I was such a fan my sister took a bookbinding class in college. She made a book bound box for all the U2 CDs for the time (I think it was everything up until ATYCLB)... she knew I was collecting them. Her professor heard that she was doing that and gave her 3 CDs of what were considered "unreleased tracks or B-sides or what have you".
That track was on it.
As was this (featuring Salman Rushdie in the video).
part of the soundtrack that the talentless, emotionally inept, conceptually incompetent Bono wrote the screenplay or something for the movie Million Dollar Hotel:
liked city of blinding lights, a man and a woman, fast cars...nothing else really.
i can't stand all because of you or yahweh.
i think this was the first awful album this band released.
I can understand how "Yahweh" would be difficult for an agnostic or atheistic audience (not referring to you) to connect with this tune. At the same time, it's hardly the first explicitly theistic song they've done. Like "40" (Psalm 40), it acts as a benediction to the album. Pretty much everyone chants "How long to sing this song" at the end of a U2 concert without flinching. "40" is a prayer, a song of worship, and so that participation is an interesting phenomenon to me. Maybe no-one ever really paid attention to Bono's lyrics, but this theism has run through every album.
"All Because of You" is basically another worship song, so falls into the same category. I like the self-deprecating lines in it, though:
- "I like the sound of my own voice... didn't give anyone else a choice.. an intellectual tortoise..."
And
- "I'm not broke but you can see the cracks" (which is basically stating everyone's problem with him... how dare he be wealthy and voice an opinion about anything unless he's perfect, which ofc ourse no human is).
liked city of blinding lights, a man and a woman, fast cars...nothing else really.
i can't stand all because of you or yahweh.
i think this was the first awful album this band released.
I can understand how "Yahweh" would be difficult for an agnostic or atheistic audience (not referring to you) to connect with this tune. At the same time, it's hardly the first explicitly theistic song they've done. Like "40" (Psalm 40), it acts as a benediction to the album. Pretty much everyone chants "How long to sing this song" at the end of a U2 concert without flinching. "40" is a prayer, a song of worship, and so that participation is an interesting phenomenon to me. Maybe no-one ever really paid attention to Bono's lyrics, but this theism has run through every album.
"All Because of You" is basically another worship song, so falls into the same category. I like the self-deprecating lines in it, though:
- "I like the sound of my own voice... didn't give anyone else a choice.. an intellectual tortoise..."
And
- "I'm not broke but you can see the cracks" (which is basically stating everyone's problem with him... how dare he be wealthy and voice an opinion about anything unless he's perfect, which ofc ourse no human is).
Yahweh - it's not the content of the song that I can't stand. It's Bono straining to hit notes he should avoid and sounding like a squeaky old guy. It's.... just that it sounds tacky to me. I don't have a problem with the Christian lyrics in U2's music. I love that Bono and the band wear their hearts on their sleeves. I just think Yahweh is a pretty cruddy song. I don't particularly like 40 either. Putting Adam on lead guitar and The Edge on bass was fun for the band, I'm sure, but neither musician holds up their end too well - esp. Adam. I'm pretty sure Adam was lowered in the mix on the remaster too.
All Because of You - I agree about the lyrics. I dig the lyrics, but the tone on The Edge's guitar grinds my ears down pretty hard. And the delivery of the song generally sounds uninspired to me.
In any event, I always forget about Rattle and Hum. I should revise my earlier statement to exclude it, since it was the first awful "album" from U2.
I was pretty stoked for How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb back in the day. I was really into U2. I played the little flash game on their website with the Vertigo loop, and I tuned into BBC radio for the preview of the album with Bono in the studio getting interviewed between tracks. And during the exchange, Bono said he thought the album was shit. It hit him all of the sudden while they were talking. Rubbish. All of it. And Bono admitted it. And I have to agree with him. _________________ follow me on the bandcamp.
"Maybe U2 wouldn't suck so hard if they stopped preaching and started rocking instead. Of course, that's difficult to do with Pantera holding a near monopoly on all things that rock."
I hope the reviewer and his Pantera have a happy life together.
...how in the world one could find this music extraordinary in any way is completely beyond me...
But then again, when I was 9 and 10 I thought Paula Abdul was a musical genius, loved Forever Your Girl and Spellbound, and even wrote a love letter to her, so I guess I can understand (it's true...)
But seriously -- I know this stuff is fundamentally subjective and all -- but how is it possible to listen to this music and think it stands out in any way where one says something like: yes, this is one of the best albums I've heard this year/decade (or whatever). I am honestly curious if there is a single musical passage in the entire album that stands out in any way whatsoever that makes one think: this is revelatory, this is genius right here, no one has ever done anything like this (during the last several years/this decade/across musical history, etc) ... the emotions elicited by this work are so moving/awe-inspiring ... etc ?????
Not that people aren't allowed to think this or anything like that -- if it so happens someone defending the work like rkm or whoever does -- but I find this completely baffling how even a moderately seasoned listener could listen to this and not think it's an obvious going-through-the-motions/pushing all the obvious buttons/cash grab by the band. _________________ Best Classical Best Films Best Paintings
...how in the world one could find this music extraordinary in any way is completely beyond me...
But then again, when I was 9 and 10 I thought Paula Abdul was a musical genius, loved Forever Your Girl and Spellbound, and even wrote a love letter to her, so I guess I can understand (it's true...)
But seriously -- I know this stuff is fundamentally subjective and all -- but how is it possible to listen to this music and think it stands out in any way where one says something like: yes, this is one of the best albums I've heard this year/decade (or whatever). I am honestly curious if there is a single musical passage in the entire album that stands out in any way whatsoever that makes one think: this is revelatory, this is genius right here, no one has ever done anything like this (during the last several years/this decade/across musical history, etc) ... the emotions elicited by this work are so moving/awe-inspiring ... etc ?????
Not that people aren't allowed to think this or anything like that -- if it so happens someone defending the work like rkm or whoever does -- but I find this completely baffling how even a moderately seasoned listener could listen to this and not think it's an obvious going-through-the-motions/pushing all the obvious buttons/cash grab by the band.
I feel the same way about The Smiths, and it's not for lack of trying.
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