What are people's thoughts on the next two U2 music videos?

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that follows U2.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

Flying FuManchu

New Yorker
Joined
Oct 13, 2000
Messages
3,185
Location
Used to live in Chambana. For now the Mid-South.
ABOY and Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own are the songs that will get video treatments. IMO Vertigo was on the right track for a good U2 music video. Great intro video IMO. Visually stunning, memorable, and somewhat related to the song to boot.

However, I thought Beautiful Day was a great intro video as well and they followed it up with three of the worst U2 videos ever (Walk On - the one with the people changing into different people and the band playing in a cellar/ basement?!?!, Khan's Stuck in a Moment football video, and Khan's other crappy followup, Elevation).

Are the band going to repeat history and fall back into mediocre videos? Phil Joanau is directing "Sometimes" from what I understand and I love IGWSHA video which was directed by him. However, ABOY looks like performance video in the style of Streets :( .

I'm hoping for the best though...
 
Sometimes will probably be quite artistic ala the One videos i hope.
 
Wasn't "Last Night On Earth" supposed to be "artistic?" That was one of the worst videos ever. Don't mind artistry but would prefer a straight up performance video if an artsy video produces trash like Last Night... Though Last Night on Earth probably was meant to be trashy...
 
Exactly my thoughts about LNOE, but we'll see what Joneau takes it for the start this video maybe crappy to be empathetic with Bono's feelings about the death of his Da although I think that would be misunderstood by the public at a whole ya get me.........
 
@ Flying Fumanchu I agree with you all the way.
I'm not the biggest fan of Phil Joanou's work (I think the One_bar version_ is terrible, the Wild Horses is lazy and uninspiring, and let's forget the stuff he did for Mariah Carey and Bon Jovi...). That said, I thought he was on the right track with his video for If God Will send his Angels - nice concept and very well executed.

So when U2 started working with Alex&Martin I was very surprised (in a good way) as the folks at Partizan rank amongst the most original and fresh people in the industry (Michel Gondry is one of their directors). I hoped U2 was finally set for some very good videos again, as in the Pop days (e.g. corbijn's please vid or the last night on earth video)

Well, now that Joanou is going to do both because of you and sometimes, I must say I'm a bit dissapointed. Especially on the setting this performance video of sometimes takes place... In the best event it could be like Romanek's iTunes/Vertigo video, but I'm afraid it could well end up being as every bit over the top and cheesy as Michael Jackson's "you are not alone" (oi!)

well, let's hope I've been too pessimistic...
 
Flying FuManchu said:
Wasn't "Last Night On Earth" supposed to be "artistic?" That was one of the worst videos ever. Don't mind artistry but would prefer a straight up performance video if an artsy video produces trash like Last Night... Though Last Night on Earth probably was meant to be trashy...

haha! ok, so we don't agree all the way, necessarily...
My take on the Last Night on Earth video is that whole literal aspect to the vibe the songs has and the days of Pop and Popmart were. Completely in line with the Burroughs books (who fittedly cameos in the video) as well as Sophie Dahl (then considered to be a very unusual model). I've liked it from the moment I saw it, and so did (non U2 fans) I saw it with at the time...
 
I hope they take the arty approach after some more populist caper, myself, ooh I like the way I worded that.:wink:
 
IMO the whole grainy video for LNOE, the music video plot, the characters , etc... they all served a purpose and probably wasn't U2 or the director "slumming" as I felt the first time I saw it (but you can never know :shrug: ) but IMO the execution was terrible and IMO a good music video has to have some definable hook visually (be it the band playing the song or some interesting visual concept) or something that hooks you along into the story. I didn't feel like that happened. Again it's been a long time since I've seen it but I just remember I felt like I was just watching U2 in some horrible home movie.

I actually liked Corbjin's Please video but it could have easily strayed into being lame.

I can't remember Joanau's other videos as well as I remember IGWSHA. This means they never left that big of an impression (outside of IGWSHA) on me, which is what I'm afraid of for his upcoming videos.
 
Last edited:
I loved the BD and the European Stuck video, Elevation was ok, the one that could have been better was the postcard from Rio aka Walk on in Europe, and I guess Khan Stuck was always done in mind with the second Best of, with all the U2 references. Could have been better too, then again we got the Godley version so I won't complain about Stuck.
(wish I'd see the US version of Walk on)

That said, IMO, Last night on earth (weird video without any real story) and If God will send his angels (sitting in a bus. whopee) are some of their worst videos ever.

ABOY should be a cool performance live video, hopefully with lots of energy. U2 are good at performance videos. Streets, Beautiful day, The fly, SATS (with effects), Vertigo (effects)...

Sometimes could be something really special, and I think Phil Joanou did some fantastic videos (Mysterious ways, WOWY - right?, bar One video, didn't he also do Staring at the sun?...).
 
Last edited:
I love the Mysterious Ways video although EBTTRT is a hell of alot better with THE MATRIX BEING INVENTED AND ALL, so im biased in that way...:wink:
 
U2girl said:
...
That said, IMO, Last night on earth (weird video without any real story) and If God will send his angels (sitting in a bus. whopee) are some of their worst videos ever.

<snip>

Sometimes could be something really special, and I think Phil Joanou did some fantastic videos (Mysterious ways, WOWY - right?, bar One video, didn't he also do Staring at the sun?...).

...Send his Angels is done in diner, which might explain the visual hook Flying FuManchu was talking about earlier. They cranked the camera to have the band lipsync to an almost unreal level and worked with synchronous shot looking both ways in the booth there sitting. The great thing is you can watch this video because a lot of things are happening at the same time, lots of little story lines...

Mysterious Ways was Stephane Sednaoui, same as Discotheque (look out for his DVD in the Palm Pictures series of Directors dvds due later next year). The very nice styled Staring at the Sun video was done by one-off Jake Scott. With or without you was Meiert Avis (sp?).
[/smart ass mode] :wink:
 
Ahhh right, Stephane Sednaoui-another good director for U2. Never the less, those are good videos. :D

But, Joanou did direct U2 before didn't he? In the 80's, too?
(I just saw he shot ABOY in New York too)
 
Ill wait till I see the videos to make a comment on them.

Joneau directed Rattle and Hum U2girl.
 
Ahh don't bash Send His Angels' video, I loved that, with the dual conversation, one-take aspect of it.
 
i've loved all of the music videos since the start of the 90's minus wgrywh, numb, lemon, and the remixes
 
U2girl said:

That said, IMO, Last night on earth (weird video without any real story) and If God will send his angels (sitting in a bus. whopee) are some of their worst videos ever.

wow.
 
Seems like they call in Joanou for those quick, not very elaborate videos that they have to squeeze some time in for (except for the One in the bar...think that was done over two nights). I think he's done a good job with them for the most part (considering that Angel and Horses are not among the most exciting tunes for me), best looking Bono ever in the One in a bar vid...:drool:
 
Corbijn and Godley are the two best U2 video directors, IMO.

On a possible good note, Joanau directed Rattle and Hum which has some stunning "performances" in it. I wonder if it will be in Black and White? It's possible, I guess.

I liked the IGWSHA video, I actually thought it was better than the song, actually.

Corbijn will probably be brought back for Miracle Drug, if it's released. Hopefully Godley will get a crack at Original Of The Species.

Anyhow, that's my safest guess at the 5 singles/videos/directors.

For the love of God, NO JOSEPH KAHN!!!!!> Elevation, worst U2 video ever and that is saying something.
 
Zoomerang96 said:

Like I said, IMO. I don't see why out of several who were displeased with LNOE in this thread, you singled me out.

U2 is great at performance videos, and good at artsy/story videos when they do it right. (like Wenders' video for Stay or
European version of Stuck)
And they usually do quite well with effects videos (MW, Staring at the sun, Even better..., Lemon).

If god will send his angels ... :shrug: Bono sitting throughout in a diner doesn't do much for me, plus it's annoying to watch it as its split in 4 sections on the screen.

Last night on earth though ... I don't know what they were trying to do but it didn't work. :confused:


I say bring back Godley and Sednaoui.

Corbijn is good as well, though Electrical storm is a bit sub-par for him, I thought.
 
Last edited:
Godley videos:
Lemon
Even Better Than The Real Thing (I think it's the best U2 vid)
Numb
HMTMKMKM
The Sweetest Thing
Stuck In a Moment (the good one)
UTEOTW

and he was one of the masterminds of Zoo TV.
I actually really liked his Godley and Creme video for Cry, while it was very creepy, it was cool. :)
 
Phil Joanou:

U2 If God Will Send His Angels (version 1: original)
U2 One (version 1: Bar version)
U2 Rattle And Hum
U2 When Love Comes To Town
U2 Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses

his One video was pretty cool, not as good as Anton's, but good.
 
Sednaoui:

Mysteriuos ways
Discotheque

I don't know, the bar version of One is one of my all-time favorite U2 videos.
 
Okay the one that everyone saw with Bono as Macphisto and the text 'sing-a-long' ath the bottom of the screen was GOdley, this is the only one I have seen.

The other is labeled as "incomplete" and was directed by Mark Neale. I don't believe I've ever seen it.

The Godley video was certainly the only one shown in America.
 
Back
Top Bottom