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"I'm not sure I can be as honest in my life as I can be in my music, because with manners comes insincerity. Truth is sometimes difficult." -- Bono, 2004 |
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"I'm not sure I can be as honest in my life as I can be in my music, because with manners comes insincerity. Truth is sometimes difficult." -- Bono, 2004 |
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@U2 QOM March 2009: No Line On The Horizon is finally here! What's the one song you love (or hate) the most?
@U2,
April 01, 2009
(Each month, @U2 puts a spotlight on U2 fans with our "Question of the Month." We pose a question to our readers and invite answers of 200 words or less. If you're interested in taking part, check our home page to see if the current question is still open. If not, check back shortly after the beginning of next month and we'll have another question ready to be answered!)
-- Connie Bigelow I really feel like running fast when I hear "Magnificent"...that tells me it is a great song...because I hate running! Everything about that song makes you feel good. I am also enjoying "I'll Go Crazy if I Don't Go Crazy Tonight". The music itself is awesome, and Bono can't sound any better when he sings "Baby, baby, baby" at the end!! I have good feelings about the concert that will come out of this album. -- Jen Willins Hello from Mexico City!! In my opinion, "Magnificent" is the best new song, the lyrics and the music really make a powerful song. I can't wait to hear it live. -- Jorge "Breathe": Love the chord progression and the enthusiasm of the song. It’s like “City of Blinding Lights” on a Miracle Drug (when I first heard MD live). It is meant to play live. The energy is extraordinary. The song I honestly hate: "Get On Your Boots". It just didn’t grow on me.. sorry. -- Marvin Lee Tang The worst? This is really easy. "Get On Your Boots". Maybe it was meant to be a fun song and all that, but for U2 to put that song in the album…and as if that was not bad enough, select it as the lead single is one of their most reckless decisions ever. It should have been thrown out while it was still just a song idea. This is annoying from the first one hears it. While "The Fly" grew on me after consequent listens, "Boots" tends to get more irritating. Who did they think will love the song? The initial song idea has to be good. Then you can put some shine on it. If the song is not there, you can put in as many slick productions as you can, it will stay a bad song. The fact of the matter is that the song really sounded empty at the Grammys; U2 were uncomfortable about playing it at the Dave Letterman show. A new single ("Magnificent") has to be quickly released. Simple as that. As to how six or seven overgrown men with the experience of U2 and their production team can love that song beats all logic. Eno initially hated it. GOYB is a waste of space. If it was intended to attract 15 olds, it has achieved just that; they have illegally downloaded the album. They will never love U2 as much their older fans do. Who are they kidding? -- L Moruti I absolutely love the title track "No Line On The Horizon". This song draws you in and hits you hard in the gut right from the first chords of Edge's guitar. The power of first track blows me away the way it has in almost every album since Joshua Tree (although not many can touch "Where the Streets Have No Name"). I can't wait to hear what that would be like live. I am still in the phase of listening to the music rather than paying attention to lyrics, so my favorite might change. -- Helen "Get On Your Boots", because it's so noisy. :-) -- Vincenzo Love the most – "Moment of Surrender". Second favorite (tie) – "Magnificent"/"Breathe". Hate the most – "I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight". Horrible song…also, worst song title ever! -- Jamie Hayes My favorite: "Magnificent"…great beat, great lyrics…it will become a classic. Least Favorite: "Get on Your Boots". Just not that into it – too Pop for me. -- Leslie Sylvester I love, Love, LOVE "Magnificent". I think it's well-written (lots of good chord changes and good lyrics), produced and arranged well and is very catchy. I equally hate "Cedars of Lebanon" for the exact opposite reasons. Personal experiences: due in large part to my first U2 purchase (12" and double 7" single of "Two Hearts Beat As One"), I grew to love U2 as well as wanting to produce music (especially remixes). I attempted my first edit using a normal tape recorder by joining two of the "Two Hearts" remixes to produce a longer one. When I got older, I took two semesters of recording at Fullerton Junior College, learning engineering and production techniques (I especially loved playing with effects) and even did a remix of a fellow student's recording as for my mix project. I also did a paper for that class on another remix producer, Louil Silas, Jr, because he had just remixed "Desire". The joy that U2's music brought me (especially the well-produced album and remix tracks) motivated me to write songs, learn to play guitar, bass, keyboards and drums and to buy my own recording equipment and effects processors. So, when I hear U2 phone it in with "Cedars Of Lebanon" or "Miami", I really take it hard because I know first hand what is involved to make and record music. -- John William Rajic Favorite song – "Unknown Caller". I really like the melody -- it reminds me of some early stuff like "Into the Heart" and "I Fall Down". -- John Connell The opening track just blew me away as soon as I played it for the first time on Friday, 27th Feb. Very uplifting and airy song...great to hear "The Fly" chords resurface in a different song also!!!! 10/10 for the album itself…love the new-sounding songs and also the re-used styles.... Cant wait for the next one...and the one after that...and the one after that...fade to black. -- Coolock Des, Lifelong Dublin Fan My favorite song on NLOTH is: "Breathe". Very cool song. -- Sean It’s "Moment of Surrender". One of those songs that can reach me in a way which is difficult to explain: just in a very spiritual and special way. Simply makes me forget about the world and feel great!!! It’s one of U2’s greatest songs, like “Bad”, “One” or “Kite”. -- Andres (from Switzerland) After listening to the album, "Unknown Caller" is the song that really moves me. It is like a spiritual awakening. It is some of the Edge's best guitar work to date. And I love the chanting even if some of it does not make sense. And the French horn into the guitar solo really brings a great climax into the song. It may not a song that may work in a concert setting, but it certainly has the same effect on me as many U2 songs have in the past. -- Howard Cutter Love the most: "Magnificent" — Can't you just instantly imagine arena crowds clapping the intro beat? Signature guitar riff, galloping bassline, surging drum fills and spiritual lyrics? Check, check, check and check. They've done it all before and they've done it better, but it still sounds great when the classic elements are brought together again. For a slamdunk in tough economic times, the rest of the album needed to be this good. Hate the most: "Get On Your Boots" — poor man's "Vertigo", minus a hummable hook. It's one thing when Coldplay does an inferior homage to U2; it's more distressing when the lads poorly imitate themselves. Worst lead single choice EVER (yes, worse than "Numb" or "Discotheque")! No one's going home dissatisfied if they leave it off a set list. The opposite of love is indifference; I hate this song because the band is capable of such better songcraft. I'm disappointed to see these guys shoot themselves in foot. After decades of experience, I thought they'd be smarter than this. -- Jonathan Lowe, Houston, Texas "Magnificent" is truly magnificent. Unbelievable drums, guitar and bass and Bono is truly into this song. One of their best ever!!! -- Steve and Cathy King I've listened the album a few times now and I keep coming back to "Moment of Surrender". The easygoing pace of the song, tremendous bass work, and the imagery it conjures up in my mind make it my favorite! Hope they manage to get this one into the setlist for the upcoming tour. -- Nick, Marlton NJ Well, I love the album but I'll talk about the song I hate the most. Sort of, because the one I really hate the most is "Stand Up Comedy". No offense to U2, but that song is just stupid, it's not even worth talking about. But in a way, I hate another one the most because it edges on brilliance: "I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight." It would be beautiful if it didn't have that name and that line in it! Couldn't Bono think of something better? You're there, listening to it, just getting into it, the first chorus is playing and it's great, just imagine (or do it): It's not a hill it's a mountain / As you start out the climb / Do you believe me or are you doubting / We're gonna make it all the way to the line... And then, the huge, enormous, googol-sized bucket of cold water: But I know I'll crazy if I don't go crazy tonight. What the hell? What does this even has to do with the rest of the song? Or am I missing something? It's just cringe inducing! -- Ana Carolina Del Berto I love a lot of the songs on the new CD but to pick one song: "Stand Up Comedy". I love the music and lyrics of the song, and I am not sure why it is not getting more play as U2 goes live on Letterman, GMA, etc. Good song! Other favorite is "Magnificent". My least favorite: "Fez - Being Born". It sounds like an Eno project where he had some sampling and experimental sound he wanted to do, and Bono had some lyrics, but not enough for a real song. It reminds me of something off The Unforgettable Fire... but not in a good way. "Unknown Caller" is still a head-scratcher for me too. I am not sure quite what to make of it. I don't love it, don't hate it, but don't think this is a very "U2" type of song. Not sure what it is. -- Doug Halcomb I have to say that "Magnificent" is just that, but "Unknown Caller" should be hung up on. -- K.C. Gotta love ”Magnificent”. It truly is magnificent! On the other hand, I thought they had quite a number of songs to chose from when they put the album out. Then why on earth did they find a place for ”Fez – Being Born”? I also think ”Unknown Caller” is boring. The song has potential, but they should have done some more work on it. The verses are too similar to ”The Hands That Built America”. All in all an OK album. "Magnificent" is maybe the best song they`ve ever done! -- Stian from Norway Finally...and what an album... I love four songs -- "No Line On the Horizon", "Magnificent", "Moment of Surrender" and "Cedars of Lebanon". When I hear these songs it seems like I levitate. I feel that I'm getting into another dimension of me...Then I hear "White as Snow"...and can't think of anything else than Africa. -- Marta Luisa (Portugese) Has to be "Magnificent". That song jumped out at me the first time I heard it. Cannot wait to hear them perform it on tour! -- Jennifer I love "Magnificent." What do I love about it? The gradual layering of sounds in the introduction -- every 2-4 measures there's something new happening. Edge's spinning guitar motif -- beginning on an upbeat, spiraling over bar lines while Adam and Larry keep reinforcing the beat. Adam's incredibly groovy bass that makes my car shake. The variety of timbres in Bono's voice. The vocal descant during Edge's solo. But those are all intellectual justifications. The real reason I love it is that, as soon as I heard it, I knew I'd like the new album. That song is a joyful celebration, for me at least, that the U2 magic is alive and well. "Magnificent!" -- Cathy Smetana While "Magnificent", "Breathe", and "I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight" are right up there, the song that I love the most is "White as Snow". In 2007, I took a trip to Europe with my school to commemorate the restoration of the Vimy Ridge Memorial on the 90th anniversary of the battle. The Battle of Vimy Ridge is considered by many to be the point where Canada truly became a nation. We visited countless graveyards to pay respect to the soldiers who had died, and went to the scenes of many World War I and World War II battles. It is an eerie feeling, standing on a calm and peaceful beach knowing that thousands had been slaughtered in the spot you stand. It is overwhelming, reading each memorial on a gravestone, and seeing that the vast majority simply say "A Canadian soldier" or "A British soldier" or "A French soldier". These people were so horribly disfigured when they died, they couldn't even be identified. And to see so many people who died aged 16 or 17! These people gave their lives, and yet we only endeavor to remember them a few times a year. And then you hear "White as Snow", a song as beautiful as any I have ever heard. It laments the loss of our brave soldiers, and it does not matter which war they came from. Some people may consider it a boring song, but whenever I hear it I think back to all those people who died for us, and I remember them. And the message it gives to us for the future is perhaps the most emotional that could be written: If only a heart could be as white as snow… -- Matthew Atkin
© @U2/individual contributors above, 2009.
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I absolutely adore" Unknown Caller". I think it is so uplifting! A man at the end of his rope, looking for a way out. God calling out to him. Telling him that He is there with him. Things are going to be all right. Shush now let me speak. The Edge's ringing, soaring guitar just adds to the feel of the song. I can just imagine this song being played live. I can see the crowds lifting their arms to the heavens.
