Comments on: My Thought on the “Magnificent” Video

By: CaptnCrunch

CaptnCrunch — Tue, 12 May 2009 22:36:55 +0000

illustration – I disagree, I thought the video Anton did on Linear was one of the absolute worst things he’s ever done. It was boring, it went nowhere, and most importantly, the band looked terrible.

Magnificent isn’t their best video, it certainly doesn’t compare to Boots which IMO is U2′s best video EVER, but it is still really good. The more I watch it the more I enjoy it. Now that I think about it the only U2 videos in the last ten years I would put above it are Boots and Vertigo. I’d rank it somewhere around Beautiful Day, a nice vibey piece that is cool to watch.

By: illustrationISM

illustrationISM — Tue, 12 May 2009 21:37:06 +0000

i liked ANTON’S MAGNIFICENT video on LINEAR better…

Mark @ illustrationISM

By: Jeremiah

Jeremiah — Tue, 12 May 2009 17:27:16 +0000

Here’s the deal. All U2 fans wanted a run of the mill U2 song. We all wanted to hear that U2 song that has defined how much we love this band. We got it and we got the video to go with it. Have some joy for this stuff, guys! One day you will wish you had a run-of-the-mill U2 song and then…..

By: David

David — Tue, 12 May 2009 11:47:55 +0000

What has happened to the release of “Magnificent” in Australia???
No CD single or no iTunes download here yet???

Looks like I have to shop around on ebay to buy something.

Sometimes I just can’t understand the marketing of U2 in Australia!

By: joshthetree

joshthetree — Tue, 12 May 2009 11:29:59 +0000

I love the song even the single edit is great! The video is okay though I’d prefer just the band playing in the grotto with a few random street scenes of Fez, rather than ‘where the sheets have no name’ (!)
I’m disappointed though that U2 for whatever reason decided not to issue a proper single release with only limited 7″, digital download and european CDS available. I don’t know what the thinking was behind that approach, as there was no UK chart positioning on Monday – which is unusal for a U2 new release. The ‘live’ b-sides of ‘Vertigo’ and ‘Breathe’ are fantastic!

By: marty mcfly 1885

marty mcfly 1885 — Mon, 11 May 2009 13:28:59 +0000

U are all 2 negative people. Just relax and enjoy good music from good ole’ rock an rollers…….or perhaps U think Lady Ga Ga or Britney r better ?

By: sw

sw — Mon, 11 May 2009 10:50:17 +0000

Beautiful song, a U2 future classic, best song in years, you can feel the JOY here … and also in the video. Nice, decent video, not over-the-top. No visuals needed for the song, no extravaganza, just the band, emotion and their declaration of love for the city of Fez and its people. I like it a lot.

By: romi

romi — Mon, 11 May 2009 02:46:19 +0000

Jon, I think Kathy simply took the meaning of the song and tried to fit it into the video. The song is basically a worship song, like 40. If you think of that while watching the video, that’s how you come to the concltion that it was the breath of God.

I think the video is too general and vague.

By: jon

jon — Sat, 09 May 2009 14:30:41 +0000

I think the video suffered from being too general. wasn’t really about fez, or the band, or the sheets, or anything, it was just a kind of cool looking mishmash. And I think that’s Courtes’ style – I haven’t seen one of his videos that was able to build a consistent feeling or meaning. It can be a collage and a mishmash, but everything’s gotta pack a punch. It’s just kinda there. Huge, beautiful song, with a forgettable video. Also – U2, get a better computer graphics guy, because those sheets look stupidly fake.

also:

“Mother of God, what are you people watching? This video moved me to tears. The breath of God visualized by the white as snow sheets, blowing through people’s lives, covering them, uplifting them. Joyous dancing, looks of wonder from some of the people on the streets, total oblivion from others.” – Kathy

I am confused – I see the sheets are covering and being thrown off buildings, not people. I don’t get that this is the breath of god, either. And if what U2 is saying is that the power of their song will introduce the breath of god to one of the most spiritual places on earth, then that’s unbelievably narcissistic. I think the video is woefully unfocused, and you made connections that weren’t necessarily there. It’s a really interesting reading, but with Electrical Storm, there was a story and specificity and visual motifs that were fascinating and ambiguous, so an interesting theoretical conversation could be had. This video’s just kind of a mess that doesn’t know what it needs to be.

By: TKU2

TKU2 — Sat, 09 May 2009 00:43:16 +0000

IMO Get On Your Boots is EASILY one of U2′s BEST VIDEO’S EVER….O.K. song but GREAT video with all the bells and whistles ie the visuals AWESOME… Now my favorite song from the disc Magnifcent video comes out and they go from one of their best ever videos to one of their WORST !!! Super song but basically a Mysterious Ways part 2 video..BUMMER….