Rate the Song: Ultraviolet (Light My Way)

[digitize]

Now it is time to rate the second half of Achtung Baby.

Please rate Ultraviolet (Light My Way) on a scale from 0 to 10, using whatever criteria you feel allows you to best evaluate the song as a whole. I will not set criteria for people to based on, but if you feel like your best evaluation of the merits of a song comes from voting only based on, say, the studio version, go right ahead and vote that way. Full information on the Rate The Song series may be found in this thread.

Have fun! This poll will close in 96 hours.

 

[digitize]

This is my favorite song ever

 

[youarenotimmune]

probably the best performance of this song from one of U2's best concerts (gotta love those crazy Italians! )

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdBLybC3Xg0

 

[Aardvark747]

9. Wonderful

 

[Nick66]

A beautiful, spectral song that downright soars in places. Its rebirth with the 360 version was nothing short of stratospheric. Probably the closest AB comes to hitting the emotional peaks of JT and TUF. Very close to flawless.

9.

 

[Galeongirl]

Fucking love it. Brilliant guitarwork, and very emotional vocal. Might be biased because to recent live performances, but fuckin' lovin' it!



inb4axvers0.

 

[nielsgov]

Another one of my favourites. The bridge is so emotional. 10

 

[BlueSilkenSky]

9. Everything is wonderful about it except for some mediocre lyrics. Besides that, I really love this song. It's in my top ten, surely.

 

[Nick66]

9. Everything is wonderful about it except for some mediocre lyrics. Besides that, I really love this song. It's in my top ten, surely.

Yeah, lyrically it doesn't make any sense whatsoever (which is uncharacteristic for AB), but it doesn't have to, and maybe that's the point.

 

[trevgreg]

My second favorite song by them. Floored when they started playing this live again, and glad that it was finally getting its time in the sun.

10. And that includes the lyrics! Come on... when have the words "baby, baby, baby" ever had as much emotional impact inside a song?!

 

[prbiker15]

Wow. My second-favorite song on the U2 catalog, and one of my favorite songs ever. It might be tied with Streets for my favorite song ever.

Everything about this song, like Streets, is just perfect. I really wish it was played at my show, but I knew it was going to happen. Hold Me, Thrill Me took it's place brilliantly - and perfectly as well. I still hope to hear it in person one day - I don't believe U2360 was the only time we'll see UV.

Incredible song, amazing atmosphere. A really easy 10. Love this song really bad.

 

[Nick66]

Wow. My second-favorite song on the U2 catalog, and one of my favorite songs ever. It might be tied with Streets for my favorite song ever.

Everything about this song, like Streets, is just perfect. I really wish it was played at my show, but I knew it was going to happen.

Wow, that really sucks...I can't believe it was pretty much the centrepiece of almost every 360 show to a bunch of fans who could care less about it and you had to miss. F*ck. One of my favourite U2 songs is ASOH and I was at the Elevation Slane Castle show the night they didn't play it. Disappointed doesn't quite cover it.

Really hope you get to see it live some day.

 

[theedgeu2]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOdtBmlP9cQ

 

[theedgeu2]

Btw I love the way Bono sang the "You bury your treasure where it cannot be found/ But you're love is like a secret it's been passed around" line during 360 shows. Especially good example is at the Raleigh show in '09 (which I thankfully attended). Loved that performance.

 

[waynetravis]

10

 

[flybabe]

This isn't my favorite song from the album, but the lyrics are great and Edge's guitar work in this song almost knocks some of the other songs out of the water. 8.

 

[Globo14]

Better than a 9, but closer to 9 than 10, so I gave it a 9. I really love The Edge on this one.

 

[LadySpinHead]

Say you have several friends that you always hang out with as a group. Some you connect with more than others. There's one in particular that you've never really paid much attention to– he seems nice, and pretty cool, but you never took the time to really get to know him. You carry on with these friends for several years until one day, that one friend speaks to you and something clicks. Suddenly you feel like you're seeing him for the first time, and you can't get enough of him. You've fallen deeply in love, and together you have a fantastic love affair.

Yea. That's me and Ultraviolet. 10

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

could care less

so they cared a bit then?

 

[ryancoke71]

Perfection. I almost couldn't believe it when it was played for the earlier 360 shows. I never tire of listening to it, and it is tied with Streets for my favourite U2 song. Easiest 10 I will give!

 

[digitize]

As of now, Ultraviolet is just below Streets in second place overall in the contest. I can't wait for a handful of 1s and 0s to demolish that.

 

[An Cat Gav]

A beautiful, spectral song that downright soars in places. Its rebirth with the 360 version was nothing short of stratospheric. Probably the closest AB comes to hitting the emotional peaks of JT and TUF. Very close to flawless.

9.

Definitely.

Placed perfectly on the album, the start of the long night of the soul, followed by Acrobat and LIB, one of the best sequences in U2 history.

Such a dark song, yet with possibly the happiest riff!

10

 

[Nick66]

so they cared a bit then?

Aarrrgh. You're right! Well-spotted.

 

[Galeongirl]

As of now, Ultraviolet is just below Streets in second place overall in the contest. I can't wait for a handful of 1s and 0s to demolish that.

Ax hasn't voted yet, so don't worry, there'll be a 1 or 0 there. We all know how much Ax loves him some UV.

 

[Nick66]

Say you have several friends that you always hang out with as a group. Some you connect with more than others. There's one in particular that you've never really paid much attention to– he seems nice, and pretty cool, but you never took the time to really get to know him. You carry on with these friends for several years until one day, that one friend speaks to you and something clicks. Suddenly you feel like you're seeing him for the first time, and you can't get enough of him. You've fallen deeply in love, and together you have a fantastic love affair.

Yea. That's me and Ultraviolet. 10

Funny...I know you're talking about the song itself and not its meaning, but some of the lyrics (incomprehensible as they are) reflect this notion as well:

I'm in the black, can't see or be seen

You bury your treasure
Where it can't be found
But your love is like a secret
That's been passed around

In truth, I don't think the lyrics make much sense. Like most of the songs on TUF, they're more like an impressionistic painting, meant primarily to be experienced and not analysed.

 

[Nick66]

As of now, Ultraviolet is just below Streets in second place overall in the contest. I can't wait for a handful of 1s and 0s to demolish that.

Interesting. While Ultraviolet is a spectacular song (I gave it a 9), it's not even in the same universe as Streets, which is on a plane of its own with only a couple other U2 songs on neighbouring stars (and one of them is not Ultraviolet).

 

[ryancoke71]

Interesting. While Ultraviolet is a spectacular song (I gave it a 9), it's not even in the same universe as Streets, which is on a plane of its own with only a couple other U2 songs on neighbouring stars (and one of them is not Ultraviolet).

Perhaps that is your opinion, but for me, hearing this and Streets live were my highlights of 360. To each their own. The song effects me in a way that is hard to explain.

 

[gvox]

The lyrics in Ultraviolet make perfect sense. This song is damn near perfect in every possible sense of the word: lyrically and musically.

The only slightly less than great thing about the 360 version was I think singing the second verse high might have caused Bono to run out of steam a bit too early...he barely sang the choruses into the ending. But that's just a tiny little complaint.

 

[djerdap]

Interesting. While Ultraviolet is a spectacular song (I gave it a 9), it's not even in the same universe as Streets, which is on a plane of its own with only a couple other U2 songs on neighbouring stars (and one of them is not Ultraviolet).

I prefer Ultra Violet to Streets. A lot.

 

[Nick66]

Perhaps that is your opinion, but for me, hearing this and Streets live were my highlights of 360. To each their own. The song effects me in a way that is hard to explain.

Of course. Everyone has their personal favourites. Ultraviolet was a highlight of the 360 shows for me as well, I'm just saying I wouldn't put it at the same level as streets. Like you said, to each their own!

I prefer Ultra Violet to Streets. A lot.

Thanks for letting me know!