Very balls-y of them, don't you think?

[Zoots]

Even though Pop is generally considered the most brave and daring attempt yet, sometimes I can't help wondering if it was really Zooropa. Was listening to Lemon today in my car. Man, what a great song! And at least 90% of the time Bono is singing in falsetto... pretty much the whole song he sang in falsetto. Has any other artist ever done something like this? Will the likes of a song like Numb ever be made again? I really think it took a lot of courage and a 'who the fuck cares if it's popular or not' attitude to make that record.



PS: Yes, I'm in a zooropa-esque mood.

 

[xana dew]

I remember my stuck in the mud U2 friends getting ticked off and pissing and moaning about Zooropa. They just wanted Joshua Tree and Rattle and Hum and Achtung Baby over and over again. Thank you U2, for taking the piss out of these knobs. You should have seen their faces! I got a kick out of it...and loved Zooropa all the more for it.

 

[MrBrau1]

Bowie did it before. That's who U2 have modeled themselves after.

 

[BrownEyedBoy]

^ ^

 

[Zoots]

I'm curious about Bowie's 'Low' now. I listen to tons of classic rock but Bowie is one artist I don't know much about.

 

[XHendrix24]

Bowie did it before. That's who U2 have modeled themselves after.

Amen.

There are really three records that give me the same feeling that Zooropa does. Zooropa, of course, Bowie's "Low," and the Talking Heads' "Remain in Light." All brilliant albums in their own right.

Oh, and Zootlesque, you really must check Bowie out. He's fantastic.

 

[MrBrau1]

I'm curious about Bowie's 'Low' now. I listen to tons of classic rock but Bowie is one artist I don't know much about.

Get "Ziggy Stardust and The Spider From Mars."
It's Bowie's Joshua Tree.

Then get Low, it's Bowie's Zooropa.

You'll listen to Ziggy first, then Low, and wonder if it's the same artist. Really cool stuff.

 

[Zoots]

Get "Ziggy Stardust and The Spider From Mars."
It's Bowie's Joshua Tree.

Then get Low, it's Bowie's Zooropa.

You'll listen to Ziggy first, then Low, and wonder if it's the same artist. Really cool stuff.

Yeah, I've heard a lot about ziggy stardust. So you're saying U2 sounding completely different on different albums was nothing new! bummer!

 

[MrBrau1]

Yeah, I've heard a lot about ziggy stardust. So you're saying U2 sounding completely different on different albums was nothing new! bummer!

It still took huge nutz. I remember when AB came out. Everyone loved it. I'd hear it in dorms, frat parties, bars.

Then came Zooropa, apart from Stay, everyone hated it.

 

[Zoots]

It still took huge nutz.

Yeah I know. But I was under the impression that they were the first, and that nobody else had ever sounded that different in their own albums.

 

[LyricalDrug]

Yeah I know. But I was under the impression that they were the first, and that nobody else had ever sounded that different in their own albums.

Ever heard of a little band called the Beatles?

 

[If you shout...]

Zooropa is most definitely the band's most daring album both conceptually and sonically....unless, of course, you count Original Soundtracks 1, although I don't think that we can, since that was The Passengers. One of the things which has shocked me for YEARS is the way that, in hindsight, people respond to both Zooropa and POP.

When POP came out, it was my introduction to being a "contemporary" U2 fan. I'd known of the band and dug on their back catalogue growing up, but I'd been too young to really get into them. When "Discotheque" broke in late-'96, though, things changed forever. Listening to that album, listening to Zooropa and then watching the public and then the critics who'd initially raved about the album turn on it with a bloodthirsty zeal was shocking to me...

I still remember listening to POP and wondering not, "Where are the good songs?" cuz I loved them all; I remember wondering, "Wasn't this supposed to be a techno album? It just sounds like a super-contemporary version of U2, doesn't it?"

Years later (and this is just my interpretation, I guess), the "average" fan doesn't talk too much about either album. Whereas people just don't bother to mention the wildly-radical Zooropa, then seem to HATEHATEHATE POP for not sounding "like U2." Again, that's not at all everybody--people love, hate, and are indifferent to different albums and songs for different reasons. Still, though...I hear a lot more about "the dark years" at concerts and in line for tix having taken place from '96-'98...NEVER in '93.

 

[Zoots]

the "average" fan doesn't talk too much about either album. Whereas people just don't bother to mention the wildly-radical Zooropa, then seem to HATEHATEHATE POP for not sounding "like U2."

So so true! There do seem to be a lot more people who hate Pop because it was such an un-U2 like record. Then what about Zooropa??? It's just, as you said, cleverly avoided in many discussions.

 

[Zoots]

Ever heard of a little band called the Beatles?

How could I forget my other fav band?

Still, the difference between say Mofo & Wild Honey is > difference between I Am The Walrus & Love Me Do. Don't you think?.... I don't know, maybe not. Tough to say.

 

[MrBrau1]

Thank God we have Bowie, The Beatles, and U2.

 

[If you shout...]

Thank God we have Bowie, The Beatles, and U2.

I will gladly second that...although discussion of the other "Big Three" musical chameleons has somehow been elided:

Beck
Talking Heads (though at least Remain in Light came up!)
Radiohead

OBVIOUSLY there are a million others. I'm pretty sure that none of us would say that there are only a few REALLY diverse artists/bands. I think that especially Beck, though, has to go up there on that canonical list; whether you like him or not, the dude is CRAZILY inventive. Who else, I ask you, has melded Woodie Guthrie and Prince together into some sort of folk-songwriting, sex machine...?



NOBODY!

 

[blueeyedgirl]

Interesting someone's brought up Bowie. Bono and Bowie would have to be 2 of the most charismatic singers in rock ever, apart from a little known Southern lad called Elvis.

The difference between the two I think is that while are both brilliant songwriters, Bowie always seemed to INHABIT his characters. Watching any of his videos, Heroes, DJ, Boy, Ziggy, was a bit scary cos you felt he really "was" who he sang.

With Bono, while he might have been the Fly, you knew he was just a dumpy shortarsed North Dubliner with a wife and a few kids!!!!

 

[blueeyedgirl]

Oooh, while I'm here. Could we please not use the term "Classic Rock"? I know it's one of those made up terms to identify demographics in US radio. It just sounds like we're talking about Phil Colliins and Huey Lewis and the News!

 

[Miggy D]

I Heart Zooropa.

 

[miss becky]

So so true! There do seem to be a lot more people who hate Pop because it was such an un-U2 like record. Then what about Zooropa??? It's just, as you said, cleverly avoided in many discussions.

Probably because Zooropa gets swept up in the wake of the whole Achtung Baby/Zoo TV success story. Whereas people perceive Pop/Popmart as a failure (for various reasons which I won't get into).

Personally I love Zooropa. I love the daring. What other band would have a song like Numb followed by a song like Lemon? Or close their album with a song sung by Johnny Cash and a freaking air-raid siren? As you said in your original post, U2 deserves major props for being so ballsy.

 

[ZeroDude]

Thank God we have Bowie, The Beatles, and U2.

Amen

 

[bsp77]

Probably because Zooropa gets swept up in the wake of the whole Achtung Baby/Zoo TV success story. Whereas people perceive Pop/Popmart as a failure (for various reasons which I won't get into).

Personally I love Zooropa. I love the daring. What other band would have a song like Numb followed by a song like Lemon? Or close their album with a song sung by Johnny Cash and a freaking air-raid siren? As you said in your original post, U2 deserves major props for being so ballsy.

Though they are no longer ballsy. Sorry, know I probably shouldn't bring this up but it is true. Don't get me wrong, I love HTDAAB.

 

[Numb1075]

Zooropa is definitley BALLsy. So is Pop, but Zooropa takes the "insanity" to a different level.

Pop had techo (i hate that term by the way when speaking of Pop, but that's what's it's preceived as). But it also had radio friendly songs following the basic standard song structure - verse, chorus, verse, chorus bridge, chorus etc.....Those would be Gone, Last Night on Earth, Staring at the Sun, and to a lesser extent Do You Feel Loved.

But on Zooropa, Wow, where do you begin?

Zooropa - song clocks in at 6+ minutes with long a$$ intro, very slick sounding, and lyrics in forgeign languages (commercial slogans). Many wondered, "Have U2 lost their collective minds?"

Babyface - so light and airy almost to a fault.

Numb - Hey let's make our first single off this album spoken word and then Edge can mumble it. Make people question if it's really U2, the same guys who brought us Sunday Bloody Sunday.

Lemon - Need I say more - Outrageous tune.

Stay - possibly the only song sounding kind of like U2.

Daddy...Crashed Car - WTF is this Russian military sound in the intro?

Some Days...what the heck is he babbling about?

The First Time - ok, a religious hym - this is U2-ey

Dirty Day - Doesn't follow the basic song format - after the 2nd verse, they don't go into the chorus and Bono does a bridge type thing, and then goes into the 3rd Verse - Did they forget they had a chorus??

The Wanderer - Ok, now that Edge sang a song, let's have someone else sing...Hey let's get Johnny Cash to do it. WTF?

I Friggin Love Zooropa.

 

[bsp77]

Zooropa is definitley BALLsy. So is Pop, but Zooropa takes the "insanity" to a different level.

Pop had techo (i hate that term by the way when speaking of Pop, but that's what's it's preceived as). But it also had radio friendly songs following the basic standard song structure - verse, chorus, verse, chorus bridge, chorus etc.....Those would be Gone, Last Night on Earth, Staring at the Sun, and to a lesser extent Do You Feel Loved.

But on Zooropa, Wow, where do you begin?

Zooropa - song clocks in at 6+ minutes with long a$$ intro, very slick sounding, and lyrics in forgeign languages (commercial slogans). Many wondered, "Have U2 lost their collective minds?"

Babyface - so light and airy almost to a fault.

Numb - Hey let's make our first single off this album spoken word and then Edge can mumble it. Make people question if it's really U2, the same guys who brought us Sunday Bloody Sunday.

Lemon - Need I say more - Outrageous tune.

Stay - possibly the only song sounding kind of like U2.

Daddy...Crashed Car - WTF is this Russian military sound in the intro?

Some Days...what the heck is he babbling about?

The First Time - ok, a religious hym - this is U2-ey

Dirty Day - Doesn't follow the basic song format - after the 2nd verse, they don't go into the chorus and Bono does a bridge type thing, and then goes into the 3rd Verse - Did they forget they had a chorus??

The Wanderer - Ok, now that Edge sang a song, let's have someone else sing...Hey let's get Johnny Cash to do it. WTF?

I Friggin Love Zooropa.

 

[Hoodlem]

I remember an review of zooropa back when it came out and the reviewer said something like...(papaphrase)"A resonably informed friend of mine listened to the first half of the CD before he could guess what band it was...what other well established, mainstream act could so radically change there sound so as to be unrecognizable..."

I just remember thinking how freaking cool and gutsy they were. I had just got on the U2 train with Achtung Baby and so I was completely fascinated by thier transformation in the 90's.

 

[Judah]

How could I forget my other fav band?

Still, the difference between say Mofo & Wild Honey is > difference between I Am The Walrus & Love Me Do. Don't you think?.... I don't know, maybe not. Tough to say.

Yeah, the Beatles went from the simplicity of "Love Me Do" to the fuck-me-into-another-dimension of "Tomorrow Never Knows" in about three years.

A huge transformation not many come close to making in the history of rock. But everything the Beatles did took place in the span of about 7 years...very very compressed timeline.

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

pretty much the whole song he sang in falsetto. Has any other artist ever done something like this?

yes. the first person who comes to mind for singing in falsetto is prince. most of his hit "kiss" was sung in falsetto, and that came out years before zooropa.

 

[Judah]

yes. the first person who comes to mind for singing in falsetto is prince. most of his hit "kiss" was sung in falsetto, and that came out years before zooropa.

Also, Mick did "Emotional Rescue" (mostly falsetto) back in 1980.

 

[Zoots]

Oooh, while I'm here. Could we please not use the term "Classic Rock"? I know it's one of those made up terms to identify demographics in US radio. It just sounds like we're talking about Phil Colliins and Huey Lewis and the News!

When somebody says the words 'classic rock', I immediately think of The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Doors, The Who, U2, REM, Eagles and the like... not Phil Collins (unless it's Genesis). Besides, I don't mind Phil Collins.

 

[Zoots]

Zooropa is definitley BALLsy. So is Pop, but Zooropa takes the "insanity" to a different level.

Pop had techo (i hate that term by the way when speaking of Pop, but that's what's it's preceived as). But it also had radio friendly songs following the basic standard song structure - verse, chorus, verse, chorus bridge, chorus etc.....Those would be Gone, Last Night on Earth, Staring at the Sun, and to a lesser extent Do You Feel Loved.

But on Zooropa, Wow, where do you begin?

Zooropa - song clocks in at 6+ minutes with long a$$ intro, very slick sounding, and lyrics in forgeign languages (commercial slogans). Many wondered, "Have U2 lost their collective minds?"

Babyface - so light and airy almost to a fault.

Numb - Hey let's make our first single off this album spoken word and then Edge can mumble it. Make people question if it's really U2, the same guys who brought us Sunday Bloody Sunday.

Lemon - Need I say more - Outrageous tune.

Stay - possibly the only song sounding kind of like U2.

Daddy...Crashed Car - WTF is this Russian military sound in the intro?

Some Days...what the heck is he babbling about?

The First Time - ok, a religious hym - this is U2-ey

Dirty Day - Doesn't follow the basic song format - after the 2nd verse, they don't go into the chorus and Bono does a bridge type thing, and then goes into the 3rd Verse - Did they forget they had a chorus??

The Wanderer - Ok, now that Edge sang a song, let's have someone else sing...Hey let's get Johnny Cash to do it. WTF?

I Friggin Love Zooropa.

Awesome post!

...what the heck is he babbling about?