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"Numb" is the third track from U2's 1993 album, Zooropa and was released as the album's first single. The song is a monotonous mantra spoken by The Edge with various sound effects and samples. The song's noisy composition and lyrical concept were inspired by the theme of sensory overload, a theme explored on the band's Zoo TV Tour. "Numb" also features backing vocals by Bono and Larry Mullen, Jr.
Writing and recording
"Numb" was recorded during the
Zooropa sessions between February-May 1993, but the song originated from a track called "Down All the Days" that was left over from the
Achtung Baby sessions.
Brian Eno subsequently added a layer of keyboards to it. The song's biggest contribution came while the band was organizing the final running order for
Zooropa.
The Edge took an unused backing track devised during the sessions and spent several hours in another studio demoing ideas, eventually adding vocals in a monotone, almost rapped delivery. This addition for the most part completed "Numb". The Edge described it as "a few hours' work and a lot of editing."
The Edge explained that writing the lyrics "came very quickly". In fact, he wrote so many lyrics that two verses had to be cut from the song. He also called mixing the song "the easiest thing in the world."
Composition
"Numb" is an
industrial rock-influenced song featuring a noisy backdrop of sampled, rhythmic noises, including "arcade sounds", and a
Walkman rewinding. The song's various sounds are meant to "recreate that feeling of sensory overload", a theme prevalent on the Zoo TV Tour. Similarly, The Edge's lyrics "tapped into many of the ideas behind Zoo TV, the sense that we were being bombarded by so much information that you find yourself shutting down and unable to respond".
Release
"Numb" was an unlikely choice for a first single, and was released in an even more unlikely format, being released as a "
video single". Though
Madonna had already released "
Justify My Love" as a video single in 1990 following the blacklisting of that video by
MTV, it was an unusual release mode for the early 1990s;
DVD singles became common place by the latter part of the decade.
Alternative versions
This song was later remixed by producer Mike Hedges for U2's compilation release for the 1990s,
The Best of 1990-2000. The new mix featured louder, clearer vocal performances compared to the
Zooropa album, more distinct background noises, and a new guitar riff.
Track listing
Music video
The music video (directed by
Kevin Godley) featured The Edge staring straight into the camera sitting under a dripping tap, while strange things happen to him, such as having feet put on his face, being tied down by the other group members, and a
belly dancer perform in front of him. The video remix was produced by the performance group
Emergency Broadcast Network and features a number of random television and audio clips. The video and sound segments from the video remix were eventually incorporated into the band's live performances of the song on the
Zoo TV Tour. The commercial single itself was released in video format only on
VHS, echoing the television theme from their
Zoo TV Tour although limited copies of promotional vinyl and CDs do exist.
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Top 40 Mainstream
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Modern Rock Tracks
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Mainstream Rock Tracks
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See also
List of covers of U2 songs - Numb
Notes
References
McCormick, Neil (ed), (2006). U2 by U2. HarperCollins ''Publishers. ISBN 0-00-719668-7
Category:1993 singles
Category:U2 songs
Category:List songs
Category:Island Records singles
Category:Songs produced by Brian Eno
Category:Songs written by Bono
Category:Songs written by The Edge
Category:Songs written by Adam Clayton
Category:Songs written by Larry Mullen, Jr.
Category:English-language songs
