"I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight" is the fifth song from U2's 2009 album ''

No Line on the Horizon ''No Line on the Horizon'' is the twelfth studio album by Irish rock music, rock band U2. It was produced by Brian Eno, Daniel Lanois, and Steve Lillywhite, and was released on 27 February 2009. It was the band's first record since ''How to Dis ...

''. The song was released as the album's third single in a digital format on 25 August 2009 and in a physical version released on 7 September 2009. Two music videos were made, one directed by David O'Reilly, and one by Alex Courtes.

Writing and recording

The band collaborated with will.i.am in the creation of the track; will.i.am receives an "additional production" credit on the finished version. It was first developed by

Brian Eno Brian Peter George Jean-Baptiste de la Salle Eno (, born 15 May 1948), also mononymously known as Eno, is an English musician, songwriter, record producer, visual artist, and activist. He is best known for his pioneering contributions to ambien ...

under the title "Diorama" during a break in the recording sessions. The band reworked the track under the new title of "Crazy Tonight" before retitling it again as "I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight". Several of the song's lyrics were influenced by

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

's presidential campaign. Bono stated to '' Q'' magazine that the lyrics " oundlike a T-shirt slogan to me", also noting that it was ''No Line on the Horizon''s equivalent to " Beautiful Day".

Live performances

"I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight" was first played on 4 March 2009 on the ''

Late Show with David Letterman ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by Letterman's production com ...

'', one of three performances of the song during ''No Line on the Horizon'' promotional appearances. Redanka's "Kick the Darkness" remix arrangement of the song was played throughout the

U2 360° Tour The U2 360° Tour was a worldwide concert tour by the Irish rock music, rock band U2. Staged in support of the group's 2009 album ''No Line on the Horizon'', the tour visited stadiums from 2009 through 2011. The concerts featured the band pla ...

. Club feel lighting accompanied the song, while Larry Mullen Jr. walked around the outer stage playing a

djembe A djembe or jembe ( ; from Maninka language, Malinke ''jembe'' , N'Ko script, N'Ko: ) is a rope-tuned skin-covered goblet drum played with bare hands, originally from West Africa. According to the Bambara people in Mali, the name of the djembe ...

. The performance in this unfamiliar style was intended to disorient the audience as the band moved from the "personal" first half of the concert into the "political" second half. (The only time the album version was performed during the tour was during the second show of the 360 Tour° in

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where it was performed two times. For the first time the band played the remix and, then, as one of the encores, the album version was performed for a video shoot.)

Music videos

The first music video received its world premiere on 17 July 2009 through U2's

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channel. Directed by David O'Reilly and designed by Jon Klassen, it is the band's first animated music video since 1995's "

Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me" is a song by Irish rock music, rock band U2. It was released as a single from the Batman Forever (soundtrack), soundtrack album for the film ''Batman Forever'' on 5 June 1995 by Atlantic Records, Atlantic an ...

", and is one of the few not to feature the band. It depicts several people in a city undergoing hardships, and the events that interconnect them and bring them happiness as they decide to make changes in their lives. The video was entered in the 2009

Ottawa International Animation Festival The Ottawa International Animation Festival is an annual animated film and media festival that takes place in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The OIAF was founded in 1975, with the first festival held from August 10 to 15 in 1976. Initially organized b ...

. The second music video was directed by Alex Courtes and produced by Malachy Mcanenny. While the O'Reilly video plays over the studio version of the song, the Courtes version is the single edit. It consists of a live performance taken from the U2 360° Tour, filmed at

Camp Nou Camp Nou (), meaning ''New Field'' and often referred to in English as the Nou Camp, is a stadium in Barcelona and the home of La Liga club FC Barcelona since its opening in 1957. It is currently undergoing renovation, and with a planned increa ...

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, on 2 July 2009.

Reception

'' Q'' called "I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight" the band's "most unabashed pop song since 'Sweetest Thing'". while '' Mojo'' labelled it a "superficial pop anthem formed around a dainty kernel of pure melodic gold", calling the performance " cumulatively devastating is the band's delivery that it ennobles the succession of cute self-referential Bono homilies". ''

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'' likened the "I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight"'s piano parts to the hook of the Journey song " Faithfully", while ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' noted that the lyrics reflected Bono's inability to meet his own ideals. ''Rolling Stone'' also likened the "harrowing" beginning of the O'Reilly video to a

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film, calling the animation "incredible". Eoin Butler, writing in ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...

''The Ticket'' supplement, was less enthused about the release, labelling it U2's "most lacklustre offering to date". The song was nominated in the categories "Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals" and "Best Rock Song" for the 52nd Grammy Awards in 2010.

Release

In promotion "I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight" was used in television commercials for a Blackberry application, called the "U2 Mobile App", which was developed as part of

Research in Motion BlackBerry Limited, formerly Research In Motion (RIM), is a Canadian software company specializing in secure communications and the Internet of Things (IoT). Founded in 1984, it developed the BlackBerry brand of interactive pagers, smartpho ...

's sponsorship of the

Formats and track listings

All lyrics written by

Bono Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by the nickname Bono ( ), is an Irish singer-songwriter and activist. He is a founding member, the lead vocalist, and primary lyricist of the rock band U2. Bono is known for his impassioned voca ...

, all music composed by U2, except "Magnificent" (music also by

and Danny Lanois, and lyrics also by

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

Promotional releases

Commercial releases

Digital releases

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from ''

'' liner notes. * U2 – music *

– lyrics *

Steve Lillywhite Stephen Alan Lillywhite (born 15 March 1955) is an English record producer. Since he began his career in 1977, Lillywhite has been credited on over 500 records, and has collaborated with a variety of musicians including new wave acts The Alarm ...

– producer, mixer * will.i.am – additional production and keyboards *CJ Eiriksson – engineer, mixer *Tom Hough – assistant engineer *Declan Gaffney – additional engineering *Dave Emery – assistant mixer * Caroline Dale – cello *Cathy Thompson – violin *Terry Lawless – additional keyboards

Charts

References

External links

Lyrics at U2.com
* {{Authority control 2009 songs 2009 singles U2 songs Pop rock songs Interscope Records singles Mercury Records singles Song recordings produced by Steve Lillywhite Song recordings produced by will.i.am Songs written by Adam Clayton Songs written by Bono Songs written by the Edge Songs written by Larry Mullen Jr. Animated music videos Number-one singles in Scotland