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Slug (song)

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"Slug"
Song

"Slug" is a song by Passengers, a group composed of rock band U2 and producer Brian Eno. It is the second track on the group's only release, the 1995 album Original Soundtracks 1. Recorded early in the album sessions, the track was given the working title "Seibu"; the group put it aside and almost left it off the album before it was rediscovered at the end of the sessions. Passengers reworked it over the course of a month and renamed the song "Slug". Though Eno made the majority of creative decisions during the recording sessions, "Slug" was one of the few tracks that the members from U2 tried to craft themselves.

Lyrically, it is a portrait of a "desolate soul"[1] during a time of celebration. As Passengers were writing songs for fictional soundtracks, they tried to create a visual suggestion from the music that was more important than the story within the lyrics. In "Slug", the instrumentation is intended to signify the lights of a city being turned on at dusk. The group primarily drew inspiration for the song from U2's experiences in Tokyo at the end of the Zoo TV Tour; they derived other aspects of the track from seeing members of the Yakuza. Following its release, "Slug" was praised as one of the best songs on the album by many critics, including music magazines Rolling Stone and Uncut.

Background

U2 and producer Brian Eno formed Passengers as a side-project during the preliminary recording sessions for U2's 1997 album, Pop. Their intention was to record a soundtrack for Peter Greenaway's 1996 film The Pillow Book as a warm-up before the Pop sessions proper.[1] Though the plan did not come to fruition, Eno suggested that they continue recording for imaginary films. U2 were unsure of the idea at first, but agreed after Eno told them that producing radio hits was not the goal of the collaboration.[1]

U2 had frequently improvised in the past, and during the Original Soundtracks 1 sessions they engaged in free-form jamming to video clips from various films.[1] Eno stated, "Listening to the original improvisations as they came off the floor, you feel the excitement of the process ... You have to be careful not to disturb the organic flow of the thing."[2] The group brought in producer Howie B to record and mix some of the tracks after several hours of jam sessions had been recorded.[1]

Part of the group's intent in creating Original Soundtracks 1 had been to make a "night-time" record.[3] Lead vocalist Bono said, "It feels like it's been set on the bullet train in Tokyo. Every record has a location, a place where you enjoy listening to it, whether that be a bedroom or a club, well this record location is a fast train. It's slo-mo music though. But it has an odd sense of speed in the background."[4] He also noted that when creating works for soundtracks, the visual suggestion from the music is more important than the story told by the lyrics. With this in mind, the band had tried to create "visual music" when recording, continuing a trend that began with their 1993 song "Zooropa".[5][6]

Writing and recording

A brightly lit city at night. At the bottom, the edge of the road and the tops of cars are visible. Skyscrapers, all the same height, line the street. Each building is covered in brilliantly coloured advertisements that run vertically and horizontally. Backlights cause the advertisements to shine very brightly against the darkness. Most are covered in Japanese text.
U2's experience in Shinjuku, Tokyo was their primary inspiration for the music of "Slug".

U2 spent time in Shinjuku, Tokyo at the end of the Zoo TV Tour, and the vivid colours of the street signs and billboards made them feel as if they were on the set of the 1982 film Blade Runner.[5] Original Soundtracks 1 was conceived as a "night-time" record, and the band wrote "Slug" with the idea of the street lights and advertisements turning on as day faded to dusk. Bono stated the opening notes, which reflect this scene, are reminiscent of turning on the lights of a Christmas tree.[3] Jon Pareles of the New York Times described the playing as a mix of "shimmering echoed guitars with swampy electronic rhythms".[7]

In the first recording sessions the song was titled "Seibu", after the Tokyo department store of the same name.[3] After recording "Seibu" the band put it aside, and the piece was forgotten about as the sessions progressed. It was almost left off the album but, towards the end of the recording sessions in late May and early June 1995, guitarist The Edge rediscovered the song while looking through the discarded tracks. After replaying the song to Eno, the Passengers group decided to rework it.[3]

In his 1996 book, A Year with Swollen Appendices, Eno recounted how on 6 June 1995, the group played through some of the incomplete and older material, noting that "Seibu" was a late entry for consideration and that it was in need of a "tidy up".[8] On 3 July, he wrote that the group had spent more time on the track that day, despite having just arrived in Dublin. He said the piece was "[starting] to sound better", describing it as a "Lovely song appearing inexorably."[9] The group finished recording the song the following day; Eno noted that this was "despite Bono's complete deconstruction of the mix (which he was quite right about, though I was pissed off at first)."[10] Editing of the track took place on 10 July. Despite Eno's anger at the band "for being unfocused" when he felt like he "was trying to do everything", the group completed the final mix which would appear on the album.[11] The Edge stated that while Eno made the majority of creative decisions during the recording sessions, "the only tracks we really dug in our heels and did more work on and tried to craft were 'Miss Sarajevo', 'Seibu', and 'Your Blue Room'."[3]

The song was titled "Seibu" from its inception until June 1995. By early July the Passengers were considering renaming the piece; at this time, Eno's diary referred to it as "Seibu/Slug". Following the final mix, the group decided to proceed with the name change, including it on Original Soundtracks 1 under the new title "Slug".[3] In keeping with the idea of writing for nonexistent films, the song is credited as having been written for Slug, a fictional German film directed by Peter von Heineken.[12]

Lyrical inspiration and themes

"['Slug' is] a portrait of somebody a little the worse for the wear, which we were all in Tokyo, because it was the end of the tour. So tired you can't sleep. Wanting to go out to see what's going on in the city and not being able to stop yourself though you should be looking after yourself better."

—Bono[3]

Bono wrote the lyrics to "Slug" in five minutes. The lyrics consist of 19 lines, 16 of which begin with "Don't want...".[13] Though the verses are simple, they are also personal,[3] and are derived from U2's experience in Tokyo at the end of the Zoo TV Tour, which had exhausted the band. Some of the lyrics were influenced by the presence of the Yakuza in Shinjuku, and the band's fascination with seeing Yakuza members with digits that had been mutilated as punishment for their misbehaviour.[5] Bono stated, "These are extraordinary characters; these are businessmen, but underneath the suits they have these extraordinary lattice tattoos. You know, if one of them misbehaved they'd knock your finger off. You can see some of them missing a digit, and it's all very, very surreal, as mad as it sounds."[5]

The line "Don't want what I deserve" was written by Bono as a jibe to himself, and the closing "Don't want to stay the same" reflects the band's determination to continue re-inventing themselves.[3] The end result is a depiction of celebration set against the thoughts of a "desolate soul", as echoed in the closing verse "Don't want to change the frame / Don't want to be a pain / Don't want to stay the same", with an undercurrent of confusion regarding the differences between love and faith.[1][14] Bono commented that the ultimate idea behind "Slug" was "just not wanting to blow it. You know, we all play with things we shouldn't play with."[5]

Reception

Jim DeRogatis of Rolling Stone described "Slug" as one of the album's most engaging tracks, commenting that it could have been an outtake from U2's 1993 album Zooropa because of Bono's "minimal crooning over skeletal backing tracks".[15] Hot Press editor Niall Stokes felt the song was reminiscent of the band's 1993 single "Numb", as both songs frequently utilize the negative command "Don't" at the beginning of each line and they have "a similar kind of ironic, self-deprecatory humour".[3] He concluded, "the song has a genuinely reflective quality and it underlines the fact that, some 15 years on since the release of their debut album Boy, U2 are still running."[3] Describing the track as one of her favourites from the album, Laura Harrison of the Richmond Times-Dispatch felt the opening was "eerie" and reminiscent of the theme song from the television series The X-Files.[16]

The Orange County Register listed "Slug" as one of the best songs on the album, describing it as a "dreamy" track,[17] and The Age and The Dominion both stated that the song features Bono providing his best vocals.[18][19] Rating "Slug" four stars out of five, Uncut reviewer Alastair McKay described the melody as "clockwork" while noting that Eno's "yen for melodic simplicity" was evident.[1] Allmusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine selected it as one of four track picks from the album.[20] Bono compared the lyrics to those in U2's 1991 song "Tryin' to Throw Your Arms Around the World", as both depict the nightlife of a city.[3][21] Recounting U2's determination to try and craft "Slug" against Eno's inclination, The Edge said, "I think it paid off."[3]

Personnel

References

Footnotes
  1. ^ a b c d e f g McKay, Alastair (April 2009). "Passengers: The Album". The Ultimate Music Guide (U2). IPC Media: 93. {{cite journal}}: More than one of |work= and |magazine= specified (help)
  2. ^ Moon, Tom (5 November 1995). "Eno: The story behind Original Soundtracks 1". Knight-Ridder News Service.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Stokes 2005, p. 196
  4. ^ Richardson, Andy (21 October 1995). "Achtung Bono!". NME. IPC Media.
  5. ^ a b c d e Original Soundchat 1: Radio Documentary (Media notes). Island Records. 1995. {{cite AV media notes}}: |format= requires |url= (help); Unknown parameter |bandname= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |notestitle= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |publisherid= ignored (help)
  6. ^ U2 2006, pp. 247–248.
  7. ^ Pareles, Jon (19 November 1995). "Pop Briefs – Passengers: Original Soundtracks 1, Island". New York Times. Archived from the original on 17 July 2010.
  8. ^ Eno 1996, p. 139.
  9. ^ Eno 1996, p. 147.
  10. ^ Eno 1996, p. 148.
  11. ^ Eno 1996, p. 153.
  12. ^ a b c Original Soundtracks 1 (Media notes). Island Records. 1995. {{cite AV media notes}}: |format= requires |url= (help); Unknown parameter |albumlink= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |bandname= ignored (help)
  13. ^ Passengers (1995). "Slug." Original Soundtracks 1. Island Records.
  14. ^ Graham & van Oosten de Boer 2004, p. 58.
  15. ^ DeRogatis, Jim (14 December 1995). "Passengers: Original Soundtracks 1". Rolling Stone (723).
  16. ^ Harrison, Laura (15 December 1995). "Passengers". Richmond Times-Dispatch. p. E-4.
  17. ^ Darling, Cary (7 November 1995). "U2 takes Passengers in a welcomed new direction". The Orange County Register. p. F03.
  18. ^ Carney, Shaun (14 December 1995). "Hunters & Kuepper collect great past presents". The Age. p. 40.
  19. ^ Alexander, Mike (25 November 1995). "Eno in demand". The Dominion. p. 24.
  20. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Original Soundtracks 1: Review". Allmusic. Archived from the original on 14 July 2010. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
  21. ^ Stokes 2005, p. 106.
Bibliography

External links

Template:Original Soundtracks 1

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