly.

I like the song. I do not love it like the 3rd time I heard Beautiful Day and lost my shit.

But I love U2. They are so good, it's hard to live up too. But they do better than any band in history.

 

[Earnie Shavers]

I like the melody of Boots, but lyrically, I think Beautiful Day and Vertigo were better singles. Boots makes me want to dance, but the lyrics kinda suck. I think they could've done a lot better.

Wow. I’m amazed anyone could think Vertigo has better lyrics than Boots (or anything). Boots isn’t A-Grade all time Bono, but at least it’s better than just putting random Bono-cliches in a hat and pulling them out in random order, pasting them together and then for some reason calling it Vertigo.

 

[vaz02]

My flat mates love the song a) metal head , b) a guy that works in a club.

 

[cdirani]

Terry Lawless Discography

Interesting info...played also on Anton Corbjin's Linear film.

 

[Vlad n U 2]

Ha! I played to two of my friends and they both liked it, one of them said it sounds quite different and new. Keep in mind they are casual U2 fans.

 

[Aardvark747]

You know, I was just thinking to myself how glad I am that the lyric at the end of the song is "Let me in the sound" etc... When I first heard that leak before the whole song I thought it was "Let me hear the song" That would've been so bad and .."in the sound" is so much better

 

[cdirani]

Worldwide Radio Goes Wild For New U2
January 20, 2009 10:19 AM ET
Jen Wilson, London

U2's new single, "Get on Your Boots," scored massive audience numbers
throughout Europe and the United Kingdom on its debut day of radio
airplay yesterday (Jan. 19), according to Nielsen Music Control.

Arriving on the second day of the airplay-monitoring week, the new
single shot straight to No. 1 on Ireland's airplay chart and No. 4 in
the U.K., with total audiences of two million and 12.5 million
respectively.

The song also fared well in Germany (78 million), Italy (11 million)
and Austria (10 million), despite arriving near the end of the
European monitoring week. Belgium and Holland showed a promising start
with respective audiences of 3.5 and 2.6 million.

In the United States, "Boots" received 529 total spins, according to
Nielsen BDS. KYSR-Los Angeles played it 24 times, while KENZ-Salt Lake
City was second with 18.

"Get on Your Boots" was unveiled simultaneously around the world at
8:15 a.m. GMT yesterday. Originally U2 had announced the song would
not be available digitally until Feb. 15, but it went live yesterday
via Apple's iTunes Music Store in the United States.

The band's forthcoming album, "No Line on the Horizon" will be
released March 2 through Mercury/Universal in the U.K. and the
following day in North America through Interscope/Universal.

___________________

 

[cdirani]

You know, I was just thinking to myself how glad I am that the lyric at the end of the song is "Let me in the sound" etc... When I first heard that leak before the whole song I thought it was "Let me hear the song" That would've been so bad and .."in the sound" is so much better

Me too. I thought it was Let me hear the sound. I'm relieved, as I'm not a natural-born English speaker.

 

[Dodger]

LA Times GOYB review

Not sure if this was posted yet, but it's a pretty good review. Anyway here you go....

01:12 PM PT, Jan 19 2009

Bono and his band of merry men are not ones to miss a window of hope. And so on the eve of Barack Obama's inauguration -- just hours after the Irish rock ambassadors entertained the president-elect with their MLK Day anthem and their unofficial post-9/11 elegy at the Lincoln Memorial -- U2 unveiled a new single. Way to claim your spot on the "Yes, We Can" caravan, boys!

"Get on Your Boots" is a first taste from the band's new long-player, "No Line on the Horizon," which hits the global marketplace Feb. 15. Hear "Get on Your Boots" and read details about the album here. (Most exciting tidbit: The digipak edition will include a film "companion to the album" by Anton Corbjin.)

Initial thoughts on the band's newest inspirational booty-shaker after the jump.

Pundits are already splitting hairs about "GOYB" -- does it sound like Elvis Costello circa "Pump It Up" or the Temptations classic "Ball of Confusion"? Both connections are plausible, and there's also a fuzzy Stooges-style guitar riff that would have made Ron Asheton chuckle. But the fusion "GOYB" represents is hardly new for U2 or longtime producers Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois.

U2 got its mojo back with "Achtung Baby" 15 years ago by realizing that as white guys, they had to loosen up and get a little dirty if they wanted to explore black-invented sounds. Since then, one of its many missions has been to meld rock and soul in a way that doesn't feel retro and honors both traditions.

"GOYB" is sharper-edged than "Mysterious Ways," faster than "Elevation" and more non-linear than "Vertigo." It's dance-rock with a few small, tricky changes: a very Eno-esque bridge to nowhere, based on the phrase "you don't know how beautiful you are" that drags out the beat like Silly Putty, and a break near the end that has Bono rapping "let me in the sound" over a muscular Larry Mullen Jr. drumbeat that yells "I love rock and roll!"

As usual, modern rock's beloved grand uncles have been absorbing the lessons taught by their progeny. "Get on Your Boots" is quick and multi-layered, more like the dance rock preferred by kids who grew up on electronic music than a baby-boomer boogie fest.

Though it's tempting to stir up a rivalry between the alt-rock era's most beloved British band and its iPod-era successor, "Get on Your Boots" sounds nothing like Radiohead. MGMT seems like a more relevant influence. This is happy stuff, almost hedonistic, with not a whiff of anxiety or paranoia or even sexual tension. "Get on Your Boots" is a song about letting loose and letting go.

And moving toward a brighter future. Bono's musings here do not read well on the page (peruse them here, if you must), with Bono cutting up phrases he's used before and free-associating like he's had a couple of pink cocktails. But the underlying message is relevant.

So what is sexy about donning boots, in a song whose cheerful tone and other lyrics about forming community and growing up hardly suggest a pair of stilettos? To turn a phrase that once belonged to the increasingly irrelevant Paris Hilton, it's hot right now to ponder cleaning up a mess. And that's what "Get on Your Boots" means to inspire us to do. This is U2's celebratory announcement of a new historical moment, one in which America and the world confront the catastrophes of the recent past and bust out some elbow grease to make things better.

It's not quite time for a new anthem, this song seems to say, though titles from "No Line on the Horizon," like "Cedars of Lebanon" and "White as Snow," suggest those are coming. It's time to get to work. In its playful way, "Get on Your Boots" is a work song, a little jolt for those ready to rise up together toward change. Let me in the sound, indeed.

-- Ann Powers

 

[MMP]

Yes, I think it was posted

But it would be nice if we had a thread only for professional reviews of Boots
We could use this one.

 

[OrARoundabout]

Thanks for posting! Love reviews...but this a a bit 2 positive for me, if that makes any sense.

"Sharper edged than Mysterious Ways"

I beg to differ Ms. Powers

 

[ndmaxfield]

I read this on @U2 about 5 minutes ago. With the inauguration today, and this review, I started to wonder...is it possible the album was delayed because Bono decided to rewrite some lyrics after Obama won the election? I don't know what the timeline was on album production versus election, but maybe Bono had some real protest lyrics in response to a McCain win, and then decided when Obama won to send a more hopeful message. This is a huge leap in speculation, but it's what I walked away thinking after reading the LA times review.

 

[popacrobat]

That is indeed a huge leap in speculation

 

[Bonogirl777]

Agreed.

 

[Earnie Shavers]

Mgmt?

 

[Irishteen]

Terry Lawless Discography



Interesting info...played also on Anton Corbjin's Linear film.

He's also playing on the new album, so it's unsurprising he's involved in Linear

 

[allcub]

I've been checking out reviews online - This song is dividing opinion big time and it's great to see that too. It's not quite fitting into any U2 shaped box for alot of people but at least it's not some bland U2 by numbers affair.

IMO......this song is soo dense, both sonically and lyrically that it bleeds into you on many levels and I find myself being drawn to play it again and discover another element of it! There was mention in one review that the boys put everything but the kitchen sink into GOYB and it certainly seems to be the case and hence it demands perhaps more attention than your average - what's on the radio fare - that's out there at the minute. Although there's ghosts of influences throughout this song it sounds like nothing else on the radio right now and like The Fly before it, I'd say it might take some time for many out there to really digest and appreciate it.

 

[Screwtape2]

MGMT seems like a more relevant influence.

Umm...are we thinking of the same band? I don't hear it. What song was this reviewer listening to?

 

[ndmaxfield]

Umm...are we thinking of the same band? I don't hear it. What song was this reviewer listening to?

so they're comparing U2 to an easy-listening band...?

MGMT on MySpace Music - Free Streaming MP3s, Pictures & Music Downloads

 

[Rachel D.]

The middle eight sounds like P.O.D.

 

[cdirani]

He's also playing on the new album, so it's unsurprising he's involved in Linear

I see, I was just pointing it out.
I emailed him and asked him a few questions. Let's see if he get'em answered.