Best Song Survivor: Pop, Round Eight

[popacrobat]

Not this time......

failed, i have

 

[brooklynmike]

Discotheque on it's way out? You guys are doing it wrong...

If it wasn't for the video I bet it'd still be around.

 

[Axver]

Discotheque on it's way out? You guys are doing it wrong...

If it wasn't for the video I bet it'd still be around.

Nobody has mentioned the video to justify their vote, just the song's quality relative to the others, but enjoy your conspiracy theories.

 

[brooklynmike]

Nobody has mentioned the video to justify their vote, just the song's quality relative to the others, but enjoy your conspiracy theories.

I'm thinking the video is more of a subliminal guide for some people. Not all, but some. I'm sure "you know you're chewing bubblegum" and the boomcha's had a negative effect as well.

If the same cheeseball video had been released, but MOFO or Gone were the song, I have a feeling they'd also be on the chopping block. The initial frame was set, it's tough to break from it.

 

[FitzChivalry]

Do You Feel Loved

 

[Axver]

I'm thinking the video is more of a subliminal guide for some people. Not all, but some. I'm sure "you know you're chewing bubblegum" and the boomcha's had a negative effect as well.

If the same cheeseball video had been released, but MOFO or Gone were the song, I have a feeling they'd also be on the chopping block. The initial frame was set, it's tough to break from it.

I really don't think the video's significant - but then I'm the kind of guy who hasn't watched a U2 music video in about eight years. Oh, and you named two of my favourite parts of Discotheque. It's just got a murky mix on the album that really neuters it relative to the live versions - compare the driving riffs of the Popmart version to the sounds-like-it's-in-a-paper-bag guitar of the studio version. The song on Pop is plodding compared to the hooky catchiness of DYFL, the emotion of Mofo and Please (on different levels), and the perfection of Gone. I always start Pop from DYFL nowadays. Discotheque, to me, was a clear victim of some of the rushed production at the end of the Pop sessions and should've been more than it is, as evidenced by its live improvement. The fact it was a weak choice for lead single and had a poorly received video is relevant to a discussion of the song's context, but not so much to guiding a vote.

 

[brooklynmike]

I guess it depends on what your criteria is for voting- studio only, live vs. studio, etc. I really enjoy the song itself; on the album, it's murky, but some tracks like Velvet Dress and Please are just as bad, if not worse. Live, Discotheque is awesome and besides the murkiness on the album, it's a better overall song than please.

On to the next round!