In Defense Of Miracle Drug

[Miggy D]

Dear Interferencers,

Several people on this forum have said that Miracle Drug would not make a good single because it is not immediately catchy, and it takes the song a couple of minutes to really kick in and 'reach its climax.'

Let me respond with:

With Or Without You
One
Beautiful Day

U2 has had quite a few successful singles that start out rather 'boring' by radio standards but pay off if you stick around for a minute or two. And 'One' and "WOWY' don't even have traditional choruses.

Perhaps the state of commercial radio has indeed changed so much that there is no place for a song like Miracle Drug, but Beautiful Day came out only 4 years ago and that caught on pretty quickly.

Defending Miracle Drug until his dying breath,

-Miggy D

 

[ImOuttaControl]

It's interesting that people say that Miracle Drug wouldn't make a good single...I, as well as a few friends, all thought Miracle Drug and Vertigo are by far the 2 most immediate songs on the album.

The length, just under 4 minutes; how quickly the prechorus/chorus come up in the song...This thing is made to be a single IMO.

 

[Miggy D]

It's interesting that people say that Miracle Drug wouldn't make a good single...I, as well as a few friends, all thought Miracle Drug and Vertigo are by far the 2 most immediate songs on the album.

The length, just under 4 minutes; how quickly the prechorus/chorus come up in the song...This thing is made to be a single IMO.

Preach it, ImOuttaControl, preach it!


-Reverand Miggy D

 

[neutral]

It's being played here.

I thought as soon as I heard it that it would make a great single though.

 

[Bunbury]

its a good song.

 

[doctorwho]

The world of 2004 is not the world of 1987.

U2 has to truly fight to get heard on the radio now. In 1987, U2 was the next "big thing" and radio was all too happy to play them. This period lasted from '87 to '92, where all sorts of album tracks were played.

Now, U2 has to do heavy promotion to get air time - and even then, they can barely crack the Top 40 ("Vertigo" peaked at #31 in the U.S.). Hence, a slower, non-catchy song would die pretty quickly on the charts.

The second reason a song like "With or Without You" flew up the charts is that it's a slow love song. Yes, it's about broken love, but love nonetheless. If I had never head JT and had to pick a lead single, WoWY would be it for the very reason that it is a slow love song. Slow love songs always do well on the charts (see also "One").

"Beautiful Day" in contrast is VERY catchy - possibly the catchiest track on ATYCLB. It's a very powerful song, with many interpretations, has a catchy hook chorus and it's rocking, without being too heavy. So I strongly disagree with your inclusion of BD as an example.

"Miracle Drug" is a fine song, but sorry, it's no single. If U2 *really* want to release this as a single, then I'd release it as the fifth song, not second or third. They have far more "single worthy" tracks on HTDAAB that could do well on the charts.

 

[boosterjuice]

MAny think the "top of the baby's head" lyric is poor. I like it! It is a deep lyric!

 

[trashdaveed]

Agree with doctorwho. No one here is saying bad things about Miracle Drug...it's not that we don't have faith in the great song that it is. It's that we don't have faith in the ADD-wracked public to give the song enough of a chance. BD was the first single from an album alot of people were waiting for. Plus, it had enough of a big chorus (with a wonderful, simple, crossover message to anyone/everyone -- It's a beautiful day, don't let it get away -- easy to digest and applicable to so so much). Love ballads need not apply to this structure usually.

I think most of the MD/single naysayers agree that it would be ok for a 5th (maybe 4th, but COBL edit or OOTS seem to be up there too) single, but we want the album to reach alot of people, so the most accessible tracks (not to you or me, but to Joe the casual, in his car on the way to work, music listener) need to be out there.

 

[STING2]

I think Miracle Drug will be the third song released from "Bomb". In my opinion it is one of the greatest U2 songs of all time. I just can't get over how much I love every second of this song.


I'd say this song is U2's best chance to make it back in into the top 10 singles chart in the USA.

 

[Yahweh]

U2 wont ever hit the top 10 on the billboard hot 100 again they pretty much have to be happy with Modern Rock #1s of which they have the most out of any band in history!

 

[popacrobat]

I think Miracle Drug will be the third song released from "Bomb". In my opinion it is one of the greatest U2 songs of all time. I just can't get over how much I love every second of this song.


I'd say this song is U2's best chance to make it back in into the top 10 singles chart in the USA.

agreed.

 

[anitram]

I really love Miracle Drug and frankly, I don't see at all why it's a worse radio single than Sometimes, which I think will bomb royally.

 

[Sleep Over Jack]

I really love Miracle Drug and frankly, I don't see at all why it's a worse radio single than Sometimes, which I think will bomb royally.

Stuck In A Moment was slow and average, yet only narrowly missed the no.1 spot in the UK...SYCMIOYO is slow and and the best song since Achtung Baby, so I would say it could do quite well...

 

[saxgoddess]

boosterjuice: "The top of a newborn baby's head" a weak lyric? You've heard that? Whoa!! Never heard that before! Has anyone here every smelled the top of a newborn baby's head? I think the smell is sweet, but kind of musky at the same time. Freedom=sweet but sour at the same time, because of all the people who lost their lives to give us freedom, and the potential for it to be taken away in a heartbeat.
PERFECT LYRIC!!
Regarding the song, it may not be a smash hit to the general public, but it sure is a treasure for we U2 freaks!

 

[intedomine]

strange lyric that new born babys head one.

I for one have never smelt one, but isnt there meant to be no bone on the top of a new born babys head and a gap where its brain is or sumfin

i dunno, im not a baby, and i dont have one either.

 

[Aardvark747]

I remember smelling my nephews head just after he was born....I think I understand the lyric!
It's still strange tho!

 

[Miggy D]

Although I will defend Miracle Drug to my death, I have to say that the 'top of a newborn baby's head' line is really, really bad. And people - it's not whether or not 'it's so true! baby's heads smell awesome!', it's whether or not the lyric is stupid. I mean what if 'One' had this lyric:

'We're one but we're not the same
And I really really think we could get along'

Well sure, it might be true that we really really might be able to get along, but that's still a stupid, stupid lyric. Let's just make sure not to confuse actual truths (perhaps a baby's head DOES smell good) with stupid lyrics (but that doesn't mean Bono has to put it in the friggin' song). Also, it really doesn't have a place in the song. I think it was one of those instances where Bono was having 'verbal diahherea' (see 'At The End of The World' by Bill Flannigan) and just thought up that saying and said, 'Edge, Larry, Adam - I don't care what you say, I am putting this lyric in this album somewhere.'

Adam: But Bono, 'scent' doesn't even rhyme with 'head.'

Bono: Shut up Adam, and play that damn bass.

Let's just review the opening lines:

I want to trip inside your head
Spend a day there
To hear the things you haven't said
And see what you might see
I wanna hear you when you call
Do you feel anything thing at all?
I wanna see your thoughts take shape
And walk right out

Freedom has a scent
Like the top of a newborn baby's head

Ok, so in the first verse, Bono is writing some awesome lyrics. He is talking, presumably to Christopher Nolan, about how he would like to get inside his head and see all of the wonderful ideas he has. Bono says this a few different ways - tripping inside his head, hearing when he calls, hearing the things he's never said, etc. - so you think the lead in to the chorus would still use a personal pronoun ("I") to address Christopher Nolan ("you"). But no. Bono throws in some saying he hopes will get onto www.quoteland.com some day. And even if you were to keep part of this lyric to construct something better that actually rhymed, you could do it easily:

Freedom has a scent
Like a place that you've been but you never went

Sure, it's not gramatically correct, but the imagery it brings to mind is a lot more open to interpretation, as opposed to 'baby's head' which...just brings to mind the head of a baby. Limiting. And stupid.

Again - babies' heads may smell fantastic, but I seriously doubt it's the baby's head you're smelling. It's probably 'Pert Plus for Babies' or some other kind of nicely smelling shampoo. That's what your smelling. You're not smelling the actual baby - you're smelling a product.

Freedom has a scent
Like the stuff that they put on a baby's head

At least that's a more truthful lyric!

-Miggy D

P.S. - Just so you all know - I still love Miracle Drug. Just not that one, solitary line.

 

[Aardvark747]

I love all this baby's head smelling conversation!

 

[intedomine]

"Freedom has a scent
Like the top of a newborn baby's head"

Whatever it means, i just like the way it's sung by Bono

 

[U2girl]

He is talking, presumably to Christopher Nolan, about how he would like to get inside his head and see all of the wonderful ideas he has.

And he's talking, through the song and that particular hated lines, from the viewpoint of Nolan's mother.

I don't know, but I do believe babies have a special scent - after all a 4 time father like Bono would probably know. And it's nice comparing freedom to a baby, as that is the one time in human life when you can litetally do whatever you want, before society imposes the rules on you.

 

[bedouin fire]

The world of 2004 is not the world of 1987.

U2 has to truly fight to get heard on the radio now. In 1987, U2 was the next "big thing" and radio was all too happy to play them. This period lasted from '87 to '92, where all sorts of album tracks were played.

Now, U2 has to do heavy promotion to get air time - and even then, they can barely crack the Top 40 ("Vertigo" peaked at #31 in the U.S.). Hence, a slower, non-catchy song would die pretty quickly on the charts.

The second reason a song like "With or Without You" flew up the charts is that it's a slow love song. Yes, it's about broken love, but love nonetheless. If I had never head JT and had to pick a lead single, WoWY would be it for the very reason that it is a slow love song. Slow love songs always do well on the charts (see also "One").

"Beautiful Day" in contrast is VERY catchy - possibly the catchiest track on ATYCLB. It's a very powerful song, with many interpretations, has a catchy hook chorus and it's rocking, without being too heavy. So I strongly disagree with your inclusion of BD as an example.

"Miracle Drug" is a fine song, but sorry, it's no single. If U2 *really* want to release this as a single, then I'd release it as the fifth song, not second or third. They have far more "single worthy" tracks on HTDAAB that could do well on the charts.

It's not the same world, but also in 87 what radio wanted was catchy songs and the charts were full of that (duran duran, culture club, a-ha and whatever more...). u2 made the difference just because they had the courage to release singles with good music that comes from the heart (even if not totally catchy) and people realized that difference. Listening to that made people feel more complete and... smart than listening to the plastic shit that was playing around.

i am not so sure that now in 2004 is so different... miracle drug is a great song, full of content, full of depth, full of emotion that will make much more difference than for ex. aboy that, despite being a good song, it's closer to the tons of catchy rock songs from average rock bands that we hear everyday on the radio