shuttlecock XXIV: it's the little swings

[Kieran McConville]

"The wheels are in motion."

"No well, stop them."

[cobl04]

“We had to let him go, he was rubbish.”

[lazarus]

So, umm, surprise new U2 single release tomorrow? Collaboration with esteemed Indian producer/musician AR Rahman.

This is not a drill.

"Ahimsa" - U2

U2 released a new single called “Ahimsa” to digital markets on November 22, 2019 while in the midst of their The Joshua Tree Tour 2019. The song is accompanied with hand written lyrics by Bono as a cover image. The song will be available after midnight in digital storefronts worldwide. After it turns midnight in your region, you should be able to hear the song on YouTube Music at this link.

Whatever it winds up being quality-wise, they need to do more of this kind of thing.

A positive sign.

[lazarus]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pViBObCQEuA

Discuss. I dig it.

[mikal]

Originally Posted by lazarus

Discuss. I dig it.

I dig too. It’s simple but has great atmosphere which is ok for the band at this point.

[elevated_u2_fan]

I like it. Not the most memorable song but its one of their better non-album tracks they have released in a while.

[DaveC]

i'm pleasantly surprised at how much i like that song on first listen. my expectations were admittedly low going in, though. doubt that i'll return to it more than once or twice, if that.

also saw this line in the guardian's review of the new coldplay album that i thought was kinda backhandedly funny:

Balancing continued vast commercial success with something more exploratory is tough to do. U2 pulled it off on Achtung Baby and Zooropa, but have spent the ensuing 25 years trying to remember how.

https://www.theguardian.com/music/20...e-chris-martin

[cobl04]

It’s fine, the music is pretty good, but Bono’s vocals are pretty damn grating. Will be cool to see it in India though.

[GirlsAloudFan]

Ahimsa!

The chorus is catchy, but there's something I'm not liking about Bono's delivery on the verses. I think his voice just sounds...bad? I love the guy and he's one of my favorite singers ever but I don't know. His vocals just aren't that great anymore. No shame in that. He's obviously pushing 60.

Still, cool and pleasant surprise. I like it, and I like the meaning behind the title.

[lazarus]

I can understand noticing the wear and tear (although I'm not even hearing that weakness here) but calling it "grating" as Cobbler did is a bit much. This is just Bono singing normally at this point, and not in an overbearing or obnoxious fashion that puts off a lot of people.

I really appreciate the subtlety compared to what he's done on a lot of stuff in recent years.

[david]

It’s aight.

[Moonlit_Angel]

Ooh, new U2? Cool!

I really like that song. It's quite pretty.

Originally Posted by GirlsAloudFan

I like the meaning behind the title.

Agreed .

[Axver]

I... did not expect this place to like the new single.

I gave it a spin half an hour ago. I winced a couple of times and have already forgotten how it sounds.

[prbiker15]

It’s a decent one-off. Surprised they decided to release a single in the first place.

[Hewson]

Its meh.
Nice for what its purpose is, but nothing I'll be listening to going forward.

[mikal]

It’s hard to beat “New Day” when it comes to one off releases.

[LuckyNumber7]

I don’t have an issue with it, but I think it was just done because they wanted to. Which in itself is a good thing.

[LemonMelon]

Well...we keep telling them not to overwork their music. There's no way this song could have taken them longer than 20 minutes to write.

[Axver]

I am so glad I didn't drop the cash to go to the Sydney shows as well as Melbourne and Adelaide. Minority opinion, sure, but UV/Stuck/One is basically my nightmare ending of a U2 gig and they did it at both shows. Melbourne and Adelaide were both good fun. The main set is amazing music, and I wonder why I have drifted away from this band - and then the encore reminds me why. It's both expendable and boring.

Everyone here seems to hone in on Elevation as the biggest waste of space, but I'd actually say it's Beautiful Day. I simply no longer find that song exciting live. Have I seen it too much? I don't know, it just doesn't inspire anything in me any more. I like something such as ISHFWILF much less than Beautiful Day in studio, but live it conveys more meaning than BD does, it still justifies its inclusion. Every Breaking Wave is boring as piss too; I was surprised a bunch of people around me in Melbourne sung along, but in Adelaide it was received politely and without enthusiasm. As far as new tracks go, Love Is Bigger works better.

Also, will U2 ever use a different animation for Vertigo. It's starting to look really dated, and it hasn't become iconic like the red opening to Streets. Having it go for the whole song is tiring - if you can't see the band members well, by halfway through you're wishing for something new to look at.

Anyway, this is my whinge moment because I've shared the positive stuff enough elsewhere and kept the negatives a bit quieter. Maybe you folks will get some of them. Here are some positives:
- I Will Follow is a genuine thrill.
- Edge is on form in Bullet at the moment.
- Three words: One Tree Hill.
- Exit in Adelaide tore the place apart, so fucking good. I mean, it owned in Melbourne too, but that Adelaide performance was something else again.
- I really love Mothers of the Disappeared live, and can only hope this will not be my last time hearing it, even though I know it will be.
- Cool to finally hear EBTTRT live.
- The chat Bono has started doing with the other band members after In God's Country is genuinely endearing and amusing.
- The whole Adelaide show was really fun and loose as far as a stadium gig goes. The band didn't seem to be under pressure and were just enjoying themselves. The best of the five JT shows I've seen across 2017 and 2019, even if Bad didn't appear in the set.

Might write some thoughts on the U2 Conference later, this post is long enough. Those of you who follow the U2gigs Twitter will know it produced the biggest highlight of my JT 2019 experience.

[cobl04]

Originally Posted by lazarus

I can understand noticing the wear and tear (although I'm not even hearing that weakness here) but calling it "grating" as Cobbler did is a bit much. This is just Bono singing normally at this point, and not in an overbearing or obnoxious fashion that puts off a lot of people.

I really appreciate the subtlety compared to what he's done on a lot of stuff in recent years.

I guess I am just not enjoying his vocals of late. I think he does get a little overbearing on this song. Lyrically it's fine, but it's just a nothing song if you ask me. It's fine.

Originally Posted by Axver

Every Breaking Wave is boring as piss too; I was surprised a bunch of people around me in Melbourne sung along, but in Adelaide it was received politely and without enthusiasm. As far as new tracks go, Love Is Bigger works better.

- The chat Bono has started doing with the other band members after In God's Country is genuinely endearing and amusing.
- The whole Adelaide show was really fun and loose as far as a stadium gig goes. The band didn't seem to be under pressure and were just enjoying themselves. The best of the five JT shows I've seen across 2017 and 2019, even if Bad didn't appear in the set.

Might write some thoughts on the U2 Conference later, this post is long enough. Those of you who follow the U2gigs Twitter will know it produced the biggest highlight of my JT 2019 experience.

The way they are playing EBW makes it feel like it's at the Oscars or something. Like they're trying to give it more gravitas. Boring is right.

The chat is great, yep. Glad to hear Adelaide was really swell, I did consider coming and am having pretty bad fomo. I would have liked to have gone to Sydney too, sounds like the band were running on more charged emotion given Hutchence's anniversary.

And yes, everyone go look at the U2gigs twitter, highly recommended.