Re: GOOD NEWS!
jick said:
In short, Discotheque won't make it to the Best Of 1990-2000.
Of course it will. "Discotheque" was U2's last Top 10 hit in the U.S. It also was only the second U2 single to go Gold ("Desire" being the first). While U2 have had bigger hits, in terms of chart rankings, only "Desire" and "Discotheque" sold well enough to go Gold in the U.S. "Discotheque" also went to #1 in many other countries, like the U.K., Canada, Ireland and Australia. With that type of success, the song will DEFINITELY be included on the second "Best Of."
As for U2 remixing "Pop".... U2 have previously remixed several "Pop" songs for their release as singles, like "Last Night on Earth." U2 also altered how they performed other "Pop" songs, like "Staring at the Sun" - turning it into a beautiful acoustic ballad that became a huge hit in concert. However, out of all the "Pop" tracks, "Discotheque" seems the most polished. I received the impression that U2 really fancied this song and have no intention of remixing it. They appear to have done all that they wanted to do with this song - hence why it was the first single. They may remix several other "Pop" tracks for the second "Best Of", but not this one.
Also, don't over-interpret the word "remix." U2 have often "remixed" many of their songs for their single releases, by either shortening them, including another verse, changing a beginning or end or adding new vocals. They have done this for years, not just with "Pop" tracks. "New Years Day" is shorter as a single. "Pride" has another verse - with Bono's vocals far more "raw" in that verse than they are in the rest of the song. "Who's Gonna Ride..." had the beginning changed. Altering songs for singles is NOT unique to "Pop" and it should not necessarily be viewed as U2 disliking "Pop". That is, these rumored remixes do NOT mean that the songs are "bad" - just that U2 is looking for a new spin on them.
Any artist will tell you that there are many directions one can take with any type of artwork, be it a painting, a photo, a drawing or a song. The techno-dance song "Days Go By" is a huge hit, in both the U.S. and U.K. However, recently, I heard an acoustic version of this song and it was stunning. A song that I associated only with clubs (or a car commercial) now became this powerful song with a rather touching message. I get the feeling that U2 are doing something similar here - they are looking an another interpretation of these songs.
Why does U2 appear to be focusing only on "Pop" and not songs from other 90's albums? First, the rumor may not be completely true. Perhaps U2 are ALSO examining other songs from other albums, but only the "Pop" remixes were leaked to the press. Also, it seems that many of U2's earlier 90's works have already been heavily mixed and remixed. For example, there seem to be 15,000 versions of "Lemon."
U2 has their choice of any of those tracks. Lastly, perhaps it is a bit of ego. "Pop" was an unexpected set-back for U2 and maybe now they are taking another look at that album, to see if they can give these wonderful, yet sadly overlooked, songs a new life.
Regardless, I wil be stunned not to see "Discotheque" on the next "Best Of."
All of that said, I do think U2 hurt themselves choosing "Discotheque" as the first single from "Pop". I feel that if U2 went with "Staring at the Sun", it would have captured many more fans and not turned them off to "Pop" and the tour. "Discotheque" may have worked far better as as econ (or third) single. It would have been something that was light and fun (at least on the surface) which would have been perfect after the more heavy message of "Staring...". But by going with the superficially lighter song first, that had the frivolous video, many so-so fans (and even die-hards) lost interest.
indeed.
