The Little Things That Give You Away - Appreciation Thread

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What, slower songs can't be singles anymore?
wait what?? lol c'mon Headache--you're better than this :shame:


But as to why I don't believe Little Things would receive much airplay... hmm. Kinda hard to articulate, but I don't think there's any one, singular reason as to why the song would fail to gain traction. I suppose the first half might not hold listeners' attention with the way it just sorta saunters along (terrific atmosphere, though). And the subject matter doesn't seem like something that would catch on with your average radio listener/ streamer--it's a bit darker, more melancholic, maybe too abstruse compared to contemporary charting singles? Not saying that if any song has these qualities then that will necessitate it isn't going to succeed, but rather that, if U2 wanted to gain traction on radio/ streaming services, it might be a harder sell (especially for their age) to the average listener if that song is moody, depressing, and somewhat abstruse rather than rousing, defiant, more easily relatable, infectious, etc.
 
People’s attention spans are too short for Little Things to do well on the radio.
That's silly.

And is probably the same thing the band was thinking. Which is silly.

The song is 4:55. The exact same length as With or Without You, and within 5 seconds in either direction of Walk On, Stay, The Unforgettable Fire, Red Hill Mining Town, Breathe and Please.
 
wait what?? lol c'mon Headache--you're better than this :shame:


But as to why I don't believe Little Things would receive much airplay... hmm. Kinda hard to articulate, but I don't think there's any one, singular reason as to why the song would fail to gain traction. I suppose the first half might not hold listeners' attention with the way it just sorta saunters along (terrific atmosphere, though). And the subject matter doesn't seem like something that would catch on with your average radio listener/ streamer--it's a bit darker, more melancholic, maybe too abstruse compared to contemporary charting singles? Not saying that if any song has these qualities then that will necessitate it isn't going to succeed, but rather that, if U2 wanted to gain traction on radio/ streaming services, it might be a harder sell (especially for their age) to the average listener if that song is moody, depressing, and somewhat abstruse rather than rousing, defiant, more easily relatable, infectious, etc.
You're making the mistake of thinking that any u2 song will be able to chart on the Top 40 any more. U2 make this mistake as well.

Their marketing focus on SONGS OF EXPERIENCE should have been EXPERIENCE. They should have catered towards their audience, not trying to catch on to the top 40.

Little Things could have done very well on adult focused formats. Which is the only format they should give a crap about at this stage.
 
I mean, I understand what you're saying, but I just don't think Little Things would make as big a "splash" w/ the public as you do.

And I agree the band should have made a more concerted effort in marketing the "experience" aspect of the record, but that message seems to've been muddied ever since the record's postponement following the 2016 election.

But yeah, as far as potential singles not geared towards the Top 40 go, I'd liken Little Things to Moment of Surrender as a curious "what if" scenario (the only difference being that, while NLOTH didn't really have any songs that I'd consider particularly marketable, SoE has a handful of potential possibilities, if only in achieving Ordinary Love-level success (and even then, the circumstances surrounding that song (e.g. Late Night premiere performance, Oscar nomination) probably helped elevate it more than if it'd simply been an album cut)).
 
People’s attention spans are too short for Little Things to do well on the radio.

Exactly. It's the Moment of surrender of this album - a fan favourite but not a single.

Summer of love and Love is bigger than anything in its way should be singles.
 
That's too long; people can't pay attention to anything for more than three minutes. They would probably have to shorten it for the radio, anyway, because they can't take too much time away from the commercials! :|
This is simply a false narrative.

People have been saying that a single needs to be 3 minutes in length since the 60s. This is not a new theory about millennials and avocados causing short attention spans. It's a people have been saying it for the history of popular music statement.

Didn't stop With or Without You from being a smash single, nor Walk On or Stay from getting airplay.

If a song is good, it'll get played. Considering U2 is only really getting played on AAA formats these days, it's even less of a concern.
 
You're making the mistake of thinking that any u2 song will be able to chart on the Top 40 any more. U2 make this mistake as well.

Their marketing focus on SONGS OF EXPERIENCE should have been EXPERIENCE. They should have catered towards their audience, not trying to catch on to the top 40.

Little Things could have done very well on adult focused formats. Which is the only format they should give a crap about at this stage.

Absolutely, it's such a shame they didn't want to follow this route.

Little Things, Summer of Love and Red Flag Day would have been the three to heavily promote from the start.
 
Replace love is bigger with Red Flag Day,and bobs your uncle.

I'd say add, not replace. Part of me still thinks that that trio of songs - Summer of Love, Red Flag Day, and Love is Bigger would do well as low-key summer releases. Sure it's late, but I'd like to see that they were saving up some songs for a later release, for the tour. Put Love is Bigger out towards the end, near the Fall, and use the others as a backdrop to the Experience and Innocence tour; they 'feel' more of the warm air, sun, and water of the summer months, and my impression has always been that music does best when it's tied to a particular time - could be to events, could be to a personal time, and in a lot of cases it's seasonal. Christmas has a whole genre built around it, but the songs listed above would definitely make my U2 roadtrip playlist.
 
Yeah,I actually agree with that. Red Flag Day is a standout track,so much energy. Hopefully there are more single releases to come,and not just sub standard acoustic releases!
 
This is simply a false narrative.

People have been saying that a single needs to be 3 minutes in length since the 60s. This is not a new theory about millennials and avocados causing short attention spans. It's a people have been saying it for the history of popular music statement.

Didn't stop With or Without You from being a smash single, nor Walk On or Stay from getting airplay.

If a song is good, it'll get played. Considering U2 is only really getting played on AAA formats these days, it's even less of a concern.

I wouldn't see length as an issue here either. However, in terms of examples you had, I'd probably argue that WOWY, Walk On and Stay have a bit more in terms of actual hooks than Little Things does. Other than the "some....times....." part of Little Things and the accompanying guitar line, I can't really think of any part that embeds itself into your head after a listen or two. And even that might be kind of a stretch. In terms of opening guitar riffs and choruses, the other three are a bit more memorable after a listen or two, imo.

A good song is a good song, obviously. But I think the two singles they have released are a bit easier hook-wise to grab someone's attention (which is a goal of the single anyway). Little Things requires you to sit down and listen for a few minutes to take it in a bit. And even then, you might have to listen to it a few times to get a full sense of it.
 
I can't believe this is even being debated.... Throw out the length of the song, slowness/fastness/tempo, if U2 are too old to chart Theory's. This song is just that good in my eyes and would have taken off much (more better) than the three song choices so far, in my opinion of course.
 
I wouldn't see length as an issue here either. However, in terms of examples you had, I'd probably argue that WOWY, Walk On and Stay have a bit more in terms of actual hooks than Little Things does. Other than the "some....times....." part of Little Things and the accompanying guitar line, I can't really think of any part that embeds itself into your head after a listen or two. And even that might be kind of a stretch. In terms of opening guitar riffs and choruses, the other three are a bit more memorable after a listen or two, imo.

A good song is a good song, obviously. But I think the two singles they have released are a bit easier hook-wise to grab someone's attention (which is a goal of the single anyway). Little Things requires you to sit down and listen for a few minutes to take it in a bit. And even then, you might have to listen to it a few times to get a full sense of it.
So other than half the song, there's no hooks.

Got it
 
I wouldn't see length as an issue here either. However, in terms of examples you had, I'd probably argue that WOWY, Walk On and Stay have a bit more in terms of actual hooks than Little Things does. Other than the "some....times....." part of Little Things and the accompanying guitar line, I can't really think of any part that embeds itself into your head after a listen or two. And even that might be kind of a stretch. In terms of opening guitar riffs and choruses, the other three are a bit more memorable after a listen or two, imo.

A good song is a good song, obviously. But I think the two singles they have released are a bit easier hook-wise to grab someone's attention (which is a goal of the single anyway). Little Things requires you to sit down and listen for a few minutes to take it in a bit. And even then, you might have to listen to it a few times to get a full sense of it.

Isn't that 'Bad'?

I can see Little Things filing the same role. Not a single, but a fan-and-concert favorite. A slower beginning, a gradual build, a more mature feel, but both dealing about being Wide Awake and not sleeping, albeit for different reasons.
 
Also to bring in the "hook" argument.... Boots... Joey Ramone... American Soul was just abysmal choices in my mind. The only thing that grabbed me about those songs was me wanting to grab a barf bag.....
 
SOE is definitely an album of trio songs, and Little This is at the top of most people’s favourite track from this album and rightly so. It’s got something indescribable about it and it echoes that classic U2 sound that Eno and Lanois crafted out of the band. It’s always a go to track on this album for me
 
it was lunacy not to release this as the first single last summer while they were playing it live and on tv. Maybe they were going to release it but chickened out? It's not a summer song, but I think that it would have had a bigger chance of being a hit than anything else on the record, if only because it has the sound and emotional weight of the U2 of 30 years ago. I think this is a Joshua Tree level song.
 
Best Thing was the right choice for first single.... after that you can make the argument that AS or GOOYOW should have been shelved as singles.

I would have picked Red Flag Day and Summer of Love as the next singles. Then may be Love is Bigger.

Even though I think Little Things is their best song since Beautiful Day I wouldn't release it as a single.
 
So other than half the song, there's no hooks.

Got it

“Yooooooour the best thing about me!” and “Get OUT of YOUR OWN WAYYYYY…” are somewhat stronger hooks than “Sooooooometimesssssss….” and appear a bit earlier in shorter overall songs.

In terms of being constructed for attracting a casual listener’s attention, they’re probably both ahead of The Little Things. Whether they’re “better” songs or not is subjective.

Isn't that 'Bad'?

I can see Little Things filing the same role. Not a single, but a fan-and-concert favorite. A slower beginning, a gradual build, a more mature feel, but both dealing about being Wide Awake and not sleeping, albeit for different reasons.

Ha!

I more or less see it in that place too.
 
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My only complaint about the studio version is that I wish the "Sometimes" part had a little more piano, like the live performances, but other than that...I'm tempted to say that it could be their 21st century masterpiece.

I fucking hope they have rehearsed this song and are considering playing it (at least a few times) on the upcoming tour.
 
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I think the album version is over produced. It’s also missing the piano when played live.
I'm going to go out on a limb and say that even though we heard the live version first, the studio version was completed prior to the JT30 tour... thus they only put the piano in there because bit was easier to play that way.
 
Replace love is bigger with Red Flag Day,and bobs your uncle.

Red Flag Day is a grower for sure...could be a single.

Personally after Summer/Love, I'd go for Lights of home , assuming U2 still want to rawk with the singles after Blackout and American soul.
 
Man how I wished they would try this song after 13 to close the show... what a way to send all of us out!
 
Little Things will be the new Acrobat for the next generation of concert goers ( the few live performances last year notwithstanding).
 
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