Original Of The Species

U2 guitarist The Edge explains that this started out as a song for his daughter. He told Q Magazine November 2004: "The last time I cried was listening to that song. It was a song Bono started on the last record about my daughter Hollie. He's her godfather. The lyric became more universal. About being young and full of doubt about yourself. He probably won't agree, but I think it has connotations for Bono, looking back to when he was 20."

Coinciding with "Vertigo," which was advertised with the iPod's release, this lead the campaign for the Video iPod, showing scenes from a U2 concert.

Bono, about the album How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb: "It started out to be a rock 'n' roll album, pure and simple. We were very excited that Edge wasn't sitting at the piano or twiddling a piece of technology, because he is one of the great guitarists. Halfway through, we got bored, because it turns out you can only go so far with rifferama. We wanted more dimension. Now you've got punk rock starting points that go through Phil Spectorland, turn right at Tim Buckley, end up in alleyways and open onto other vistas and cityscapes and rooftops and skies. It's songwriting by accident, by a punk band that wants to play Bach."