Vertigo (song)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "Vertigo" | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
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| Single by U2 | ||
| from the album How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb | ||
| B-side(s) | "Are You Gonna Wait Forever?" / "Neon Lights" | |
| Released | 2004-11-08 | |
| Format | CD, Maxi-CD, DVD | |
| Genre | Rock | |
| Length | 3:11 | |
| Label | Island | |
| Writer(s) | Bono | |
| Producer(s) | Steve Lillywhite | |
| Chart positions | ||
|
||
| U2 singles chronology | ||
| "Electrical Storm" (2002) |
"Vertigo" (2004) |
"Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own" (2005) |
| How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb track listing | ||
| "Vertigo" (1) |
"Miracle Drug" (2) |
|
| U218 Singles track listing | ||
| "With or Without You" (4) |
"Vertigo" (5) |
"New Year's Day (song)" (6) |
"Vertigo" is the opening track and first single from U2's 2004 album, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb. The single was released for airplay on September 24, 2004; upon release the song received extensive airplay and was an international smash hit. It won Best Rock Song, Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal and Best Short Form Music Video at the 2005 Grammy Awards.
Contents |
[edit] History
The song is a driving rocker with impressionistic lyrics evoking a night at a dance club.
U2 performed "Vertigo" in a television commercial for the Apple iPod as part of a cross-marketing plan to promote both the album and Apple's music products (especially the U2 Special Edition iPod and the iTunes Music Store's exclusive digital box set, "The Complete U2").
As noted by Rolling Stone and many other music publications, the song's central riff sounds extremely similar to Sonic Youth's 1990 single "Dirty Boots" and The Vines 2002 single "Get Free". The bassline is also very similar to one of U2's own songs, "A Sort of Homecoming", taken from the album The Unforgettable Fire.
At the beginning of the song, U2 lead singer Bono counts off in Spanish unos, dos, tres, catorce!. In the live versions on U2.COMmunication and Vertigo: Live from Chicago, Bono jokingly announces the language as Gaelic. In English, this translates to "some, two, three, fourteen!" (Proper translation of "one, two, three, four" would be "uno, dos, tres, cuatro.") When asked about this oddity in an interview for Rolling Stone, Bono replied "the fourteen stands for our fourteenth album." A Spanish reply of "¡Hola!" is also heard behind the "Hello, hello" of the refrain, as well as "¿Dónde está?" after the line "I'm at a place called Vertigo," meaning "Where is [this place]?" or "¿Como estás?" which means 'How are you?'.
The "Hello, hello" line itself is reminiscent of similar lyrics in the song "Stories for Boys" from U2's debut album Boy; indeed in Vertigo Tour concerts supporting the Atomic Bomb album, the band has included a section of the latter song in their performances of "Vertigo". These concerts have also sometimes featured "Vertigo" played twice, once early in the show and again as a final encore; this too harkens back to U2's early days, when they did not have enough songs to fill out an entire performance and thus had to repeat some at the end.
In March 2005, Q magazine placed "Vertigo" at number 58 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks.
Whenever the Montreal Canadiens, a NHL hockey team, scores a goal on home ice, this song is played in celebration for the 2006-2007 season.
[edit] Chart success
Upon release, "Vertigo" debuted at #18 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart and #46 on the Billboard Hot 100; in the following weeks the track jumped to #1 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart and also moved from #27 to #3 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and from #35 to #9 on the Adult Top 40. It also debuted at #1 on the Hot Digital Tracks chart and, after falling to #4, returned to the top position. The track later moved into the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #31; it spent 20 weeks on the chart.
In the United Kingdom, the song moved from BBC Radio 1's B-list on the first week of its airplay release to the A-list in the second week. The song was released commercially on 15 November; it debuted at #1 and remained there for one week; it spent 9 weeks in the top 40.
The track debuted at #5 on the Aria charts. In The Netherlands "Vertigo" reached #2 (Mega Top 100).
The digital single holds a 2x Platinum status in the United States, selling over 400,000 downloads.
[edit] "Native Son"
During the recording of the Atomic Bomb sessions, "Vertigo" was originally recorded as a song called "Native Son" with a similar riff and bassline. "Native Son" is about a native man who was against his country due to his lack of freedoms.[1] It was later rewritten into "Vertigo," which appears on the album. At 3:08 long, "Native Son" is just a few seconds short of the run time of "Vertigo." The track "Native Son" has since been released on the digital album Unreleased and Rare, which is only available through purchasing the entire digital box set, "The Complete U2."
[edit] Track listings
- "Vertigo" (2004) (file info) — play in browser (beta)
- Listen to the opening 30 seconds of "Vertigo".
- Problems playing the files? See media help.
[edit] UK
- 2-track CD CID878
- "Vertigo" (Radio Edit) – 3:11
- "Are You Gonna Wait Forever?" – 3:48
- Maxi-CD CIDX878
- "Vertigo" (Radio Edit) – 3:11
- "Vertigo" (Jacknife Lee 10" mix) – 4:13
- "Neon Lights" - 4:07
- DVD CIDV878
- "Vertigo" (HQ video) – 3:11
- "Vertigo" (Audio with photo gallery) – 3:11
- "Are You Gonna Wait Forever?" (audio) – 3:48
- "Vertigo" (Jacknife Lee 10" mix – Lisbon Video) – 4:13
- 12" 12IS878
- "Vertigo" (Jacknife Lee 12" mix) – 5:36
- "Vertigo" (Jacknife Lee 7" mix) – 3:08
- "Vertigo" (Jacknife Lee 10" mix) – 4:13
- "Vertigo" (Jacknife Lee Instrumental) – 5:36
[edit] Japan
- CD UICI-5017
- "Vertigo" (Radio Edit) – 3:11
- "Are You Gonna Wait Forever?" – 3:48
- "Vertigo" (Jacknife Lee 10" mix) – 4:13
- "Neon Lights" – 4:07
- "Vertigo" (HQ video) – 3:11
[edit] Chart performance
| Chart (2004) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Ireland | 1 |
| UK | 1 |
| Greece | 1 |
| Billboard Modern Rock Tracks | 1 |
| Argentina | 1 |
| India | 1 |
| Italy | 1 |
| Latvia | 1 |
| Canada | 2 |
| Norway Top 20 | 2 |
| Brazil | 2 |
| Mega Top 100 Singles - The Netherlands | 2 |
| Finland | 2 |
| Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks | 3 |
| Austria | 4 |
| Aria | 5 |
| New Zealand | 5 |
| Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play | 8 |
| Billboard Adult Top 40 | 9 |
| Billboard Pop 100 | 10 |
| Japan | 10 |
| Billboard Top 40 Adult Recurrents | 15 |
| Belgium | 16 |
| Billboard Hot 100 | 31 |
| Billboard Top 40 Mainstream | 35 |
| Billboard Top 40 Tracks | 37 |
[edit] References
- Top40-Charts.com - "Vertigo" Single Charts Page - last accessed on November 11, 2005
- All Music - U2 Charts and Awards - last accessed on March 11, 2006
- "Vertigo" Songfacts - last accessed on February 14, 2007
[edit] External links
| Preceded by "Just Lose It" by Eminem |
UK number one single November 20, 2004 |
Succeeded by "I'll Stand By You" by Girls Aloud |
| Preceded by "American Idiot" by Green Day |
Billboard Modern Rock Tracks number-one single November 6, 2004 |
Succeeded by "Pain" by Jimmy Eat World |
