It’s a nice song and gloriously late-80s, but what really gets me is a tiny arrangement trick: when the bass drum switches to the whole notes at the end. It’s such a little thing, but elevates the entire song.
If you know about chord changes and song structure, this is the song that will change your life.
Power pop isn’t always my thing, but sometimes it’s absolutely my thing.
Around the 2000s, there was a big jump in people comparing new indie-ish bands to Fleetwood Mac. It’s not that I didn’t hear it then, but when I listen to songs like this, I REALLY hear it.
Listen to this again and marvel at a band that knew they had to deliver a massive-selling album to become The Biggest Band In The World, and they put on this prickly, noisy, buggin-ya track. That’s gutsy! As nakedly opportunistic as U2 have been, there has never been any doubt that they still make music that they love; that there’s always still an artistic impulse.