The Blackout

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God damn it, I really liked the live version. I hate change. It sounds different... slower and bass more in your face. First lesson I like live. Fuck.

They added more stuff to the song and I think it was perfect before. Hmm..........
 
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Love it. I think the song gets more interesting and cool sounding from 3 minutes on. Love the dark, throbbing, string break. Really cool stuff. Gonna rip live, would be a great opener.
 
The "go easy on me" sections needed to be halved in length. They are twice as long as they should be, and the fact that it loops round a second time really slows down the momentum of the song.

Other than this, I like the song. It is atmospheric, and way more interesting than the live version. The bass is good.

The intro is too much like Zoo Station's intro IMO.

The rhyming names is really stupid and it annoys me how it's actually a thing.
 
I dig the vocal harmonies that either weren’t included or didn’t come through in the first version.
 
I prefer the chorus on the live version, just has more kick and lift off for some reason.
 
Love it. Some differences, yes, but the overall original/live vibe is there. Love the way the song ended.

That's also quite the bass.
 
Great song, another iffy mix with the muted drums and significantly less “punch” than the live version.
 
Their coolest song in quite some time. A song that I would actually play for non-U2 fans and say, you thought U2 was dead? Listen to this.
 
Can someone link to a stream? I've never streamed music in my life and was counting on the download we're supposed to get when we preorder the album but conveniently that never came with the purchase despite being told it did.
 
Yes. I agree. Until in walks Fred, Ned, Jack, Zac. I hate those twats.



Great song though. U2 still got it.



I don’t think most listeners will think anything of it. As always, it’s been micro-analyzed by U2 fans.
 
I don’t think most listeners will think anything of it. As always, it’s been micro-analyzed by U2 fans.

You're right. No one will notice rhyming said with Ned, and back with Zach. And even if they did notice, they'd give Bono the benefit of the doubt cause they're necessary rhymes. They add to the song. It's beautiful prose, Rose.
 
Still really enjoying The Blackout . Listening to it on a good stereo system reveals the intricate layers of sound, and just how damn deep that bass drum is.
 
Why is so much shit going on now in this song? And Bono's voice is off and low... I don't recall feeling this about a u2 record before where I can feel the engineer turn the knob as the song plays... I used to work in recording studios, but I wasn't an audio file, but I'm seeing the ProTools setup and all the tweaks...

I know it will sound great live as they already proved... I'm just confused why they KEEP GETTING IN THEIR OWN WAY...
 
Why is so much shit going on now in this song? And Bono's voice is off and low... I don't recall feeling this about a u2 record before where I can feel the engineer turn the knob as the song plays... I used to work in recording studios, but I wasn't an audio file, but I'm seeing the ProTools setup and all the tweaks...

I know it will sound great live as they already proved... I'm just confused why they KEEP GETTING IN THEIR OWN WAY...

I think it has something to do with Lincoln’s ghost...
 
Imagine being in front of Adam's amp for this song live. It's going to be awesome.

The rhyming names aren't the finest idea ever, but other than that, The Blackout is a pretty solid song. I'd rate it alongside the best songs on SOI (i.e. Cedarwood Road and The Troubles).
 
I think the Blackout is okay. Not great, but okay. The pre-chorus is too long, and the stupid rhymes and accents (the yeahs and uhs) at the end of every line in the verse are distracting and unnecessary. They're jarring and pull me out of the listening experience. I like the bridge build-up though. That's well done.

At the end of the day, U2 isn't good at these type of songs. Blackout is one of the better rock/rawk songs in their catalogue, but that says more about the quality of the rest of their rock/rawk songs than this being particularly fantastic. I don't mind those type of songs, but only if they get it right, and the one and only time they got it right was Vertigo. I won't go out of my way to listen to this song, and I don't know why you would unless you listened to nothing but U2 and had nothing else to use as a measuring stick. Its just got nothing special or interesting going for it.
 
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My first impression of "The Blackout" is that its a very different style than "Best Thing" and "Get Out". The latter two being more poppy and adult contemporary and the former being more rock/alternative.

With that said:

Bono sounds great. No voice cracks, no voice strains and he has a solid delivery of the lyrics

The lyrics are solid, nothing special and the "names" are not a big deal for me.

The chorus is a monster and going to be really fun in concert (think Elevation)

Adam owns this song, very cool bass. Like many others have commented, Larry seems to be toned down in this version vs the live version and the drums are not as prominent and I wish they were.

Edge is once again in the background doing a lot of work but he is missed front and center. I feel a kick ass solo would have fit nicely in this song.

The long break at the ~3:15 second mark where the song sounds like its going to end is different and kinda cool. I really dig the part at 3:40 thats like a "mini bridge" with Bono singing "when the lights go out". There are a lot of cool sounds going on in that section.

Based on my first impression (might change for better or worse slightly): 8/10 its a cool song
 
I like the pace of the studio version for at home listening and there is a lot going on after multiple listens, definitely think they’ll speed it up live, and this will absolutely tear the freakin roof off!!! Hope it opens the tour with the appropriate lighting effects to match the lyrics.
 
Well, I was wrong.

I wasn't thrilled with the live version that they streamed. People on this message board kept saying "the studio version will be better," but I didn't understand how that could be - a boring song is a boring song.

I was wrong. Something about the studio version just pops for me - it works. I love it now, and that's quite a relief.
 
After listening to it a few more times tonight, I truly believe this might be their best song of the 2000’s. And I’ve felt that way about it now for the past two months. The lyrics, the music, the message are all on point. The breakdown in the middle of the song is simply sick.

Can’t wait to hear it live.
 
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