The Little Things That Give You Away - Appreciation Thread

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Obviously a hoarser Bono, but I like the more prominent backup vocals. Those who like Bono back further back in the mix might like this better?
 
Bono's voice sounds a bit thin and tired. Still nice to hear this though. Hope this means they plan on releasing the album version as a single and promoting it.
 
Lol I just cancelled my Spotify in favor of Apple Music. Oh well. I’m sure someone will rip mp3’s at some point.
 
I know I'm late to this particular party, but this song is a monster. I'm really impressed by the whole album (much more than I was by SoE or NLOTH), but I think this is the standout song. I can't wait to hear it in concert!
 
Listened to the Spotify version today.

Eh. I don't understand the point of these. Why do something that's just slightly different?




... the less said about the cover of What's Going On, the better.
 
I loved this song as soon as I heard it from the concert youtubes. I love the build up and Edge going off with the classic U2 guitar sound. I was a little let down by the studio version, because it seems like it was more dramatic in the live versions. But great song. Love that lyric 4:00 in the morning and all the darkness is swarming and then the "covers me in fear" is kind of sung in a choppy way. Hard to describe. But so good.
 
corianderstem said:
Listened to the Spotify version today.

Eh. I don't understand the point of these. Why do something that's just slightly different?




... the less said about the cover of What's Going On, the better.
Click to expand...



What’s funny is that this version is what I assumed the album version would be like. I like the song in this form, but once I heard the actual album version, the song took off to a whole new level.

Also? I think Edge’s vocals are way too high in the mix on the 2nd chorus.
 
mikal said:
What’s funny is that this version is what I assumed the album version would be like. I like the song in this form, but once I heard the actual album version, the song took off to a whole new level.

Also? I think Edge’s vocals are way too high in the mix on the 2nd chorus.
Click to expand...

After another listen I have to agree.
 
It's funny, because when they started playing it, this song said nothing to me. I remember people here in the forum appreciating it a lot but I was like "not again, not another typical U2 number with Bono's random lyrics written in his private jet, with MOS/Troubles-sort-of entrance and 80's/00's-reminiscent crescendo-build up ala-COBL with random Edge guitar".
So, I didn't give it much attention until the album came out.

And I have to admit that as soon as I listened to the studio recording in my SOE's first listen I thought "WOW, I was so wrong about this song". I thought that maybe the studio version had polished a lot of what I had listened to months ago, but then I went back to the live versions and they weren't substantially different.
It still does have a lot of cliché-U2 sound, but I think it's very beautifuly crafted and delicate. And I like the way Bono speaks a lot from the heart.

Sometimes I can’t believe my existence / See myself from a distance / I can’t get back inside (...) Sometimes I wake at four in the morning / When all the darkness is swarming / And it covers me in fear / Sometimes, sometimes, sometimes / Full of anger and grieving / So far away from believing / That any sun will reappear / Sometimes / The end is not coming / It’s not coming / The end is here"
Fuck. This is so heartbreaking and it gives me chills when I try to picture it. This album has some of Bono's best lyrics is a looooong time. These are definitely some of those.
 
Aygo said:
Sometimes I can’t believe my existence / See myself from a distance / I can’t get back inside (...) Sometimes I wake at four in the morning / When all the darkness is swarming / And it covers me in fear / Sometimes, sometimes, sometimes / Full of anger and grieving / So far away from believing / That any sun will reappear / Sometimes / The end is not coming / It’s not coming / The end is here"
Fuck. This is so heartbreaking and it gives me chills when I try to picture it. This album has some of Bono's best lyrics is a looooong time. These are definitely some of those.
Click to expand...

Yep. Absolutely phenomenal stuff. This part of the song is I think U2's best moment of the millennium.
 
Aygo said:
It's funny, because when they started playing it, this song said nothing to me. I remember people here in the forum appreciating it a lot but I was like "not again, not another typical U2 number with Bono's random lyrics written in his private jet, with MOS/Troubles-sort-of entrance and 80's/00's-reminiscent crescendo-build up ala-COBL with random Edge guitar".
So, I didn't give it much attention until the album came out.

And I have to admit that as soon as I listened to the studio recording in my SOE's first listen I thought "WOW, I was so wrong about this song". I thought that maybe the studio version had polished a lot of what I had listened to months ago, but then I went back to the live versions and they weren't substantially different.
It still does have a lot of cliché-U2 sound, but I think it's very beautifuly crafted and delicate. And I like the way Bono speaks a lot from the heart.

Sometimes I can’t believe my existence / See myself from a distance / I can’t get back inside (...) Sometimes I wake at four in the morning / When all the darkness is swarming / And it covers me in fear / Sometimes, sometimes, sometimes / Full of anger and grieving / So far away from believing / That any sun will reappear / Sometimes / The end is not coming / It’s not coming / The end is here"
Fuck. This is so heartbreaking and it gives me chills when I try to picture it. This album has some of Bono's best lyrics is a looooong time. These are definitely some of those.
Click to expand...

:up::up::up::up: SOE really has some of Bono's best ever lyrics
 
They had me at "oh la la ...."

Best song by far this millennium. Such a heartbreaker, beautiful and yet brutal. Lost a few people in my life over the past 3 or 4 years and every-time I hear this song now it all comes to a head. Not sure how I'm going to make it out of the arena after hearing it performed live. Assuming I do it will have been worth it. And even if I don't, still. :heart:
 
Headache in a Suitcase said:
Yes.

They've been medically controlling the heights of their children since birth specifically for this moment where they could stand next to each other and have a very slight resemblance to Africa, if the southern half of Africa was a third the size.

U2 plays the long game.
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And some people think they’re a part time band, pfft
 
RoKKeR said:
Yep. Absolutely phenomenal stuff. This part of the song is I think U2's best moment of the millennium.
Click to expand...

YES... after so many listens this song is absolutely stunning and as much as I thought MOS might be my favorite post-ATYCLB song this tops it. If not breaking my top 10 It's pretty close (for such a new song it's hard to believe). It brings me back to the first time I heard Bad, ASOH, TUF, STREETS and all my other favorite. This song soars for me brings me to U2 nirvana...
 
YBORCITY said:
YES... after so many listens this song is absolutely stunning and as much as I thought MOS might be my favorite post-ATYCLB song this tops it. If not breaking my top 10 It's pretty close (for such a new song it's hard to believe). It brings me back to the first time I heard Bad, ASOH, TUF, STREETS and all my other favorite. This song soars for me brings me to U2 nirvana...
Click to expand...



Great thoughts. This destroys MOS for me personally. COBL has always been my favorite post Pop song. This one tops it by a narrow margin.
 
Aygo said:
It's funny, because when they started playing it, this song said nothing to me. I remember people here in the forum appreciating it a lot but I was like "not again, not another typical U2 number with Bono's random lyrics written in his private jet, with MOS/Troubles-sort-of entrance and 80's/00's-reminiscent crescendo-build up ala-COBL with random Edge guitar".
So, I didn't give it much attention until the album came out.

And I have to admit that as soon as I listened to the studio recording in my SOE's first listen I thought "WOW, I was so wrong about this song". I thought that maybe the studio version had polished a lot of what I had listened to months ago, but then I went back to the live versions and they weren't substantially different.
It still does have a lot of cliché-U2 sound, but I think it's very beautifuly crafted and delicate. And I like the way Bono speaks a lot from the heart.

Sometimes I can’t believe my existence / See myself from a distance / I can’t get back inside (...) Sometimes I wake at four in the morning / When all the darkness is swarming / And it covers me in fear / Sometimes, sometimes, sometimes / Full of anger and grieving / So far away from believing / That any sun will reappear / Sometimes / The end is not coming / It’s not coming / The end is here"
Fuck. This is so heartbreaking and it gives me chills when I try to picture it. This album has some of Bono's best lyrics is a looooong time. These are definitely some of those.
Click to expand...

I'm tempted to say it might be their greatest song of the 21st century.

Which is absolutely astounding as the first time I heard it I thought it was a nice if not run-of-the-mill standard U2 song. Usual melodic style of U2, along with the standard Edge guitars. It wasn't even like this was a 'challenging' experimental piece of work that would take time to appreciate. Yet the more I listened to the live version, the more the lyrics and melody started to creep their way into my mind, and small little beautiful nuances of the song (the little pre-chorus before the first chorus - 'oh la la, I'm not a ghost now....') really moved me in a way that I hadn't been with U2 songs for a long long time.

I think it's a bonafide classic. The vulnerability and fragility is greater and more significant than any U2 song since many of the great tunes from Pop, and if the job of a frontman is to shed light on the very depths of his soul, then Bono has revealed it considerably. And a shout out to The Edge - again, like Bono, he's not doing anything new in this song, but he is like Bono, channeling the greatness of earlier years and replicating that greatness without a hint of pastiche.

It's a song full of the classic U2 sound. It's not mere tropes in a desperate attempt to retread old classics as many songs could be accused of lately, it's a genuinely sincere piece of work that distills the greatness of them into one song.
 
This song somehow continues to get better for me. What an incredible song. Thinking really hard about it, I think it is the best of the 2000's. Moment of Surrender and Kite are the other contenders.
 
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