Zoo Station (song)
"Zoo Station" | |
---|---|
Genre | Alternative rock |
Length | 4:36 |
Label | Island |
Songwriter(s) | U2 (music), Bono (lyrics) |
Producer(s) | Daniel Lanois |
Audio sample | |
"Zoo Station" |
"Zoo Station" is a song by Irish rock band U2. It is the opening track from their 1991 album Achtung Baby, a record on which the group reinvented themselves musically by incorporating influences from alternative rock, industrial, and electronic dance music. As the album's opening track, "Zoo Station" introduces the band's new sound, delivering industrial-influenced percussion and several layers of distorted guitars and vocals. Similarly, the lyrics suggest the group's new intents and anticipations. The introduction, featuring an "explosion" of percussion and a descending glissando for a guitar hook, was meant to make the listener think the album was mistakenly not U2's latest record or that their music player was broken.
The song's lyrics were inspired by a surrealistic story about
Writing and recording
Following difficult recording sessions at
"Zoo Station" came together near the end of the recording sessions when
With Achtung Baby, the group sought to recover some of the
During recording, Eno created several prototype mixes of the song. The Edge recalled how these different mixes assisted the band in creating the final version of the track.[4] One of these early versions was later released under the title "Bottoms (Watashitachi No Ookina Yume)" as a bonus track on the UK and Japanese promotional releases of the experimental 1995 album Original Soundtracks 1 by Passengers, a side project by U2 and Eno,[5] as well as a B-side on some versions of the "Miss Sarajevo" single. "Bottoms (Watashitachi No Ookina Yume)" is an instrumental track and was described by The Edge as a "crazy" mix.[4] He added "'Bottoms' was done in Japan, and we just built on that mix. Sometimes you can end up with something completely distinctive."[4]
Although "Zoo Station" was not released as a
Composition
As the first track on an album that was a major reinvention for the band, "Zoo Station" was an introduction to U2's new sound. The song features layers of distorted guitar and vocals, and industrial-influenced percussion. Irish rock journalist Bill Graham cites David Bowie's album Low as a major influence on "Zoo Station", which he called a "new brand of glam rock" with "Spartan rhythms and sudden flurries of melody".[7]
"The opening of 'Zoo Station' makes a powerful statement: in its deliberate use of 'industrial' sounds that remind us not at all of conventional instruments, in the foregrounding of technology at the beginning of the song—indeed, in making this the opening statement of the album—there can be no mistake that U2 has embraced sound resources new to them. But the fact that it is a deliberately hesitant gesture puts it clearly in the realm of satire. Perhaps it satirizes the technology itself, or U2's new embracing of technology."
—Susan Fast[8]
The song is played at a tempo of 130 beats per minute in a 4/4 time signature,[9] but only one element of the song's introduction, a marimba-like texture, is played in common time.[8] This sound, which has been compared to that of a clock ticking, was achieved by picking the guitar's D string behind the bridge and the stopbar. On the second half of the third beat, the song's signature guitar riff, a distorted descending glissando, enters.[8] The glissando descends past the octave it begins in by a major second before returning to it.[8] After the second time it is played, an "explosion" of percussion is heard, playing on beat four of every second measure on two occasions.[8] This percussion sound, played by Flood, enters early the third time, being played on beat two.[8][10] The drums then enter, before stopping and starting again. Much like the song's guitar sounds, the drums' timbre is noticeably different from previous U2 songs as it exhibits a "cold, processed sound, something like beating on a tin can".[11] Amidst layers of various guitar sounds, the bass enters, the part played in the introduction and verses consisting of repeating G and A notes, mimicking the ascending portion of the guitar riff after the glissando overshoots the octave.[8] After the bass begins, the song's regular groove is established.[8] At 0:45, the chord progression changes. Fifteen seconds later, the song returns to the previous chord progression and the introduction ends.[12]
Guitarist The Edge explained that some of the sounds in the introduction that resemble keyboards were actually created by him on guitar.[1] Of the song's introduction, bassist Adam Clayton says, "When people put on the record, we wanted their first reaction to be either 'this record is broken' or 'this can't be the new U2 record, there's been a mistake.' So there is quite a dramatic extended intro where you just don't know what you are listening to."[1] Author Albin Zak, in his book The Poetics of Rock, says of the introduction, "Before any words are sung, the sounds alone alert the listener that the band has moved into new expressive territory."[11]
After the introduction, the song follows a conventional
Along with introducing the band's new sound, the song opens the album as a statement of intent.[2] Lyrically, new anticipations and appetites are suggested ("I'm ready for what's next"),[7] as is a willingness to throw caution to the wind and take risks ("I'm ready to let go of the steering wheel").[8] Some of the lyrics, particularly those in the bridge before the final chorus, use the eponymous subway station as a metaphor for time: "Time is a train / Makes the future the past / Leaves you standing in the station / Your face pressed up against the glass". Bono cites the enjoyment of his first child born in 1989 as a major influence on Achtung Baby, as was his wife's second pregnancy during the album's 1991 recording. Bono says babies influenced the lines from the first verse, "I'm ready to say I'm glad to be alive / I'm ready, I'm ready for the push".[13]
Reception and legacy
Upon the release of Achtung Baby, "Zoo Station" was praised by many critics. Steve Morse of
"Zoo Station" is featured in the 2002 British comedy-drama film About a Boy. In one scene, the main character, Will (Hugh Grant), turns up the volume of the song as a "childless effort" to ignore Marcus (Nicholas Hoult), a boy ringing Will's doorbell, prompting Marcus to ring it in unison with the beat of the song.[22]
The song was covered by American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails on the 2011 cover album AHK-toong BAY-bi Covered.[23]
Live performances
"Zoo Station" made its live debut on the opening night of the
"Zoo Station" was not played during the subsequent PopMart and Elevation Tours, but it returned to the group's set lists on the Vertigo Tour.[32] The song was most often performed during the first encore, along with other Achtung Baby/Zoo TV-era songs, as part of a mini-Zoo TV set paying homage to the band's 1990s era. It made its last appearance in November 2006 and was not played live again until the September 24, 2015 concert on the Innocence + Experience Tour. The song returned to the band's setlists during the Experience + Innocence Tour in 2018, and was played nineteen times.[33]
U2 performed "Zoo Station" during their 2023–2024 U2:UV Achtung Baby residency at the Sphere in the Las Vegas Valley, as the opening song of concerts. As the introduction was played, the concrete visuals that were displaying on the venue's LED screen during the preshow appeared to crack open, splitting into four quadrants;[34] this allowed in light in the shape of a cross, which was inspired by the architecture of the Church of the Light.[35][36] The opening revealed video imagery behind it, some of it the original footage by Mark Pellington from the Zoo TV Tour.[36] Bono began the concerts wearing the wraparound sunglasses that were characteristic of his Zoo TV stage persona "the Fly".[37]
Live performances of the song appear on the video releases
References
Footnotes
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j McCormick (2006), pp. 224–225, 232
- ^ a b c d e f Stokes (2005), p. 96
- ^ Zoo Station. Achtung Baby (Media notes). U2. Island Records. 1991.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ a b c Stokes (2005), p. 194
- ^ Original Soundtracks 1 (CD). Passengers. Japan: Island Records. 1995. PHCR-1800.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ Zoo TV (12-inch promotional release). U2. Island Records. 1992. PR12 6715-1.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ a b Graham (2004), pp. 43–47
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Fast (2000), pp. 45–48
- )
- ^ Assayas (2005), p. 75
- ^ a b Zak (2001), pp. 68–70
- ^ a b c Achtung Baby (CD booklet). U2. Island Records. 1991.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ McCormick (2006), pp. 216, 221
- ^ Morse, Steve (1991-11-15). "U2 bounces back". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2009-10-13.
- ^ Gettelman, Patty (1991-11-06). "Achtung Baby". Orlando Sentinel.
- ^ Easlea, Daryl (2007-04-18). "Review of U2 - Achtung Baby". BBC Online. Retrieved 2009-10-13.
- ^ Pareles, Jon (1991-11-17). "U2 Takes a Turn From the Universal To the Domestic". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-10-13.
- ^ Gardner, Elysa (1992-01-09). "Review: Achtung Baby". Rolling Stone.
- Allmusic. Retrieved 2010-04-09.
- ^ a b Kot, Greg (1991-11-17). "U2 Loosens Up". Chicago Tribune.
- ^ Creswell (2006), pp. 377–378
- ^ Southard, Belinda Stillion (1 November 2005). "Pop Music in British Cinema". Journal of Popular Film & Television. 33 (3): 173.
- Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
- ^ "ZOO TV Tour". U2gigs.com. Retrieved 2010-04-09.
- ^ Flanagan (1996), p. 61
- ^ Lester, Paul (1993-06-26). "Zooropean Sons". Melody Maker.
- ^ Graham, Bill (1993-09-08). "Zooropa: The Greatest Show on Earth". Hot Press.
- The Daily Yomiuri.
- ^ Dalton, Stephen (2004-10-26). "Achtung Stations". Uncut.
- ^ Graham, Bill (1992-05-21). "Achtung Station!". Hot Press.
- ^ BP Fallon (host and co-creator) (1992-11-27). Zoo Radio (Syndicated radio broadcast). United States. Archived from the original on November 13, 2009.
- ^ "U2 Zoo Station". U2Gigs. Retrieved 2010-04-09.
- ^ "U2 Experience + Innocence Tour - U2 on tour".
- ^ Rose, Caryn (24 October 2023). "A band, a brand, a spectacle, a Sphere". NPR Music. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
- ^ Giardina, Carolyn (30 September 2023). "U2 Opens Las Vegas Sphere With a Dazzling Musical and Visual Odyssey Before 18,000 Fans". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
- ^ a b Behind U2's Residency at Sphere Las Vegas (Promotional video). Interviewed by Lowe, Zane. Apple Music. 5 October 2023. Retrieved 6 October 2023 – via YouTube.
- ^ Ruggieri, Melissa (30 September 2023). "U2 brings swagger, iconic songs to Sphere Las Vegas in jaw-dropping opening night concert". USA Today. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
- ^ U2, David Mallett (Director) (2006). Zoo TV: Live from Sydney (DVD). Sydney, Australia: Island Records.
- Chicago, Illinois: Island Records.
Bibliography
- Assayas, Michka (2005). Bono: In Conversation with Michka Assayas. New York: ISBN 1-57322-309-3.
- Creswell, Toby (2006). ISBN 1-56025-915-9.
- Fast, Susan (2000). "Music, Contexts, and Meaning in U2". In Everett, Walter (ed.). Expression in Pop-Rock Music: A Collection of Critical and Analytical Essays (Studies in Contemporary Music and Culture). New York: ISBN 978-0-8153-3160-5.
- ISBN 978-0-385-31157-1.
- Graham, Bill; van Oosten de Boer, Caroline (2004). U2: The Complete Guide to their Music. London: ISBN 0-7119-9886-8.
- ISBN 1-56025-765-2.
- ISBN 0-00-719668-7.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link - Zak, Albin (2001). The Poetics of Rock: Cutting Tracks, Making Records. Berkeley: ISBN 978-0-520-23224-2.
External links