City Of Blinding Lights: Any Love Left?

[LuvandPeace1980]

I like City Of Blinding Lights it's a nice song, but out of all the songs on the album it's the one that seems the most different? anyone agree? I think it will sound alot better in concert as well.

Can I also ask what is this song Mercy, is it one from The Absolute U2 collection off iTunes or something because I really want to hear it, anyone know where to get it or could you sent it

Cheers thanks alot

 

[Shade]

Back when this forum was filled with COBL-gushers, I told them what a lame lyric "oh you look beautiful tonight" is. Then they all started getting defensive and said that it was a deeper meaning that talked about inner beauty and a different level of beauty.

I don't think there's any deeper meaning to "oh, you look so beautiful tonight" than what it says. But, I'll gladly contest its "lameness". I think it's one of the few lyrics on the album where Bono's current - and sometimes woefully - literal approach to lyric-writing doesn't feel like a contrivance. For people who are open to the song, it's classic. It's one of the few songs on this album that really "soars", and that lyric is a statement of pure emotion and elation, and it fits the joyful tone of the music. I find this song much more elevating than Elevation.

But that is not the point. When someone hears the song on radio or MTV, he/she won't have time to analyze the lyrics but will instead have the line "you look beautiful tonight" stuck in his ear associating it with a U2 song. It's such a boyband line for a U2 song.

And "with or without you" doesn't sound like a "boyband" title/line? How about "it's a beautiful day"? Come on, man. Hell, Bono himself has said he thinks the lyrics to "Where The Streets Have No Name" - the song that seems to have started this whole argument - are weak. But, in the context of that song, of that music, they come alive.

What's important is the presentation, the context, and whether it feels like they really mean it. You may take issue with that line in COBL, but look what surrounds it. The verses in this song stand out as some of the best lyrics on the album, lyrics that harken back to the days when Bono wasn't afraid of so-called purple prose. In the company of those verses, I think the chorus works. It's saying, "this is how I really feel about you". After all - the song is a love song for a city and its people. Should Bono not tell them how he feels?

Just for the sake of argument...would you, Jick, refuse to tell a woman you love that you think she's beautiful, simply because other people say it and don't mean it? Because YOU personally think it sounds cheesy? Whether she's heard it before, or not enough - if you really mean it, Jick, if it comes from love, it's not just a shallow line. I think your perspective on this lyric comes from a very cynical place.

Everyone in the forum trashed me for my views on COBL back then. It's nice to know that some are actually agreeing with me now. What a difference a few weeks can make.

Cheers,

J

"It's nice to know that there are faceless strangers on a music forum who validate my opinion of a song." Jick, I normally enjoy your posts. When you're being funny. This one was sad. And, I like you when you stick your neck out for your ideas, not when you're cloying for the acceptance of people whose opinions shouldn't threaten your own. People with genuinely strong opinions usually don't fish for "hear hears" from the crowd.

And, speaking of 'funny' - something that I find funny is that you actually took the time to create a homemade radio edit of a song you really don't seem to like. Don't you find it the least bit ironic that you should try to make a song with a "boyband" chorus even more readily consumable for a mainstream radio audience? Even though you F-ed it up by changing the triple chorus at the end to a single chorus like the ones that preceded it. You killed the climax of the song, the payoff, the eargasm. That's a big pop/rock songwriting no-no-no-no-NO.

 

[Diemen]

Jick, after reading this thread it seems quite clear to me that you hold your opinion as more important or correct than anyone else's.

To paraphase, the gist of this thread is "You guys were gushing, but I was right from the start, and now you're finally coming around to see how right I was."

 

[Kieran McConville]

OH MY GOD, I think my brain just exploded from ecstacy.

Yeah, it's gone now. The moment passed and all is well.

 

[U2girl]

I have yet to hear a performance of Sometimes You Can't Make It where Bono nails the falsetto part of "the best you can do is to fake it" lyric.

That part is just fine, as it was done on the album. Bono was, I guess, getting emotional and because of that it sounds like he's getting all choked up.

 

[bedouin fire]

for me, cobl sounds like some other band with a lack of creativity picking a non-inspired song and wanting to make it sound like u2 by putting all their traditional elements (slide reverb guitar, ohohoh falsetto, a chorus to sing along, bono's cliched lines...).
so, if it sounds like u2 it's nice. But it's far from being great.

 

[Aardvark747]

That part is just fine, as it was done on the album. Bono was, I guess, getting emotional and because of that it sounds like he's getting all choked up.

 

[jick]

Funny, none of the gushers from the original thread called "The Awesomeness That Is City Of Blinding Lights" have responded. I'd like to link the page again here:

http://forum.interference.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=99367&perpage=15&pagenumber=1

And here are excerpts from the gushers:

"Best... song... since... Stay" -Roland of Gilead

"Genius." - Michael Griffiths

"Epic masterpiece" -purpleblackeye

"This baby could easily be a number one single..." -The Brazilian Fly

"They took the Joshua Tree sound and pushed it to the 21st Century with darker and more real feelings, without getting too lost in personal feelings, like AB does.... Yes we honestly believe that it is one of their best works." -bcrt2000

"City of Blinding Lights had me speechless when I heard it, I had goosebumps all over, and I couldnt stop smiling. Now that I heard the lyrics and broke the song down, its even better. What a piece of work. these guys are so brilliant!" RademR

"I still think that COBL is their best song ever. " -Murray

"I was at the gig and I think COBL is up there with Streets and Bad." -TC2290

"I don't think that the comparisons to other U2 songs like Streets or Stay are very useful, because honestly I couldn't rank U2 songs anyways, they are too different and appeal to different feelings and emotions. But of course U2 has some stand-out tracks, and I agree that COBL could really be one of them." -oceane

"IMO, one of the most beautiful songs they have ever made, and it already (yes, prematurely because I haven't heard it in all its glory) in the upper echelon of my top U2 songs." -elfyx

"It's very pretty music, right here." -anitram

"...maybe their best song in years." -Inner El Guapo

"I felt purged and changed in some way after hearing COBL. I can only truly say that about one other song...and yes, it's a U2 one." -starsgoblue

"Having just heard the song a few hours ago, I can say that this really is an emotional track. Especially the chorus with the already classic "Oh you look so beautiful tonight!". That line along is so touching, just reading the lyrics can induce tears." -Lancemc

"COBL sounds bloody great to me." -GibsonGirl


To all of the claims of the gushers, I replied: "Let me tell you, at the end of the day it will just be another average typical U2 song. Do you guys honestly believe it can hold a candle to such classics as Where The Streets Have No Name, Stay, One, With Or Without You, Pride, Sunday Bloody Sunday, etc.? I don't think so." (J)

Then I was subsequently flamed for my opinions and got replies like "does anything please you" or that I was just "trying to provoke reaction from people."

Well, where have all the gushers gone? Do you still stick by your statements? And do you still honestly think I was being a troll and seeking any attention for my statements?

I think many here are too impulsive and love songs blindly on initial listen without giving it a hard thought. And I find it quite sad because there are so many layers to U2's music that need to be uncovered before a real verdict can be reached.

Cheers,

J

 

[Aardvark747]

Where's the post I wrote Jick!!?

 

[bedouin fire]

jick's glorious revenge...

Like i said before i'm not a fan of cobl but come on, give the people a break... you know that everybody gets so excited when somthing new from u2 is presented that the first week of statements should not be considered.

Let's just understand those as statements of joy due to the debut of a new u2 song in that particular day. And of course, if some of them (maybe a lot) still have the same opinion, that's even better.

 

[Sleep Over Jack]

Classic stuff...

 

[Cigar]

jick you take yourself waaayyyyyy!!!..too seriously,man....sheesh!..

 

[Aardvark747]

jick you take yourself waaayyyyyy!!!..too seriously,man....sheesh!..

But u gotta admit, it's always funny to read!

 

[Ody]

I praised COBL as the best song on the album.

I would still stand by that (although I would be slower to say that now.)

It is not one of U2s top five songs. Probably not even top twenty.

 

[RademR]

great song, to me it seems like it's missing that one element to make it a classic u2 song, but it is great and i cant wait to hear it live.

 

[Aardvark747]

To be honest. After the first little listen weeks ago, I thought it was fantastic. But that was because I was just looking forward so much to hearing all the new stuff.
After many listens now, I can say I still love it, but it's not in my top 5, nor my top 5 off HTDAAB.

 

[Diemen]

paraphrase: All these people haven't responded yet

Perhaps because they don't want to bother responding to your "I know best" attitude?

edit: I was never a "COBL gusher," but if some people absolutely love the song then that's their right. Why bother with all this nonsense trying to tell them they're wrong?

 

[Axver]

This song is easily the best thing U2 have made since Streets, One Tree Hill, and Heartland. It's in my top seven of all time.

 

[doctorwho]

It is my favorite track off of HTDAAB. Unlike most of you, I didn't love it the first few times I heard it. It grew on me and now I adore it.

 

[jick]

I honestly think the song has a lot of potential but Flood just did a horrible job.

It has the icy piano and the ear-candy riff with the slide guitar and these are all good elements.

But for most of the songs, like during the verse part, all you hear are bass'n'drums and the awful part is that the drums are in mono. Also, when he it nears the chorus and towards the chorus when the bassline moves up - I think it would have been the perfect time for Edge to belt out on of his repeating, staying in one note chiming signature guitar sounds. It would be the perfect foil to Clayton's note-changing towards the chorus. It would be better than leaving everything so barren with the only discernible guitars loud enough is the main riff before the verse and after the chorus.

Overall, it is a good U2 song. I actually would like to retract my statements about it being average, it is now above average in my book but it still has so much more potential. The live clips I heard weren't that great either, but I'm sure U2 will have it down pat come tour time.

Cheers,

J

 

[JOFO]

jick-
why do you have adam with a drawn mustache and horns in your picture?

 

[elfyx]

COBL, while I don't personally like the production, in its truest essence is, for me, a classic and epic U2 song.

The harmony between the boys during the first two verses is, as one reviewer elegantly commented, near celestial. I think it stands as one of the finest examples of musical harmony that can come from a four piece rock and roll band.

It is hard for me not to get choked up when I allow myself to really get involved in this song. It's one of those songs that I think to myself 'i wish i had written that one'.

I was at the Brooklyn Bridge concert, and while I neatly 'get' the reference to the 'city of blinding lights' in NY, the song really hit another emotional home run when I realized that the 'blinding lights' were really us. The inner beauty and light of each and every living soul. WE are the lights. Each and everyone of us. The living light of spirit shines in each one of us, and collectively, especially to Bono who is the recipient of so much love from all of us in the audience, our inner lights must be absolutely beautiful and yes overwhelmingly blinding.

 

[Shade]

I honestly think the song has a lot of potential but Flood just did a horrible job.

It has the icy piano and the ear-candy riff with the slide guitar and these are all good elements.

But for most of the songs, like during the verse part, all you hear are bass'n'drums and the awful part is that the drums are in mono. Also, when he it nears the chorus and towards the chorus when the bassline moves up - I think it would have been the perfect time for Edge to belt out on of his repeating, staying in one note chiming signature guitar sounds. It would be the perfect foil to Clayton's note-changing towards the chorus. It would be better than leaving everything so barren with the only discernible guitars loud enough is the main riff before the verse and after the chorus.

Overall, it is a good U2 song. I actually would like to retract my statements about it being average, it is now above average in my book but it still has so much more potential. The live clips I heard weren't that great either, but I'm sure U2 will have it down pat come tour time.

Cheers,

J

Jick - Have you ever written a song?

 

[MrBrau1]

I honestly think the song has a lot of potential but Flood just did a horrible job.

It has the icy piano and the ear-candy riff with the slide guitar and these are all good elements.

But for most of the songs, like during the verse part, all you hear are bass'n'drums and the awful part is that the drums are in mono. Also, when he it nears the chorus and towards the chorus when the bassline moves up - I think it would have been the perfect time for Edge to belt out on of his repeating, staying in one note chiming signature guitar sounds. It would be the perfect foil to Clayton's note-changing towards the chorus. It would be better than leaving everything so barren with the only discernible guitars loud enough is the main riff before the verse and after the chorus.

Overall, it is a good U2 song. I actually would like to retract my statements about it being average, it is now above average in my book but it still has so much more potential. The live clips I heard weren't that great either, but I'm sure U2 will have it down pat come tour time.

Cheers,

J

Again, your confusing songwriting with production. Do you realise the difference?

 

[Shade]

Again, your confusing songwriting with production. Do you realise the difference?

What are you talking about??? Everybody knows Flood wrote City Of Blinding Lights.

 

[Flying FuManchu]

I like COBL.... I like the guitar riff during the "wooohs" and "beautiful" parts as well as the close of the song.

 

[MrBrau1]

I like COBL.... I like the guitar riff during the "wooohs" and "beautiful" parts as well as the close of the song.

Yes. I love this part as well. Edge plays those ascending chords! Nice lift.

 

[fastcars]

I didn't listen to the bootleg, thankfully! So I haven't overplayed it! Still love it.

 

[Sleep Over Jack]

jick-
why do you have adam with a drawn mustache and horns in your picture?

hahahahhaa

 

[Sleep Over Jack]

Anyone else see a similarity to Snow Patrol's "Spitting Games" in this song? especially the "woooos"