i grew up on the song, so it's just kinda engraved in my mind as being awesome.
The most interesting U2 song musically
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bono_212
Blue Crack Distributor
I grew up hating the Beach Boys...so it's engraved in my mind that everything they do is terrible.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, flame away people
Yeah, yeah, yeah, flame away people
corianderstem
Blue Crack Distributor
Hate is a learned trait. Your parents are to blame for your hate.
it's okay
i'm sure there's someone you like that i hate.
i'm sure there's someone you like that i hate.
The Sad Punk
Blue Crack Addict
Im pickin up good vibrations
Shes giving me excitations
Im pickin up good vibrations
(oom bop bop good vibrations)
Shes giving me excitations
(oom bop bop excitations)
Good good good good vibrations
(oom bop bop)
Shes giving me excitations
(oom bop bop excitations)
If only the verses existed I'd like the song. This is fact.
Hot Beach Boys tip: Don't listen to the Beach Boys for the lyrics.
The Sad Punk
Blue Crack Addict
I grew up hating the Beach Boys...so it's engraved in my mind that everything they do is terrible.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, flame away people
Bruce Springsteen has no talent.
bono_212
Blue Crack Distributor
Salome
you are what you is
what exactly is musically interesting about Zooropa?
I love the song and all
but apart from some great production it's musically as interesting the new Britney Spears
when you look at the technical aspect of U2's repertoire most of their 80s and 90s material is so basic that there isn't much of a point talking about the songs without talking about the soul of the song
I love the song and all
but apart from some great production it's musically as interesting the new Britney Spears
when you look at the technical aspect of U2's repertoire most of their 80s and 90s material is so basic that there isn't much of a point talking about the songs without talking about the soul of the song
LemonMelon
More 5G Than Man
I grew up hating the Beach Boys...so it's engraved in my mind that everything they do is terrible.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, flame away people
Read Your Mind sucks.
GirlsAloudFan
Blue Crack Addict
major_panic
Rock n' Roll Doggie ALL ACCESS
Love is Blindness is, IMO, very interesting as a drummer. As is Please - quite different to the majority of U2 songs.
bono_212
Blue Crack Distributor
GibsonGirl
ONE love, blood, life
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a.) The successive layering of sound and interference in the intro.
b.) Edge's crazy delayed wah effect. People, don't roll your eyes at Bono's "Edge is from another planet" spiel - the sound he achieves on this song proves it. It's pure outer space.
c.) The near-perfect production of the verses.
d.) The tempo shift and frantic background noise at the end.
e.) The mere fact that it progresses through three distinct musical parts. I believe Zooropa is the ONLY U2 song that does this. The intro, verses, and latter portion of the song could easily be separated, and the fact that they all gel so naturally together makes it a thrill to listen to.
LemonMelon
More 5G Than Man
What?
Irishteen
Blue Crack Addict
bono_212
Blue Crack Distributor
Have only a handful of people on this website taken a basic music course?
LemonMelon
More 5G Than Man
Have only a handful of people on this website taken a basic music course?
I haven't, but even I know that Zooropa is more musically complex than Womanizer.
Irishteen
Blue Crack Addict
Have only a handful of people on this website taken a basic music course?
I know I mean god people! How dare you make insults to Britney Spears by comparing her complex masterpieces to U-bloody-2. Next they'll be claiming Pussycat Dolls aren't the best musicians ever!
Galeongirl
Galeonbroad
You're my hero.The background noises is what surprised me the most. It's so much noise, yet it all seems to blend into one!
Fixed that for you
Salome
you are what you is
I don't agree with you that all the 3 parts gel
(the change from section 2 to 3 with the forced sound effect in the middle doesn't completely work for me)
but I fullly agree with you on the rest
I see all of this as production feats though
(probably also why it was not considered a succes live)
no interesting chord progression, no spectacular musicianship, no interweaving harmonies / melodies, nothing all that interesting rhythmically
I love the song but if people want to make a point out of the difference between a song you love and an interesting song from a musician's perspective than I don't think of Zooropa (like most of U2's work) as a great example
Irishteen
Blue Crack Addict
Fixed that for you
You're right! That U2 is always copying the Gods that are Coldplay!
Chris Martin invented the piano and falsetto for god sakes! It's a confirmed rumour!
GibsonGirl
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You say that as though production - the selection and arrangement of instruments and effects - isn't related to the musical side of things. If we were talking about engineering I might agree. But we're not. You can't arrive at an opinion of a song's overall musical quality without taking production into consideration.
As you've already pointed out, there aren't many U2 songs that would satisfy all of these parameters at the same time. Most U2 songs are very average from a musician's point of view. However, as a musician (an amateur one, admittedly) I do feel that Zooropa is one of their more interesting musical experiments. Sure, other songs might have interesting guitar "solos" (I put that in quotation marks, because come on, it's Edge) and others still might feature interesting time signatures. But as an entire piece, I appreciate the ordered musical chaos that comes through in Zooropa.
It's certainly much more interesting than Bad, at any rate.
last unicorn
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Thank God I'm not a musician and therefore don't f***ing care. 
onebloodonelife
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I'd agree with this, and then make the argument that this is also one song of theirs that also has the lyrical and musical journey combining almost perfectly, which makes it a very interesting song aesthetically. I wrote a paper on the song for my rock history class talking about all of this, so if you want, I can go into way greater detail, but I'll leave it up to you guys. I don't want to put up a whole bunch of text that will never be read. 
Irishteen
Blue Crack Addict
I'm bored enough to read it so post
onebloodonelife
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I'm bored enough to read it so post
Alright, I'm going to paraphrase the beginning...From the beginning of the song, we get a picture painted, with both the words and music, of a place overrun by commercialization, which is oppressive to some citizens. This oppressiveness is shown through Bono's restrained voice and Edge's guitar, which has always sounded as if he's holding back the entire time, up until the end.
Then we move into more of the musical stuff...
Musically, the song explodes in this extended bridge; the guitar starts to use longer riffs, which are more uplifting and encouraging than previously, and the drums escape from the mundane parts that were played in the verses. Just from this brief, ten second part before the vocals reenter, it is obvious to the listener that a serious change has happened within a citizen of Zooropa. The lyrics indicate she left: “And I have no compass […] And I have no reasons/No reasons to get back.” But, she is confused and lost, proclaiming, “And I have no religion/And I don’t know what’s what.” For many people, religion is their rock, their constant in life, but this person does not have that and has lost her bearings. During this “lost” phase, Bono’s vocals continue to be somewhat restrained, but sound less brainwashed than in the first two verses, instead sounding more perplexed with the situation than anything else.
The last section of the bridge is where the vocals finally join the instrumentation and leave behind any remnants of moderation. The Edge takes over singing the “Zooropa” part, while Bono sings the rest of the lines. Following the first “Zooropa” is a line of reassurance, with Bono declaring, “Don’t worry baby, it’ll be alright.” A profound line comes after the decision to “skip the subway.” He says, “Let’s go to the overground.” This word choice implies that the person leaving Zooropa has been out of the mainstream, out of normal society, and in the underground. Going to the overground means that she is not going to hide anymore under the thin veil of consumerism and commercialism. A few lines later, she notices this and contemplates, “I’ve been hiding/What am I hiding from?” Reassurance continues, with the repeated lyric, “Don’t worry baby, it’s gonna be alright,” and a new line, “Uncertainty...can be a guiding light.” Then, the girl realizes the absurdity of the slogans she was accustomed to hearing: “I hear voices, ridiculous voices.” The final lines of the song indicate the girl has completely broken free of Zooropa and its commodification when Bono sings, “She’s gonna dream up/The world she wants to live in/She’s gonna dream out loud/Dream out loud.” That high-pitched noise makes one last return to spin out of the song; it is over, and we are removed from Zooropa.
Basically, I think it's a musically interesting song because it weaves a story about Zooropa in a way that both the music and lyrics have to work together to get the entire idea across.
Irishteen
Blue Crack Addict
Wow that's impressive good work
Galeongirl
Galeonbroad
From the beginning of the song, we get a picture painted, with both the words and music, of a place overrun by commercialization, which is oppressive to some citizens. This oppressiveness is shown through Bono's restrained voice and Edge's guitar, which has always sounded as if he's holding back the entire time, up until the end.
Then we move into more of the musical stuff...
Musically, the song explodes in this extended bridge; the guitar starts to use longer riffs, which are more uplifting and encouraging than previously, and the drums escape from the mundane parts that were played in the verses. Just from this brief, ten second part before the vocals reenter, it is obvious to the listener that a serious change has happened within a citizen of Zooropa. The lyrics indicate she left: “And I have no compass […] And I have no reasons/No reasons to get back.” But, she is confused and lost, proclaiming, “And I have no religion/And I don’t know what’s what.” For many people, religion is their rock, their constant in life, but this person does not have that and has lost her bearings. During this “lost” phase, Bono’s vocals continue to be somewhat restrained, but sound less brainwashed than in the first two verses, instead sounding more perplexed with the situation than anything else.
The last section of the bridge is where the vocals finally join the instrumentation and leave behind any remnants of moderation. The Edge takes over singing the “Zooropa” part, while Bono sings the rest of the lines. Following the first “Zooropa” is a line of reassurance, with Bono declaring, “Don’t worry baby, it’ll be alright.” A profound line comes after the decision to “skip the subway.” He says, “Let’s go to the overground.” This word choice implies that the person leaving Zooropa has been out of the mainstream, out of normal society, and in the underground. Going to the overground means that she is not going to hide anymore under the thin veil of consumerism and commercialism. A few lines later, she notices this and contemplates, “I’ve been hiding/What am I hiding from?” Reassurance continues, with the repeated lyric, “Don’t worry baby, it’s gonna be alright,” and a new line, “Uncertainty...can be a guiding light.” Then, the girl realizes the absurdity of the slogans she was accustomed to hearing: “I hear voices, ridiculous voices.” The final lines of the song indicate the girl has completely broken free of Zooropa and its commodification when Bono sings, “She’s gonna dream up/The world she wants to live in/She’s gonna dream out loud/Dream out loud.” That high-pitched noise makes one last return to spin out of the song; it is over, and we are removed from Zooropa.
Basically, I think it's a musically interesting song because it weaves a story about Zooropa in a way that both the music and lyrics have to work together to get the entire idea across.
Don't be afraid to post stuff nobody will read! People WILL read! This is great stuff man!
onebloodonelife
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Wow that's impressive good work
Thanks guys! This is the sort of thing I'm studying and planning on making into a career, so I appreciate the comments.
BTW, nice avatar, Galeongirl!
onebloodonelife
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Makes perfect sense to me. 
for using polyphonic in your explanation as well.It's like this: I enjoy lots of rap/hip-hop music, but I'm not going to try and argue that all of it (or even most of it) is musically interesting or notable. They are two very different things. Songs can be nice to listen to and emotionally charged, but that doesn't make them musically interesting.
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