Winter (Song) (DISCUSSION ONLY)

[ozeeko]

White as Snow is one of the greatest songs on the album. Definite highlight for me. I like subtle U2.

This sounds like NLOTH gone thru the BOMB filter. A little too anthemic. Almost like a mediocre Bruce Springsteen song. Glad they left it off.

 

[Niceman]

"To protect the ones, we put bullets in guns." Could have used a re-write... I'm having flashbacks to cringing at Native Son... But the music is gorgeous....

 

[mobvok]

OK, I'm coming around to the "b-side" idea, but between the guitar part and the opera there's still a lot of appeal to my ear.

 

[Earnie Shavers]

One minor beef I have is Breathe to Cedars, a little too rapid a drop off. Breathe-Winter-Cedars works.

Edge is right, it's not finished. The different parts don't connect well, don't flow well. But I don't understand how people can't see the massive good points in there as well. It totally, totally, totally suits the feel and flow of the album. Completely. And there are some really great moments in there. Love the falsetto section, for one.

 

[dan_smee]

So the words about guns and protections are EITHER about the french/moroccan cop, or about the war (brothers OST)

this song is gold. I see it dividing opinions like Mercy.

If this is whats on the next album, Mercy is a dead cert to be included

 

[U2girl]

Well, that made the decision not to buy any of the special editions easy.

U2 does Coldplay bashing would never end if this gets released.

 

[dan_smee]

here's a thought... This would wrk perfectly as a hidden track (NOT A BONUS TRACK)

its very dreamy etc... and I can hear, say 3 mins of silence after cedars, then this cming in... Killer twist at the end...?

 

[Niceman]

Yeah, this song and Mercy are friends. There's a lot right with this song, but I think it could use one more night of inspiration, especially lyrically.

 

[youarenotimmune]

It didn't do much for me -- WAS is much better IMO.

I'm at work so haven't heard this yet, but White as Snow is an AMAZING song!

 

[dan_smee]

The dallas clip is in this song... its in the spoken word bit clearly

 

[dan_smee]

B's voice when he sings "or anything it takes to take a life" is amazing

 

[Niceman]

I THINK...... I like the other 11 songs better. This is more like what I expected this album to sound like than what it did. If NLOTH had been part 3 of the 00 trilogy, it would have been full of songs like this. What was Eno on that he thought this was experimental compared to the rest of the album???? Least experimental track we've heard from the sessions.....

 

[mobvok]

I just have to stop for a moment and laugh at the VLV-ness of it. U2 rips off Joe Satriani!

 

[Axver]

Would gladly trade WaS for this. Comparing WaS to RTSS is lunacy.

They're both subtle, beautiful songs with poetic storytelling lyrics. Where's the lunacy?

One minor beef I have is Breathe to Cedars, a little too rapid a drop off. Breathe-Winter-Cedars works.

Edge is right, it's not finished. The different parts don't connect well, don't flow well. But I don't understand how people can't see the massive good points in there as well. It totally, totally, totally suits the feel and flow of the album. Completely. And there are some really great moments in there. Love the falsetto section, for one.

I favour placing Breathe between Crazy Tonight and Boots, and ending the album with Fez --> WAS --> Cedars. That sort of closing trio is just about everything I could have hoped U2 would return to.

Agree with the second paragraph. Good calls there.

 

[Niceman]

I just have to stop for a moment and laugh at the VLV-ness of it. U2 rips off Joe Satriani!

Funny.

 

[chrissybaby]

this is better than SUC for me, but I understand why it wouldn't have replaced it...
dallas.swf FTW, even if it's not much...

It does have a Mercy feel, doesn't it?

 

[mobvok]

There is a critical lack of butter-on-toast lyrics in Running to Stand Still.

Point - Winter!

 

[dan_smee]

The yellow sun,
Well it took the hand,
Of a country boy,
To a city in a far off land.

We made no mark,
No shadow at all,
On the ancient holy streets,
Where I learned to crawl.

Looking at the bruised,
The young and the used,
The sure and confused all here

Birds will land on me,
Then abandon me,
Mangle, untangle me,
Leave me on the floor

Rhymes they sprang in me,
Summer sang in me,
But summer sings in me no more.

Now I'm 25,
I'm trying to stay alive,
In a corner of the world,
With no clear enemies to fight.

It's hot as hell,
We're like butter on toast
But there's no army in this world,
That can fight a ghost.

Looking at the bruised,
The young and the used,
The sure and confused all here

Birds will land on me,
Then abandon me,
Leave me stranded,
?? on the door.

Rhymes began in me,
Summer sang in me,
But summer sings in me no more.

Ooooo-oooo-ooooooo--oooooooooOOOOOOOooooooooo

Spoken word bit is a bit muffled

At 21,
I was born a son,
And on that day I knew,
I could kill.

To protect the ones,
Who put bullets in guns,
Or anything it takes,
To take a life.

 

[chrissybaby]

actually this is rather ACE.
Can't understand this lukewarm reaction...

 

[Niceman]

The yellow sun,
Well it took the hand,
Of a country boy,
To a city in a far off land.

We made no mark,
No shadow at all,
On the ancient holy streets,
Where I learned to crawl.

Looking at the bruised,
The young and the used,
The sure and confused all here

Birds will land on me,
Then abandon me,
Mangle, untangle me,
Leave me on the floor

Rhymes they sprang in me,
Summer sang in me,
But summer sings in me no more.

Now I'm 25,
I'm trying to stay alive,
In a corner of the world,
With no clear enemies to fight.

It's hot as hell,
We're like butter on toast
But there's no army in this world,
That can fight a ghost.

Looking at the bruised,
The young and the used,
The sure and confused all here

Birds will land on me,
Then abandon me,
Leave me stranded,
?? on the door.

Rhymes began in me,
Summer sang in me,
But summer sings in me no more.

Ooooo-oooo-ooooooo--oooooooooOOOOOOOooooooooo

Spoken word bit is a bit muffled

At 21,
I was born a son,
And on that day I knew,
I could kill.

To protect the ones,
Who put bullets in guns,
Or anything it takes,
To take a life.

I really think this song has more potential than it has realized. The bones of a BETTER song are here. They should have held off on releasing it.

 

[dan_smee]

^ agreed... i fuckin love it

 

[Niceman]

^ agreed... i fuckin love it

I hope I change my mind. Feeling quite disappointed right now......

 

[dan_smee]

I really think this song has more potential than it has realized. The bones of a BETTER song are here. They should have held off on releasing it.

its not really released I think it will be on the next album... it fits the story too well to leave off

 

[Earnie Shavers]

I'm assuming the audio is that bad, i.e. I'm making an assumption there's a lot of good there we can't quite 'get'. I'm giving it a bit of a leap of faith, because so much of this album is that good. Some parts, some of the detail is quite beautiful. And it certainly has the journey feel. The magic in a lot of these songs is that they feel big, feel like the wide open spaces you're traveling through, but are really fucking intensely personal. This is too.

 

[Niceman]

its not really released I think it will be on the next album... it fits the story too well to leave off

It just needs a little more work. I hope they give it another pass before it makes the next album.

 

[UKTan]

Birds will land on me,
Then abandon me,
Mangle, untangle me,
Leave me on the floor

I think that first line might be "Words would land on me". That's how it sounds to me anyway

 

[mobvok]

I'm assuming the audio is that bad, i.e. I'm making an assumption there's a lot of good there we can't quite 'get'. I'm giving it a bit of a leap of faith, because so much of this album is that good. Some parts, some of the detail is quite beautiful. And it certainly has the journey feel. The magic in a lot of these songs is that they feel big, feel like the wide open spaces you're traveling through, but are really fucking intensely personal. This is too.

I think it's a little interesting to ponder if U2 would consider this song "released" now or not. This is evidently a rather important section of Linear, so it couldn't just be cut since it didn't make the album.

I hope they look at this again and pick over the good parts, not just putting it aside.

 

[akann]

Take away the chorus and this song will be perfect...so much better than crazy and suc

 

[Axver]

There is a critical lack of butter-on-toast lyrics in Running to Stand Still.

Point - Winter!

I was comparing White As Snow and RTSS, not Winter and RTSS.

 

[djerdap]

A bit too Coldplayish for my tastes, but it doesn't sound bad, especially the final part. It could have easily replaced 2 or 3 songs on the new record. And anybody noticed that the infamous "dallas" clip is in there (around the 4-minute mark)?