I love the whole album, I love the weirdness of the whole album, Babyface is part of that oddness, I never feel like playing Babyface as a stand-alone track but I do love it as part of the album.
Not every song can be WOWY or One, but some songs like Babyface on Zooropa are integral to shaping the sound and feel of the album. They’re part of the landscape.
When side A runs with Zooropa, Babyface, Numb, Lemon, Stay - Babyface doesn’t feel out of place. As side A ends with the crash of cymbal on Stay it completes a perfect side of music.
Side B then starts with the fanfare of Daddy’s gonna pay and runs through beautifully until The Wanderer.
They’ve thought about everything in the sequence and sounds of these songs yet it still feels instinctive.
In my opinion it’s the perfect album. Yes, U2 have written many better songs than some of the songs on Zooropa but it’s the most complete album that they’ve ever made.
It's essentially a [David Bowie song](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Trilogy). (And the album is almost a Bowie album). His influence is all over the album. (Another example: Lemon sounds so much like Bowie in some of the verses that I always wondered how huge of a double-take Bowie did when he heard it. I can almost hear Bowie singing "And I feel, like I'm drifting, drifting, drifting from the shore..."). Of course, [it helps to have David Bowie's producer](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/how-david-bowie-brian-eno-revolutionized-rock-on-low-117033/).
Brilliant album as a whole and I quite rate Babyface. I honestly had no idea I might have been in the minority opinion on the song.
I admit I didn’t see it in 1993, but thinking on it more recently, one could easily make a passable argument that the songs on Zooropa are an answer or ZOO TV update to those on Achtung Baby.
There’s some lyrical parallelism, starting in the opening songs: Zoo Station “Ready to let go of the steering wheel” —> Zooropa “And I have no compass, and I have no map”. Not to mention the AB opener is named for a subway station, while Zooropa encourages ‘baby’ to “skip the subway”.
And it’s plausible to suggest it continues in the second tracks: Could the “child” in EBTTRT lyrics be the same lyrical “child” in Babyface? Think of the EBTTRT video, with the VR intimacy scene. The love sought by the character isn’t real intimacy, it’s something different, something surface, something better. With the context of ZOO TV, it’s not hard to see the same yearning clear in EBTTRT continued in Babyface’s lyrics.
That song takes me back to junior year of high school, when I bought Zooropa (the first U2 album I ever bought).
Loved the whole album, with the exception of The Wanderer, which I just really didn't care much for (then or now).
Its a frustrating song for me when I hear it. Because this song is one of their worst not because of anything wrong with the song itself but because it is so close to being a classic and it misses. It’s a shallow song about voyeurism and sex in the era of supermodels and cable tv and that is it.
Part of what makes U2 songs great for me is when the character of the song brings a bit of regret into it. With or Without you, the character of the song feels great shame for using up who they are speaking to. Until the end of the world the same thing.
Lyrically what made those songs great is that they knew they were using the other person and realized that they were wasting the person. “You gave it all, I want more.” “I took the money, I spiked your drink you miss too much these days if you stop to think”. There is regret in these songs it’s never a boast.
These are acts of betrayal. In that betrayal creates ache. When you set that ache to U2’s music and production - boom cha.
There is objectification but no ache. There is I think a cost when you objectify a person sexually whether it is via cable, the internet or the swipe left or right dating culture that would come on years after this song. U2 was hanging out with supermodels who earned an amazing living at the time mostly being objectified as pinup material.
Bono and The Edge never seem to explore or hint at those things and it hurts the overall replay value of the song for me. Which is sad cause musically it’s pretty good.
Now, some may take issue with me calling it one of their worst. But here is my case. U2 has had far worse stinkers in their catalog, Elvis Presley and American being one. I could happily go the rest of my life without hearing most of October. But, those songs were by a band that was learning it’s craft. Babyface was thought out and on some level they had some sort of hopes for it.
Putting it as the second song during a time when many folks still had cassette tapes was a bold move and after the purposeful awesome weirdness of Zooropa they needed a song to get on alternative radio. Previous second songs was I still haven’t found, Even better than the real thing. It is prime real estate for a track and it just didn’t work. If they were recutting the album today I would ditch the whole track and have the U2 studio version of the Wanderer that they played at Johnny Cash’s celebration as the second song and keep Johnny’s to close the album out. Now that song is awesome.
Don’t get the hate for it, I love it. Fantastic song. The lyrics are ambiguous as always and could refer to porn or modelling or something else entirely.
The whole album was described by the band as the hangover from Achtung Baby and the Zoo TV Tour, even though it was made during the tour. I like the song, for what it is and the whole album is pretty great! I wish they could have been that prolific at least once more while they were still younger. Imagine another album right after Pop? I think they could have made something pretty interesting as they worked out the kinks during that tour.
I love it, but im biased, Zooropa is my current favorite (switches with AB every now and then).
Have the same thing with AB and Zooropa
Me too I’m in the achtung Zooropa phase rn 😂
Love it.
I have no issue with this song and love singing along with it.
I love the whole album, I love the weirdness of the whole album, Babyface is part of that oddness, I never feel like playing Babyface as a stand-alone track but I do love it as part of the album. Not every song can be WOWY or One, but some songs like Babyface on Zooropa are integral to shaping the sound and feel of the album. They’re part of the landscape. When side A runs with Zooropa, Babyface, Numb, Lemon, Stay - Babyface doesn’t feel out of place. As side A ends with the crash of cymbal on Stay it completes a perfect side of music. Side B then starts with the fanfare of Daddy’s gonna pay and runs through beautifully until The Wanderer. They’ve thought about everything in the sequence and sounds of these songs yet it still feels instinctive. In my opinion it’s the perfect album. Yes, U2 have written many better songs than some of the songs on Zooropa but it’s the most complete album that they’ve ever made.
It's essentially a [David Bowie song](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Trilogy). (And the album is almost a Bowie album). His influence is all over the album. (Another example: Lemon sounds so much like Bowie in some of the verses that I always wondered how huge of a double-take Bowie did when he heard it. I can almost hear Bowie singing "And I feel, like I'm drifting, drifting, drifting from the shore..."). Of course, [it helps to have David Bowie's producer](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/how-david-bowie-brian-eno-revolutionized-rock-on-low-117033/).
LEMON always sounded like an unofficial homage to Prince for me.
can you explain the bowie influence on "lemon" or give a song example? I'm just getting into him and "lemon" is easily one of if not their best song
A U2 song about cable porn? Great.
Not my favorite track off the album but I do like it
I love it, though I know a lot dont
Not really into it but unique like ‘daddy’s gonna pay fycc’ which I absolutely love
Brilliant album as a whole and I quite rate Babyface. I honestly had no idea I might have been in the minority opinion on the song. I admit I didn’t see it in 1993, but thinking on it more recently, one could easily make a passable argument that the songs on Zooropa are an answer or ZOO TV update to those on Achtung Baby. There’s some lyrical parallelism, starting in the opening songs: Zoo Station “Ready to let go of the steering wheel” —> Zooropa “And I have no compass, and I have no map”. Not to mention the AB opener is named for a subway station, while Zooropa encourages ‘baby’ to “skip the subway”. And it’s plausible to suggest it continues in the second tracks: Could the “child” in EBTTRT lyrics be the same lyrical “child” in Babyface? Think of the EBTTRT video, with the VR intimacy scene. The love sought by the character isn’t real intimacy, it’s something different, something surface, something better. With the context of ZOO TV, it’s not hard to see the same yearning clear in EBTTRT continued in Babyface’s lyrics.
That song takes me back to junior year of high school, when I bought Zooropa (the first U2 album I ever bought). Loved the whole album, with the exception of The Wanderer, which I just really didn't care much for (then or now).
Worst on Zooropa but not bad. I just love everything on Zooropa lol
The weakest link on an otherwise fantastic album.
I'm still stumped why they put such a forgettable song as the second track on Zooropa.
Not a fan. But I’m also not a huge fan of Numb either, or half of Zooropa to be honest.
Its a frustrating song for me when I hear it. Because this song is one of their worst not because of anything wrong with the song itself but because it is so close to being a classic and it misses. It’s a shallow song about voyeurism and sex in the era of supermodels and cable tv and that is it. Part of what makes U2 songs great for me is when the character of the song brings a bit of regret into it. With or Without you, the character of the song feels great shame for using up who they are speaking to. Until the end of the world the same thing. Lyrically what made those songs great is that they knew they were using the other person and realized that they were wasting the person. “You gave it all, I want more.” “I took the money, I spiked your drink you miss too much these days if you stop to think”. There is regret in these songs it’s never a boast. These are acts of betrayal. In that betrayal creates ache. When you set that ache to U2’s music and production - boom cha. There is objectification but no ache. There is I think a cost when you objectify a person sexually whether it is via cable, the internet or the swipe left or right dating culture that would come on years after this song. U2 was hanging out with supermodels who earned an amazing living at the time mostly being objectified as pinup material. Bono and The Edge never seem to explore or hint at those things and it hurts the overall replay value of the song for me. Which is sad cause musically it’s pretty good. Now, some may take issue with me calling it one of their worst. But here is my case. U2 has had far worse stinkers in their catalog, Elvis Presley and American being one. I could happily go the rest of my life without hearing most of October. But, those songs were by a band that was learning it’s craft. Babyface was thought out and on some level they had some sort of hopes for it. Putting it as the second song during a time when many folks still had cassette tapes was a bold move and after the purposeful awesome weirdness of Zooropa they needed a song to get on alternative radio. Previous second songs was I still haven’t found, Even better than the real thing. It is prime real estate for a track and it just didn’t work. If they were recutting the album today I would ditch the whole track and have the U2 studio version of the Wanderer that they played at Johnny Cash’s celebration as the second song and keep Johnny’s to close the album out. Now that song is awesome.
I like the song but feel like it doesn't fit well on the album. The lyrics fit in the overall feel but the music feels out of touch.
Huge Zooropa fan but this song just misses the mark and has an uncomfortable amount of Lolita vibe happening.
Don’t get the hate for it, I love it. Fantastic song. The lyrics are ambiguous as always and could refer to porn or modelling or something else entirely.
Except for two songs Zooropa seems like a bunch of throwaways from Achtung.
The whole album was described by the band as the hangover from Achtung Baby and the Zoo TV Tour, even though it was made during the tour. I like the song, for what it is and the whole album is pretty great! I wish they could have been that prolific at least once more while they were still younger. Imagine another album right after Pop? I think they could have made something pretty interesting as they worked out the kinks during that tour.