U2 fans can be a persnickety bunch. For one thing, it seems that some of us aren’t satisfied with anything the band do. I’m sure you’ve all read just as many negative internet comments and forum threads as I have, so you know what I’m talking about. For another thing, it seems that some of us hold the band to a higher standard than other bands get held to. I guess in some ways, that is the band’s fault for consistently delivering so much goodness over the past forty years. Still, there’s a part of me that thinks it’s OK if the band just want to deliver some solid rock ‘n’ roll without changing the world with every song.

When I think of U2’s attempts to do just that – to supply us with something that qualifies as great entertainment without necessarily being transformative – one of the first songs that springs to mind is Pop‘s “Miami”. I’ve read a lot of derisive commentary on this song over the years, mostly from amateur critics, and, frankly, I’ve never understood why this song makes some people so unhappy. Sure, the lyrics are a little silly at times (“Miami! My mammy…”) but there are also moments of real wisdom (“Baby’s always attracted to the things she’s afraid of”). Overall, the lyrics detail Bono’s attempt to come to terms with what is, to him, anyway, an entirely alien culture. Let’s face it – combining the party culture of Florida with the slice of Cuban life that permeates Miami creates a lifestyle that’s alien to most of us. It’s a world unto itself down there, and Bono just wants to understand it. “Miami” does a good job at reflecting the fun atmosphere of the city it’s named after, and I don’t think that there’s anything wrong with that.

Musically, “Miami” echoes parts of Achtung Baby with that album’s fascination with industrial rock. Starting off with a twisted drum sample then piling on some eerie keys is a great interest builder at the beginning of the song. After a couple of stanzas (which are separated by a great vocal hook from Edge – the poppiest that the song gets). The song builds tension quickly, a feeling that’s only heightened when a menacing guitar riff joins the onslaught at just after the two minute mark. “Miami” doesn’t have a chorus as much as it has a release. For the majority of the song, the verses are delineated only by Edge’s “ba-ba-ba’s” and some musical cues. At about 3:57, though, the song explodes with a great scream from Bono and another instance of that threatening guitar riff. Come to think of it, “threatening” is a good word to use to describe the whole song. Up to the climax, the song feels like a dam that’s about to break. Until finally, Bono lets loose with his trademark howl and the tension that has been building the whole song is finally relaxed in a moment of pure, unapologetic, rebellious rock.

Unfortunately, “Miami” wasn’t well received at U2’s live performances either. The song started out strong,missing only one show of the first two legs of U2’s Pop*Mart extravaganza. After that, though, the song would only make two more appearances during the rest of the tour, and none since then at all. I, for one, would love to see U2 resurrect “Miami” during a performance in that city, if not for a whole tour. It’ll probably never happen, but at least I can dream.