City of Blinding lights!

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I love this song. I will always love this song very much, especially because of where I first heard it: the Brooklyn Bridge concert.

"Oh, you look so beautiful tonight," with the backdrop of lower Manhattan all lit up and two bridges flanking the park where we stood...one of the truly great nights of my life.
 
It's essentially U2 on auto-pilot. First thought when I heard it: Who are these U2 imitators?

I don't even think it will be played on the next tour (far too similar to old war horse Streets) let alone become a classic.
 
It's the perfect opener, I hope U2 bring it back for their next tour. Thinking about the first sounds of this song at the beginning of the concert really gives me shivers.
 
It's essentially U2 on auto-pilot. First thought when I heard it: Who are these U2 imitators?

I don't even think it will be played on the next tour (far too similar to old war horse Streets) let alone become a classic.

Its reminiscent of Streets but it worked really well live and I think even those people who were there and not into the new material were really digging it on Vertigo, I still can't believe the slight of removing it from the opening for U23D though.
 
I love COBL. I agree on it being the opener on the next tour. Other than Streets and Elevation, it was probably one of the best opening songs. As soon as I heard it on the album, I thought that that is a great song.
 
COBL is a beautiful song, it really has beauty inside, the music and the lyrics are very moving too, but I like HTDAAB and ATYCLB, what seems to be a very strange thought for a U2 fan, at least in this forum.
 
I thought City of Blinding Lights was a classic song when I first heard it. Its my favorite song off of Bomb and one of my favorite U2 songs of all time. :cool:

But, it's possible U2 won't play it on the next tour. After all, on Elevation, they closed the show with Walk On. Then on Vertigo, they never played Walk On. So, I guess we'll see. :shrug:
 
COBL will always have a place in my heart.
My 21 year old son, Sebastian, as some of you know, is Autistic and legally blind.
On my 39th birthday (ill be 42 this month) we were driving together, just him and I in the moments before dusk.
The sun was just going down and was a brilliant orange and neon red... the biggest and brightest I can remember.
COBL was playing on the Ipod and he said to me,
"Mom, since I can't buy you anything for your birthday, I want to give you the sunset, and this song, Happy Birthday."


A few days ago, we were in Spencers in the mall, and COBL came on right before we were heading out the door,
he wanted to stay and listen, he was so excited that it was on in the store.
We stood in a part of the store with little traffic and went nose to nose, and there we sung the song under our breath to one another.
And right before the words "TIIIIIME, TIIIIME, TIIIIME, TIIIIIIIIME- Time won't leave me as I am"...
Sebastian said to me, "here comes the sunset mom".
 
COBL will always have a place in my heart.
My 21 year old son, Sebastian, as some of you know, is Autistic and legally blind.
On my 39th birthday (ill be 42 this month) we were driving together, just him and I in the moments before dusk.
The sun was just going down and was a brilliant orange and neon red... the biggest and brightest I can remember.
COBL was playing on the Ipod and he said to me,
"Mom, since I can't buy you anything for your birthday, I want to give you the sunset, and this song, Happy Birthday."


A few days ago, we were in Spencers in the mall, and COBL came on right before we were heading out the door,
he wanted to stay and listen, he was so excited that it was on in the store.
We stood in a part of the store with little traffic and went nose to nose, and there we sung the song under our breath to one another.
And right before the words "TIIIIIME, TIIIIME, TIIIIME, TIIIIIIIIME- Time won't leave me as I am"...
Sebastian said to me, "here comes the sunset mom".

The most beautiful and best argument I've ever read on behalf a song, Night and Day, thanks for sharing it with us.:hug: and a big one :hug: for your son.
 
I hope this song becomes a U2 classic, it is one of my favorites and it certainly does alot more for me than BD, though I love both. I think Bomb is a very strong album overall- Vertigo, though some view it only as a commercial play, gets a bad rap because of the I-tunes deal, IMHO. If people, including on this forum, looked at the song objectively, they would see that it is not simply some cheesy attempt at a rock song that would get heavy radio airplay and stick in people's minds. Temptation and the tension between decadence and virtue, or at least societal definitions of each, is not a cheesy and meaningless subject.

In short, alot more from Bomb will at least be remembered than some here would like to suggest. I see OOTS and Sometimes as aging well, and though I doubt it will become any more well known, I absolutely love Crumbs.

2000's has been a fine period for U2, even with the imperfections of ATYCLB and HTDAAB well taken and considered here. BD, Elevation, Stuck, Walk On, BD, Vertigo, COBL, ABOY and OOTS are well known by even casual music fans, and these songs, with the exception of Vertigo, are almost unanimously well liked.

I am with everyone else in saying that COBL has the best chance of achieving this status, and is the most deserving of it on HTDAAB. The lyrics are mature and provide the best insight into how many of us feel as we go through our lives and gain more experience, and hopefully, humility. Time changes us all, not for the better or the worse, just different, but what defines us, our passion, our drive, the beauty of the people and world around us does not change. Powerful, powerful song with great guitar work and overall uplifting melody. I remember clearly the transition from wake up into the opening chords of this song on the Vertigo tour- it was just magical.
 
It wont become a classic for me because the power of Larrys drums are almost non-existent in this song. Anything certifiably "classic" from U2 for me must have a strong presence from Larry (Bullet The Blue Sky, Sunday Bloody Sunday, New Years Day, Two Hearts Beat As One, Like A Song, Ultraviolet (live), Pride, With Or Without You (Rattle And Hum), A Sort Of Homecoming (Live)].
 
I think whem Bono says "Oh you look so beautiful tonight", I feel like he is singing to me. :cute:
 
I love the song. Despite arguments about mixing I think the band interplay is fantastic. I love how it breaks into the chorus with an ascending bass line. It is really effective in conveying a feeling of lift off. I really feel elation. The weakest link is Bono, but lyrically I think he is just expressing what's going on musically.

I also think Miracle Drug is musically rich. It really builds and I love when that happens. As a musician, I hear alot of love that went into the arrangment and dynamics. What a perfect guitar solo. Pirecing, bright and about 4 notes total for the most part. Really shifts the middle section to dramatic effect.

A man and a woman. What a great song. I would love to read why anyone could hate that song.

Sometimes you can't make it on your own. Jesus Christ. That SNL performance gives me chills. That's 3 guys making that music happen.

There's nothing on ATYCLB that touches these songs for real band interaction. As compressed as HTDAAB is, I think ATYCLB sounds alot denser. I hear very little dynamic interplay within songs on that album.
 
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