Vulture ranks 218 U2 songs

[drt4]

Always worth discussing these lists. (SOE not included)

http://www.vulture.com/2017/12/all-218-u2-songs-ranked-from-worst-to-best.html

Of course any person's ranking of this many songs is going to be all over the place, but this does seem to have a lot of questionable choices. The top 10 is nothing shocking - though I wouldn't put Out of Control in there. But just randomly one example of that's hard to argue - who really thinks She's Gonna Blow Your House Down is better than Red Hill Mining Town?!

Also - one random point - I don't think Babyface is about supermodels

it does seem like the author does actually like U2 though, so that's good.

 

[Mac_Fly]

Always worth discussing these lists. (SOE not included)

http://www.vulture.com/2017/12/all-218-u2-songs-ranked-from-worst-to-best.html

Of course any person's ranking of this many songs is going to be all over the place, but this does seem to have a lot of questionable choices. The top 10 is nothing shocking - though I wouldn't put Out of Control in there. But just randomly one example of that's hard to argue - who really thinks She's Gonna Blow Your House Down is better than Red Hill Mining Town?!

Also - one random point - I don't think Babyface is about supermodels

it does seem like the author does actually like U2 though, so that's good.

When I find the time I'll rearrange all 218 songs for him and put them in the right order.

 

[LuckyNumber7]

Hmm...

 

[LuckyNumber7]

Idk what Vulture is, but we at interference are doing our own.

http://www.u2interference.com/forums/showthread.php?t=221802

 

[Joey788]

Vulture is the arts section of New York Magazine.

They have different writers do these lists whenever there’s some music news or notable anniversaries to warrant a feature. I think they ranked all the Beatles tunes earlier this year as well.

As for the U2 list, it is a bit all over the place, but the reporter makes decent arguments for the selections. I like that he gives all albums their time in the sun too. Also, putting Mofo as the best off Pop was a cool pick.

 

[Montrose]

Am I one of the few that has a soft enough spot for 'Always' that I'd never expect to see it that low on a list of this sort? Sure, it's unpolished, but it has a charm to it.

 

[Mrs. Garrison]

Stand Up Comedy is ranked higher than Playboy Mansion, for fucks sake, who wrote this shit?

 

[LuckyNumber7]

Am I one of the few that has a soft enough spot for 'Always' that I'd never expect to see it that low on a list of this sort? Sure, it's unpolished, but it has a charm to it.

Absolutely. You're not alone... I have plenty of respect and a soft spot for it as well.

 

[womanfish]

God Part II at 176!!! The TROUBLES AT 170!!!! SLABT 161!!!!! When I look at the World 159!!!!

Seriously - Boots and Grace are Ranked above these great songs - madness

Peace on Earth ranked along side Every Breaking Wave, and SFS ahead of EBW. Sweet GOD!

Kite at 85 behind Ordinary Love for fucks sake.

Walk On at 24 and Angel of Harlem 17?!?! I want some of whatever this guy is havin...

I will admit, there were areas of agreement, and I know its one persons opinion. But... some of this is just Wow.

 

[corianderstem]

I'm not going to pretend to even remotely understand her ranking criteria, but it's a fun read. She's a good music writer in general.

 

[Scorpionac]

When you rank so many songs, some of the positions can't help but feel arbitrary. I always enjoy reading these things, though, and the writer is clearly a fan. Of course, I can (and will) quibble with some of the rankings. Love Comes Tumbling at #200? For shame. Red Light better than The Ground Beneath Her Feet and Stateless? Get outta here. Stand Up Comedy's genre is "soul-shoegaze-electronica groove"? I wish. And Party Girl at #28, with barely a mention of the live version? You must be joking.

I did like seeing The Crystal Ballroom crack the top 50 and Angel of Harlem crack the top 20.

 

[LuckyNumber7]

The positions are arbitrary, but the quartiles are not.

 

[Catman]

That sure is an interesting arrangement. The writer clearly spent a lot of time on this--and I don't want to argue over subjective rankings--so all I'll say is that I'm happy my favorite U2 songs made the list ;P

 

[An Cat Gav]

Boomerang is one of my favourite U2 b-sides and is so much better than a lot of songs that got on their actual albums so it's ridiculous that it and Boomerang 2 are last,

 

[Mac_Fly]

Am I one of the few that has a soft enough spot for 'Always' that I'd never expect to see it that low on a list of this sort? Sure, it's unpolished, but it has a charm to it.

I love Always and was put off by the list immediately when I saw, well, several songs I really liked on the bottom.

But that's how these lists are, sometimes you shout AMEN and other times you pull a McEnroe and yell "you CANNOT be serious!"

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

I am angry that this person does not share the same opinions that I have!

 

[u2fancit]

Low ranked songs I like:
Yahweh
God Part II
Rejoice
Elvis Presley and America
Original of the Species
The Hands that Built America
Sleep Like a Baby Tonight
Grace
The Troubles



Songs in top 50 ranked too high:
I Will Follow
Even Better Than the Real Thing
Angel of Harlem
Mofo


Songs in my top 50 they ranked too low:
The Fly
An Cat Dubh
October
Song for Someone

my top 5 go (pretty safe I know):
1. Bad
2. Streets
3. Sunday Bloody Sunday
4. Beautiful Day
5. Still Haven't Found

 

[Mac_Fly]

Low ranked songs I like:
Yahweh
God Part II
Rejoice
Elvis Presley and America
Original of the Species
The Hands that Built America
Sleep Like a Baby Tonight
Grace
The Troubles

I like all of those songs too, some more than others of course. But a separate word about Elvis Presley and America -- while I like that one it is very easy to see why some (perhaps most) would not. So that ranking I can forgive.

 

[LuckyNumber7]

Elvis Presley and America goes top 20 for me.

Also, Wild Honey is playing in a Pei Wei. I must leave.

 

[drt4]

Boomerang is one of my favourite U2 b-sides and is so much better than a lot of songs that got on their actual albums so it's ridiculous that it and Boomerang 2 are last,

Yeah - Boomerang may not be full formed - but that's the case for much of UF. It's got a cool vibe and is way better than some total duds in their catalogue.

Not that I'm incensed about this list or anything - but half the point of making lists is to argue about them.

There's definitely quite a few I find way overranked in the top 50 - but it's not worth noting them.

neglected songs in the bottom:
Big Girls are Best isn't poetry and shouldn't be super high - but not in the bottom five!
Down All the Days
Disappearing Act
Loves Come Tumbling
The Playboy Mansion
Mercy! (counting the leaked version - not the live version)
Babyface
Miami
God Part II

 

[Mac_Fly]

I rather like this entry. Sums up my feeling for the most part quite well:

104. “Last Night on Earth,” Pop
It’s a song you want to like. The off-kilter intro is so promising, there are a handful of vivid images (“She’s at the bus stop with the News of the World and The Sun,” you can just see a club kid stuck waiting for the first bus in the morning), the chorus is solid, and the concept of the story line is interesting, but it just does not connect. It probably doesn’t help that Bono came up with the chorus at 4 a.m. on their last night in the studio. (Sound familiar?) “It was a good tune,” the Edge said. “But is it up there with ‘New Year’s Day’ or ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday’? Obviously not, or we would still be playing it live.”

The "You gotta give it away" line belted out over and over is my least favorite thing in the entire U2 catalog.

Now I know where it came from.

4 AM . . . last minute frantic stab . . . indeed.

 

[lazarus]

The writer is already going that negative as early as #104? If you don't even like half the band's songs why bother ranking all of them?

I happen to love LNOE (the album version, thank you), and think it should have been the lead single.

 

[mikal]

I really stopped paying attention at Love Comes Tumbling. It’s in my top 25

 

[Mac_Fly]

I really stopped paying attention at Love Comes Tumbling. It’s in my top 25

I'm a big fan of Always (#216), Big Girls Are Best (#214), Yahweh (#213) & The Refugee (#212) and look where they ended up.

But it's all good. That's her list and she's entitled to it.

After all, the only list that should really matter to us is the one that we each carry around in our own heads.

 

[mikal]

I'm a big fan of Always (#216), Big Girls Are Best (#214), Yahweh (#213) & The Refugee (#212) and look where they ended up.



But it's all good. That's her list and she's entitled to it.



After all, the only list that should really matter to us is the one that we each carry around in our own heads.

Very true. But she should be jailed for putting LCT that low. LOCK HER UP! LOCK HER UP!

 

[LemonMelon]

Glad I knew ahead of time that LCT was #200. Saved me the time I would have spent reading the list.

 

[intedomine]

Fascinating. I'm actually working on one of these lists myself. It's good because it puts you in a situation where you are facing songs off against each other. Not easy, but you've gotta make that call.

LCT will finish higher than #200 in mine. Much, much higher.

 

[dk42]

Well, Elevation only made #33, so I'm fuming. Just kidding, granted I don't hate that song (and whenever they play it live the crowd does indeed erupt). It's not brilliant, but it's infectious somehow, though I prefer the Tomb Raider mix (the drums sound better).

It's silly to debate as it's her taste, but it's fun to see what songs she likes over others and what eras she prefers. I think you'll find some radically different lists from fans for a band that has existed for 40 plus years.

I love Last Night on Earth though and Pop overall, so, that one would be higher for me on my list.

Please at #110 and So Cruel at #112? I would also dispute as those would rank much higher for me.

Much of their 90s output would rank high for me to be fair though.

 

[intedomine]

So just read this entirely through.

Full credit to her for this exercise, which would have been a lot of fun to put together. Really fun to read as well.

She really LOVES Rattle & Hum, doesn't she?! I wonder whether it might be her favourite album, perhaps behind only Joshua Tree. She's big on Boy as well.

I suppose that is why my list would be starkly different for starters, as R&H is the U2 album that I am most indifferent to.

There are some extremely perplexing descriptions given the ranking that songs are assigned. How could she be so glowing about Unforgettable Fire at #95, yet not all that enthusiastic about Van Diemans Land at #81?

 

[Yahweh]

Question is did they miss any songs completely - I haven't counted but I thought U2 as a band have put out at least 250 songs including b-sides and more then that if you include solo work like "In the Name Of The Father" or "Billy Boola"