The true classic of ATYCLB

[Michael Griffiths]

'In A Little While'

Everytime it comes on when I'm around other people, everyone says they love it. It's the song they all want to turn up, the song that grabs their attention. Yes, 'Beautiful Day' may be the commercial hit off the album, and yes, I may prefer 'Kite' on a personal level, as many U2 fans prefer other songs off ATYCLB. But I can't help but feel that in 20 years time, it will be 'In A Little While' that will be remembered as the classic song off ATYCLB. The vibe, the effortless sounding melody, the perfect, one-off-sounding vocal take - sounding like organized chaos in just the right amount after a party, and saying hello to the sunshine....this song just grabs and hooks and melts into the soul...and from what I can tell, the collective consciousness. This is the song that will be remembered on an emotional level by the masses and, as such, is the true classic off ATYCLB IMO.

Thoughts?

 

[LemonMelon]

Very, very nice song. Always been fond of it. Not sure if I would call it a classic, but it has a great melody, doesn't it?

 

[topplehatU2]

Definitely my favorite off the album, and one of my favorite U2 songs. It's so soothing and relaxing, and I have yet to skip it. Fairly simple song too, but effective.

 

[Zoots]

Love the melody and the smooth flow of the whole song but I wish more effort had been put into the lyrics! Other than the nice middle 8, the other lyrics are pretty ordinary I think.

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

Love the song. And, yes, I agree that when other people hear it...casual fans that I know...they dig it and tell me it's one of their favorites.

The ladies like this song.

 

[popacrobat]

I disagree that it will be the classic of that album. I feel that Kite, Walk on or Beautiful Day will receive that notion. I say that as if I had to pick one song off ATYCLB to remember in 20 years time. I do agree with your overall assessment though, that the song is excellent. I think this whole album is excellent though, contrary to interference belief. It seems pretty organic.

 

[vaz02]

Peace on Earth and In a Little While are the true gems on the album.

Easily u2's 3rd masterpeice.

 

[thelaj]

I don't care for the song, and in fact rate it below only "Wild Honey" on that album.

 

[phillyfan26]

Beautiful Day, Walk On, Kite, and In a Little While are the four worthwhile studio takes from ATYCLB.

 

[Screwtape2]

In A Little While is cheesy and terrible. The only good song on ATYCLB is When I Look At The World. Even that isn't a classic.

 

[LemonMelon]

The only good song on ATYCLB is When I Look At The World.

Yeah, Beautiful Day and Kite are total shit. Everyone hates those.

 

[Screwtape2]

Yeah, Beautiful Day and Kite are total shit. Everyone hates those.

Beautiful Day is so damn cliche and filler at best. Kite is ruined by bad orchestration and some crap lyrics. Really overrated in my opinion.

 

[last unicorn]

This is one of my all time favourite albums and In a little while is my favourite song on this album, - besides Kite, that has grown much more on me after they played it live again on the last Vertigo leg. IALW is possibly one of my favourite U2 songs in general. I fell in love with this song the first time I heard it. Basically, everything just fits together: the voice, the singing, the mood, the guitar, the melody. I just totally like this hangover/late night/early morning feeling, it's playful, yet a little dreamy. The Middle 8 is great. I wish they'd play it more often now in full length, although some of the "snippets" on the Vertigo tour were almost full-length.

 

[phillyfan26]

Beautiful Day is so damn cliche and filler at best. Kite is ruined by bad orchestration and some crap lyrics. Really overrated in my opinion.

I love when people argue that popularity ruins a song. "It's such a cliche choice to pick Beautiful Day!"

Kite is overproduced for the first minute or so, but is positively awesome after that.

 

[popacrobat]

Beautiful Day is so damn cliche and filler at best. Kite is ruined by bad orchestration and some crap lyrics. Really overrated in my opinion.

Beautiful Day is anything but filler. It's the perfect pop/rock song combination and I don't think we'll ever see a song like that. Kite is a masterpiece of a song accentuated by the awesome Vertigo tour versions which I wish the rest of the world and not just the pacific were able to see.

 

[Screwtape2]

I love when people argue that popularity ruins a song. "It's such a cliche choice to pick Beautiful Day!"

Kite is overproduced for the first minute or so, but is positively awesome after that.

I never said anything about popularity. Don't put words in my mouth. It is cliche because it is meant to be a really happy, poppy hit. A small child could come up with a better song than that lyrically.

No the whole of Kite sounds terrible. Even live it is pretty bad (at least on Elevation, I can't remember what it sounded like on Vertigo.)

 

[phillyfan26]

I never said anything about popularity. Don't put words in my mouth. It is cliche because it is meant to be a really happy, poppy hit. A small child could come up with a better song than that lyrically.

No the whole of Kite sounds terrible. Even live it is pretty bad (at least on Elevation, I can't remember what it sounded like on Vertigo.)

Chill out, dude. I thought you meant popularity when you said cliche (you have this thing with popular songs). It was just a misunderstanding.

And I totally disagree about the lyrics. Only the chorus has somewhat weak lyrics, and that's not really a big deal. I'd like to see a small child come up with some of those verse lyrics. I'd be terribly impressed.

Also, the whole of Kite is great once Edge's lead guitar comes in. On Vertigo it was fucking transcendent with the outro solo he created.

 

[Screwtape2]

Beautiful Day is anything but filler. It's the perfect pop/rock song combination and I don't think we'll ever see a song like that. Kite is a masterpiece of a song accentuated by the awesome Vertigo tour versions which I wish the rest of the world and not just the pacific were able to see.

Beautiful Day is a song that should never have seen the light of day. It is the sound of a band betraying who they are.

I can't remember what the Vertigo versions of Kite sounded like. Maybe it finally worked on those dates.

 

[popacrobat]

I never said anything about popularity. Don't put words in my mouth. It is cliche because it is meant to be a really happy, poppy hit. A small child could come up with a better song than that lyrically.

No the whole of Kite sounds terrible. Even live it is pretty bad (at least on Elevation, I can't remember what it sounded like on Vertigo.)

I would honestly like to see you come up with a better lyrical way to present the feeling of spontaneous happiness out of darkness since a small child could do so.

 

[popacrobat]

Beautiful Day is a song that should never have seen the light of day. It is the sound of a band betraying who they are.

I can't remember what the Vertigo versions of Kite sounded like. Maybe it finally worked on those dates.

Who are U2 then? The song was a massive hit and a very small minority seem to dislike it. Even the 2000's U2 detractors seem to be OK with it for the most part that I can see around here. Just curious as to who you think U2 is.

 

[LemonMelon]

Don't put words in my mouth. It is cliche because it is meant to be a really happy, poppy hit.

Well, it's actually about finding happiness is the mundane misery of life, but OK.

 

[LemonMelon]

Who are U2 then? The song was a massive hit and a very small minority seem to dislike it. Even the 2000's U2 detractors seem to be OK with it for the most part that I can see around here. Just curious as to who you think U2 is.

Screwy would think it's the greatest thing since the soundscape if Kate Bush were singing it.

 

[Screwtape2]

I would honestly like to see you come up with a better lyrical way to present the feeling of spontaneous happiness out of darkness since a small child could do so.

Honestly any child who suddenly realized I am a terribly rich bastard could write Beautiful Day. That's all I take from the song. I'm not a terribly rich bastard so I couldn't exactly replicate the song.

 

[Screwtape2]

Who are U2 then? The song was a massive hit and a very small minority seem to dislike it. Even the 2000's U2 detractors seem to be OK with it for the most part that I can see around here. Just curious as to who you think U2 is.

They were against wallpaper music and then became wallpaper music.

 

[Screwtape2]

Screwy would think it's the greatest thing since the soundscape if Kate Bush were singing it.

Actually they are called Rubberband Girl and Eat The Music. None of which I am fond of.

 

[last unicorn]

How could one NOT remember the awsome version of Kite that was played on the Vertigo tour? No, it does not sound terrible. It is beautiful and brings out a sadness, yet hope. I love these lyrics, they just hit home for me, there is nothing wrong with them. Kite on Elevation Tour was all about Bono's father. If you've been in a situation like this, these lyrics really say it all.

 

[phillyfan26]

Vertigo replaced the piss-poor strings at the beginning with Bono playing acoustic guitar and the really cool didgeroo. Both made the intro sound much better.

 

[Screwtape2]

Okay so I watched Kite from the Australian Vertigo shows. Really beautiful. I like the more stripped down approach to the song. The outro is beautiful though I still cringe about the lyrics at the end.

 

[BVS]

It is cliche because it is meant to be a really happy, poppy hit.

I think some people don't quite understand the definition of 'cliche', I see it misused all the time in here.

'Happy, poppy hit' does not equal cliche.

 

[LemonMelon]

I think some people don't quite understand the definition of 'cliche', I see it misused all the time in here.

'Happy, poppy hit' does not equal cliche.

Exactly. Plus, I wouldn't even consider it all that happy. It's pretty depressing if you examine the song closely.