Hollow Island
New Yorker
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How does a band delay a record by a year and still end up with a rushed last minute mix of the single?
You're the Best Thing About Me - Song Discussion
- Thread starter prbiker15
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The friendliest place on the web for anyone that follows U2.
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If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
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dazzledbylight
Blue Crack Supplier
Be safe, womanfish!
I liked TBT from the start (I do like 'the blackout' more & very excited for a hat andcwhole rest of the album). I either missed the announcement right then (around 6pm) on my radio station that they were about to play it. The very first few seconds I didn't recognize them, and though "oh, this is pretty- wonder who it is/...". Then of course I did realize it was them.
The changes heard through the song didn't jar me, seemed fine to me. It is getting catchier, as others mentioned. I love Edge's harmonizing with Bono. Sometimes he does typical harmonizing . Other times he sort of harmonises with his voice sort of weaving around Bono's with different notes that I love. Like the playing a lot, too.
I hope it does as well (maybe even better) as some folks here predict it might. But I can see as people have pointed out why it might not.
I liked TBT from the start (I do like 'the blackout' more & very excited for a hat andcwhole rest of the album). I either missed the announcement right then (around 6pm) on my radio station that they were about to play it. The very first few seconds I didn't recognize them, and though "oh, this is pretty- wonder who it is/...". Then of course I did realize it was them.
The changes heard through the song didn't jar me, seemed fine to me. It is getting catchier, as others mentioned. I love Edge's harmonizing with Bono. Sometimes he does typical harmonizing . Other times he sort of harmonises with his voice sort of weaving around Bono's with different notes that I love. Like the playing a lot, too.
I hope it does as well (maybe even better) as some folks here predict it might. But I can see as people have pointed out why it might not.
dazzledbylight
Blue Crack Supplier
dabiggestu2fan
Rock n' Roll Doggie
I wonder what the first reactions were when people first heard The Fly. I bet many people thought U2 were over and that this was garbage. I only bring this up because I remember before even hearing tbh comming on here and reading what a mess this song was. I'm glad people are comming around to it atleast a little bit. I was a wee bit too young to care about u2 back in the achtung baby days, I loved my game boy too much to care about u2 music lol. But I do remember hearing discotheque the first time and being like wtf is this??
OP
OP
prbiker15
Blue Crack Addict
Just watched the Tonight Show performance - that was really good. They need to promote the shit out of this song (and eventually the album).
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dazzledbylight
Blue Crack Supplier
I loved AB from the start (after loving JT) Had no trouble making the transition that some people did.
dazzledbylight
Blue Crack Supplier
Oh prb I'm so glad your area wasn't hit as hard as predicted! But poor ?Vieques and the other island east of it 
purpleblackeye
War Child
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I was in college when I first heard The Fly. In a car with a girl I was dating. I loved it. Stunned me with its dynamic, sexy and menacing sound. The girl thought it was scary. 
AEON
Rock n' Roll Doggie Band-aid
I saw the debut on MTV (it was this television channel that played music videos in the 80s and 90s) - I knew as soon as I saw the "The Fly" video that U2 had not only salvaged their reputation from the Rattle and Hum backlash, they actually became cool again.
Achtung Baby to this day is still my favorite album of all-time - and I have argued that it is Rock n Roll's last true masterpiece.
Gotta say - absolutely love 'the blackout' ... best song since the AB album. Obvious that was for u2 fans that expect rock ... 11m views on Facebook in 1 week was their best showing to date. 'Little Things' is a fantastic tune that gives me chills... with a deep set of lyrics ...feels like a message about the band struggling to find a hit song ...had big hopes for 'best thing' after hearing kygo mix last year ...i love that mix ... was really disappointed when i heard the radio release ... don't think it was targeted to u2 fans but rather new fans...a few days later I can't get the song out of my head ... the Fallon show performance made me hear it differently. I think it has a decent chance of doing well on the charts and the choice of the lyrical video helps hide the band's age some. only 1m views on FB in first few days (far less than blackout) which suggests u2 fans didn't resonate. First three songs give me a lot of hope that this album is going to be amazing and the best since ATYCLB.
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Mr. Happy
The Fly
I want to love Best Thing, but I just don't have it in me. The lyrics are clunky/contrived, and musically it sounds like they took the spare parts leftover from four or five abandoned songs and cobbled them together regardless of whether or not they meshed (they don't). If I'd heard it before it was released as the lead single I'd have thought it wasn't finished. Nothing works about this song. I guess the chorus is catchy, even with the stupid lyric.
Little Things has similar structural and lyrical problems to my ears (although not to the same extent), and Blackout is just forgettable. I guess I'll just have to cross my fingers that the rest of SOE will be more to my tastes.
Little Things has similar structural and lyrical problems to my ears (although not to the same extent), and Blackout is just forgettable. I guess I'll just have to cross my fingers that the rest of SOE will be more to my tastes.
Not a valid comparison at all.
The Fly was a radical departure from their previous sound. This isn't.
marik
Refugee
Im curious what was the general concenus when Sweetest Thing was initially released? (Like first 48-72hrs).
Was it initially critqued as too much of a pop attempt, and then warmed up to when people admitted it was super catchy? Or was it loved right from the start?
Was it initially critqued as too much of a pop attempt, and then warmed up to when people admitted it was super catchy? Or was it loved right from the start?
david
ONE love, blood, life
Sure as hell was better than the 87 version. The 87 version has such dated production.
gweeps
War Child
I loved it the first time I heard it.
kiwilad
Refugee
This songs now permanently stuck in my head, been on a lads weekend in Brighton and the whole time I was there it was stuck in my head
I forget, and couldn't be bothered searching - what was your initial reaction to it?
Cause I'm in the same boat as you. It's not an artistic opus but it's catchy as hell and has more layers than my initial mediocre reaction gave it credit for...
Not that I agree with your opinion on TBT -- it has effortlessly, without the coercing of repeated listens, wormed its way into my brain -- but your last sentence assumes that U2 actually have a clue about what the best song is in terms of sales or pop culture impact. Not much recent history to support that assumption.
I like layers in the songs. EBW and the later version of Sweetest thing sound better imo. They ruined Gone to put it in a more raw version. Bono's emotional singing in that song was killed by the new version.
TBT sounds perfect to me. The synths and other layers fit perfectly.
TBT sounds perfect to me. The synths and other layers fit perfectly.
SpaceBoy
War Child
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2004
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- 648
Amazing, isn't it?
It's also funny considering they apparently didn't just remix, but re-recorded it last minute. You'd think the mix would be more cohesive if it is a complete redo. The production actually reminds me of GOYB in a weird way, in that the elements have a more disparate, synthetic quality on the studio version, with the synergy coming across more clearly live. I think the drums play a role in both cases. IMO, it affects a song greatly when Larry goes for the more 'plastic-y' snare of late instead of the classic sound. It almost sounds like sections of the track could've been recorded on an electric kit, like some of the songs on NLOTH. Might just be how it's EQ'd, though.
I like it myself, not the best thing theve ever released but it's catchy as hell.
I liked it to start off with and like it more now.
Whether it has legs over time is another question.
jakehu
The Fly
Fellow baggie here. Take it you went to the Brighton game ?. Heard we were awful....but great night out down there !This songs now permanently stuck in my head, been on a lads weekend in Brighton and the whole time I was there it was stuck in my head
CosmoKramer
Rock n' Roll Doggie
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NFL Sunday here in the states, curious if the song is used during the game at being U2 and the NFL love one another. I'll be watching the Steelers game and let you all know if I hear it.
BWU2Buffs
War Child
I've been in and out of this thread since the song came out. It seems like some of the early negativity has dissipated a bit, maybe someone should post a poll?
Hated it Tuesday, still hate it today
Loved it Tuesday, it's forgettable today
So so Tuesday, dislike it today
And so on...
It's grown on me quite a bit, and while this could sound a bit stereotypical, I can see my wife and her friends doing that group girl dance thing at a bar turning "you are the best thing.." to "I am the best thing about you" and so on... while the husbands and boyfriends who either can't or won't dance watch the game on TV.
Hated it Tuesday, still hate it today
Loved it Tuesday, it's forgettable today
So so Tuesday, dislike it today
And so on...
It's grown on me quite a bit, and while this could sound a bit stereotypical, I can see my wife and her friends doing that group girl dance thing at a bar turning "you are the best thing.." to "I am the best thing about you" and so on... while the husbands and boyfriends who either can't or won't dance watch the game on TV.
aMansAman
War Child
If YATBTAM is the only song on SOE that sounds like aiming at radio play, charts. That's now totally ok with me. I might not skip it while listening to the complete album. But it won't become a favourite. Which is totally fine. I guess Songs of Experience will offer some really great and maybe to some extent challenging songs as well. Can't wait to hear them.
CosmoKramer
Rock n' Roll Doggie
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You heard it 1x on the sound system that comes with a Nissan Altima.....give it a chance man!
The song is catchy and I enjoy it now. Its a pop song and is a lot like Crazy Tonight minus the awful falsettos(I like Crazy Tonight). The "a boy" lyric is ridiculous to me but there are so many sounds in this song that I'm always hearing new things.
My first listen I would say it was a 5/10 or 6/10 but now I would say it's a 7/10 or 8/10.
Peter_The_Roman
The Fly
I agree completely TinKnight.
As for my own thoughts:
1. I don't think this single is as bad as some people are saying. It is a well written, catchy song.
2. The only real complaint I have is that it is bland and vanilla...no risk taking.
3. It almost sounds like a B-side from the Achtung Baby era..."Holy Joe" or "LWTSH"
4. Everyone (including U2 themselves) needs to stop wishing for them to be "cool" again.
Those days are GONE! (Good song from the Pop album by the way!)
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Nick66
Rock n' Roll Doggie ALL ACCESS
The last time U2 took any kind of risk musically was NLOTH...and even then it was a calculated, compromised risk.
But they still took chances with that record, and they tried at least partially to give what people on here claim they want. Yet sadly (and somewhat surprisingly) that aces record has become one of the more maligned around here.
Even the much disparaged "middle three" songs on NLOTH are better than TBT. And some songs on NLOTH (e.g. MOS, NLOTH) stand right alongside of some of U2's best work. And tracks like FEZ/BB and Cedars if nothing else represent U2 trying to make music that isn't deigned to simply be played on the radio. Even Unknown Caller, a song destroyed by its own lyrics, has moments of real beauty, uninterested in how catchy it may be.
I still regard NLOTH as the last real U2 record. They're a shell of what they have been, without Eno & Lanois.
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jameskinsella
The Fly
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- Dec 6, 2006
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