Vertigo by U2
 

OK...I don't know if anyone has noticed this but it bothers me.

you know how at the beginning he's counting in Spanish?

Well he says "uno, dos, tres, catorce"

Um, catorce is 14, not 4.

Now I'm sure these guys aren't idiots. But why would you say "one, Two, three, fourteen"

I don't know why but it bothers me.

Because $14 million is how much they got for selling their souls to Ipod. :rolleyes:

There is probably some reason behind it... So far I am not overly impressed with How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb. I have heard Vertigo and one other single off this new album, but it just isn't doing it for me, like all their other songs and albums. But a new album means another world tour and I am looking forward to another U2 concert - Elevation was amazing.

i like the song....but that '1,2,3,14' drives me crazy too. i hardly think that they are uneducated in the spanish number department, so it must have some signicant meaning to it....

I hate that commercial. I have a lot of respect for U2. But that commercial comes on and I just want to hit Bono in the face.

ETA: I did some checking on a U2 message board, and the general consensus among the folks there is that by counting this way, Bono is either intentionally screwing around, or trying to convey a sense of vertigo that someone might feel if, say, they were in an elevator that was going methodically through the floors (1..2..3..) and then suddenly zoomed up to the 14th floor.

Another interpretation is that he doesn't really say "uno" at the beginning, he says "Unos" which means "Some" in spanish. So if you take that interpretation, some think it's another way of trying to convey disorientation or vertigo. He's so dizzy that he can't count straight.

ETA (again): Yet another interpretation is that the numbers represent certain biblical verses that have meant a lot to Bono throughout the band's career. The verses are John 1:14, 2:14 and 3:14.

John 1:14:
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

John 2:14:
And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting:

John 3:14:
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:

Does it show I have the day off and nothing better to do? ;)

Yeah I guess it could be any number of things. The disorientation makes sense. My friend has a condition called "Vertigo" which causes her to become dizzy and disoriented...

I dunno...

Or he could have made a mistake at first and then just decided to leave it to be silly. :confused: Maybe I'm reaching here.

Maybe Bono just doesn't know how to count in Spanish.

Sistermadly, will you please post a link for the U2 message board? Thank you very much. :)

Because "cuatro" doesn't sound as cool as "catorce"? Just another theory.

i really like that interpretation:)

I was just discussing this with a friend and he seems to think it's not Spanish but Portuguese and that way onze doze treze catorze is 11 12 13 14 not 1, 2, 3, 14. Don't know if I like this theory but at least the numbers are now sequential.

Still doesn't explain the "uno" though. And I think the biblical reference sounds the most reasonable, but it doesn't really go with the song.

tres and catorce rhyme (almost) - but I'm sure there's more than that behind it - U2's songs are always full of symbolism of some sort.

On another note, I caught the ipod ad last night, and thought it was pretty cool.

There are dozens (if not hundreds) of them. The one where I found the theories is here

Thank you. It never dawned on me that U2 would have a message board. I guess that there is a board for everything.

Re: Vertigo by U2
 

Oh, I'm so glad I'm not the only one!

I had a good opinion of Bono and that commercial has managed to ruin it.

I just read somewhere that it's a reference to Steve Lillywhite producing their 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 14th albums. I have no idea if that's factual information though.

lol I thought that at first, but--they didn't get paid for the ad and they are splitting the revenues with ipod on the U2 branded ipod.

And they will have their entire song catalog --over 400 songs--avail on Itunes at the end of this month for $149. That, IMO, is a great price and more bands should do this.

And Lillywhite is producing? Really? HOORAY! Loved U2s, 1st, 2nd, 3rd albums. LOVE all the DMB Lillywhites. OOOO this is good news.

Well that's interesting, except I'm pretty sure he's saying "uno, dos, tres."

But actually I did notice today when I heard it on the radio that he does say "unos" and not "uno." I have no clue what the meaning behind all this is though.

There's a great U2 website you might want to check out...it's called @U2, and it's the best one I've come across so far. :)

If that is factual information, that's the best explanation I've heard so far.

U2 gave a free concert near the Brooklyn Bridge last night, but I missed it. :(

I downloaded the album last night from I tunes.
IT IS AMAZING!!! Totally more like early U2, Boy, War, Joshua, etc. I LOVE IT!

yeah me too. I heard about it the night before on Live Journal and was SO mad I couldn't skip work for it. :( But it's still pretty cool to know they were here in our city!!!

From a NYTimes Article on Nov. 19:

A conversation with Bono inevitably takes broad leaps from personal memories to economic theories to music, the state of U2 and the state of the world. More as citations than as name-dropping, Bono mentioned his discussions with, among others, Ethiopia's prime minister; Wim Wenders's cinematographer; Beyoncé Knowles; Johnny Cash; and Steve Jobs, the chief executive of Apple Computer. Apple is manufacturing a black-and-red U2 iPod with the album stored on it, and later this month its iTunes Music Store is releasing "The Complete U2," a digital album of 400 songs, including 25 previously unreleased. To inaugurate the band's partnership with Apple, U2 and its song "Vertigo" appear in an iPod commercial for which, Bono said, the band was not paid.

"My idea of selling out is when you do naff things for money," he said, going on to define "naff" as very embarrassing. "That's subjective, but I think it's quite clear: don't embarrass your fans, they've given you a good life. Our audience are thrilled about the Apple thing. They can't believe their band has its own iPod.

"I have a very strong sense of survival," he added, "and I know that 'Vertigo' is not the biggest pop song in the world. I know that riff has to be hammered home to become a pop song. With the commercial, we had a rock video coming on during the baseball playoffs in a way a record company could not afford.'"