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"It's saying, stand up to rock stars. That's about choosing your enemies, too. What are you gonna stand up for and what are you gonna stand up against? I love the notion of standing up to rock stars. Because they are a bunch of fucking megalomaniacs."
Producer and co-writer Daniel Lanois noted the track had been recreated so many times that six different songs had been written as a result. [6] He likened "Stand Up Comedy"'s creation to the popular YouTube video Evolution of Dance, noting that it had been rewritten so many times that it was "a study in itself". [6] Producer and co-writer Brian Eno felt that the band had taken the song and "work[ed] it into the ground, then work[ed] it back to life again," noting that it was a "frustrating" process. [1] U2 believed that the completed result at the end of the recording sessions was "a great song", but they also felt that the end result would seem too "crafted" to listeners. An older mix was ultimately chosen for inclusion on the album instead. [6]
The lyrics of "Stand Up Comedy" were inspired by the Stand Up and Take Action campaign, an event in 2008 where 116 million people from 131 countries reminded the leaders of countries of their promise to reduce poverty by 2015. Bono noted that the theme is "not a 'let's hold hands and the world is a better place sort of song.' It's more kick down the door of your own hypocrisy." [7] Several of the song's lyrics stem from Bono mocking his sense of hubris and his fear that his activism and campaigning will go too far, making him unable to measure up to his ideals. Josh Tyrangiel of Time noted that the song was "explicitly told through Bono's rose-colored specs". [8] The lyrics "Stand up to rock stars" and "Beware of small men with big ideas" reflect this inner doubt; Bono believed that the latter line was the funniest on the album. [1] [9]
"Stand Up Comedy" is the eighth track in the Anton Corbijn film Linear , based on a story by Corbijn and Bono where a Parisian traffic cop travels across France and the Mediterranean Sea to visit his girlfriend in Tripoli. [10] During the sequence the cop, played by Saïd Taghmaoui, resumes his journey through the mountains after his lunch. It ends with his deciding to make a stop in Cádiz where the next track, "Get on Your Boots", begins. [11]
Critical reception towards "Stand Up Comedy" was mixed. BBC Music's Chris Jones felt the track was a classic U2 song, calling it "a rowdy, grand gesture urging you to 'stand up for love' as only U2 can." He cited the lyric "stop helping God across the road like a little old lady" as one of the best lines that Bono had ever written. [12] Q described bassist Adam Clayton and drummer Larry Mullen Jr.'s playing as "bring[ing] forth U2's hitherto unrevealed funky side," also noting that the track was "propelled by some coruscating Edge guitar work", which was described as reminiscent of Led Zeppelin. [13] [14] Rolling Stone felt that the lyrics had "an almost hip-hop-like cadence," while calling The Edge's guitar riff a cross between The Beatles' "Come Together" and Led Zeppelin's "Heartbreaker". [5] Uncut felt that some of Bono's vocals echoed the band's 1984 single "Pride (In the Name of Love)" in their delivery. [15]
Allmusic was disappointed by the song, describing it as "hamfisted white-boy funk" and suggesting that the absence of co-writers Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno was the reason it seemed "stilted." [16] NME called the song "astonishingly uninteresting" and a "bog-standard rock song," likening it to an outtake from the How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb sessions. [17] Spin believed the song was a clumsy attempt to "adopt a self-conscious Zoo TV swagger", noting that the result "exposes Bono's dodgier wordplay." [18]
The Joshua Tree is the fifth studio album by Irish rock band U2. It was produced by Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno, and was released on 9 March 1987 on Island Records. In contrast to the ambient experimentation of their 1984 release, The Unforgettable Fire, the band aimed for a harder-hitting sound within the limitation of conventional song structures on The Joshua Tree. The album is influenced by American and Irish roots music, and through sociopolitically conscious lyrics embellished with spiritual imagery, it contrasts the group's antipathy for the "real America" with their fascination with the "mythical America".
The Unforgettable Fire is the fourth studio album by Irish rock band U2. It was produced by Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, and released on 1 October 1984 by Island Records. The band wanted to pursue a new musical direction following the harder-hitting rock of their previous album, War (1983). As a result, they employed Eno and Lanois to produce and assist in their experimentation with a more ambient sound. The resulting change in direction was at the time the band's most dramatic. The album's title is a reference to "The Unforgettable Fire", an art exhibit about the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.
"One" is a song by Irish rock band U2. It is the third track from their seventh album, Achtung Baby (1991), and it was released as the record's third single on 24 February 1992. During the album's recording sessions at Hansa Studios in Berlin, conflict arose between the band members over the direction of U2's sound and the quality of their material. Tensions almost prompted the band to break up until they achieved a breakthrough with the improvisation of "One"; the song was written after the band members were inspired by a chord progression that guitarist the Edge was playing in the studio. The lyrics, written by lead singer Bono, were inspired by the band members' fractured relationships and the German reunification. Although the lyrics ostensibly describe "disunity", they have been interpreted in other ways.
"With or Without You" is a song by Irish rock band U2. It is the third track on their fifth studio album, The Joshua Tree (1987), and was released as the album's lead single on 16 March 1987. The song was the group's most successful single at the time, becoming their first number-one hit in both the United States and Canada by topping the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks and the RPM national singles chart for one week, with a further three weeks at number two.
"Mysterious Ways" is a song by Irish rock band U2. It is the eighth track from their 1991 album, Achtung Baby, and was released as the album's second single on 2 December 1991. The song began as an improvisation called "Sick Puppy", with the band liking only the bass part that bassist Adam Clayton composed. The band struggled to build a song from it, with vocalist Bono and producer Daniel Lanois arguing intensely during one songwriting session. The song's breakthrough came after guitarist the Edge began experimenting with the Korg A3 effects unit. "Mysterious Ways" features a danceable beat, funky guitar hook, and conga-laden percussion, as well as mystical lyrics by Bono about romance and women.
"Pride (In the Name of Love)" is a song by Irish rock band U2. It is the second track on the band's 1984 album, The Unforgettable Fire, and was released as its lead single in September 1984. The song was produced by Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois. Written about the American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., "Pride" received mixed critical reviews at the time, but it was a major commercial success for U2 and has since become one of their most popular songs, as well as been re-evaluated positively by many as one of the greatest songs of all time. It appeared on the band's compilation albums The Best of 1980–1990 and U218 Singles and was reworked and re-recorded for Songs of Surrender (2023).
"Bullet the Blue Sky" is a song by Irish rock band U2, and is the fourth track from their 1987 album The Joshua Tree. Lyrically, the song was inspired by a trip that lead vocalist Bono made to Nicaragua and El Salvador, where he saw firsthand how local peasants were affected by United States military intervention in the region. Angered by what he witnessed, Bono asked guitarist the Edge to "put El Salvador through an amplifier." "Bullet the Blue Sky" is one of the band's most overtly political songs, with live performances often being heavily critical of political conflicts and violence.
"Until the End of the World" is a song by rock band U2 and the fourth track from their 1991 album Achtung Baby. The song began as a guitar riff composed by lead vocalist Bono from a demo, which the band revisited with success after talking with German filmmaker Wim Wenders about providing music for his film Until the End of the World. The song's lyrics describe a fictional conversation between Jesus Christ and Judas Iscariot. The first verse discusses the Last Supper; the second is about Judas identifying Jesus with a kiss on the cheek in the Garden of Gethsemane; and the final is about Judas' suicide after being overwhelmed with guilt and sadness.
No Line on the Horizon is the twelfth studio album by Irish rock band U2. It was produced by Brian Eno, Daniel Lanois, and Steve Lillywhite, and was released on 27 February 2009. It was the band's first record since How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (2004), marking the longest gap between studio albums of their career to that point. The band originally intended to release the songs as two EPs, but later combined the material into a single record. Photographer Anton Corbijn shot a companion film, Linear, which was released alongside the album and included with several special editions.
"Get On Your Boots" is a song by Irish rock band U2 and the sixth track on their 2009 album No Line on the Horizon. The song was released as the album's lead single on 19 January 2009, with a physical release on 14 February. The lyrical delivery of the song's verses has been said to resemble Bob Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues," while the song has also been compared to "Pump It Up" by Elvis Costello.
"Magnificent" is a song by U2. It is the second track on the band's 2009 album No Line on the Horizon and was released as the album's second single. The song was originally titled "French Disco", but was renamed later in the recording sessions. It is played before the start of every New York Rangers home game at Madison Square Garden.
"No Line on the Horizon" is a song by rock band U2; it is the opening and title track on their 2009 album No Line on the Horizon. An alternate version, "No Line on the Horizon 2", was included as a bonus track on some versions of the album. The song was developed during the band's earliest sessions in Fez, Morocco, and began with a drum beat by drummer Larry Mullen, Jr. The lyrics were inspired by a photograph of Lake Constance, titled Boden Sea. Many reviews of the song compared it to the band's other guitar-heavy songs, including "Elevation", "Vertigo", "Zoo Station", and "The Fly".
"Fez – Being Born" is a song by Irish rock band U2 and the eighth track on their 2009 album No Line on the Horizon. The group originally planned for the song to be sequenced as the opening track of the album, but they instead chose "No Line on the Horizon". During the recording sessions, "Fez – Being Born" had several different titles, including "Chromium Chords" and "Tripoli", and was the result of a fusion of two different songs.
"Moment of Surrender" is a song by rock band U2 and the third track on their 2009 album No Line on the Horizon. During the initial recording sessions for the album in 2007 in Fez, Morocco, the band wrote the song with producers Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois within a few hours. Together, they recorded the song in a single take; Eno called the song's recording "the most amazing studio experience [he's] ever had". According to him and Lanois, the track is the closest the band came to realising their original concept for the album of writing "future hymns". The seven-minute song features gospel-like vocals in the chorus, along with a predominantly organ- and piano-based musical accompaniment. Lyrically, the song is about a drug addict who is undergoing a crisis of faith.
"Unknown Caller" is a song by Irish rock band U2 and the fourth track on their 2009 album No Line on the Horizon. It was written from the perspective of a drug addict, who begins to receive bizarre text messages on his cellphone. The song was developed very early during the No Line on the Horizon sessions, and was recorded in a single take.
"Breathe" is a song by Irish rock band U2 and the tenth track on their 2009 album No Line on the Horizon. The lyrics detail an outburst from the song's narrator. The song was developed primarily by guitarist the Edge, with musical influences from Jimmy Page and Jack White. The track was mixed numerous times before the band decided to rewrite it.
"White as Snow" is a song by Irish rock band U2 and the ninth track on their 2009 album No Line on the Horizon. It was written from the perspective of a dying soldier serving in Afghanistan, and lasts the length of time it takes him to die. The track is based on the hymn "Veni, veni Emmanuel", and is the only political song on the album.
Linear is a 2009 film directed by Anton Corbijn. The film includes music from U2's 2009 studio album, No Line on the Horizon, and was included on both digital and DVD formats with several editions of the album.
"Winter" is a song by rock band U2. The track was originally planned to be included on the band's 2009 album No Line on the Horizon, but it was cut at the end of the recording sessions as it did not fit the album's theme. The song does appear on the accompanying film Linear. "Winter" was written for the 2009 war film Brothers at the request of director Jim Sheridan, and it plays over the closing credits. Several different versions of the song have been recorded, including an uptempo rock arrangement on Linear and a slower acoustic version in Brothers. The song was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song.