Random U2 Thoughts Thread

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popacrobat said:
God.

I remember being in Toronto (Sept. 17, 2005). My brother and I drove up from Connecticut for the last 2 shows in Toronto, among many other Vertigo stops for us.

Anyway. I heard them soundcheck Discotheque for quite awhile that afternoon, and they were supposed to play it after Vertigo. Confirmed rumor for those who need to know. And it's not even a rumor, believe me if you want, I don't care.

I was so bummed out when they ripped into Elevation after playing Vertigo.

Then the screens, instead of the zoo tv slot machine, turned into the pop symbols for the encore; shopping cart and everything, and Pop Muzik started playing. Bono strutted around the ellipse. It was awesome. Edge burst into the riff, and it was totally bad ass. That was the only time they played the Pop Muzik encore intro.

They played Discotheque again in Chicago, sans Pop Muzik, the next concert. then that was it. never again. they were supposed to do it and Velvet Dress in New York during that run of 5 shows at MSG. Never did.

But yes. I agree. That is the best version of Discotheque, easily.
Click to expand...

Good story, bro. (that's the first time I've ever said that line and actually meant it)
 
Von Schloopen said:
A big improvement, but, still, that outro. The nadir of U2's career.

Not to worry. Just wait 3 or 4 years and they continue to make it better.

This, this is "Discotheque"
Click to expand...

That's assuming that U2 will ever play Discotheque again, which is far from assured. :)

Listening again, like U2, I think I prefer the "new" 90/00 Best-Of version over the original, which was a mess. The newer version at least is not hampered with some of Pop's awful production (not that it's that much better, the song mostly sucks. Mostly).

Anyway, at least if I'm in special circle of hell, I'll have the band to keep me company. :rockon::lock:
 
I like the original album version because it has that little guitar part in the chorus that none of the other versions has.
 
For the record, I love the Discotheque-Staring At The Sun transition during the Elevation Tour. I would go as far as saying it sent chills down my spine. With that said, the song really didn't fit the feel of the Elevation Tour and I can see why it was dropped.

Why it wasn't played on 360 though? :huh::angry::angry:
 
mikal said:
Why it wasn't played on 360 though? :huh::angry::angry:
Click to expand...

Well, I suppose the snippets of it during the Crazy Tonight remix don't count, but at least it showed that they still have it in mind all these years later. It didn't appear too often on the Elevation or Vertigo tours either, but it did make some appearance on the tours in the end. So I guess anything's possible.

That being said, we've also talked about how Gone could've made an appearance in the 360 encore and the "suit of lights" deal! :D
 
Crazy Tonight live was essentially Discotheque. Which makes it weird that they didn't play anything else from Pop (which would have fit the stage show well).
 
Nick66 said:
That's assuming that U2 will ever play Discotheque again, which is far from assured. :)

Listening again, like U2, I think I prefer the "new" 90/00 Best-Of version over the original, which was a mess. The newer version at least is not hampered with some of Pop's awful production (not that it's that much better, the song mostly sucks. Mostly).

Anyway, at least if I'm in special circle of hell, I'll have the band to keep me company. :rockon::lock:
Click to expand...

Yes. The overall progress we see here is an F becoming a B-.

Granted, they get credit for making an F into a B-.

But it's still just a B-.
 
Von Schloopen said:
One of my favorite aspects of this band is how they continue to write a song well after its initial creation, and somehow improve upon it.

"Discotheque" is a prime example. The original album version has all the underpinnings of a great rock & roll song, but it is completely undone buy its horrid production. The bass guitar, which should be the driver in a song like this, sitting right on top of the song and smirking, is drowned out by the bass drum and other rhythm effects. This sets up is a complete lack of dynamics when the song reaches its "rock" zenith and nothing really happens. The song should jump from level 7 to level 11 at this point, but it can't, cause it's already at 10.

Luckily, U2 learn from that. The remix cut, or whatever it's called, is much improved. The bass is allowed to drive. All the superfluous loops and electronic drum treatments are gone. There's room to move here. Some space from which to explode. It actually can and does explode when the chorus fall hits, plus they've improved the chorus guitar tone. Gone is the "farting wasp." I can actually hear driving chord changes now. There's a rhythm in that riff that was barely audible in the bug fart we got before.

A big improvement, but, still, that outro. The nadir of U2's career.

Not to worry. Just wait 3 or 4 years and they continue to make it better.

This, this is "Discotheque"

Discotheque 2005 - YouTube

Granted, it's a live version, so stripped down is expected, but the rewrite isn't. A more effective chorus build up? Check. A new drum beat? Check. A brand spanking new outro? That rips? Check. That outro seals the deal. 2 dirty chords. 4 to the floor beat. They coulda played that thing for 5 minutes straight and it would still be awesome.
Click to expand...

I couldn't disagree more. The new mixes were crap. The POP album cuts were gold.
 
Live version is the best (Popmart, closely followed by Elevation, with the SATS added. Vertigo's is weak, could be the best with a bit more work), as is the case with most of Pop.

None of the studio takes (album or Best of remix) get it right. Album : all the overloaded production takes away too much from that riff. Remix : the outro, while improvement over boom cha, is still weak.
 
Popmart (as played in Mexico City) variation always seemed to be Discotheque at its purest form. The Vertigo rendition always seemed a bit clunky.
 
digitize said:
It did? :( What am I missing?
Click to expand...

Yeah- the DVD cuts out a good chunk of that slow part of the song (no idea what that's called)- right before

You want heaven in your heart
Heaven in your heart
The sun, the moon, and the stars

It was on the showtime version played live. I think I may still have the VHS tape sitting around- I'll try to upload it.

(It's probably not a huge part, but I remember that being cool and it was cut from the DVD)
 
Discothèque easily has their best music video. Featuring the band, of course. The animated Crazy Tonight is probably my favourite U2 related music video.
 
brooklynmike said:
Alright, I haven't had time yet to dig the tape up, but I hope to in the next few days. In the meanwhile I couldn't find it on Youtube either. There are some claiming to be the original audio, but I don't think it is.
Click to expand...

When you have some time, please. I'm intrigued.
 
popacrobat said:
God.

I remember being in Toronto (Sept. 17, 2005). My brother and I drove up from Connecticut for the last 2 shows in Toronto, among many other Vertigo stops for us.

Anyway. I heard them soundcheck Discotheque for quite awhile that afternoon, and they were supposed to play it after Vertigo. Confirmed rumor for those who need to know. And it's not even a rumor, believe me if you want, I don't care.

I was so bummed out when they ripped into Elevation after playing Vertigo.

Then the screens, instead of the zoo tv slot machine, turned into the pop symbols for the encore; shopping cart and everything, and Pop Muzik started playing. Bono strutted around the ellipse. It was awesome. Edge burst into the riff, and it was totally bad ass. That was the only time they played the Pop Muzik encore intro.

They played Discotheque again in Chicago, sans Pop Muzik, the next concert. then that was it. never again. they were supposed to do it and Velvet Dress in New York during that run of 5 shows at MSG. Never did.

But yes. I agree. That is the best version of Discotheque, easily.
Click to expand...

Great post...and I was also in love with this version.

I think it's kindof funny that the version that people say "rocked" the most, is, in fact, the most dance music version they've ever done live. The ACC felt like one giant club right then and there. It doesn't really translate well from a crowd shot Youtube video, but that bass line and 4/4 beat was so heavy especially at the start..it was unmistakably club music. Great stuff!
 
popacrobat said:
God.

I remember being in Toronto (Sept. 17, 2005). My brother and I drove up from Connecticut for the last 2 shows in Toronto, among many other Vertigo stops for us.

Anyway. I heard them soundcheck Discotheque for quite awhile that afternoon, and they were supposed to play it after Vertigo. Confirmed rumor for those who need to know. And it's not even a rumor, believe me if you want, I don't care.

I was so bummed out when they ripped into Elevation after playing Vertigo.

Then the screens, instead of the zoo tv slot machine, turned into the pop symbols for the encore; shopping cart and everything, and Pop Muzik started playing. Bono strutted around the ellipse. It was awesome. Edge burst into the riff, and it was totally bad ass. That was the only time they played the Pop Muzik encore intro.

They played Discotheque again in Chicago, sans Pop Muzik, the next concert. then that was it. never again. they were supposed to do it and Velvet Dress in New York during that run of 5 shows at MSG. Never did.

But yes. I agree. That is the best version of Discotheque, easily.
Click to expand...

Is there any good audio recording of that Toronto show or that "Pop Muzik -> Discotheque" version?
Every link I find in broken or unavailable... :(
 
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