Batman and Bono come together in "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me," U2's fifth Modern Rock #1 and one of the biggest collaborations between two of the hottest properties in '90s entertainment
I was much older than 16 when this song came out but I have to say it's one of my favorites by U2. I used to listen to it a lot on my many bike rides. Love the sound, energy, and lyrics.
Agree 100 percent! It's solid, and it holds up well. That opening guitar riff and strings accompaniment are just a one-two punch of awesome!
U2 was one of those bands that managed to transition their sound to the next iteration and remain relevant and mainstream successful. They kept inching forward more and more with electronic sounds and distortions, until it was fully realized with "Pop." But "Hold Me..." was a perfect track for its moment.
FWIW, as a big U2 fan who is older than you -- I turned 29 in '95 -- Zooropa wasn't polarizing among U2 fans or critics. It was seen as an interesting next step to where they'd gone with AB, and recording it while they were on the road nicely captured the sonic, visual, and emotional overload of that tour.
It's odd to see it referred to as a "monstrosity" when critics and fans alike agree that it's held up well, and it includes one of their best-written songs in "Stay (Faraway, So Close!)." And while I don't put much stock in the Grammys, it's worth noting that it won for Best Alternative Album that year.
All fair points, and I appreciate them! You're not wrong -- in the context of critics and hardcore fans of the band, "Zooropa" is not as terrible as I make it out to be. I lack a lot of that context, as I'm not what you'd consider a huge U2 fan, so I appreciate the perspective you bring.
Speaking purely from a chart point of view, there's a case to be made that "Zooropa" is the band's least successful album. Objectively speaking -- and recognizing that charts are imperfect -- every album the band released from 1984 to 2009 had at least one single in the top 40 of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 ... except "Zooropa." I never hear any tracks from "Zooropa" on the radio; honestly, I hadn't heard "Stay (Faraway, So Close!)" until recently, and it's fine. It has 82 million spins on Spotify, too, so folks seem to like it, but commercially it falls beneath at least 25-30 other tracks that were far more popular from a chart and mainstream perspective.
On a personal level, I wasn't blown away by the album when I listened to it, and found the other commercial singles subjectively awful, but again, I can appreciate that critics and U2 purists might feel differently, especially if they grew up with the album or enjoyed it when it was fresh. For me, it falls just outside of my "reminiscence bump," so it didn't imprint on my brain as much as it might have if I was a few years older!
Thank you for the kind comment and for opening my eyes to different perspectives! I appreciate that and appreciate you taking the time to read and open up the discussion!
Likewise, I appreciate hearing more about your perspective on it! Timing is such a big part of why we do or don't appreciate records. I grew up with U2, having discovered October via the "Gloria" video on MTV at 15. So by the time Zooropa came out, I'd already been a fan for 14 years.
Conversely, I didn't like Pop at all at the time because as a musician, I was deep into learning about old country, folk, and bluegrass -- and I also thought they had pushed the irony too far. I revisited it years later and now I love it. ;-)
I feel very differently about "Pop" than I do about "Zooropa," which will become obvious when I discuss those singles! And now I'll have to ask myself if I have those feelings because the songs are good, or because I happened to hear them at just the right time in my musical development.
I tried real hard with a couple of the Zooropa “hits” that actually made the charts, thinking maybe with hindsight I was missing something good. Just didn't click with me. And I loved everything from Joshua Tree into the 2000s, but that one just … nope. 👎
Did not know that! I'm not surprised, though. For awhile there in the 90s into the 2000s, movie soundtracks were fertile ground for big-time artists to dabble and up-and-coming artists to shine.
Heck, even Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen from U2 hit #7 on the Hot 100 with the “Mission Impossible” remix theme in ‘96.
I need to give the whole album a listen. I was full-on radio guy in those days so I only know the hits, and “Hold Me…” was the first. The second hit, of course, blew everyone out of the water and actually made it to #1 on the Hot 100 later that summer.
Thinking back, that movie really was everywhere, right? TV spots, music videos, fast food promotions, billboards. “Kiss From A Rose” was on perma-rotation on MTV and I am almost certain I've spent more minutes watching that video than I spent watching the actual movie!
I was much older than 16 when this song came out but I have to say it's one of my favorites by U2. I used to listen to it a lot on my many bike rides. Love the sound, energy, and lyrics.
Agree 100 percent! It's solid, and it holds up well. That opening guitar riff and strings accompaniment are just a one-two punch of awesome!
U2 was one of those bands that managed to transition their sound to the next iteration and remain relevant and mainstream successful. They kept inching forward more and more with electronic sounds and distortions, until it was fully realized with "Pop." But "Hold Me..." was a perfect track for its moment.
Great song. U2 were on such a roll then.
FWIW, as a big U2 fan who is older than you -- I turned 29 in '95 -- Zooropa wasn't polarizing among U2 fans or critics. It was seen as an interesting next step to where they'd gone with AB, and recording it while they were on the road nicely captured the sonic, visual, and emotional overload of that tour.
It's odd to see it referred to as a "monstrosity" when critics and fans alike agree that it's held up well, and it includes one of their best-written songs in "Stay (Faraway, So Close!)." And while I don't put much stock in the Grammys, it's worth noting that it won for Best Alternative Album that year.
All fair points, and I appreciate them! You're not wrong -- in the context of critics and hardcore fans of the band, "Zooropa" is not as terrible as I make it out to be. I lack a lot of that context, as I'm not what you'd consider a huge U2 fan, so I appreciate the perspective you bring.
Speaking purely from a chart point of view, there's a case to be made that "Zooropa" is the band's least successful album. Objectively speaking -- and recognizing that charts are imperfect -- every album the band released from 1984 to 2009 had at least one single in the top 40 of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 ... except "Zooropa." I never hear any tracks from "Zooropa" on the radio; honestly, I hadn't heard "Stay (Faraway, So Close!)" until recently, and it's fine. It has 82 million spins on Spotify, too, so folks seem to like it, but commercially it falls beneath at least 25-30 other tracks that were far more popular from a chart and mainstream perspective.
On a personal level, I wasn't blown away by the album when I listened to it, and found the other commercial singles subjectively awful, but again, I can appreciate that critics and U2 purists might feel differently, especially if they grew up with the album or enjoyed it when it was fresh. For me, it falls just outside of my "reminiscence bump," so it didn't imprint on my brain as much as it might have if I was a few years older!
Thank you for the kind comment and for opening my eyes to different perspectives! I appreciate that and appreciate you taking the time to read and open up the discussion!
Likewise, I appreciate hearing more about your perspective on it! Timing is such a big part of why we do or don't appreciate records. I grew up with U2, having discovered October via the "Gloria" video on MTV at 15. So by the time Zooropa came out, I'd already been a fan for 14 years.
Conversely, I didn't like Pop at all at the time because as a musician, I was deep into learning about old country, folk, and bluegrass -- and I also thought they had pushed the irony too far. I revisited it years later and now I love it. ;-)
I feel very differently about "Pop" than I do about "Zooropa," which will become obvious when I discuss those singles! And now I'll have to ask myself if I have those feelings because the songs are good, or because I happened to hear them at just the right time in my musical development.
This is a great song! And great read. But we’ll agree to disagree about Zooropa…
I tried real hard with a couple of the Zooropa “hits” that actually made the charts, thinking maybe with hindsight I was missing something good. Just didn't click with me. And I loved everything from Joshua Tree into the 2000s, but that one just … nope. 👎
Understandable!
Speaking of U2 and 1995 movie soundtracks I recently learned that Bono and the Edge wrote the theme song for Goldeneye: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GoldenEye_(song)
Did not know that! I'm not surprised, though. For awhile there in the 90s into the 2000s, movie soundtracks were fertile ground for big-time artists to dabble and up-and-coming artists to shine.
Heck, even Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen from U2 hit #7 on the Hot 100 with the “Mission Impossible” remix theme in ‘96.
https://youtu.be/jLDkncpG4V0?si=jQnCH536o7SRdvNd
Huh; I hadn’t realized that U2 members were associated with that.
i honestly loved his song. and the entire batman forever soundtrack was actually (weirdly?) very solid. i was 11. it was a weird time.
I need to give the whole album a listen. I was full-on radio guy in those days so I only know the hits, and “Hold Me…” was the first. The second hit, of course, blew everyone out of the water and actually made it to #1 on the Hot 100 later that summer.
Thinking back, that movie really was everywhere, right? TV spots, music videos, fast food promotions, billboards. “Kiss From A Rose” was on perma-rotation on MTV and I am almost certain I've spent more minutes watching that video than I spent watching the actual movie!
I agree with Gabbie. The Soundtrack is really good, even leaving aside the two big singles.
My two favourites:
Massive Attack reuniting with Everything But The Girl’s Tracey Thorn on a Motown Cover: https://youtu.be/oB1t32GDi9w
Method Man rapping a theme song for The Riddler, while The RZA’s beats actually uses the melody of the 60’s TV theme: https://youtu.be/i0z8gzQ9e3E