Numb (U2 song)
"Numb" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by U2 | ||||
from the album Zooropa | ||||
Released | June 1993 | |||
Recorded | 1990–1993[1] | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 4:22 | |||
Label |
| |||
Flood | ||||
U2 singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Alternative cover | ||||
Music video | ||||
"Numb" on YouTube |
"Numb" is a song by Irish
"Numb" originated as a discarded song from the
Recording and production
"Numb" originated as a discarded song from the
During the Zooropa sessions, U2 revisited the song. At Windmill Lane Studios, producer Brian Eno began working with a stereo submix of the Berlin version, containing guitar, bass, bass pedals and drums, that Flood had created. Eno added about six or seven tracks of keyboards to the submix, mostly samples and strings from a Yamaha DX7 synthesiser. Some of the samples included Arabic voices and congas. According to Adams, "The idea of his overdubs was to make up music out of non-musical noises, like loops of pieces of dialogue and video samples."[1] The Edge called Eno's additions "fantastic".[3]
The song's biggest contribution came while the band were organizing the final running order for Zooropa. The Edge spent several hours in another studio with the mix, experimenting with ideas; eventually adding vocals in a monotone, almost rapped delivery. He said that writing the lyrics "came very quickly", and that he wrote so many lyrics that two verses had to be cut from the song.
Bono and drummer
Composition
"Numb" runs for 4:20 (4 minutes, 20 seconds). According to
Release
"Numb" was an unlikely choice for a first single, and was released in an even more unlikely format, a
A remix of "Numb" appeared in the 1995 movie
Critical reception
Music video
The main music video for "Numb" was directed by British singer, songwriter, musician and music video director
The video remix was produced by the performance group Emergency Broadcast Network and features, apart from a different performance from the Edge, a number of television and film clips making up much of the industrial beat of the song.[citation needed] The video and sound segments from the video remix were eventually incorporated into the band's live performances of the song on the Zoo TV Tour.[citation needed] The video remix was performed live at the 1993 MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles, with only the Edge and multiple video screens on stage.[13][14]
The commercial single itself was released in video format only on VHS, echoing the television theme from their Zoo TV Tour although limited copies of promotional vinyl and CDs do exist.[15][16] The video was placed at #16 on NME’s list of "50 Worst Music Videos Ever",[17] but was also described by Stylus Magazine as "sublimely bizarre".[18]
Parodies
- VH1 parodied the video for Numb as a promo for The New WKRP in Cincinnati. Richard Sanders (aka Les Nessman) sat in Edge's place and rambled out the lyrics to the show's opening theme song much the same way Edge does the lyrics to Numb, while the rest of the show's cast did the odd, random things to him.
- Parody musician "Weird Al" Yankovic performed a parody of the song called "Green Eggs and Ham" on television while donning a hat similar to the Edge's, sitting in front of a black background, and reciting verses from the book Green Eggs and Ham as the song's lyrics while having the strange things from the original video happen to him.[19] Yankovic originally planned for "Green Eggs and Ham" to be featured on his 1996 album Bad Hair Day, but he was unable to get permission from Dr. Seuss' estate.[20]
- Irish children's TV puppet Dustin the Turkey released a parody of the song in 1994.[21]
- Mike Myers and Dana Carvey, in character as Wayne and Garth respectively, inserted themselves into the video on a 1993 MTV special promoting the upcoming Wayne's World 2. Garth stared straight into the camera and was lipsynching Edge's part, while Wayne performs various gags using Garth's head.
- French Canadian comedians Les Bleu Poudres made a French language parody of the video, entitled "Bum".
- In the Philippines, the music channel, Myx parodied the video to promote their 24-hour U2 marathon. The video stars the Myx VJs (Luis Manzano, Nikki Gil and Iya Villana).
- In the music video to their song "Alles nur geklaut" from 1993, the German band Die Prinzen parodied several international music videos, including Numb. The song's fictional lyrics are about a musician who confesses their success is based on music plagiarism. In 2021, Die Prinzen collaborated with the German band Deine Freunde and released a new version of the song along with a new music video that parodies the same music videos as the original from 1993 did.
- The music video was riffed on by Beavis and Butt-Head, with Butt-Head notably remarking that the song should've been titled "Dumb".
Track listing
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Numb" (Video) | 4:18 |
2. | "Numb" (Video remix) | 4:52 |
3. | "Love Is Blindness" (Video) | 4:23 |
Personnel
- Bono – co-lead vocals
- The Edge – electric guitars, synthesizers, lead vocals
- Adam Clayton – bass guitar
- Larry Mullen Jr. – drums, percussion, backing vocals
- Additional personnel
- Brian Eno – synthesisers, arcade sounds
Charts
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
|
See also
- List of covers of U2 songs – Numb
References
Footnotes
- ^ a b c d e f g Tingen, Paul (March 1994). "ROBBIE ADAMS: U2's Achtung Baby & Zooropa". Sound on Sound. Archived from the original on 5 July 2015. Retrieved 8 January 2010.
- ^ 'Numb' by U2 concert statistics
- ^ a b c d e f McCormick (2006) p. 248
- ^ Zooropa (Media notes). U2. Island Records. 1993. 314-518 047-2.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ Hiatt, Brian (24 October 2011). "U2 Revisit 'Achtung Baby' – and Question Their Future". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 27 October 2011.
- Hal Leonard Corporation. Retrieved 1 October 2011.
- ^ a b c d Jackson, Joe (19 May 1993). "The Magical Mystery Tour". Hot Press. Archived from the original on 8 December 2012. Retrieved 1 August 2009.
- ^ "U2 Discography: Numb Video Single". u2wanderer. 1993. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "U2 – Zooropa". AllMusic. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
- ^ Flick, Larry (17 July 1993). "Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. p. 106. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
- ^ Jones, Alan (3 July 1993). "Market Preview: Mainstream – Albums – Pick of the Week" (PDF). Music Week. p. 23. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
- ^ "Picks and Pans Review: Zooropa". People. 9 August 1993. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
- ^ "U2 "Numb", MTV Music Awards, 1993". YouTube. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
- ^ ""Numb" – U2". U2songs. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
- ^ Numb CD single (liner). U2. New York City, US: Island. 1993.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ Numb vinyl single (liner). U2. New York City, US: Island. 1993.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ "16 U2 – 'Numb'". NME. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
- ^ Unterberger, Andrew (6 November 2006). "U2 vs. R.E.M." Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on 29 May 2015. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
- ^ "U2 > Discography > Albums > Number Video Single". U2.com. Archived from the original on 26 October 2014. Retrieved 18 December 2010.
- ^ "Ask al".
- ^ "Eurosong 2008 Finalists". allkindsofeverything.ie. Retrieved 18 December 2010.
- ^ "U2 – Numb". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
- ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 2207." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
- ^ "EHR Top 40" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 10, no. 31. 31 July 1993. p. 22. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
- Dagblaðið Vísir(in Icelandic). 5 August 1993. p. 20. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
- MegaCharts. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
- ^ "U2 – Numb". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
- ^ "U2 Chart History (Radio Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
- ^ "U2 Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
- ^ "U2 Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
- ^ "U2 Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
- ^ "The RPM Top 100 Hit Tracks of 1993". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
- ^ "Árslistinn 1993". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 4 January 1994. p. 17. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
Bibliography
- U2 (2006). ISBN 0-00-719668-7.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link