SOE
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U2 - You're The Best Thing About Me
 Album:
Songs Of Experience (2017)
  1. Originally posted by kris_smith87:[..]
    Well Edge said in one of the interviews yesterday, once a song is released the fans own it. So obviously they might end up disliking something they made while others love it.

    Also. I hope the version we got yesterday IS the album version. Screw it. I got over the disjointedness and now love it. Stuck in my head all day.

    I think if the "why am I walking away" part was there twice it would make the song sadder. By having it at the end it kind of comes as a surprise. And the listener would ask "Yeah. Why are you since she is so great?!"

    Also peoplentalking about howbit sounds like several songs in one or a mess or whatever. The Little Things could be considered the same with the way it changes into a slight rocker at the end.
  2. Originally posted by kris_smith87:[..]
    Well Wdge said in one of the interviews yesterday, once a song is released the fans own it. So obviously they might end up disliking something they made while others love it.

    Also. I hope the version we got yesterday IS the album version. Screw it. I got over the disjointedness and now love it. Stuck in my head all day.

    I think if the "why am I walking away" part was there twice it would make the song sadder. By having it at the end it kind of comes as a surprise. And the listener would ask "Yeah. Why are you since she is so great?!"

    Also peoplentalking about howbit sounds like several songs in one or a mess or whatever. The Little Things could be considered the same with the way it changes into a slight rocker at the end.


    I'm not talking about the structure (how Little Things changes to a rocker) I'm talking about the actual mix of the recording itself. Listen to the first verse transition into the first chorus. I'm not talking about how the guitar changes tone or anything like that, I'm talking about the recording itself. The tone of the song completely changes and it sounds like they took the chorus from one mix and dropped it into another. Compare the exact same section to the Sci-Fi mix and there's a world of difference. It sounds like Bono's vocals were recorded differently, the drums were on a different kit or something, etc. This has nothing to do with the way the song is written, it's to do with how the recording itself has been engineered, and it sounds amateur to me. The chorus completely falls flat because of it IMO. I would love not to notice it, but I can't help it.

    I guarantee you that you would notice a better mix and be happier with it. You might be fine with the song as it is, but I know you'd hear the difference.

    We can keep arguing about the song structure, and that may never change. But they need a better sounding mix for the album.
  3. Originally posted by RattleandHum1988:[..]


    I'm not talking about the structure (how Little Things changes to a rocker) I'm talking about the actual mix of the recording itself. Listen to the first verse transition into the first chorus. I'm not talking about how the guitar changes tone or anything like that, I'm talking about the recording itself. The tone of the song completely changes and it sounds like they took the chorus from one mix and dropped it into another. Compare the exact same section to the Sci-Fi mix and there's a world of difference. It sounds like Bono's vocals were recorded differently, the drums were on a different kit or something, etc. This has nothing to do with the way the song is written, it's to do with how the recording itself has been engineered, and it sounds amateur to me. The chorus completely falls flat because of it IMO. I would love not to notice it, but I can't help it.

    I guarantee you that you would notice a better mix and be happier with it. You might be fine with the song as it is, but I know you'd hear the difference.
    Maybe. But I'd take the mix we have over the Sci-Fi one. That is U2 staying in their lane, trying to maybe be a bit pop but not grabbing it by the balls and going HAM. The one they released is joyous, fresh and still U2.

  4. I do!
    Has that same crunchy yet compressed sound to it. Like it better than the sci fi mix guitar part.
  5. Originally posted by kris_smith87:[..]
    Maybe. But I'd take the mix we have over the Sci-Fi one. That is U2 staying in their lane, trying to maybe be a bit pop but not grabbing it by the balls and going HAM. The one they released is joyous, fresh and still U2.
    I'm pulling my hair out because I must not be explaining myself properly. Nevermind!
  6. No. I get what you mean. But I'm also saying if Sci-Fi was released yesterday we might have liked it (I'd have been disappointed after hearing the vibey groovy Kygo mix but I'd have liked it) but I doubt sites that wouldn't necessarily write about U2 like Noisey (whether they are annoying hipsters or not) would have been like "Hey. U2 has a new song and it isn't bad."
  7. Originally posted by robotsandmonkeys:[..]


    I really like your point, actually. U2 directly led me to listen to Brian Eno's "Another Green World" many many years ago, which then led me to discovering and loving early ambient music, Roxy Music, etc.

    I guess the difference here is U2 challenged and led to music I wouldn't have heard otherwise. And it was QUALITY music. The Joshua Tree mined country and gospel music in a way that probably introduced that rich music to a whole pack of people that wouldn't have heard it otherwise. That music is...nutritious (for lack of a better term).

    "The Best Thing" doesn't challenge me, doesn't surprise me, and is rooted in the shallow pool of contemporary pop soundscape that I am in no way interested in mining. And in now way is nutritious. This is wonder bread. What music does "The Best Thing" expose me to? Pop radio. Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, The goddamn Chainsmokers. All, in my very biased opinion, awful music.

    (...)

    The Best Thing won't make me listen to Taylor Swift or the Jonas Brothers or whatever.
    But it makes me listen to a pop song, a genre otherwise I wouldn't touch with a ten feet pole. And I do it trusting that it isn't just garbage, it's the creation of 4 (+) talented guys I trust, so there's something nutritious in there, Edge's riff, Adam's bass, Larry's pace and Bono's Melody.

    If I'm gonna listen to only a handful of Pop songs in my life, I want them to be created by talented artists that I trust.
  8. Originally posted by kris_smith87:[..]
    No. I get what you mean. But I'm also saying if Sci-Fi was released yesterday we might have liked it (I'd have been disappointed after hearing the vibey groovy Kygo mix but I'd have liked it) but I doubt sites that wouldn't necessarily write about U2 like Noisey (whether they are annoying hipsters or not) would have been like "Hey. U2 has a new song and it isn't bad."
    Yeah maybe, I mean both have their perks. I'm more surprised that none of the music sites commented on what I'm on about though, as far as I can tell. The recording sounds like they just finished it and put it out rather than engineering it properly and having it mastered properly. I can't help but feel like The Edge's comment about "the one we went with is based on my original demo" has something to do with it...I wonder if it pretty much IS his initial demo.
  9. Originally posted by Bloodraven:[..]

    The Best Thing won't make me listen to Taylor Swift or the Jonas Brothers or whatever.
    But it makes me listen to a pop song, a genre otherwise I wouldn't touch with a ten feet pole. And I do it trusting that it isn't just garbage, it's the creation of 4 (+) talented guys I trust, so there's something nutritious in there, Edge's riff, Adam's bass, Larry's pace and Bono's Melody.

    If I'm gonna listen to only a handful of Pop songs in my life, I want them to be created by talented artists that I trust.


    just because all this talk about pop songs...
  11. If I'm gonna listen to only a handful of Pop songs in my life, I want them to be created by talented artists that I trust.

    Define a pop song? Surely there are more than a handful... She Loves You by The Beatles? Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison? Miss You by The Rolling Stones? Wonderwall by Oasis? Even Photograph by Def Leppard and You Shook Me All Night Long by AC/DC are defined as Pop songs...
  12. Originally posted by RattleandHum1988:[..]
    Yeah maybe, I mean both have their perks. I'm more surprised that none of the music sites commented on what I'm on about though, as far as I can tell. The recording sounds like they just finished it and put it out rather than engineering it properly and having it mastered properly. I can't help but feel like The Edge's comment about "the one we went with is based on my original demo" has something to do with it...I wonder if it pretty much IS his initial demo.
    There's definitely some production errors going on in the single mix indeed.
    I can't believe that the change from first chorus to second verse actually slipped through. And pretty much all the other things you already mentioned. Weird loudness changes, thin vocal sound.
    On the other hand, if they ran out of time, at least they got out a more interesting mix than the sci fi one.
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