"Original of the Species" is a song by

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band U2 and the tenth track from their 2004 album, ''

How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb ''How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb'' is the eleventh studio album by Irish rock band U2. It was released on 22 November 2004 in the United Kingdom by Island Records and a day later in the United States by Interscope Records. Much like their pr ...

''.

Promotion

A live video clip of this song from the

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

'' Vertigo 2005: Live From Chicago'' is featured in a

television commercial A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...

promoting the video capable Apple iPod. During that performance, Bono dedicates it to his two daughters. The image of Bono singing this song from the live recording in Chicago was used as the icon Apple used for the artist tab in the music app on their devices until 2015. Bono has also said he believes this to be the best song on ''

''. In concerts in December 2005, Bono has said the song is one of many influenced by

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

's music. The

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

for the single utilised animated computer-generated imagery by Spontaneous, something unprecedented for U2 videos.

Live performances

In concert form during the

Vertigo Tour The Vertigo Tour was a worldwide concert tour by the Irish rock band U2. Staged in support of the group's 2004 album '' How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb'', the tour visited arenas and stadiums between March 2005 and December 2006. The Vertigo To ...

, the song was played with

the Edge David Howell Evans (born 8 August 1961), better known as the Edge or simply Edge,McCormick (2006), pp. 21, 23–24 is an English-born Irish musician, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the lead guitarist, keyboardist, and backing voca ...

on piano, often accompanied by Bono on acoustic guitar. On rare occasions, it was played with the Edge on electric guitar, in a performance which was accompanied by a pianist and full orchestra, much similar to the performance of the album, and one of those performances was at their show in

Milan, Italy Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...

in July 2005, which appeared on the '' Vertigo 05: Live from Milan'' bonus DVD for U2's 2006 compilation ''

U218 Singles U or u, is the twenty-first and sixth-to-last letter and fifth vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''u'' (pr ...

''.

Reception

The song was added to the playlists of thirteen

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commerci ...

radio stations in the US. However, it failed to break the top 40, thus not charting on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. Instead it hovered around #60, rising to #55 in mid-January. However, it never gained enough airplay to enter the chart. It was slated for a UK release and was playlisted by

Xfm London Radio X is a British National commercial radio station focused on alternative music, primarily indie rock, and owned by Global. Radio X launched in 1989 as a pirate radio station, a licensed London-wide station in 1997 and nationally in 2015 ...

Virgin Radio Virgin Radio launched in the United Kingdom in 1993. In 2008, Virgin Radio UK was sold to TIML, a subsidiary of The Times of India group, and the name was changed to Absolute Radio; the Virgin Radio name was not included in the sale. In 2001, ...

, and made the B-List of BBC Radio 2.

Track listing

The U.S. promo was released in late 2005, while the U.K. promo was released in early 2006.

Chart

Release history

References

External links

* {{Authority control U2 songs 2004 songs Rock ballads Song recordings produced by Jacknife Lee Songs written by Bono Songs written by the Edge Songs written by Adam Clayton Songs written by Larry Mullen Jr. Song recordings produced by Steve Lillywhite