It amazes me that over ten years on, so many people still dislike Miami. The music, a new direction for the band, conjures up its subject atmosphere perfectly, as do Bono's lyrics. You have a little Latin flavor with the background vocals (which always reminded me of Jane's Addiction), that dirty little "car chase" guitar solo, and the great moment where the beat from Led Zeppelin's When The Levee Breaks.
Are people THAT put off just because Bono yells "My mammy!" at the end? Really?
I find the dislike amusing, too, but eh, at the same time, I can see where the song may not be to everyone's tastes, and I don't think it's as simple as the "my mammy" line. It's a really, REALLY strange little number, that can't be denied. Some people aren't big on overly "out there" songs.
I like it for that very reason, though. I think my favorite thing about the song is the music-I feel like I've sunk under and am floating aimlessly in some murky body of water or something when I listen to the song. And despite the fact that I wouldn't want to have that happen to me in real life, I like the image for the song. Go figure. And the lyrics are just so random and there's a hint of sexiness thrown in and...yeah. It's an interesting experiment from the band. I'm curious to know what inspired it.
I never heard this album anywhere when it came out. Only exposure I would've had to any of the music was from around, oh, say, 1999 up to 2002 or so-would've heard "If God Will Send His Angels" by way of the movie 'City Of Angels' (but at the time I didn't pay as close attention, 'cause I was in full teenybopper mode then musically-Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears and whatnot), and then I seem to recall a rock station in northwestern Iowa occasionally playing "Staring At The Sun". And that's about it. I didn't discover this album until after I started really getting into U2. I just love it because it brings back memories of awesome '90s alternative music (even though I was into boy bands and such, I did enjoy the occasional alternative music here and there) and because the songs just fit my musical tastes so well. It's a toss-up between this and
The Joshua Tree for favorite U2 album (the latter being because that's the first album of the band's that I brought upon becoming a bigger fan, and because it has "With Or Without You", which is a classic song).
Angela
). Well, I'll try.
