Shuttlecock IV: The Doubles

[Hewson]

And you're being awfully kind to Song for Someone.

He only gave it about 7 points too much.

 

[gvox]

The one Americanism I use, and am quite fond of is 'could care less'. As in, 'I could care less/give a crap about such and such.'

I think I like it because the grammatical wrongness, if taken literally, is itself just a further signifier of complete non-interest.

Every time someone writes this way i feel the need to inflict serious harm on someone


Sent from my ass crack

 

[LemonMelon]

There is no legitimate excuse for saying "could care less" unless you actually mean you care somewhat. It's, what, an extra two letters? I guess that's showing too much interest.

 

[Hewson]

There is no legitimate excuse for saying "could care less" unless you actually mean you care somewhat. It's, what, an extra two letters? I guess that's showing too much interest.

Supposably.

 

[Kieran McConville]

There's always a legitimate excuse.

 

[PhilsFan]

Volcano would be kind of a "blah" song for me if not for the pre-chorus, which I love. It's the combination of the delivery and the guitar effect, but it's just ... cool, which is rare for them these days.

 

[gvox]

There's two interesting parts of Volcano for me: Adam's bass part, and the little guitar part during the chorus. That part screams Chili Peppers to me. Anyone else get that? I can't put my finger on the exact song(s) but that guitar remind me of a few of them so much. Or is it another band? I don't listen to them very much so someone correct me if so..


Sent from my ass crack

 

[PhilsFan]

Not to take away from your point, but the bass part was written by The Edge, wasn't it?

 

[gvox]

Not to take away from your point, but the bass part was written by The Edge, wasn't it?

Really? I have no idea..where would that be noted, I mean that the bass part was written by him?



Sent from my ass crack

 

[PhilsFan]

I believe I read it in one of the interviews they did, I think Adam was praising him for having written the bass part. It was definitely one of the songs on Songs of Innocence that he wrote a part for, and I'm almost positive it was Volcano.

 

[corianderstem]

Zed comes in handy in words with friends.

I think a few days ago, we had 7 or 8 active games going. Now we're back to a reasonable 5.

 

[gvox]

I believe I read it in one of the interviews they did, I think Adam was praising him for having written the bass part. It was definitely one of the songs on Songs of Innocence that he wrote a part for, and I'm almost positive it was Volcano.

Interesting


Sent from my ass crack

 

[cobl04]

When you say Sometimes and Kite, I say Mofo, Lemon, I Will Follow and Tomorrow, which are directly related to the Iris in question. There's no comparison between those songs and this new crappy one. Something like "There's a black car parked on the side of the road" brings so much more in terms of loss and memory than the cheesy repetition of "Hold me clooaaaahhsss". It's amazing how much more profound a 20-year old can sound than his 50-year-old counterpart. Not the worst song on the record, but the one that symbolises perfectly for me what is wrong about this band nowadays.



The only big disagreement we have is This is Where You Can Reach Me Now. And you're being awfully kind to Song for Someone.



Thoughts on The Crystal Ballroom?

Well the songs you mentioned go without saying, of course they are a trillion times better than Iris. I was just going for a modern day comparison. The Crystal Ballroom is pretty cool. Better than probably 80% of the album.

 

[iron yuppie]

We are in agreement on the three best songs on the album, Cobbler, though I feel more positively about it as a whole than you seem to. The best moments are Lykke Li on The Troubles, Edge's solo in Sleep Like a Baby, and the final verse of Cedarwood Road.

You're absolutely right about Edge's guitar part in Iris, though - that's an autopilot riff par excellence.

 

[PhilsFan]

A Mexican TV interviewer asked them about opening and closing songs on this tour. Bono said he thought the best openers would be either Invisible or The Miracle, and Larry thought Song for Someone would be a very good closer.

Larry, as always, is an idiot.

 

[lazarus]

I guess Invisible ain't dead.

Good news.

 

[cobl04]

I will forgive them for everything if they just play Running to Stand Still.

 

[elevated_u2_fan]

I will forgive them for everything if they just play Running to Stand Still.

Acoustic?

 

[cobl04]

Even acoustic. Would be one of the few songs that wouldn't be severely hampered by an acoustic rendition. Edge on piano, Bono strumming a guitar and playing harmonica, Larry doing some light tom-toming and Adam walking around in circles having a smoke.

 

[Hewson]

A Mexican TV interviewer asked them about opening and closing songs on this tour. Bono said he thought the best openers would be either Invisible or The Miracle, and Larry thought Song for Someone would be a very good closer.

Larry, as always, is an idiot.

Looks like I'm getting a jump on traffic.

 

[PhilsFan]

Bono seemed surprised by Larry thinking it was a good choice to close.

 

[cobl04]

Remember that interview where they all talked about their favourite music? What were Larry's favourite songs? Were they lame as fuck?

 

[bono_212]

The most recent interview that had Larry talking about favorite music was really random, as he said that the show he wishes he could go back in time to see was The Sweet.

 

[Axver]

A Mexican TV interviewer asked them about opening and closing songs on this tour. Bono said he thought the best openers would be either Invisible or The Miracle, and Larry thought Song for Someone would be a very good closer.

Larry, as always, is an idiot.

Larry really needs to stop being wrong.

On what planet could Song for Someone ever be a closer, good grief.

 

[PhilsFan]

I've figured out what actually bothers me about The Miracle: the drum beat. The drum beat is awful and makes the whole song sound like it's about to fall apart.

 

[djerdap]

Remember that interview where they all talked about their favourite music? What were Larry's favourite songs? Were they lame as fuck?

I know that Bono actually surprised me with his good taste in U2 songs. Some of his choices were a bit boring - I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For and Miss Sarajevo, but he mentioned Acrobat and Your Blue Room more than once, so he's not completely hopeless. Unlike the drummer, who doesn't like No Line on the Horizon because it's "esoteric" and he's "more into songs". Crazy Tonight is a progressive rock beast indeed.

Anyways, in honor of a very good song that is The Troubles, I shall rank U2 songs that deal with the Troubles:

1. Love is Blindness (I always liked the intepretation that it's told from the perspective of an IRA bomber)
2. Please
3. Like a Song...
4. Sunday Bloody Sunday
5. North and South of the River
6. The Troubles (what is ironic, and what I actually really like about the song, is that it isn't really about the conflict despite the title)

Spoiler

799. Raised by Wolves

 

[LemonMelon]

Wow, is that what North and South of the River is about? I always assumed it was a relationship song (Bono uses terms of affection like "darling" in the song, making it feel more romantic in nature), not a political piece. I can totally hear it though.

 

[djerdap]

One can interpret it as a love story of two people that are on the opposite sides of the conflict. It wasn't surprising that it was their pick for the Omagh tribute (one of their best TV appearances ever).

 

[liamcool]

North and South of the River is about Derry/Londonderry. Derry is divided by the River Foyle into two sections, the heavily Catholic west and the mostly Protestant east. Much of Derry was locked down into "no go zones", where Protestants were not allowed entry into certain areas due to the inevitable outbreaking of violence that would result. Religion and violence are interlinked - there was a siege in 1688 based on religious difference, within which Protestants took refuge in the walled city on a hill next to the river. "Higher ground is not worth taking" = Catholics shouldn't attempt to retake the walled city because of the massive costs involved in the initial siege. etc, etc.

 

[djerdap]

That's a great interpretation. I've been to Derry recently. The walled city is west from the river though , but the lyrics fit quite nicely.