"Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of" - U2

Single (Europe and Australia)

Track Listing:

Added for 2024 Digital Remaster:

Background Information

“Stuck in a Moment You Can’t Get Out Of” was released as the second commercial single from All That You Can’t Leave Behind. It was written about the death, apparently by suicide, of INXS singer Michael Hutchence. Bono has stated that the song was a “really tough, nasty little number…slapping him around the head.” He has often introduced the song in concert by talking about his friendship with Hutchence.

The single was released on January 29, 2001 in the UK and Europe and on February 12 in Australia. In most regions, the single was released in two CD versions, except for Japan, where the tracks were combined onto one CD. In Canada, “Walk On” was released as the second single from All That You Can’t Leave Behind instead, although it would contain the same B-sides as those found on “Stuck in a Moment You Can’t Get Out Of” in other regions. Later, when “Walk On” was released throughout the rest of the world as the third single from the album, Canada would get “Stuck in a Moment You Can’t Get Out Of.” (Since the sleeve design and track listing differs on the Canadian version, this release has a separate discography entry.) On March 27, 2001, an additional special format of “Stuck in a Moment You Can’t Get Out Of” was released in France. It featured songs recorded at the Manray Club in Paris on October 19, 2000, during a special album preview session and concert. This French release was a limited edition, packaged in a cloth sleeve with six postcards, and with stickers on the outside listing the titles. This limited French release was the only format to include live tracks from the Manray show.

Early promotional material for the single announced that it would contain the B-side “Novelty Act,” an outtake from the Pop album sessions (in fact, “Novelty Act” was in consideration at one point for the title of that album). However, the eventual commercial release would include a different B-side from the Pop era, “Big Girls are Best,” which the band recorded during the last leg of The PopMart Tour with Howie B and Flood. It could also be heard during PopMart rehearsals in Melbourne. As of this writing, “Novelty Act” remains unreleased. Additional “Stuck in a Moment” B-sides included three remixes of “Beautiful Day:” the “Quincey & Sonance Remix,” “The Perfecto Mix,” and the “David Holmes Remix.” The latter two mixes were included only on Australian versions of the single, in order to add value to those releases at a time when imports actually cost less than CDs produced in Australia. Additional songs on the single included two tracks taken from U2’s Farmclub.com performance on October 27, 2000 at Universal City in California: “New York” and “Beautiful Day.” Finally, the previously mentioned French limited edition single included live versions of “All I Want is You” and “Even Better Than the Real Thing” recorded at the Manray Club in Paris.

Three videos were filmed for “Stuck in a Moment You Can’t Get Out Of.” The first, promoting the EU/Australia single release, was directed by Kevin Godley. It features Bono being repeatedly thrown out of a moving vehicle and struggling to rise in the middle of the street—a visual interpretation of being “Stuck in a Moment.” This footage is interspersed with shots of the band attempting to cross a busy highway. At the end of the video, the band arrives to help Bono stand up, and the Edge makes it across traffic to give him a hand. The video was shot in Los Angeles, California in January 2001. This version is included on both the U218 Videos and The Best of 1990-2000 compilations. A second video was shot in Eze, France, and in studio in Dublin. It depicts the band recording “Stuck in a Moment You Can’t Get Out Of” and includes various shots from photo shoots for the album, as well as vacation footage. This “Eze Version” was directed by James Mather and Joe Edwards, and was edited by Brian McCue. It was included as a bonus feature on the Elevation 2001: Live from Boston DVD. The third version of the video was directed by Joseph Kahn in Berlin, Germany on July 30, 2001. This version, featuring hundreds of extras in a German stadium, was a recreation of an American football game. The band members make appearances as spectators the stands. In addition, American football analyst John Madden makes a guest appearance as the announcer in a game between “The Flys” and “The Lemons” at a venue known as “The Unforgettable Fire Dome.” During the video, a rookie player (named “Paul Hewson”) misses the final kick of the game, resulting in a loss for his team. He replays the kick over and over again in his mind. This version of the video was used to promote the song in North America when it was released to radio in the fall of 2001. Like the original Kevin Godley version, it was included on both the U218 Videos and The Best of 1990-2000 compilations.

“Stuck in a Moment You Can’t Get Out Of” was first performed live at the Manray Club in Paris on October 19, 2000 during U2’s promotional tour for All That You Can’t Leave Behind. It was played regularly at other promotional stops, and was also performed on every stop of The Elevation Tour. During The Vertigo Tour in 2005 and 2006, it made its first appearance on the third leg of the tour in North America, but was ultimately played at only a handful of shows in 2006. The song was played sparingly on the U2360° Tour, as well, appearing regularly only on the North American leg in 2009. It was performed just five times during 2015’s Innocence and Experience Tour. A live version, recorded at Slane Castle on September 1, 2001 was featured on the fan club release Go Home: Live from Slane Castle. A version recorded live in New York City on October 30, 2009 and featuring Mick Jagger on guest vocals, was included on the multi-artist The 25th Anniversary Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Concerts CD, as well as on the U2 fan club release Duals. (When “Stuck in a Moment You Can’t Get Out Of” was initially recorded during the All That You Can’t Leave Behind sessions, Jagger and his daughter, Elizabeth, both sang backing vocals in-studio; however, these vocal tracks did not make the final mix.) In 2011, members of the U2 Fan Club were given the opportunity to vote on 46 live tracks recorded during The U2360° Tour, with the top 22 songs to be included on a live album, U22. “Stuck in a Moment You Can’t Get Out Of” was one of these choices. In the end, however, the song did not receive enough votes to appear on the final live compilation. The following year, the Edge picked his favorite tracks from the remaining 46 live tracks, and “Stuck in a Moment” recorded in Mexico City on May 11, 2011 was included on From the Ground Up: Edge’s Picks.

“Stuck in a Moment You Can’t Get Out Of” was included on both the U218 Singles and The Best of 1990-2000 compilations. An acoustic version of the song was featured as a b-side on the fall release of “Stuck in a Moment You Can’t Get Out Of” in Canada, as well as on the fall release of “Walk On” in the rest of the world and on the Target-exclusive “7 (Rare and Remixed)” EP in the US. This acoustic version uses the same vocal track as the album version, but has a new acoustic musical arrangement. A “Radio Edit,” which removes part of the first verse and edits the ending of the song, featured on the Canadian single and US promos. “Beautiful Day (Quincy & Sonance Mix)” and “Big Girls are Best” also appeared on the “7 (Rare and Remixed)” EP.

On August 2, 2024, a new digital release of the “Stuck in a Moment” single was released. The tracks included are listed as 2024 remasters. The single was released at CD-quality and lesser qualities, as well as a high resolution release at 44.1kHz/24-bit. For more information on the set of releases this was part of, To Love and Only Love we have a separate entry in our discography. This 2024 remaster includes the B-sides and live tracks from the original singles, including the live tracks from the limited France release. This new release included the Radio Edit of “Stuck in a Moment” which wasn’t present on the original singles in early 2001, but had been part of the later North American release in late 2001.

Liner Notes

Stuck in a Moment You Can’t Get Out Of (Album Version):
Lyrics by Bono and the Edge. Synthesizers: Brian Eno and Bono. Additional Guitar: Daniel Lanois. Brass by Paul Barrett. Produced by Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno. Engineered by Richard Rainey. Assisted by Chris Heaney. Mixed by Tim Palmer in Scream Studios, Los Angeles. Assisted by Jay Goin.

Big Girls are Best:
Music by U2. Lyrics by Bono and the Edge. Produced by Howie B and Flood. Assisted by Rob Kirwan. Engineered by Flood. Programming by Howie B. Original mix by Flood. Final mix and additional programming by Tim Palmer at Scream Studios, Los Angeles.

Beautiful Day (Quincey and Sonance Mix):
Music by U2. Lyrics by Bono. Produced by Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno. Engineered by Richard Rainey. Assisted by Chris Heaney. Additional production by Steve Lillywhite. Mixed by Steve Lillywhite. Additional engineering by Tim Palmer and Stephen Harris. Remixed by Quincey and Sonance.

Beautiful Day (Live from Farmclub):
Music by U2. Lyrics by Bono. Recorded live from the Farmclub.com stage, Universal City on October 27, 2000. Mixed by Tim Palmer and Thom Panunzio. Recorded by Bart Chiate and Thom Panunzio.

New York (Live from Farmclub):
Music by U2. Lyrics by Bono. Recorded live from the Farmclub.com stage, Universal City on October 27, 2000. Mixed by Tim Palmer and Thom Panunzio. Recorded by Bart Chiate and Thom Panunzio.

Beautiful Day (The Perfecto Mix):
Music by U2. Lyrics by Bono. Produced by Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno. Engineered by Richard Rainey. Assisted by Chris Heaney. Additional production by Steve Lillywhite. Mixed by Steve Lillywhite. Additional engineering by Tim Palmer and Stephen Harris. Remixed by Paul Oakenfold and Andy Gray.

Beautiful Day (David Homes Remix):
Music by U2. Lyrics by Bono. Produced by Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno. Engineered by Richard Rainey. Assisted by Chris Heaney. Additional production by Steve Lillywhite. Mixed by Steve Lillywhite. Additional engineering by Tim Palmer and Stephen Harris. Additional remix production and remix by David Holmes. Programming by Jagz Kooner. Engineering by Phil Mossman at Echoplex, London W10. Additional keyboards: Darren Morris. Additional guitar and bass guitar: Phil Mossman. Additional drums: Zac Danziger.

All I Want is You (Live from Manray):
Music by U2. Lyrics by Bono. Recorded live at the Manray, Paris on October 19, 2000. Recorded and mixed by Richard Rainey. Pro-Tools Programming by Andrew Phillpott.

Even Better Than (Live from Manray):
Music by U2. Lyrics by Bono. Recorded live at the Manray, Paris on October 19, 2000. Recorded and mixed by Richard Rainey. Pro-Tools Programming by Andrew Phillpott.

Mastered by Arnie Acosta at The Mastering Lab, Los Angeles. Audio Post Production Manager: Cheryl Engels at Partial Productions Inc.

Artwork

Regular Releases:
Photography by Kevin Westenberg. Designed at Four 5 One, Dublin.

France Limited Edition:
Design – Tom Hingston Studio.

Recognition and Awards

  • Nomination, and Win, Best Pop Performance by Duo or Group (Grammy Awards, 2002)
  • Nomination, Song of the Year (Grammy Awards, 2002)
  • #3 Best Single, Critics Picks (Rolling Stone, 2001)

Related Promotional Videos

Related News

Catalog of Releases