How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb 9 years on

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U2DMfan said:
They didn't know what they were doing when they recorded October.
They knew precisely what they were doing when they recorded this mess.
Because of this, relatively speaking, it's probably their worst album.

And it won the Grammy for Album of the Year.
Says all that needs to be said about the Grammys.
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This.

though I do really love COBL, Vertigo and fast Cars which for some bizarre reason wasn't included in most countries.

I absolutely detest Miracle Drug, my least favourite U2 song of all time.

The rest aren't too bad but I expect more from U2 than not bad.
 
It's funny how Miracle Drug didn't mean much to me... Until it did. Recently I went through something where I was really depending on a "miracle drug." Hubby and I had been struggling trying to have a baby for a long time. It was supposed to just work, but it didn't. There was no explanation, doctors just shrugged. Since my age (mid 30s) was working against us, we decided to put our faith in science and we moved ahead with fertility treatments.

Every shot I gave myself, every hormone I put in my body, every unpleasant side effect, I would sing or listen to this song for comfort. It seemed to fit so well, especially the line: "beneath the noise, below the din, I hear your voice it's whispering. In science and in medicine, I was a stranger you took me in." I imagined it was our child's voice that was whispering. I gave me tremendous comfort, especially followed by SYCMIOYO, which also fit my emotions at that point.

Those 2 songs have a really special meaning to me now. It elevated the album as a whole for me. And we were lucky that the treatments were successful :)
 
Thanks for posting that, Val. I saw it and another one from the same night a while ago and then had a hard time finding it again later on. What was the event?

Also, congrats on the babe, LSH. :heart:
 
Val said:
They are at the peak of feeling the song as writers/performers. It's from a UK Tv show while promoting the album.
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Yeah, I remember that. Right below Edge's daughter got sick if I remember right?

I remember rewinding a time or two thinking "WTF, Bono doesn't have the microphone to his mouth, yet he's still singing"- at the part that Edge sings. :wink:
 
I actually like this album still. There are a couple of clunkers for me, which most people love. AMAAW, OSC, Crumbs are the three weakest for me. Love the Alt versions of Yahweh, and ABOY. Plus Fast Cars, Mercy, Levitate...I think it was a fine "era"...
 
brooklynmike said:
Yeah, I remember that. Right below Edge's daughter got sick if I remember right?

I remember rewinding a time or two thinking "WTF, Bono doesn't have the microphone to his mouth, yet he's still singing"- at the part that Edge sings. :wink:
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Bono's face when Edge sings: :heart: He's totally emotional about it.
 
LadySpinHead said:
It's funny how Miracle Drug didn't mean much to me... Until it did. Recently I went through something where I was really depending on a "miracle drug." Hubby and I had been struggling trying to have a baby for a long time. It was supposed to just work, but it didn't. There was no explanation, doctors just shrugged. Since my age (mid 30s) was working against us, we decided to put our faith in science and we moved ahead with fertility treatments.

Every shot I gave myself, every hormone I put in my body, every unpleasant side effect, I would sing or listen to this song for comfort. It seemed to fit so well, especially the line: "beneath the noise, below the din, I hear your voice it's whispering. In science and in medicine, I was a stranger you took me in." I imagined it was our child's voice that was whispering. I gave me tremendous comfort, especially followed by SYCMIOYO, which also fit my emotions at that point.

Those 2 songs have a really special meaning to me now. It elevated the album as a whole for me. And we were lucky that the treatments were successful :)
Click to expand...
That's a great story :) Congrats on the baby!

brooklynmike said:
Yeah, I remember that. Right below Edge's daughter got sick if I remember right?

I remember rewinding a time or two thinking "WTF, Bono doesn't have the microphone to his mouth, yet he's still singing"- at the part that Edge sings. :wink:
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:lol: Yup, that got a huge bitchin' over here. It was hilarious. So many random threads started on it.
 
The performance is mimed. They're playing over the studio track, which is the only thing audible there. My remark was sarcastic.
 
djerdap said:
The performance is mimed. They're playing over the studio track, which is the only thing audible there. My remark was sarcastic.
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:laugh: Here we go again!!!!



It wasn't mimed. The only things from the studio track you hear are the big synths and shit. The guitar tone is slightly different from the studio one, and Bono's vocals are different in many parts. There's about a gazillion threads from 2004 if you want to read more on this. :wink:
 
I really liked Bomb when it was first released . COBL is still amazing to me and one of my favorites of the last 10 years. Some songs I could give or take depending on what kind of mode I am in. My son being born last year I tended to listen to Yaweh and Oroginal of the Species a bit more. One thing is for sure, after hearing Get on Your Boots, it gave me a new appreciation for Vertigo.
 
Galeongirl said:
:laugh: Here we go again!!!!



It wasn't mimed. The only things from the studio track you hear are the big synths and shit. The guitar tone is slightly different from the studio one, and Bono's vocals are different in many parts. There's about a gazillion threads from 2004 if you want to read more on this. :wink:
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WTF? That whole CD UK performance is not live. It's like Top of the Pops. The vocals are live and that's it. Listen to the other songs. Compare it to other real live versions from that period (like the Brooklyn Bridge performance). They're literally identical to the studio versions. From the video, it does seem they're playing live. However, what we hear are the studio versions. It's even more clear with Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own for instance. There are like three guitars audible here. Hardly "big synths and shit" being added only.

It's not the same story like the inane nonsense about Bono miming Edge's verse, or the traditional use of backing tracks U2 does. Maybe at parts you can hear Edge's guitar and there is really some bizarre mix of the studio versions with the real performance going on (I haven't analysed it that much), but the studio version is so prominent in the mix it's not even funny.

U2 - Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own (Live) - YouTube
 
Djerdap is 100% correct. It's also similar to the Tokyo rooftop performances in 2006, when they did Window in the Skies and Vertigo with Bono just singing over the studio version. Some tv programs just mandate that, I suppose.
 
Yet you can actually hear the guitar having a different tone in the Miracle Drug performance... it's just off from the album version!
 
Even the vocals are not live most of the time, although live vocals sometimes creep in in the mix. It's insane to do it like that, but who cares anyway, since there are many other live performances of those songs available.

Galeongirl said:
Yet you can actually hear the guitar having a different tone in the Miracle Drug performance... it's just off from the album version!
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Where exactly? I literally hear the studio version outside of the vocals. The guitar tone is different in Live from Chicago for instance, since it's... well, live.
 
Like it a lot more nie then when it was first released. Though Love and peace .... I still feel should have just been left off the album.
 
djerdap said:
The performance is mimed. They're playing over the studio track, which is the only thing audible there. My remark was sarcastic.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I had a feeling you were being sarcastic, but wasn't sure. Just watched the video again with a closer eye. The vocals are live. The music may have a backing track (or complete music) as it does sound damn close to the album version. They always have some preprogrammed stuff going on in the background when they play it live. You can even hear it actually turn on in the Chicago DVD a few seconds after Bono's speech.
 
brooklynmike said:
Yeah, I had a feeling you were being sarcastic, but wasn't sure. Just watched the video again with a closer eye. The vocals are live. The music may have a backing track (or complete music) as it does sound damn close to the album version. They always have some preprogrammed stuff going on in the background when they play it live. You can even hear it actually turn on in the Chicago DVD a few seconds after Bono's speech.
Click to expand...

It is 99% backing track. Listen to it with a closer ear, never mind watching. Yes, they have pre-programmed stuff - they even had some awkward violins added in the live version, like in the Chicago one. But this is different, in the same vein as all those Top of the Pops "performances" only have live vocals. It is unfair to compare to it to the Chicago version since that one uses some weird backing tracks, but the three instruments are clearly played live, and there are no guitar overdubs and layers that are clearly audible in those CD UK clips.
 
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