Shuttlecock XXV: Cool Hats Club

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U2inUtah said:
Your guys comments made me decide to listen to it again for the first time in forever. I had not remembered that Bono sings all of it (no Edge backing vocals). It's Edge's guitar (tone?) on the chorus's that really makes this version great imo.

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Yeah, if there is a flaw in the "traditional" version of The Fly, it's that the chorus feels like it's a little bit understated compared to the verses with the guitar dropping out and being replaced with the organ. The 360 version is the best version of the "traditional" one for this reason, as Bono's guitar is more prominent and Larry's drums ride the crash to give it something more to propel it. I still don't think they've played the perfect version of The Fly, as it would incorporate a little bit of each version to make it all work. I actually like what they did with the chorus on the e+i version of it, with some piped in vocals and guitar that give it some needed oomph. It's a bit of cheating, but I think it's defensible with Bono physically unable to play his guitar part. Unfortunately, that version is much flatter on pretty much every other part of the song.
 
I don't listen to U2 very often these days, but on a long run tonight I listened to a playlist on shuffle. Ultraviolet really hit me. I think it's one of their best songs - maybe on my Rushmore for them. It's extremely layered with one of Bono's most impassioned vocals. The tone Edge gets, especially toward the end, is intense and distinctive. Seems like as good a mission statement as there is for AB as well.

Also, I like Magnificent. I don't GAF how much you all hate it. :)
 
I love Axver dearly, but how nice he doesn’t post here anymore, so he won’t come in and shit on Ultraviolet :lol:

It’s a phenomenal song, Bono’s desperation in the vocals is palpable.
 
I've said this before, but I feel like every U2 post on this forum, is something that's been said 10x already in the 15-20 years some of us have been here:

I'd probably rank Ultraviolet second to last on the album, just above EBTTRT, and let me clarify that right off the bat by saying this is my favorite album of all time and I love every song on it, never skip any of them, etc. EBTTRT is maybe the least "innovative" or whatever on here and so it never shocked me in the way the others did. It's just a great rocker with a cool breakdown section. Ultraviolet is a different case, and I think what iYup said above partially explains it by saying it's a "mission statement for the album". Because it's such a representative of the album's general sound/direction/aesthetic, by the time I get to Track 10, I feel like I've heard most of the spectrum of what the album has to offer sonically, thematically, etc. So while Acrobat and Love is Blindness really go in some different musical directions and moods, UV is more of an amalgamation of tracks 1-9 and so the sense of wonder isn't quite there for me. Of course, it has a lot of emotion and there's a great vocal and guitar work, but it seems like a different version of something I've already heard by the 40 minute mark.

To say it another way, if it was in the #4 or #5 slot, I might feel differently about it, or if Zoo Station was in the #10 slot, it might not seem like such a dramatic statement.

I hope that makes sense.
 
For me, just having a shuffle list on, and hearing stuff from October, from Pop, from SoI, some b-sides...and then Ultraviolet amid them, it just really struck me as a standalone track in the depth of the textures and layers without anything sounding cluttered.
 
Albums I’ve revisited A LOT lately. Joshua Tree of course. The first half gets me through my treadmill workouts at the gym. I’ve also still been listening to Songs of Experience as I keep finding good things about it.. of course I skip some less than stellar songs on that album.

Unforgettable Fire is a repeat for me too.

That’s it though. I hope something is brewing with the guys as far as what’s next. Just give us a morsel.
 
Ultraviolet would either be first or second for me on Achtung Baby depending on the day, and would definitely be in my top 10 of the decade.
 
For all my complaints about setlist, utmost respect to them for bringing back Ultraviolet and then debuting Acrobat 20+ years after AB was released.
 
phanan said:
They've actually moved on to Pop for the remastered videos.

I didn't think they had it in them.

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I can never decide which is funnier, Bono digging Edge's dance moves at 1:43 or Edge taking a dose of breath spray at 3:14. Easily two of their peak comedy moments.

Also, someone in the comments pointed out that they skipped HMTMKMKM and Night and Day.
 
Last edited:
axver and i fought once. there's video.

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