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A few weeks ago we told you about U2′s “Winter,” an original track from Jim Sheridan’s “Brothers.” Today we’re happy to feature the tune as we have a number of other contenders in the race for Best Original Song.
“Winter” was conceived originally for the film. Confusion has popped up as to whether that was the case, what with the tune accompanying the Irish band’s album “No Line on the Horizon” in conjunction with an Anton Corbijn short film. But when Sheridan set about making “Brothers,” he in fact asked his old friends to cook something up for the film.
In my opinion, it’s bottom-tier U2, full of a number of ideas that form a menagerie more than a cohesive song. The lyrics are a bit too on the nose for my taste, too, but they’re clearly written for the narrative of the film. The song comes in at the end of the film, over the credits, so it could be a tough sell for those reasons.
Have a listen below and tell us what you think.
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52 responses so far
1 12-07-2009 at 10:04 am
JFK said...
This movie was bad on soo many levels–including the U2 references.
I know that “Brodre” is way better, but I had to see it for myself.
2 12-07-2009 at 10:28 am
Jen said...
KT, you could talk about the performances?
I remember that time that U2 lost to Eminem. That was a crime.
3 12-07-2009 at 10:38 am
Kevin Underwood said...
Great song, unfortunatley will be brought down by those who think it is cool to bash anything the band does.
4 12-07-2009 at 10:47 am
Gangs of NY said...
Yes, that a crime U2 lost this Oscar with one of best music song. Won with winter?
5 12-07-2009 at 10:51 am
Kristopher Tapley said...
Kevin: I don’t think it’s cool to bash everything the band does and I don’t think it’s a good song. There, sweeping generalization debunked.
6 12-07-2009 at 11:10 am
JAB said...
Bono’s going after the EGOT.
7 12-07-2009 at 11:32 am
The Other Ryan said...
Yeah, I’m with Kris all the way on this one.
8 12-07-2009 at 12:00 pm
Muldfeld said...
I applaud you, Mr. Tapley, for having the courage to say about this song what’s obvious to anyone with taste about much of U2′s output this decade.
For my part, I like the song — as I did “The Hands That Built America” — but that’s only because I’m a U2 fan and probably will play this song just as rarely. I liked some of the instrumentation at the start and during the bridges, but Bono’s vocals are annoyingly rough — typical of much of the sound of his voice over the first 2 albums this decade, and the guitar melody is too simple. U2 used to know how to create a great sense of texture and loud and soft. “Running to Stand Still” was so original sounding and had so much depth because of this. Their last great album was “Achtung Baby”, despite 2 very good songs on every album since. At least this isn’t as bad as “Vertigo”, but it screams formula in nearly the same way.
Lyrically, though, I’m very upset with Bono. First in Fall 2001, in a craven attempt to appeal to Americans for DATA money, he sounded the war cry that the bombings and occupation of Afghanistan was “the right kind of war”. Where U2 had criticized even the first Gulf War and many elements of US foreign policy, including its responsibility for the atrocities in Latin America, it has now fallen silent. This song and those few that refer to war on “No Line on the Horizon” are all from the perspective of the Westerner, especially the American. Avoiding the humanitarian elephant in the room, U2 is completely avoiding the massacres happening at the behest of the US and its ally Israel throughout the Middle East; Gaza comes firmly to mind as a situation created by the occupation and illegal blockade, not simply, as Bono claims, by both sides resorting to arms because the Israel’s state tools of oppression don’t require direct force, only the threat of it and its unjust laws — which U2 never mentions.
I feel badly for US soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq who are injured. I even feel sorry for Lindie England and others who took the rap for following implicit orders to torture from the guys above — those same Bush administration officials with whom Bono consorted and for whom he makes apologies (Rove, Bush, Condie Rice, etc) because they’re supposedly “well-intentioned” when they obviously never were. However, Iraqis and Afghans and Palestinians never wanted to face the horrors of war and occupation; it was the Americans that brought this upon them and themselves. U2 seems to be siding with the occupier — the one with all the power — to a ridiculous degree that shies away from telling its Western audience how they should feel about their major role in all this.
9 12-07-2009 at 12:05 pm
Adam said...
Great song.
10 12-07-2009 at 12:07 pm
JMJMChip said...
lyrics are fine, if not good-
song is perfect for the movie which i haven’t seen but seems at least fitting based on trailers-
I really like the song, perhaps may love it someday…
Remember a little tune called One? Hardly charted or was known at all, now U2 fans and all peeps seem to know and love or at least appreciate it- I didn’t like alot of the AB tunes but now to date, best LP and the greatest rock ballad of all time is>One!
This tune may just go on a lower tiered shelf like, Hands That Built America snd Sarajevo from Passengers-
raw voice=A-
Lyrics=B-B+
New atmospheric/’Sons of Ascent’ sound/HTBA sound…I always appreciate so it settles at a B level, at least it does for right now-
…if anyone cares, IMHO
11 12-07-2009 at 12:22 pm
Lazarus said...
This version is a little more focused than the original, but it lacks its power as well. If the band is going to win an Oscar, it would be nice to see them do so for a song that really shows off their unique talents better. I’m a big fan but I don’t think they should automatically be awarded because they’re an important band who doesn’t have a statue yet.
At least it’s an improvement over The Hands That Build America, one of the band’s most lifeless songs, which was rightfully defeated by Eminem’s stirring anthem.
And Muldfeld, the people here probably care even less about your political rants than the places you usually troll. This is a movie website, take it somewhere else.
12 12-07-2009 at 12:37 pm
JMJMChip said...
Agreed on Eminem-
Have to wait and see who they are up against before any talk on Oscar, right?
I actually think I will end up liking this more than Hands, especially if it is on the next LP released-
13 12-07-2009 at 1:45 pm
nat said...
wonderful song,as always with U2!
the hands that built america was wonderful too.
maybe this time they will win the oscar!fingers crossed!
14 12-07-2009 at 1:56 pm
Joe said...
Uhhh Kris Tapley, here’s the sentence
“unfortunatley will be brought down by those who think it is cool to bash anything the band does”
Since you’re not in the first category, the “generalization” does not apply.
15 12-07-2009 at 2:05 pm
james said...
This one is nice, very soft so that it goes allright for the mainstream.
The original version from this song, I think is much more fresh and emotional (more pure)… They were not brave enough to include it as it was (less comercial I guess…)
What do you think?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHLtoGLnirM
16 12-07-2009 at 2:28 pm
Danny King said...
I agree here, this doesn’t feel like anything worth nominating. In fact, it’s a rather mundane tune when compared to some of the better original songs this year.
17 12-07-2009 at 3:15 pm
Muldfeld said...
Lazarus, the only troll I see here is you with your bullying tactic. I’m not writing for you and you can only speak for yourself. The rest of us are talking about U2. Take your attitude elsewhere.
18 12-07-2009 at 3:27 pm
McAllister said...
As a huge U2 fan, I’m of course pulling for this to get a nomination. I love the song. I’ve had an mp3 of it for two weeks and according to my last.fm page, it’s now among my top 10 listened to U2 songs ever. I love it more than anything on “No Line on the Horizon,” bar maybe ‘Magnificent’ and ‘Moment of Surrender,’ maybe. It’s beautiful. The last 2 minutes of the song are two of the best minutes of music I’ve heard this year… lyrically and sonically.
19 12-07-2009 at 3:49 pm
Glenn said...
The Eminem win is one of the best Original Song winners ever. It’s a stunning song and I imagine those who say otherwise are as biased against hip-hop as they’re saying others are against U2. “The Hands That Built America” was dirge and so far from U2′s best it’s not even funny.
20 12-07-2009 at 4:11 pm
arjay said...
I’m a big U2 fan and I love their recent output, but this song feels like something they left off No Line On The Horizon. Maybe the lyrics were meant for Brothers, but maybe they just stitched them onto a disused melody.
Also the line “rhymes that sprang in me” is stolen from Neil Diamond’s Play Me. Once you start stealing lyrics from Neil Diamond, you’re in trouble.
21 12-07-2009 at 4:30 pm
Dave C said...
Can we remove Muldfeld’s political comments and mark them as trolling?
22 12-07-2009 at 5:02 pm
wargaveuswhatwehave said...
muldfeld is mud with revisionist history
23 12-07-2009 at 5:14 pm
Jason said...
Mud, your post was 99% political rhetoric and 1% U2 related. There are plenty of places where you can sharpen your rhetoric skills. This isn’t one of those places.
Something tells me you repeat this schtick on numerous message boards.
24 12-07-2009 at 5:55 pm
Kristopher Tapley said...
Joe: But I don’t like the song. The gist you’re giving is that you either love the band and the song or you bash the band and the song. My interpretation, anyway.
25 12-07-2009 at 8:59 pm
Kyle said...
True, the lyrics are very simplistic, but if you look a little deeper you find that they fit perfectly into the underlying narrative of the song.
There is a line where Bono sings, “I kept a diary, of my experience….”
The song is written from the point of view of a young soldier half a world away from everything he’s known… when the song is viewed as the words an uneducated soldier writes in his diary, I believe it adds a stark beauty.
Too often we view music and art from the terribly ethnocentric view point of, “If it isn’t complex than it isn’t good.” To operate under this assumption is to throw away millennia of musical heritage and wisdom.
Just a thought.
Seems to me like there is a quiet beauty in the simple, that most bands are afraid of… because they would be criticized by people operating under the tired old assumption many people here have fallen victim to.
26 12-07-2009 at 10:24 pm
Andrew R. said...
It’s alright. I love U2 and i’ve heard better. Can’t see them nominating this song, it doesn’t seem like something I can see being performed that night. Last part reminds me a lot of Viva la Vida.
27 12-08-2009 at 1:58 am
Bart said...
I love U2 more than any band in the world but this song bores me to death.
28 12-08-2009 at 6:20 am
Timmer said...
I’m also a big U2 fan, and I must say I much prefer the version off the Linear DVD. Its very textural (like all of No Line on the Horizon), and really ebbs and flows which plays with your emotions throughout the song, its quite powerful. This version is very in your face with its sentimentality, and just comes across as syrupy to me. It sounds more like a B-side from How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (which is not a good thing).
29 12-08-2009 at 1:49 pm
Dave C said...
“Something tells me you repeat this schtick on numerous message boards.”
Jason, if you only knew! Muldfeld is famous for his off the wall BS and political rants that are inappropriately posted, like here. He once took over a Q&A session with Daniel Lanois about Lanois’ new work and turned it into a political diatribe about Palestine, Israel, US policy, and somehow came to the conclusion that U2 should channel “Battlestar Galactica” in their music. If you can believe that.
He is quite proud of himself, though he makes absolutely no sense and generally comes off looking like a giant douche on the message boards.
30 12-08-2009 at 1:53 pm
JR said...
In my opinion, the origingal version was rightfully omitted on NLOTH. I thought it was a B-side at best.
I like this version even less, so for me it’s a C-side if that would exist.
31 12-08-2009 at 11:15 pm
U2 fan since the eighties said...
Hm, I listened to it two times now, still I`m not that impressed. These days they seem to think that it`s very creative to put ten songs into one, while I think sometimes a great riff is all you need. So far they have made a lot of great film music. The soundtrack to “The Million Dollar Hotel” features some standout work by Bono and the band. “The Ground Beneath Her Feet” would have been Oscar worthy and their Bat-Man song too. “Golden Eye” is a great song too. But this one, naaah. It`s even worse than “The Hands That Built America”. I like, when they do experiments but this one unfortunately in my opinion is a whole lot of nothing. I like that one piano part, but that`s about it. Really no standout performance by Bono here and the rest of the band, well they play.
But I`m not very disappointed, they don`t fail that often. You can`t always win. But maybe they`ll win that Oscar. Wouldn`t surprise me, if they manage to do that with a not so great song.
32 12-09-2009 at 7:59 am
g. cockwill said...
just listened to the song. thought it good, in my mind U2 standard. there have been a lot of issues regarding the band. we all have our own opinions and we can’t please everybody all the time. at least Bono has the nuts to stand up for what he believes and tries to do something about it! pity we don’t all take a leaf out of his book, or just shut up.
33 12-09-2009 at 12:54 pm
G. said...
Fuck you, what do you know about what we do?
Nothing.
34 12-09-2009 at 5:32 pm
Anonymous said...
I saw “Brothers” last weekend–really good movie. U2 better win the oscar for this, because I left the theater practically in tears. Great song.
35 12-10-2009 at 7:50 am
Bertram said...
Wow, this is better than anything off of the last two albums.
U2 are frustrating lately. They almost constantly disappoint, yet I can’t abandon ship because every now and then they let something like this slip through the cracks that reminds me of the great songs they used to make effortlessly.
36 12-10-2009 at 2:08 pm
U2 fan since the eighties said... said...
I`ve listened to it for the third time now. I think the problem with this one is, that it just isn`t the greatest song Bono has ever writen. It doesn`t stand up to “Two shots of happy…” or “Don`t come knocking”. But it`s good enough to be a respectable b-side to “Moment of Surrender” which is also a better song than this one.
When I listened to my remastered version of “The Unforgettable Fire” it reminded of what great tracks U2 used to have as b-sides. Songs like “Walk To The Water” or “Luminous times”, like “Salomé” or “A Room At The Heartbreak Hotel”. Unfortunately in recent years it is mostly more or less great live recordings or more or less great remixes and an ocasional demo song, sometimes only worth skipping like “Always”. Financially it may be understandable, why waste a good track for a b-side? But the hardcore fans do listen to those tracks too, so lazyness in this part of the business might add to decreasing single sales after a few years.
37 12-16-2009 at 12:31 pm
Holden said...
You know something, I hate rap, and I loved “The Hands That Built America” as much as anyone who loved Gangs of New York, but I thought that “Lose Yourself” was a great song. I believe that it deserved to win. Though if “The Hands That Built America” had won, that would have been pretty cool.
On a separate note, this song is okay, It’s really typical U2, which isn’t necessarily bad, but it’s not something that really jumps out at me. It has a fine chance for a nomination, but I highly doubt it will win.
38 12-25-2009 at 5:21 pm
Todd said...
“So glad you made it home!!!!!” LOVE that line, beautiful piece of music. Bono sounds great, hits some high ones, and the organs at the end are killer.
Songs gets better with every listen.
Does the piano intro remind anyone of “Hey Jude?”
39 12-29-2009 at 12:58 am
William said...
I was totally attracted by this song the first time I listened to it. I don’t know why there are U2 fans who think this one is boring. It is so sentimental, yet at the same time didn’t lose any of U2′s style.
40 1-22-2010 at 6:36 am
Gimme some truth said...
Achtung Baby! Bono shook a lot of hands of war criminals like Bush, Blair and Clinton and now he is whining about war again and wants to get an Oscar for that. Not very convicing Mr. Bono. Sometimes it is better to remain silent.
“Everything you know is wrong”
41 1-23-2010 at 10:02 am
Dave C said...
“Gimme some truth”
is every American or Brit a *war criminal*
What about the Canuks?
Oh yeah…content….Brothers? Winter??
42 1-25-2010 at 4:01 am
Gimme some truth said...
Did I write “every Brit”? Did I write “every American”?
Nope. Don`t even start to use youir brain.
43 1-25-2010 at 8:35 am
Dave C said...
Gimme some truth said…
“Did I write “every Brit”? Did I write “every American”?
Nope. Don`t even start to use youir brain.”
No…you did not *write* that and you really don’t have to. The fact that you are even mentioning Bush, Blair, and Clinton and the term “war criminals” in this discussion is very telling.
Perhaps you could have written instead “every American or Brit politician and the mindless sheep that follow them” and that would have been enough. Obviously you would rather discuss politics instead of the song “Winter” and you are the type who likes to inject your political opinions into every possible discussion. BREAKING NEWS; noone really cares about your political opinions.
The one thing you did get right: “Sometimes it is better to remain silent.”
Perhaps you should have taken your own advice here…
44 1-25-2010 at 2:10 pm
Gimme some truth said...
I`m a U2 fan and that`s just my opinion. I don`t care if you like it or not.
45 1-25-2010 at 4:43 pm
Dave C said...
Gimme some truth said…
“I`m a U2 fan and that`s just my opinion. I don`t care if you like it or not.”
I’m glad you are a U2 fan, that’s my opinion. But let me express to you how a lot of people feel, we don’t like all of the politics shoved down our throats constantly from other *overzealous* fans who think every conversation is a place for political discourse. There is a time and a place for that, and this is not either one.
46 1-26-2010 at 2:55 pm
Gimme some truth said... said...
There is nothing that is not political. Not saying my opinion although I could would be extremely political too. At least since U2 have recorded “A Celebration” they are not only a rock band but very political too. I do not have to go into detail about Mr. Bono here, because you know all about him and how he often tells us his opinion in situations that aren`t supposed to be political. I have no problem with that. Of course “Winter” is a political statement too like the movie it was recorded for. It might not be as straight upon the nose as for example “Sunday bloody Sunday” but still, there is a political statement in there. I was just pointing out that I do not think making those statements and being friends with Clinton or drinking tea with Blair fits, if one is a very peaceful Christian like Mr. Bono for sure is. It does not even fit if one is doing it all for Africa. Which lives are worth more rescuing, those who have been bombed to death, for doubtful reasons lets say in Sarajevo or those who need clean water in Africa. Do the numbers of deaths count? Who is to decide that?
There would be no critisism from my side, if Mr. Bono sold all his fast cars and fancy houses to built some wells and schools in Africa, maybe he does invest some of his own money to safe some people, I don`t know, still as rich as he is, he could surely do way more than that, instead he chooses to kiss the devil and makes him look good. Kiss the devil and he will bite your ass. I`m just saying one should probably shut his mouth about war, if one gets willingly photographed with all those people I have mentioned. It just isn`t that credible anymore if one did that.
47 3-28-2010 at 2:42 pm
Chuck said...
Music Helps Heal.
Thank you,
Chuck
48 4-30-2010 at 6:59 pm
Brian said...
this song was in the film linear and thought it was great. i even made an mp3 copy of it so i could hear it whenever i wanted to. i love this version the did for brothers as well.
49 5-08-2010 at 3:52 pm
amel said...
cette chanson est extraordinaire .
chapeau u2 ;).