Mercy videos

[dr. zooeuss]

I think U2 standards are electrical compliance standards these days; you know, does one need an adaptor for the U2 Toaster in Matte Black by Sharper Image when one takes it to Europe on vacation.

 

[Zoots]

u2 products.

 

[dr. zooeuss]

u2 products.

"... and the thread is officially derailed."

lmao.

 

[diamond]

I liked the first video.
The person that put it together was a good person.

dbs

 

[gvox]

Would I be right in saying am one of the VERY few that rate this among U2's weakest ever songs? Its the musical equivalent of a dog chasing its tail!

I think it's weak because of the stark literalism of the lyrics and the imagery. It's not U2-subtle/refined/ambigous.

From the first chorus tho I think it improves and I really like it.

I hope they do finish it and ditch/change alot of the first verse. don't think it will happen though, way too much FEEL goin on which HTAAB fleshed out completely...but...

 

[dr. zooeuss]

I think it's weak because of the stark literalism of the lyrics and the imagery. It's not U2-subtle/refined/ambigous.

From the first chorus tho I think it improves and I really like it.

I hope they do finish it and ditch/change alot of the first verse. don't think it will happen though, way too much FEEL goin on which HTAAB fleshed out completely...but...

very interesting point. can't disagree with it.

Hey Gabriel- how are things? I'm not a full member so I can't send you a pm, but do you remember talking to a guy in Austin (and this Ultraviolet video, see the first comment)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKK5YfkEimQ

cheers-

 

[gvox]

Of course! I was actually digging around for his number, I'm a bit of a scatterbrain with people's contact info sometimes...especially if it's written on a piece of paper..

Is that you? shoot me an email if so? gabrielvox@cogeco.ca

btw my comments were about the lyrics, not your video...sorry to have gone off topic..

 

[dr. zooeuss]

btw my comments were about the lyrics, not your video...sorry to have gone off topic..

Great! Wrote you just now-

and I completely understand- that's actually the most articulate critique of Mercy I've heard.

and even if you were criticizing my video, or going off topic, no need to apologize.

 

[dr. zooeuss]

I liked the first video.
The person that put it together was a good person.

dbs

care to elaborate?

 

[gvox]

awesome! Wim Wenders directed didn't he? That video made me want to see the film the song was named for... and when i did... quite the letdown.

i wish the film had followed the storylines that are sketched out in the video.

i've never thought of U2 as having weak videos, but when i think of all that's out there, i can see what you mean... the 90s definitely had their most interesting video work.

i really enjoy the animation of "OOTS" and "Yahweh" but i think i'm in the minority there.

Just noticed these comments!

Million Dollar: I'm sorry Bono, and I'll likely burn in U2 hell or something, but it was better as Stay. The only thing that kept going thru my mind when watching the film was "God when will it end" and alternately "God who edited this crap?"

You are definitely not alone on OOTS and Yahweh, I think those are great videos, they absolutely mesmerize me to be honest.

 

[dr. zooeuss]

Just noticed these comments!

Million Dollar: I'm sorry Bono, and I'll likely burn in U2 hell or something, but it was better as Stay. The only thing that kept going thru my mind when watching the film was "God when will it end" and alternately "God who edited this crap?"

You are definitely not alone on OOTS and Yahweh, I think those are great videos, they absolutely mesmerize me to be honest.

I'll probably burn too- haven't seen Million Dollar Hotel- I was referring the the Wim Wenders' film "Stay (Faraway, So Close!)" ... did Wenders do MDH as well?

Glad to hear you like those two vids OOTS & Yahweh

 

[gvox]

Oh fuck you're right, Im tired....talking about The First Time (and for that matter the Ground Beneath Her Feet), you're talking about Stay.

 

[Canadiens1131]

I think it's weak because of the stark literalism of the lyrics and the imagery. It's not U2-subtle/refined/ambigous.

You mean like how they're staring at bright lights in the Staring at the Sun video, how everyone is on their knees in the Please video, and how we are treated to whales and shit jumping out of the water of a giant CGI planet earth during the refrain to Beautiful Day?

 

[dr. zooeuss]

You mean like how they're staring at bright lights in the Staring at the Sun video, how everyone is on their knees in the Please video, and how we are treated to whales and shit jumping out of the water of a giant CGI planet earth during the refrain to Beautiful Day?

you're talking videos- he was talking lyrics.

 

[Canadiens1131]

Doh

 

[gvox]

Heh

Actually it's kind of related, I didn't elaborate enough I guess but I can't really fault the person who made that second video, I think if you gave those lyrics to 100 people and said interpret using video clips, they'd likely come up with something pretty damn close to what that person did, and I think that's the fault of the lyrics more than anything..

On the other hand, can I say the same (Notwithstanding what U2 ended up doing for said videos) about Staring at the Sun? Beautiful Day? Streets? Bad? I dunno...I think the interpretations of those songs by the same set of persons would be more wide ranging

Maybe that's the "problem" if you can call it that with the newer material...I mean Fast Cars is kindof like that too...

 

[Canadiens1131]

Good point about Fast Cars. I dunno, I just find referencing stuff directly (news networks) really just kills a song lyrically for a band who used to write stuff the way U2 did.

In contrast, songs they've done like Hands have been very eloquent with current events without the lyrics being clunky and literal.

 

[last unicorn]

Wow, somehow I knew the posting of these Mercy links would lead to some kind of discussion.

I just want to add that Mercy has grown so much on me, I love the way the song is built, it's kinda climaxing towards the end, I like the guitar, the vocals, yes, the lyrics ... they are so cryptical and I really really thought a lot about these lyrics, and whenever I think about them they seem to mean something different. The song has something dramatic about it, but not in a dark way, mor in a consoling, hopeful was. I love it. I hope they "finish" the song one day without destroying it and it will finally be released.

As for the video, I don't care that much about videos made by random people. The one where you can simply read the lyrics is just boring.

 

[gvox]

I think any optimism about the song being 'finished' is misplaced really. It is finished, it's not like its a 'beach clip' or something off the berlin sessions CDs. This is an alternate track, and they 'released' it already, the way they wanted to - they dont just let stuff fly out of the studio, there is a fair amount of planning and thought put into what gets out there for consumption be it alternate tracks, b-sides, whatever. Its excellent marketing because they are for the most part songs that would stand little chance of charting, yet your loyal fan base likes to feel part of the mystique of b-sides, alternates, hidden tracks, easter eggs, etc..and is more forgiving(?) and will scoop them and hype them behind the scenes for you. Then you have the ability to release two versions of your Best ofs. Kindof like Bass Trap, Walk to the Water, (which I really like) etc...you'll see it on a b-side compilation, but I think for the most part, it's done.

 

[jacobus]

gman wrote: Would I be right in saying am one of the VERY few that rate this among U2's weakest ever songs? Its the musical equivalent of a dog chasing its tail!

hey gman, i really like your statement. the song MERCY imo is totally crap. the music is boring and the lyrics are a culmination full of pretty vacant phrases... another lukewarm song of U2s post POP era.

the videos are boring too... sorry

 

[last unicorn]

Get used to it. I'd say it's the way Bono's songwriting is going from here. I feel that Mercy is the first indication of the new direction U2 are taking. WITS is also a sign of that, but IMO much weaker than Mercy. Mercy is leaving quite an impact for me, emotionally. I really like its epic structure.

 

[diamond]

care to elaborate?

Yes.
It seems the person went to great lengths showing various artistical works, fan interactions w/Bono and great shots of different arenas with tens of thousands of different fans.

It looked like a labor of love and goodwill put together by a genuine fan, with the best of intentions.

dbs

 

[dr. zooeuss]

Yes.
It seems the person went to great lengths showing various artistical works, fan interactions w/Bono and great shots of different arenas with tens of thousands of different fans.

It looked like a labor of love and goodwill put together by a genuine fan, with the best of intentions.

dbs

grazie

 

[Mark Freedman]

I think Mercy is an incredible song, and I hope it is the direction they're going. I'll be glad if the official release is even longer. Make it a real epic.

 

[evillaurd]

Because I don't like the song, I can only bring myself to watch the first video, but it was good. I thought the culmination of photographs were used well and it's obvious a lot of effort was put into it.

As for the song itself, I really don't like it. I think Mercy should be a template rather than an album track. The music is good. Edge's guitar-playing is top notch and elevates the song, to an extent. But what keeps it from 'defying gravity' - as Bono puts it - are the lyrics. I just can't like a song that's made predominantly of metaphors and similes, many of which lack heavily in substance, and that ends in a mumble, like a dog leaving with its tail between its legs. Granted, the song may hold an emotional attachment for Bono, but it lacks impact and doesn't go anywhere. If that's what they're aiming for with this next album, then I'm guessing it'll sound like a less daring version of Zooropa - with the band literally 'getting lost in the music' and having the music overwhelm them - the effect being that any attempt at creativity is squandered by an inability to keep control of the music being made. Again, Mercy works as a template, not an album track.

That's my opinion, take it as you will.

 

[lazarus]

I find it odd that the lyrics are being pointed to as the weakness of this track, when apparently they meant enough to Bono to put them in the special edition book of HTDAAB.

Personally, I think the section of "we're binary code/a one and a zero/you wanted violins/and you got Nero" is the best thing he's written so far this decade. Just because it's one of his "list" songs doesn't mean there isn't some weight there. You think the metaphors are lightweight, but how can you truly say so without knowing the man's mind. Some of the best art and lyric writing is the stuff that makes you think for a while. I can't say that about the band's recent output except for a few songs, this being one of them.

Also, I don't know how you can accuse them of getting lost in the music to the point of diffusion and not say the same thing about the studio recordings of not only Elvis Presley & America (a common complaint) but Bad as well. Personally I think Mercy builds more along the lines of Bad's live version, which has a payoff to the build. A song can wander without meandering.

Aren't you tired of the poppy verse chorus verse structure? I don't know how anyone can hear this and not find it refreshing, regardless of how much you like the last two albums.

While the band appears to be exploring even newer directions with the Morrocco sessions, I don't know that we've heard the last of this song. Why would Bono call it "the best b side" and then let it escape into the ether? Yeah, he may know the song as leaked, but if he thinks it's so great he'd rather have millions of fans hearing it than, what, 10 or 20 thousand? It has to still be one of the least-heard U2 song in existence.

 

[Mark Freedman]

I read that they confirmed that Mercy would be on the next album. It was mentioned in the new album rumors section of this site. So I don't think they're killing it at all.

 

[dr. zooeuss]

While the band appears to be exploring even newer directions with the Morrocco sessions, I don't know that we've heard the last of this song. Why would Bono call it "the best b side" and then let it escape into the ether? Yeah, he may know the song as leaked, but if he thinks it's so great he'd rather have millions of fans hearing it than, what, 10 or 20 thousand? It has to still be one of the least-heard U2 song in existence.

Good points, but even so, it would be a first for them to continue working on a song that's been released as a b-side, wouldn't it?

I can't think of any other time they've done it- can anyone else??

 

[Mark Freedman]

It actually had not been released as a b-side. Bono talked about it, but it never happened. It was only leaked, and Bono has no idea how that happened. Maybe from the enthusiastic feedback of the leak, they decided to rework it in preparation for a full album release.

 

[dr. zooeuss]

Wow, i had to look into that but you're right- all this time i'd been thinking it was on "the complete u2" - it will be interesting to see what happens to it...