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  1. Just a weird period because things like Stingray, Glastonbury, and obviously EBW all made their way into later U2 songs.

    Really just interested in outtakes from NLOTH sessions.
  2. Certainly!
  3. Most of us were frothing at the mouth when we heard GOYB on the radio that February morning.
  4. Thought it was so cool. Blinded by the excitement.
  5. Same here. I listened to it together with my ex gf, one earphone each after having to listen to dumb radio presenters for almost an hour (you see, all bad, I guess that's part of my hostility towards GOYB). I kinda convinced myself that it was a nice song, fresh, rocking. Then came the grotesque video (including Getty images watermarks and everything), then came the rest of the album leaked, then came the tour... And GOYB showed the true atrocity of a song it is.
  6. I’m convinced GOYB has aged quite well. The speed of it just stands out versus anything else they have put out recently and the 360 crowds did eat it up. Larry’s wrists weren’t quite as frail back then either and he really whacked the drums during the bridge.

    It’s by no means brilliant but they tried something with it and sure it didn’t quite land but I’m willing to give them credit for the idea and vision behind trying a song like that despite the execution not quite matching the expectation.
  7. Originally posted by germcevoy:I’m convinced GOYB has aged quite well. The speed of it just stands out versus anything else they have put out recently and the 360 crowds did eat it up. Larry’s wrists weren’t quite as frail back then either and he really whacked the drums during the bridge.

    It’s by no means brilliant but they tried something with it and sure it didn’t quite land but I’m willing to give them credit for the idea and vision behind trying a song like that despite the execution not quite matching the expectation.
    You are in the extreme minority with that opinion I've never seen such a negative reaction to a U2 single it was and is horrendous.
  8. Originally posted by germcevoy:they tried something with it and sure it didn’t quite land but I’m willing to give them credit for the idea and vision.
    I guess part of my problem is exactly that. They kept hyping (while delaying) NLOTH as "the best thing since AB" and "really experimental with loads of Morocco influences" throughout 2008 and early 2009, and the first thing we get to hear is GOYB, a frenetic song where the very only experimental/Moroccan influence is the phrygian move from G to G# in the "you don't know how beautiful you are" part, and the rest of it is just Vertigo part 2 with even sillier lyrics about sexy boots and submarines. WTF???

    If the first thing we heard from NLOTH had been Fez/Being Born, Unknown Caller or even the much more accessible Magnificent, GOYB would have been much easier to digest within the context of a varied album. But GOYB being NLOTH's cover letter made it much easier to bash both the single choice AND the album as a whole.
  9. Originally posted by popmarter:[..]
    You are in the extreme minority with that opinion I've never seen such a negative reaction to a U2 single it was and is horrendous.
    Happy to be in the minority. They tried and failed. Better than just failing. So many nothing songs in their catalogue that aren’t worth a moment of discussion but songs like Boots at least make you say ‘wtf was that?’ And for that I can at least be thankful.

    They tweaked it live and some of the alternative mixes were ok. They just never got it right and should have led with Magnificent as the lead single.
  10. Originally posted by LikeASong:[..]
    I guess part of my problem is exactly that. They kept hyping (while delaying) NLOTH as "the best thing since AB" and "really experimental with loads of Morocco influences" throughout 2008 and early 2009, and the first thing we get to hear is GOYB, a frenetic song where the very only experimental/Moroccan influence is the phrygian move from G to G# in the "you don't know how beautiful you are" part, and the rest of it is just Vertigo part 2 with even sillier lyrics about sexy boots and submarines. WTF???

    If the first thing we heard from NLOTH had been Fez/Being Born, Unknown Caller or even the much more accessible Magnificent, GOYB would have been much easier to digest within the context of a varied album. But GOYB being NLOTH's cover letter made it much easier to bash both the single choice AND the album as a whole.
    They fucked up the entire project. Boots was just one little cog in the disaster machine. Shades of Popmart around the whole thing. They were making something truly interesting in Morocco then the bulls started arriving for a behemoth of a tour. They’ve scaled back on the interesting stuff and tried to make the album more accessible.

    The first two legs of the tour would sell out on hype but to get the next legs sold (and with the delays) they started to drop the new stuff and the tour morphed into something different entirely to keep the tickets selling.

    A true missed opportunity but the album they wanted to make was not inline with the tour they wanted but there was no stopping the 360 project once the wheels were in motion.
  11. Except the ticket sales lol

    Agree with everything. The Livenation/McGuinness machine really fucked up what could have been their third masterpiece.
  12. Originally posted by LikeASong:[..]
    Except the ticket sales lol

    Agree with everything. The Livenation/McGuinness machine really fucked up what could have been their third masterpiece.
    Ha more so the run up to the tour rather than the tour itself but I take your point there. Ticket sales would definitely have been a concern for the larger legs which is why we saw the two fairly substantial revisions of the 360 setlist.

    I firmly believe NLOTH is the closest they will ever get to the third masterpiece but a combination of pressures, indecisiveness and the usual lack of confidence totally botched it. What a crying shame.