California (There Is No End To Love) - Song Discussion

[mads]

This song is so much fucking fun. Trust me. I tried hating it.


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Agreed. This is a driving around with the windows down song.

 

[ouizy]

This song is crap for so many different reasons.


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[boorock74]

I love it.
Great Edge solo.

 

[CosmoKramer]

[Insert Bono very good/enemy of great quote here]



I HATED this on first listen. Now I'm hooked on this stupid song.

This. I thought it was slightly cheesy/cringeworthy on first listen. then second listen....not as cheesy. Then on the third listen.....they got me.

Its a grower and thats a good thing because those are the ones that usually stand the test of time with me.

Good tune...don't love it yet but I'm afraid I will soon enough!


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[James U2]

the 'santa barbara' part at the beginning is cringe-worthy; imagine trying to convince a friend that u2 was great and only having the first 30 seconds of this song to do it with.

being in the first three, i'm guessing that u2 has high hopes for this song, but it might be at the bottom of the pile for me.

 

[CosmoKramer]

the 'santa barbara' part at the beginning is cringe-worthy; imagine trying to convince a friend that u2 was great and only having the first 30 songs of this song to do it with.

being in the first three, i'm guessing that u2 has high hopes for this song, but it might be at the bottom of the pile for me.

I thought the same thing on my first listen and but its growing on me and I'm starting to like the song as a whole and it's making me forgive that opening.

But I definitely here where you're coming from...its a thin line....very thin.


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[prbiker15]

Is it wrong to put this song in the same category as 'The Miracle'?

 

[Axver]

Ten bucks on Barbara Ann snippet if this stupid song is played live.

Is it wrong to put this song in the same category as 'The Miracle'?

In the Worst Song Titles category? Not at all.

 

[birdman]

What The Miracle should have been like, forget the intro and it's almost a new favorite.

 

[birdman]

Is it wrong to put this song in the same category as 'The Miracle'?

I would do so, both songs interest me. I have not heard character in Bonos voice like this before, it's what The Miracle should have been like but California has yet to lift itself off the ground.

If Bono could elaborate on the storytelling of this character, in a future release, I would be so excited.

 

[romi]

The bell at the beginning. Is that the bell from Mission Santa Barbara? My early favorite on this album, by the way.

 

[mama cass]

upbeat and sunshiny like it should be

love it

 

[BigMacPhisto]

Ten bucks on Barbara Ann snippet if this stupid song is played live.

If? It's an album full of moody songs, most of which lack real hooks. California is therefore a lock to be a live staple at this point as there aren't many other choices. Hate to break it to a lot of posters around here, but when U2 is playing 20,000 seat arenas in a few months, they're going to want to interest a lot of the casuals in the audience. That means throwing in poppier, more upbeat new material. A lot of this stuff on the new record still lands in the NLOTH pile of indifference from your average listener.

 

[Airseven]

This is a grower for me, but that opening is terrific. Maybe the first time since PopMart that the band doesn't take itself so seriously.

 

[BigMacPhisto]

This song really feels like a companion to this one to my ears. Similar vibes.

Broken Social Scene - 7/4 Shoreline

 

[owl]

I don't know why I connect with this one so much but I really do.

It's so effortless & just glides along the breeze. Driving with the windows down on a summers night.

 

[LyricalDrug]

The Beach Boys references are all over this song (Barbara Ann), and it's a nod to Edge's home (Santa Barbara), all sort of blended into one slightly-awkward homage from Bono, lyrically. As a California resident, I really want this to turn into an anthem, but I'm on the fence after the first few listens...

 

[catlhere]

Fun, upbeat, catchy pop/rock that makes you smile and sounds like the familiar U2 people love.

Basically Kryptonite to some on Interference.

 

[mama cass]

Fun, upbeat, catchy pop/rock that makes you smile and sounds like the familiar U2 people love.

Basically Kryptonite to some on Interference.

 

[owl]

Revelation: I've never been to California.

 

[birdman]

Fun, upbeat, catchy pop/rock that makes you smile and sounds like the familiar U2 people love.

Basically Kryptonite to some on Interference.

Excuse me, sir. But how on Earth is California a familiar U2 song? Name a song it sounds like.

To me, the only U2 song that sounds just like it is Wild Honey and that was one of the jewels of ATYCLB.

 

[Afliktor]

Revelation: I've never been to California.

me neither. but i feel like it totally captures the place, whether I'm qualified to say that or not interesting to compare to the moody New York or blase Miami. I like U2's place songs, personally. not a favourite on the album but it's growing on me.

 

[Acrobat_Al]

I don't like at all

 

[Airseven]

Unfortunately, I think this is a song that will grow and then fade for me. There's not enough to grab onto here. And after the bells intro, I want me some Black Sabbath.

 

[Gilead12]

I didn't care for this at first but I really really like it as of this morning.

It feels a little frantic and slapdash, which offsets the 'pop! pop! pop!' vibe for me. And the 'there is no end to love' could have been corny fluff in the hands of Bono in a certain 2000s lyrics mindset, but instead the lyrics are kind of pop but also very much Bono and very 'solid' in a way. That is, 'California, then we fall into the shining sea' is actually a Fez type lyric, the 'blood orange sunset' putting this more poetic register under the poppiness. Then there's the 'I've seen for myself / There is no end to grief / That's how I know / And why I need to know that there is no end to love'... it's just so solid. It actually bears some reflection, and feels 100% personal in the way Bono claims it is.

It's a really interesting argument, in the core of this upbeat pop song. It's U2 being U2 in a really wonderful way.

 

[Sr. Poop]

U2's most mainstream song and will get the most attention from the mainstream crowd. I think this will be a hit song for them.

 

[Moser]

Feel good song that should feel good live.

 

[Reggie Thee Dog]

This song is breezy and easy. It rolls more than rocks...it's pop U2 style. I like it...

 

[discothequeLP]

some serious Edge guitar could have saved this song from total cheesiness. there MILES and MILES of space for Edge to do something important. instead, he spends half the song doubling the bassline. finally, the solo comes in, and it's cool, but too little much too late. can't even give us a good outro riff.

it's a waste, because Bono gives it his all, lyrically and vocally. besides the cheesy big chorus part, the melodies are actually pretty good i think.

 

[corianderstem]

This one's growing on me awfully fast.