From the Video Music Archives

U2 apparently made two versions of Stuck in a Moment, and having just watched them both back-to-back I can say in all honesty that they’re both great. The first version has some great scenes of Bono singing the song, and all the while he seems to be the one who is stuck, getting walked all over, and as far as I can tell, in need of that ambulance shown rushing through the gate several times. The second version has a great intro by John Madden, after which footage of a place kicker missing a field goal is shown over and over again on an instant replay loop. Bono is shown standing up and singing in the crowd. If I were trying to be intellectually engaging about the serious topic of midrashing music videos, I’d suggest that our technologically automated age, with all its recordings, instant replays and virtual realities, almost insures that even the best minds will become ‘stuck in a moment’. And that U2 or whoever came up with this second video does a great job of showing this. Anyway, of the two versions, I think the second version makes more sense. What does Jon Webb think?

I’m not afraid/Of anything in this world/There’s nothing you can throw at me/That I haven’t already heard/I’m just trynna’ find/A decent melody/A song that I can sing/In my own company/I never thought you were a fool/But darling, look at you. Ooh./You gotta stand up straight, carry your own weight/’Cause tears are going nowhere baby/You’ve got to get yourself together/You’ve got stuck in a moment/And now you can’t get out of it/Don’t say that later will be better/Now you’re stuck in a moment/And you can’t get out of it/I will not forsake/The colors that you bring/The nights you filled with fireworks/They just left you with nothing/I am still enchanted/By the light you brought to me/I listen through your ears/Through your eyes I can see/You are such a fool/To worry like you do.. Oh/I know it’s tough/And you can never get enough/Of what you don’t really need now/My, oh my

One thing’s for sure: that Bono is one handsome man. I think it’s fair to say that at one time or another, most men have wanted to be Bono, but it’s not good to be stuck in that moment, either.

Comments

  1. I don’t know about Bono being all that handsome, I always went more for The Edge, but that’s just me. I never go for the particularly universal choice of nice looking man. I like the strong silent type, with a hat and glasses.

    just ask mrangelmeg.

  2. Jonathan Webb says

    Having showered with all four I have to say that I prefer the drummer.

    And being an American football man, I’ll take the second video.

    The best music video ever made so degreed by the Emperor of Austria-Hungry.

  3. Someone needs some soap on a rope.

  4. Jonathan Webb says

    Someone needs an ass kicking.

  5. Quin Finnegan says

    There’s a great live version of the song on the ‘Live in Boston’ dvd from the Elevation Tour. And that’s also a better documentary than ‘Rattle and Hum’.

    It’d be cool to have a name like ‘Bono’ or ‘The Edge’. I think it’s funny that we all just accept ‘The Edge’ as his name without even thinking about it. Bono says even The Edge’s mom calls him The Edge, and I tend to believe him.

    Still, the article could get in the way sometimes. As in, Hey, The Edge, pass me the salt, would ya? Awkward. Does mranglemeg have a cool name like that? If so, how does he handle the article thing in sentences involving direct address? Or does he get by with a hat and glasses?

    And having read the previous paragraph, I think I would now like to be addressed as ‘The Article’. That’s pretty cool, isn’t it? But it’s also pretty derivative. Not very original, so scratch that. What about ‘An Article’? That’s not so obvious, but it’s still a rip-off of The Edge, in a way. So scratch that, too. He’s just too cool.

    Hmm. Wait a minute: ‘An’ is an indefinite article, so maybe I can just start going around as ‘Indefinite’. That’d be cool. It has a sense of the abstract to it, and also has the word ‘def’ in it, which itself is cool. Just listen to those Bob Dylan radio shows – he uses it all the time. People could call me ‘Indef’ for short. In ten years it’ll be just like ‘The Edge’; nobody will even think about it when they call me. And I’ve also bypassed that whole problem with sentences involving direct address.

    But let’s face it, part of The Edge’s coolness comes from the fact that he’s the greatest rock guitarist on the planet. And I’m in “not-for-profit fundraising”. There’s nothing cool about a telemarketer named ‘Indefinite’, or even ‘Indef’. People would probably hang up on me: “Hello, John Smith, my name is Indefinite, and I’m calling you on behalf of Suchandsuch to ask if…” That’ll never work. No way.

    So just forget the whole thing.

  6. Jonathan Webb says

    Call me “Non-descript.”

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