Best Song Survivor: No Line, Round Four

[digitize]

Get on Your Boots got the boot last round. That leaves us with eight songs from No Line on the Horizon vying for three slots in the 2000s quarterfinal. You have twenty-four hours to vote against your least favorite song. For anyone just joining us, rules may be found here.

 

[Galeongirl]

Again Cedars.

 

[PennyLanePHINS]

Cedars of Lebanon. I'm allergic.

 

[lemonfly]

Move to trash.

 

[PhilsFan]

The two worst remaining are clearly Magnificent and Unknown Caller.

 

[mikal]

buy bye Magnificent and your horrible "from the womb" lyrics. embarrassing...

 

[An Cat Gav]

I still love Magnificent, shame it fades to nothing at the end.

I quite like the "from the womb" lyric, it's the "you and I justified..til we die." blah blah blah crap that I find embarrassing.

Talking of embarrassing lyrics, Unknown Caller wins all prizes for that. Great ideas on this song but it just doesn't work for me.

UC.

 

[bonocomet]

White As Snow

 

[intedomine]

A grotesquely high number of votes for Magnificence this early.

Voting White As Snow to save Cedarse

 

[LadySpinHead]

Cedars until its gone.

 

[corianderstem]

Ay-yi-yiiiii. Cedars, I guess.

 

[cartoonworld]

White As Snow. Never did much for me.

Magnificent has too many votes, js.

 

[Globo14]

Cedars of LeBaron.

 

[Rhiannon64]

I actually do like Cedars of Lebanon and White As Snow so I'll stay out of that one. Unknown Caller it is. I really do want to like it, though. I think it had potential. Some of the lyrics feel awkward to me.

 

[LemonMelon]

Damn, Magnificent is going to lose to Unknown Caller in a couple rounds.

You know the lyrics, so punch Bono in the face.

 

[Vlaco]

White As Snow in an attempt to save Cedars, although I really like the song and it shouldn't leave this early

 

[Axver]

Damnit, White As Snow is one of the two best tracks here.

I'll probably go Breathe or Unknown Caller, especially as I'd rather not oust Cedars to protect WAS, it also being a highlight of the album.

 

[LemonMirrorSky]

Definitely Unknown Caller. The middle 4 are the weakest.

 

[LemonMelon]

Well, ties are always good.

Come on, guys, another 4 votes for UC.

 

[LemonMirrorSky]

I'm just a little bit surprised by the large number of votes for Magnificent, although I can understand why it can be unpopular around here. But other U2-by-numbers songs like Beautiful Day and COBL did well in their respective album rounds. Magnificent is almost as good or better than COBL!

Anyway I know what the problem is... It is up against some tough competition in the form of NLOTH, MOS, Fez etc. If the album had been filled with clunkers (as was the case with the previous 2 albums), Magnificent would have probably done decently well. lol.

 

[cobl04]

Beautiful Day and COBL both feel inspired to me. The former is the quintessential U2 song and the latter, while a latter-day attempt to make another Streets, hits all the right notes and has a rousing chorus. Both went off live (though the former was a horrible opener on 360) and both are pretty solid, if safe, lyrically.

Magnificent has an intro that doesn't match the rest of the song, features tame, watered-down guitar playing from The Edge, weak lyrics, ordinary vocals, has a poor chorus and wasn't much better live.

 

[LemonMelon]

I love Magnificent. I heard NLOTH in full today and was completely engaged by the song. The only weak part is the lyrics, and they are so humorously U2 that I can't help but like them. Just Bono being Bono. Otherwise, everything is in its right place: the chord progression is actually very interesting, Edge's guitar solo is his most sensuous since Pop, the intro builds to a pretty awesome crescendo, and ordinary vocals? Please. Bono's OHH OHH OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH OH OH before the chorus is extremely passionate. He just knocks that one right out. It's a safe track, but who cares. COBL is even safer and is awesome anyway.

But hey, whatever. Opinions.

 

[LemonMirrorSky]

I love Magnificent. I heard NLOTH in full today and was completely engaged by the song. The only weak part is the lyrics, and they are so humorously U2 that I can't help but like them. Just Bono being Bono. Otherwise, everything is in its right place: the chord progression is actually very interesting, Edge's guitar solo is his most sensuous since Pop, the intro builds to a pretty awesome crescendo, and ordinary vocals? Please. Bono's OHH OHH OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH OH OH before the chorus is extremely passionate. He just knocks that one right out. It's a safe track, but who cares. COBL is even safer and is awesome anyway.

I pretty much agree with all of this. The lyrics are just sooo U2... Bono being Bono, like you said. Otherwise, it is a stellar track with a gorgeous bridge section and (almost) deserves to be listed amongst their all-time classics.

 

[LemonMelon]

Yeah, I wouldn't put Magnificent QUITE on the level of U2's classics, not because it's derivative (it is, though no more so than other recent classics Beautiful Day and COBL) but because of a few bad lines and some uninspired guitar work from Edge in the chorus. That and it never had the live response of the other two.

But all that being said, it's perfectly executed otherwise. I don't understand the "intro doesn't fit" argument. I think, thanks to the build up from Larry's snare and Edge's insistent strumming, the pieces fit together just right. And when the song comes back down into the mellow bridge, it's an example of a great arrangement; the song has just enough crests and troughs in mood to keep you interested. And when the song randomly goes major key for a second before the bridge? That's awesome. Totally unexpected, but it works. However you may feel about the performance itself (which I think is fine), the chord progression alone is a masterclass. Wish I'd written it.

I feel like I've been too harsh on Unknown Caller in this thread, but the lyrics really are horrible. I can dig the music just fine, and Edge brings out a pretty good solo to top it off, but I can't sing along to something as dumb as FORCE QUIT AND MOVE TO TRASH. I refuse.

 

[LemonMirrorSky]

And when the song randomly goes major key for a second before the bridge? That's awesome.

The verses of UC are so much better than the chorus!

 

[Axver]

Unknown Caller could've been one of the album's best tracks if Bono had put a modicum of effort into not writing utterly daft lyrics.

I do find it interesting that the tide has turned against Magnificent. Cobbler was something of a voice in the wilderness about it back when NLOTH dropped. It was one of the three finalists in the 2009 edition of Survivor (and made it the easiest of any track too). Now? Doesn't look a chance to make the finals.

 

[Axver]

In fact, I just checked: Magnificent not only made it to the 2000s finals, but made it all the way to the grand finals, finishing in 13th place for the whole tournament. MOS also made the grand finals, finishing 15th; the only other 2000s tracks in the finals were Kite, 16th, and Beautiful Day, 12th.

 

[LemonMelon]

Does Cedars always perform this poorly? How depressing that one of the album's most creative songs is already on life support.

 

[Axver]

These were the results last time, which I should note was run in May 2009, so while the forum was very much still on the New Album High:

11. Stand Up Comedy
10. Get on Your Boots
9. Crazy Tonight
8. Cedars of Lebanon
7. White as Snow
6. Unknown Caller
5. Fez-Being Born
4. No Line on the Horizon
1-3. FINALISTS: Magnificent, Moment of Surrender, Breathe

 

[LemonMelon]

I'm not sure if Crazy Tonight has gone down in people's estimations or if 360 gave GOYB a boost.

Right now the top 5 looks like:

1. MOS
2. NLOTH
3. Breathe
4. Fez
5. Magnificent

Which is at least the same top 5, just in a different order.