HelloAngel

By Debbie Kreuser
2006.01



"Original of the Species is a very special song for me–it's a beautiful, melodic journey … it's about seeing some people who are ashamed of their bodies, in particular teenagers with eating disorders, not feeling comfortable with themselves and their sexuality. I'm just saying to them, you are one of a kind, you are the first one of your kind, you're an original of the species …. So it's a 'be who you are' and I can't wait to play it live."

—Bono, from Universal Records' "Album Comments from the Band"

U2 has claimed that it hasn't always made the best videos for its songs, yet a few of them are truly memorable for me, like "Stay (Faraway, So Close)," "All I Want is You" and "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own." Each video is distinctive in its composition, subject matter and presentation. Often, U2's best videos are those that tell a story. Such is the case with its latest, and perhaps what will arguably turn out to be its greatest video, video one for "Original of the Species."

The music video for OOTS was conceived and directed by Catherine Owens, the woman responsible for many of the beautiful visual concepts and special effects for the band's current Vertigo Tour and a longtime U2 friend and associate. The concept for the video grew out of an idea that she was originally working on to accompany this song on the Vertigo Tour. As Catherine Owens said in an interview with U2.com on Dec. 22, 2005, "My role begins in pre-production on the visuals. Hearing the album part-way through its recording, picking up on where the band are going with new material, collaborating with the band and show director Willie Williams on new visual concepts …. When U2 are on tour it takes up a lot of my time, this tour more so then others as I have also directed a video for them for the song 'Original of the Species.'"

To further clarify the origins of this video, Bono mentioned in an interview with MTV's "TRL" host Damien Fahey last December that the video was originally inspired by the Steven Spielberg's 2001 film "AI: Artificial Intelligence." Though reception to the film was lukewarm, it deftly explored the search for identity in a world of confusion, when what one thinks is real is actually synthetic. The film's main character is David (played by Haley Joel Osment), a boy trying to make sense of the world around him with his semi-intelligent teddy bear. One poignant moment in the film comes when David asks his teddy bear if his parents are real, to which Teddy replies, "You ask such silly questions, David. Nobody knows what 'real' really means."

Using Bono's reference to the "AI" movie, it appears then that the OOTS video is about one's search for meaning in life, a search to find one's place and purpose in a world where nothing is secure except one's sense of self. In this exploration to find oneself and, ultimately, to love oneself, OOTS takes us on a visual and emotional journey through exquisite and intimate imagery.

The first thing that struck me about OOTS is the introductory music. The notes chime in a way reminiscent of a baby's music box, full of innocence and hope. Next, images of conception appear as umbilical cords intertwine together becoming a fetus which transitions into a mother caressing her child.

Next, the image of a young girl appears onscreen seeming to be devoid of emotion, like a blank canvas on which the future will be written. As she turns around, digitally scanned images of the members of U2 begin to appear. The first one we see is Larry Mullen Jr. For me, this was no surprise because the embryo, the very beginning of U2, started with Larry and his bulletin board posting.

Then, the young child begins an incredible transformation. Flowers (what look like irises) begin to encircle her head until she is completely covered with them. Emoting with every fiber of his being, Bono appears and begins to breathe life into the child as she starts to smile and cry. She is becoming fully human.

After showing emotional development, the development of her brain begins. But instead of the traditional names of the various brain lobes, the areas are labeled with phrases reminiscent of ZooTV, like "Stay True," "Let Go," "Love," "Always Free." It's almost as if U2 is telling us that the heart is more powerful, more of what makes us truly human, than anything else our rational minds can produce.

As Bono removes his shades revealing himself without the pretense of celebrity, the video reaches its pinnacle. Exploding with emotion, scenes of Bono singing interspersed with images of a pregnant woman. It is as if Bono is stressing to us that this child, and by extension every child, is precious and unique and is a life to be valued, a theme that Bono raises in his plugs for the One Campaign during the Vertigo Tour.

Barely able to control the emotions churning inside himself, Bono shows us tattoos cascading down his arm which represent some of the images in this video—a heart, a dove flying free and the word "Mother" surrounded by flowers and vines. This image alludes to the idea that the one who might be most imprinted with the messages in OOTS—be true to yourself, accept yourself as you are, celebrate your uniqueness, etc.—just might be Bono himself. Bono has said that oftentimes the songs that he writes for others he later discovers that he has actually written for himself.

Nearing the end of the video, we see the young girl surrounded by brightly colored butterflies. Her full individuality and uniqueness appear to have blossomed.

As the four scanned heads of U2 circle around the screen, the video closes with one last shot of each member of U2.

Bono has said that he wrote this song (his favorite from "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb") for Edge's daughter Holly when she was going through a difficult time in her life. In an interview with Q magazine in November 2004, Edge had this to say about OOTS: "The last time I cried I was listening to that song. It was a song that Bono started on the last record about my daughter, Holly. He's her godfather. The lyric became more universal. About being young and full of doubt about yourself. He probably wouldn't agree, but I think the song has connotations for Bono, looking back to when he was 20."

Since then, Bono has stated that OOTS is for "all of U2's girls" (including Edge's three other daughters, Bono's two and Larry's one) but I think the real meaning of OOTS is much greater.

What U2 does in this video is highlight one of the driving forces behind its music—the belief in the sanctity of each human life. We can see this theme in many songs spanning the decades from "Sunday, Bloody Sunday" from 1983's "War" to "Miracle Drug," also from "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb."

This belief of U2's is reflected in its longtime support of Amnesty International, one of the few organizations invited to accompany the Vertigo Tour, its historic opposition to political violence and, of course, in Bono's tireless advocacy to end extreme poverty in Africa through DATA and One. It is reflected in the love and respect that U2 shows its fans and followers as well as in the way the band mates treat each other.

In so many aspects of its conception and delivery, OOTS is really the first one of its kind. It may very well go down in U2 history as the one song and video that most truly encapsulates what U2 stands for—the majesty of the human spirit and the dignity of every human life.

On Jan. 11, 2006, a second version of the OOTS video premiered on AOL. Very similar in concept and design to the preceding video, this version features Bono singing the song by himself, along with images of a woman pregnant with child in the background.

The video is most interesting due to the numerous close-ups of Bono in which we can see his various facial expressions, many of which are reminiscent of Bono's famous onstage character, MacPhisto. One of the most memorable moments of the video to me was Bono's playful smile after he sang the lyric, "Some people have way too much confidence."

At the end of the video, the word "Love" is prominently displayed onscreen as if to sum up the whole meaning of OOTS in one word—love. Love for yourself, love for each other, love that can transform the ugly into the beautiful, the transitory into the transcendent and the sinner into the saint. Love that forgives, love that heals, love that elevates our hearts and souls.

U2bpbear24

i love this song, and the FIRST video

...they really didnt need to make a second one, IMO.

tommyvill

well said, U2bpbear24...
first time I saw the 1st video, I felt my eyes wet and shed some tears...
And I'm a MALE
They didn't need a 2nd video..

ciao,
Tom

Diane L

This piece is beautifully written, Debbie, and I enjoyed reading it.

I, too, much preferred the first OOTS video to the second. I thought the imagery of the girl with the flowers, etc., was gorgeous. Why mess with perfection? U2 had just about their best video ever with the first OOTS clip.

__________________
Where is the love? Where is the love?
Love & Peace!

U2 Beginner

I was watching this today and almost started crying too, thats how beautiful it is!!!!

Jamila

It IS the most beautiful and awesome video that I think U2 has ever made.

I think it strikes the chord in each of us that each one of us is special and unique and has a positive contribution to make in our world.

And I think that it's that feeling that we get when we watch OOTS or listen to Bono sing it that resonates somewhere deep in our hearts.

And I think that's probably also the reason why Bono likes it so much.

Thanks for all the positive comments - they speak well for the purpose of the song and the video for OOTS.

Jamila

THANK YOU, BONO.

And please stay a child somewhere in your heart.

Carek1230

Debbie please keep writing and sharing, you are so beautiful!

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Jamila

Thank you so very much for your sincere show of support, Carek - it means more to me than you could ever know.

This article was a pure labor of Love for U2 for all that have given and will continue to give to me and to all of us.

I hope to be able to continue sharing ideas and impressions of U2's music and message here for a very long time.

IN THE NAME OF LOVE....