Last song is a throw-away

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wolfwill23

War Child
Joined
Nov 2, 2000
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Location
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Since AB, the last song on U2 records has been throw-aways, which I find disappointing. I'm talking songs that have very little chance to be played live and just aren't that good. You've got:

1. The Wanderer on Zooropa
2. Wake Up Dead Man on Pop
3. Grace on ATYCLB
4. Yahweh on Bomb

What happened to great closers like Love is Blindness? And no, Yahweh is nowhere near Love is Blindness. It's really an awful song.
 
Get your ears cleaned out sunshine

Its a classic you philistine!! Why do people take the time to post only negative things??
 
wolfwill23 said:


1. The Wanderer on Zooropa
2. Wake Up Dead Man on Pop
3. Grace on ATYCLB
4. Yahweh on Bomb
Click to expand...



I actually thing that these songs are very good, I wouldn't call them throwaways (expecially Wake Up Dead Man). Yaweh is a great song, i don't know what you're talking about.
 
I love Yahweh. sonically, it has all sorts of stuff going on. I like the more bombastic closers compared to the usual "lullabye" at the end
 
Re: Get your ears cleaned out sunshine

zoology said:
Why do people take the time to post only negative things??
Click to expand...

Yo man, sorry I have an objective opinion about U2. Sorry I am not a U2 lemming. I know that's hard for some people in this forum. For some people in here, if U2 vomited on a CD, they would say it's the greatest album since AB.

I believe that all the album closers since AB have been crap and pretty much a waste of CD space. I am curious if other people feel the same way I do. Obviously, you do not. Good for you.
 
I have to respectfully disagree. I think "Wake Up Dead Man" serves to encapsulate the problem the 'character' in Pop is going through into 5 minutes, and at least shows that this character is holding out some hope for change. Thematically, it really ties Pop to ATYCLB as well.
 
Yahweh is so good, I can't beleive they left it for last. It is obvious they wanted to finish the record on a high note, and they could not have picked a better track.

Yahweh has a crisp classic sound that SCREAMS U2:scream: !

For anyone to think that Yahweh is weak is pure ignorance.

This will be the show closer on tour. No doubt. :yes:
 
UnforgettableLemon said:
I think "Wake Up Dead Man" serves to encapsulate the problem the 'character' in Pop is going through into 5 minutes, and at least shows that this character is holding out some hope for change. Thematically, it really ties Pop to ATYCLB as well.
Click to expand...

It sounds like you're writing a paper, not listening to good tunes.
 
wolfwill23 said:
Since AB, the last song on U2 records has been throw-aways, which I find disappointing. I'm talking songs that have very little chance to be played live and just aren't that good. You've got:

1. The Wanderer on Zooropa
2. Wake Up Dead Man on Pop
3. Grace on ATYCLB
4. Yahweh on Bomb

What happened to great closers like Love is Blindness? And no, Yahweh is nowhere near Love is Blindness. It's really an awful song.
Click to expand...

These closing songs are Biblical in some regard. Sorry to the non-Christians and atheists if you can't really quite "grasp" it. You have to live with the fact that not all U2 songs will appeal to you. And you'll have to deal with the fact that U2 is a religious and Christian band.

Cheers,

J
 
wolfwill23 said:


Don't insult me because of my opinion. Yahweh is very, very weak.
Click to expand...

In my opinion it's not.

This is one of their more overtly "Christian" albums (C'mon, who do you think "ABOY" is being sung to ?) and as such it's a fitting closer.

Wake up dead man as someone pointed out DID close out Pop appropriately in terms of the overall lyrical themes of the album.
 
wolfwill23 said:


It sounds like you're writing a paper, not listening to good tunes.
Click to expand...

OK then, that's really unfair. I think Pop is very much a concept album. But, I still enjoy the track in isolation. The layers of sound, reversed quotes, samples on samples, all buried under a very subtle and harrowing guitar. I think the music and the lyrics are both desperate and beautiful, and this song resonates with me at a very fundamental level. I don't have a blind, unabashed, love for U2. I can be critical when need be. But personally, I think this song is a wonderful song and works as a closer. Is there something wrong with appreciating a song for it's literary merit as well as it's value as a song? I am an english major planning on post-graduate work in literature, so that explains one half... but I still love the song. :shrug:
 
wolfwill23 said:
Since AB, the last song on U2 records has been throw-aways, which I find disappointing. I'm talking songs that have very little chance to be played live and just aren't that good. You've got:

1. The Wanderer on Zooropa
2. Wake Up Dead Man on Pop
3. Grace on ATYCLB
4. Yahweh on Bomb

What happened to great closers like Love is Blindness? And no, Yahweh is nowhere near Love is Blindness. It's really an awful song.
Click to expand...

I thought all of these closers fit the mood of the albums very well. It was a little odd hearing Johnny Cash come on at the end of Zooropa (he's great, but even so), but it did fit the mood. Wake Up Dead Man is very emotional (especially the live Slane version), and while it's not an uplifting way to end Pop, it does fit the style of the album. Now, with Grace, I also think it fits the mood, but I'm also not a big fan of the song. I don't find it very musically interesting or emotional, so I agree with you on this one.

As for Yahweh, I wasn't entirely sure what to think immediately. It wasn't clicking with me during the first few listens, especially the beginning. I just found the song structure a little odd overall. However, after a few listens, my opinion of the song changed entirely. I'm not sure what happened, but I fully love it now, and I consider it one of the best U2 closers (probably only slightly behind Love Is a Blindness). It's great to have a U2 album end on an uplifting note. It's very strong musically, lyrically, and is remains very intriguing the whole way through. So, give it a few listens, and you might end up liking it... it's a grower! :)
 
Love it. Love it. Love it. 'Take this heart, and make it break'. Now there's a line to finish an album on.
 
I'm going to drop in here and say that, for me, Yahweh is one of the best songs they have ever recorded and one of the most appropriate closers for any of their albums. I feel, subjectively, it is sublime with beautiful melodies and ENCREDIBLE harmonies between the band. Objectively I think it is a very fine, unusual, and creative piece of recorded music with an interesting melody, rhythm, and unusual song structure.

It is a hymn. A beautiful rock and roll hymn. Not a ballad, or a rocker. I understand if someone doesn't like it or whatever- you know I don't really get all this pissing we tend to do; all of this "my view is the correct one".

If someone doesn't like a particular song, fine! Can we not acknowledge that some songs will really click with some, but not others? Why does everything have to be black and white, so polarized, and why do our egos always want to convince others that our opinion is the only correct one?
 
LOL! this is funny because i was about to start a thread about how "Yahweh" is the best closer since "AIWIY".
 
yahweh is by far the worst song on the album for me. fortunately everything else sounds way better.

the chorus is dreadfull.

grace isn't any good either, but wake up deadman and the wanderer are some of the best songs u2's ever done.
 
Zoomerang96 said:
yahweh is by far the worst song on the album for me. fortunately everything else sounds way better.

the chorus is dreadfull.

grace isn't any good either, but wake up deadman and the wanderer are some of the best songs u2's ever done.
Click to expand...

my master speaks wisely. :angry:

i agree.
 
can't hate on you for your opinion, wolfwill23. I love Yahweh, its a beautiful song but was the last song to grow on me. I agree with you that the chorus got on my nerves at first too, but now I really like it, especially when Bono sings "why the dark before the dawn?" The best part of this song to me is the second half, from 2:30 on, incredible finish to a great album. Great guitars by Edge, and Bono exhales "oooohh oohhhhh". The last few lines fit so well.
 
The chorus is dreadful?

Um. The chorus is Bono singing God's name. What exactly is so dreadful about that?

I respect your opinion Zoom...but I think you are bordering on disrespect with that statement.

Yahweh is definately in my top 5 on this album, ahead of some others that many are going nuts over.

10/10, just like the album. How fitting! :D :D
 
the wanderer is weak? probably one of my favorite songs on that album. also, u2 has a different philosophy when recording an album than most artists. most bands think that they have to write a #1 single for every song, yet what happens when you spread yourself think like that is that there may not be more than 1 or 2 good tunes. u2 builds songs around emotions and ideas, and discovers what sound would convey those emotions/ideas the best. in this way, their entire albums carry you through their journey. i think their ability as musicians is why they have hit songs ... but if they tried to make every song a single their albums would suffer. that said, every closer on every u2 album encapsulates the feeling they were trying to capture at the time. and if that sound has universal appeal that's great, but their goal is "write a book," not read one to you.
 
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