Cosmos Thoughts III: U2 "WTF were they thinking" moments

[CosmoKramer]

I remember when Staring at the Sun came out and I felt it was good but should have been so much better. It had a nice sound but they didn't hit it out of the park.

The other day I was listening to it and those lyrics....WTF! I mean, really?

"There's an insect in your ear if you scratch it won't disappear"....really, that is what the guy who wrote One just 4 years earlier decided was a good idea?

"Creeps are crawling over me, over me and over you stuck together with Gods glue"....putting glue in a song is hard, I'll give you that and this was not a good example of the use of that word.

"referee won't blow the whistle" he won't? Because he should give you a red card for that lyric!

With that said:

Video- Kick ass
Rhythm and overall sound-very good
Lyrics- WTF

Invisible>Staring at the Sun




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[digitize]

I think that SATS has wonderfully ambiguous lyrics.


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[The_acrobat]

Bono pretty much summed up how I feel about this song;

"Nearly great but there's something missing"

I haven't really thought about the song in years. I remember when POP came out I was 14-15 and thought this song was going to be a HUGE hit. It wasn't. It performed somewhat well on the radio and MTV (as in, I heard it maybe 10 times during it's tenure as the 2nd single), and some of the kids at my school mentioned liking it. Now that I'm an adult and actually understand references like "Duty Free" and "Intransigence", I realize these lyrics are actually pretty dumb and unrelatable to the general public.

The music videos were both boring, they never performed the song live successfully. Maybe he did need more time with the lyrics? Maybe they were rushed? Maybe…

 

[Nick66]

I love the SATS lyrics, and I think they rank among Bono's best actually.

 

[prbiker15]

I honestly don't mind the lyrics for Staring at the Sun. One of my favorite songs on Pop.

 

[djerdap]

Bono has written much, much worse lyrics than Staring at the Sun.

 

[CosmoKramer]

Bono has written much, much worse lyrics than Staring at the Sun.

He's written much worse lyrics on POP alone.

Miami is my ultimate anti-U2 song.....I hate it.

"My mammy.....Miami"...I'm going to give them a pass and just assume there were drugs involved.


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[djerdap]

Pop is one of Bono's best albums lyrically. Sure there are duds, but there are duds on The Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby as well. It is far more difficult to find great lyrics in his more recent output.

 

[Mrs. Garrison]

I love PoP

SATS is one of my favorite songs...perfectly fine in every way as recorded on the album.

 

[david]

Bono has written much, much worse lyrics than Staring at the Sun.

"The air is heavy, heavy as a truck"

 

[rennowba]

I think the only WTF moment for me since ive been following u2 was when i watched them perform get on your boots at the grammys in 2009(i think)

They sounded dreadfull, the song was pants and you have bono taking his glasses off to unveil the guyliner look WTF. Thats all been done bono,its nothing new.

My wife just looked at me and burst out laughing. It was a cringe moment

 

[CosmoKramer]

I think the only WTF moment for me since ive been following u2 was when i watched them perform get on your boots at the grammys in 2009(i think)

They sounded dreadfull, the song was pants and you have bono taking his glasses off to unveil the guyliner look WTF. Thats all been done bono,its nothing new.

My wife just looked at me and burst out laughing. It was a cringe moment

Good call, I forgot about that (or blocked it out). That was a VERY bad moment. The song fell flat and the guyliner.......dear lord!




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[Salome]

While POP is Bono's strongest album lyrically, I do agree that in Staring ... he is trying too hard to be clever.
Whatever message there is gets lost because he's trying to shove too many things in there.

 

[rennowba]

Another WTF moment was when u2 and jay z did that lshow at the mtv ema's in germany.

They did sunday bloody sunday and bono rapped some new lyrics. Yes bono rapped. I always judge things by what my wife does to me, if its cringey she will not let me forget it.

Saying that when he did it on the 360 tour during sbs and mos it did grow on me i think it was just that inital sight of seeing bono rap with jay z.

 

[prbiker15]

I think the only WTF moment for me since ive been following u2 was when i watched them perform get on your boots at the grammys in 2009(i think)

They sounded dreadfull, the song was pants and you have bono taking his glasses off to unveil the guyliner look WTF. Thats all been done bono,its nothing new.

My wife just looked at me and burst out laughing. It was a cringe moment

That was terrible, a true WTF moment. I had to hide my fan card for a few days.

 

[bobsaget77]

"We're like butter on toast"
-winter
Just a horrible cringeworthy lyric. It's just so darn cliche. The lyrics on that song are so awful I don't know why people wanted that song on the album.

 

[purpleoscar]

To protect the ones
We put bullets in guns
Or anything it takes
To take a life until it's still

and this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4HzNZDNzsA

 

[mikal]

The lyrics are like, so bad.


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[brooklynmike]

The music is enjoyable but there's clunkiness in the lyrics. As someone mentioned, some of it is not relatable. Not a big deal, though. It's a good listen on a summer day.

The stripped down live versions were boring, I wish they tried to nail the electric versions.


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[Mrs. Garrison]

To protect the ones
We put bullets in guns
Or anything it takes
To take a life until it's still

and this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4HzNZDNzsA

I could watch that video for hours, perhaps days. If they made it into a movie or miniseries event, id still be watching it until my eyes were toast and im glowing inside out.

 

[Axver]

Fact: "stop helping god across the road like a little old lady" is the worst U2 lyric.

 

[prbiker15]

Fact: "stop helping god across the road like a little old lady" is the worst U2 lyric.

I don't mind Stand Up Comedy, but I agree. Terrible lyric.

 

[Salome]

While a huge clunker indeed, it doesn't sink to the depths of
"It's the blind leading the blond. It's the stuff, it's the stuff of country songs."

Come to think of it, all of Stand Up Comedy is Shakespearean in comparison.

 

[Mrs. Garrison]

Shake it, shake it, shake it

 

[BVS]

I have to truly question anyone who thinks Pop was Bono's best lyrical album. The album is full of clunkers.

You know you're chewing bubblegum, straw in the lemonade, blind leading the blonde, referee won't blow the whistle, Miami, and the 90s references in Playboy.


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[An Cat Gav]

.

 

[popacrobat]

I have to truly question anyone who thinks Pop was Bono's best lyrical album. The album is full of clunkers.

You know you're chewing bubblegum, straw in the lemonade, blind leading the blonde, referee won't blow the whistle, Miami, and the 90s references in Playboy.


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You can find clunkers on every album. I don't think it's ridiculous to think Pop is Bono's best work. I'd have to put more thought into it, but it's definitely in my top 3 in terms of Bono's lyrical work.

 

[cobl04]

I have to truly question anyone who thinks Pop was Bono's best lyrical album. The album is full of clunkers.

You know you're chewing bubblegum, straw in the lemonade, blind leading the blonde, referee won't blow the whistle, Miami, and the 90s references in Playboy.


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You have always been a poster keen to go beyond the surface so I'm really surprised to see this.

Please and Wake Up Dead Man alone are better lyrically than anything that's come since.

Staring at the Sun has never been a favourite of mine but it's a good song and there are many, many worse offenders. If God Will Send His Angels is the worst song lyrically on Pop if you ask me.

 

[BVS]

You can find clunkers on every album. I don't think it's ridiculous to think Pop is Bono's best work. I'd have to put more thought into it, but it's definitely in my top 3 in terms of Bono's lyrical work.

You have always been a poster keen to go beyond the surface so I'm really surprised to see this.



Please and Wake Up Dead Man alone are better lyrically than anything that's come since.



Staring at the Sun has never been a favourite of mine but it's a good song and there are many, many worse offenders. If God Will Send His Angels is the worst song lyrically on Pop if you ask me.

Personally I think AB is Bono's best album, of course one can find a line or two on AB or JT, but Pop stands out as the first album of U2's that had so many glaring clunkers. It wasn't just one or two lines in one or two songs, half the album has obvious clunkers. I love the album, but I do remember being embarrassed about it when it came out.


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[CosmoKramer]

I have to truly question anyone who thinks Pop was Bono's best lyrical album. The album is full of clunkers.

You know you're chewing bubblegum, straw in the lemonade, blind leading the blonde, referee won't blow the whistle, Miami, and the 90s references in Playboy.


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I agree with you and find POP to be VERY suspect when it comes to lyrics. In fact, I might put it as one of the lyrically worst U2 albums(save for Please).

"Mother... mother sucking rock and roll, mother...
Bubble popping, to the rock and... rock and... rock and roll, mother... "


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