Zooropa...strange, wierd, different, but alright

[GibsonGirl]

I've got an unopened copy of Zooropa sitting in a drawer somewhere, just in case something happens to my existing copy.

 

[LMP]

A lot of Achtung Baby, to state the obvious, isn't just about being on the receiving end of heartbreak, but dishing it out. The temptation, the action, the reaction, to be the betrayer, not just the betrayed. "You know the sun can sometimes be eclipsed by the moon, you know I don't see you when she walks in the room". Mysterious Ways, Even Better than the Real Thing, Tryin' to Throw your Arms... Temptation, sex, betrayal. Mostly temptation though, and I think that spun itself into reality through the Zoo tour. Maybe not in some awful way, but certainly in that some of the band members were happy to let themselves go, dance very close to whatever line they previously would have stayed far away from. I think that's definitely the place where Zooropa, and the above lyric, is coming from. If you haven't read "U2 At the End of the World" you should. I don't think it's the hangover though. I think Achtung is all the dark thoughts leading through to about 2am. Then they say "f*ck it", pop the red pill and shoot off into Zooropa where they soak it up and don't really give it second thought. When they wake up, two days later, they're confused and angry and guilty and bitter - coming down - and you get Pop.

I haven't read End of the World in a while, but I loved its insight into Achtung -> Zooropa.

That's also an interesting way to interpret Achtung -> Pop, do you consider the Passengers album to be part of that canon?

 

[lmjhitman]

I don't know why people say you have to keep listening to certain albums to start to appreciate them. If I don't get into the album from the first time I listen to it then I never get into it

that's a shame. my favourite albums are the ones that took a while to 'get'. achtung baby and kid a among others are cd's that took an effort on my part for me to actually listen to/hear them. and once i did, it was like the world had changed.

the ones that i do get on the first try, rarely stand up to repeated listenings. i usually end up giving those away.

 

[DreamOutLoud13]

Okay, I'm gonna do a track rundown like I did on that one Pop thread:

Zooropa
I could talk for days about this song. It's not my veryverymostfavouritest U2 song, but it's way up there (maybe even #2?). Close your eyes and drift away on it. Every part of this song is perfect! First the intro, you're drifting through space (I envision it being purple and smoky, and indeed, I refer to the whole album, but particularly the title track as 'purple space crack', due to it's addictive qualities) and all around you, as you drift easily, are bits and pieces of garbled transmissions. You're in the slipstream, hearing voices, ridiculous voices.
Soon everything picks up, and gets more chaotic. The calm and easy piano is intruded upon by guitar, and then the music really picks up. You're now among the satellites, picking up advertising slogans, courtesy of Bono. This is phase two of the song.
Entering phase three, there's another build up. Can you feel yourself falling down to some strange new planet? You crash land, and Bono's in your ear again. Picture Europe in the early 90s, the European Union. It's a new age, and the future is uncertain. With this context, the lyrics make great sense. But even without it, they're great, great lyrics. There just aren't words to describe how much I love the lyrics. This song crawls across your skin, it's amazing

Babyface
Yes, it's cheesy. But I have a certain strange affection for this song. It's like, a stalker love song to a porn star or something. Which is awesome in a screwed up way. It's silly and cheesy and goofy and weird, and I like it.

Numb
My only regret about this song is that I never got to have a WTF reaction to the video, because I was only eight when I first saw it, but still, I thought it was awesome. Numb was the first U2 song I ever heard (though technically, One was, but I didn't know who U2 were at the time, and didn't even find out that it was a U2 song until years later), and it's their most different song. It's hard for me to really say a lot about it though, because I've known it for so long. But I like it

Lemon
And this would be the second U2 song I knew. Strange that the first two I heard were their two weirdest ones I like Lemon, I love the bassline, but I would say my only complaint is that it's really long, and slightly repetitive.

Stay (Faraway, So Close!)
Beautiful song, and also Bono's favourite. Beautiful lyrics, and at some points, somewhat sad. The crescendo is simply amazing, so much emotion. And the ending too, I love that cymbal crash.

Daddy's Gonna Pay For Your Crashed Car
My second favourite song on the album. I don't know why I like it so much. Maybe because it's so dark and sinister, maybe it's that in my head, it's always MacPhisto singing it, but I think it's mostly the bassline I love the beginning, you hear that radio static, like somebody changing stations, and then they find this crazy communist fanfare, followed by this dirty industrial beat. The lyrics, are indeed odd, but I somehow seem to accumulate songs about heroin use. My favourite bit is 'you've got a head full of traffic', because that pretty much describes me. I don't much like the outtro on the album version, it's just not the same without MacPhisto screaming "DADDY'S GONNA PAY! DADDY'S GONNA PAY!"

Some Days Are Better Than Others
Another somewhat cheesy song, but I can understand the context of the lyrics. That was life on the ZooTV tour, some days were better than others. The most striking thing about this song is the prominence of the bassline.

The First Time
Beautiful, and somewhat heartbreaking. The holy trinity imagery (lover = Holy Spirit, brother = Jesus, father = God) is handles wonderfully. The quiet simplicity of the song is striking, but I also love the way the music builds up at the end.

Dirty Day
An argument between a son and his estranged father. This song is like a story being told. There's not much to the music, but there doesn't need to be. The music is just a backdrop for the story being told. There's also a sort of defiance in Bono's voice, that fits the song perfectly.

The Wanderer
JOHNNY CASH! I once described this song as the perfect WTF ending to the perfect WTF album. After this crazy trip through noise-polluted, smoky, purple outer space, you're brought crashing back down to earth, by the very grounded voice of the Man in Black. The music is a little cheesy, and doesn't fit the vocals at all, but that's part of the point. I love this song, but that might be because I was a bit of a Cash fan before I got into U2.

 

[GibsonGirl]

that's a shame. my favourite albums are the ones that took a while to 'get'. achtung baby and kid a among others are cd's that took an effort on my part for me to actually listen to/hear them. and once i did, it was like the world had changed.

the ones that i do get on the first try, rarely stand up to repeated listenings. i usually end up giving those away.

Same here. It took me forever to warm up to Kid A, for instance. Honestly, I didn't see what all the fuss was about. Then, one gloomy night, I decided to give it a spin after not listening to it in ages. A few songs in, it all clicked. Now it's my favourite Radiohead album.

I find that if I like an album immediately, that initial thrill is gone several weeks or months down the line. Listening to it after that point just doesn't produce the same effect that it did initially. That's what happened to me with HTDAAB. I did love it when it first leaked. Played it non-stop. But there was no subtlety in any of the tracks, nothing I could grow to love after heavy, prolonged listening. HTDAAB is a very "obvious" record, for lack of a better word. Nothing on it really had a chance to grow with me. It peaked from the outset and declined steadily as time went by.

 

[thrillme]

that's a shame. my favourite albums are the ones that took a while to 'get'. achtung baby and kid a among others are cd's that took an effort on my part for me to actually listen to/hear them. and once i did, it was like the world had changed.

the ones that i do get on the first try, rarely stand up to repeated listenings. i usually end up giving those away.

Hmm, I had a harder time getting into ATYCLB on a whole as an album, than I did with the Achtung Baby. The first half of Pop, I liked fairly quickly.

Boom cha, lol! Gotta go pop in that DVD now.

 

[Justin24]

Well as a whole I put the albums in this order

1. Joshua Tree
2. The Unforgettable Fire
3. Achtung Baby
4. Boy
5. War
6. ATYCLB
7. Rattle and Hum
8. HTDAAB
9. Pop
10. Zooropa
11. Passangers

 

[Earnie Shavers]

That's also an interesting way to interpret Achtung -> Pop, do you consider the Passengers album to be part of that canon?

Musically, definitely. I know it's not a 'U2' album, but if you don't have Passengers sitting on the shelf between Zooropa and Pop, you're missing a key part of the story. The jump from Zooropa to Pop needs Passengers in the middle. Achtung Baby is pretty much a straight up guitar record, but one where on large chunks the U2 rhythm section has found it's hips. The album isn't experimental at all in a larger sense, not one bit, just Edge mucking around with sound effects and the rhythm section bringing something you can snap your fingers to. Zooropa is entirely driven by the rhythm section. There's not a song on there - save for The First Time - that isn't entirely bass and drum driven, and on this album they are starting to muck around heavily with electronica in a new way and all through the music as well. Then comes Passengers and the electronica has taken over and while it's not U2's exclusive album, they're the only participants to whom it's new stuff. Certainly isn't for Eno.

So it's kind of like a passing of the baton of ideas and influences. Achtung Baby is a guitar album, but they find rhythm along the way. Zooropa is a rhythm album, but they find electronica along the way. Passengers is an electronica album. Then comes Pop, which is a straight guitar album driven by a rhythm section and bottom end that has heavily been beefed up by electronica. Culmination of those last three. Throw Achtung, Zooropa & Passengers into a blender and what you get is a dense drink called Pop.

Thematically Passengers is all over the shop, and I think they were just looking for a creative avenue that was as diverse as the music they had inside them. When what you are mucking around with is beeps and buzzing, loose samples and big spacious ideas, it's harder to narrow it into a 'tune' or really just a narrow thought than it is with a cool guitar riff you stumbled on at 2am. Using the idea of soundtracks, actually creating scenes and ideas and building the music for them, was a fantastic idea. I don't think it says much in the thematic story of Achtung to Pop, but it says a lot about where they were creatively, dare I say it: at their peak.

 

[Zoots]

So it's kind of like a passing of the baton of ideas and influences. Achtung Baby is a guitar album, but they find rhythm along the way. Zooropa is a rhythm album, but they find electronica along the way. Passengers is an electronica album. Then comes Pop, which is a straight guitar album driven by a rhythm section and bottom end that has heavily been beefed up by electronica. Culmination of those last three. Throw Achtung, Zooropa & Passengers into a blender and what you get is a dense drink called Pop.

What a great way to put it!

On a side note, I wish they would remaster Zooropa... not to mention, War and a whole bunch of other albums.

 

[Earnie Shavers]

On a side note, I wish they would remaster Zooropa... not to mention, War and a whole bunch of other albums.

Careful there... a straight remastering (what they did for the songs on the Best of 80's) would be awesome. However, I fear them just sneaking in a new line here, or new note there though, through to complete reworkings (see much of the Best of 90's). I'm all for straight remastering without a single change of a single thing to the originals though. Would be brilliant.

 

[Zoots]

Careful there... a straight remastering (what they did for the songs on the Best of 80's) would be awesome. However, I fear them just sneaking in a new line here, or new note there though, through to complete reworkings (see much of the Best of 90's). I'm all for straight remastering without a single change of a single thing to the originals though. Would be brilliant.

Oh shit! You are absolutely right. That is what will happen! Like they changed the whole songs for the Best Of.

Straight remastering.

 

[Earnie Shavers]

I'm actually surprised they haven't done this. It would make us all go and buy all of their albums again. If there ever was a plan right up U2's alley, it's this one.

 

[jonnytakeawalk]

I hate to admit/say this, but did was anyone else a little weired out by DGPFYCC's lyrics? Maybe being a teenager my mind is a little dirty, but that's what I thought.

I always thought it as being about God's offering of redemption

Jesus is the 'Daddy' paying the price for our 'crashed car' or sins.

'Daddy will give you as much as you can take' God never gives you more than you can take

 

[cobl04]

Think heroin. 'Daddy' being the drug,

"A little uptight
You're a baby's fist
Butterfly kisses up and down your wrist
When you see daddy coming
You're licking your lip
Nails bitten down to the quick"

Think of someone licking their lips for a hit, butterfly kisses being the tack marks on her arms.

Wow, U2 are so great with their lyrics, and interpretations, and how they can make a subject about drugs seem like something a thousand million miles away.

Originally posted by GibsonGirl
HTDAAB is a very "obvious" record, for lack of a better word. Nothing on it really had a chance to grow with me. It peaked from the outset and declined steadily as time went by.

That's actually probably the best way I've seen it described. I always will be on the 'defender' side of HTDAAB, but that's very true. I can tell that with an album like Zooropa, I will hate some songs at one time and be in love with others at another. But with HTDAAB, with the exception of Love and Peace or Else, I loved it all straight away.
Isn't that a coincidence? The 'weirdest' track on HTDAAB took me the longest to get into. Typical.

After my fifth listen to Zooropa, I watched the videos. Lemon has a sweet-ass video. I loved it. Stay was really good as well, but I didn't get the start. At the moment I'm loving Lemon. Also my appreciation for Daddy's Gonna Pay For Your Crashed Car has gone up slightly. That industrial noise, or whatever that is, after the trumpets (which I assume is Fanfare) is that the MC 900 song?

And Earnie Sheavers, I may not agree with some of what you say, but damn I wish I had your words. Were you a really good English student? Or just a U2 fanatic thinker?

 

[DreamOutLoud13]

But with HTDAAB, with the exception of Love and Peace or Else, I loved it all straight away.
Isn't that a coincidence? The 'weirdest' track on HTDAAB took me the longest to get into. Typical.

Doesn't surprise me at all Oh boy, I really do fear for your reaction to Pop.

Stay was really good as well, but I didn't get the start.

They're angels. The video was for Wim Wenders' film Faraway, So Close!, which was a sequel to his film Wings of Desire, which City of Angels was an American remake of, if that gives you any idea of the subject matter.
U2 are angels of music (but not like the Phantom of the Opera ), at the beginning, you see them on a bus, sort of watching over/comforting people. Then you see them in a garage, coaching a band through the song. In the end, you see them all jump off of the big angel statue, Bono last, then of course, you see him hit the ground, becoming human.

 

[cobl04]

^ Ah, okay. So what was Wenders' movie about?

 

[Screwtape2]

^ Ah, okay. So what was Wenders' movie about?

It was part of his Wings Of Desire series about angels wanting to be human. All of the films took place in East Berlin. The first in the series with the same name is a classic in the eyes of many critics.

 

[DreamOutLoud13]

I haven't seen either of the films, but from what I understand (and I have seen City of Angels), it's generally about the angels that invisibly watch over humans, and sometimes decide that they want to be human.

 

[cobl04]

Oh okay. Now I've heard his name mentioned with U2 so many times. When did they begin working together? Are there any other videos he has directed? What exactly does he have to do with U2?

 

[LemonMelon]

http://www.wim-wenders.com/music/wim_and_music.htm

 

[Screwtape2]

What exactly does he have to do with U2?

The band, Bono in particular, was inspired by his movie Paris, Texas. If you watch that movie you find a scene where Bono clearly rips off in the lyrics for Streets. The band gave Wenders UTEOTW for the film of the same name. Then of course Wenders directed MDH which Bono wrote and the band had written songs for.

 

[DreamOutLoud13]

Let's see what I can list off the top of my head. U2 did songs for his films Until the End of the World, Faraway, So Close!, The End of Violence, and Don't Come Knocking. He directed the Night and Day, Stay (Faraway, So Close!), and The Ground Beneath Her Feet music videos. He also directed The Million Dollar Hotel.

 

[cobl04]

Well that explains everything. And thanks LemonMelon!

Listening to Zooropa again...Some Days has been in my head all day.