Song of the Century

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intedomine

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Anyone else think that the most loved and most recognisable song of the 21st century is U2's Beautiful Day?

Of all songs that have been released commercially since 2000, Beautiful Day has been played the most I reckon and just about everyone knows the song from just listening to the opening fews seconds..

Do you think that if a massive survey was conducted around the world that targeted all demographics, Beautiful Day would come out on top as the favourite song of the 21st century?

I reckon it would and I reckon it deserves such an accolade.

Beautiful song which I never tire of hearing (I had it on repeat a few eeks ago!) and my 3rd favourite U2 song.

An absolute classic....love it!
 
Beautiful Day is a great song. People underestimate how cruicial that song was to reserecting U2's career PP. The release and enermous popularity of that single (which flowed onto the tour and album) is what secured U2's etheral status within music & officially made them the biggest band in the world.

There is no other song that U2 has released on either ATYCLB or HTDAAB that couldve done the same job. So props to it!

Beautiful Day is an awesome song, but also a very, very important one.
 
I'm not excatly sure if I've ever heard it, but I don't listen to radio much, and am more of an earlier era U2 listener, so I've been slacking in the new cd purchasing department.
 
I'll never forget the first time I heard Beautiful Day. The radio station announced they were going to be playing the new U2 song one afternoon. I scrambled around desperately for a blank cassette tape. I had no idea what was coming. The DJ didn't announce the song at the start, either. But somehow I just knew, right from hearing those opening chords. And when the vocal kicked in, I burst into happy tears.

I agree this is a very popular song. The video got a lot of airplay. The band played it at all the awards shows (VH1, MTV, Grammys, etc.) and of course the Super Bowl. Favorite song of the century? I'm not sure about that, but if it isn't, it's got to be awfully close to being number one!
 
The most overrated U2 song ever...
It just doesn't do it for me, guys, sorry.
 
it's been only 5 years , too early for that
even with U2
even with interference and girls from PLEBA
:wink:
beautiful day is a good song , but you know , they wrote WAlk On , HTDAAB , summer rain , these are all quite better
 
its just a fabulous fabulous song. I was in 10th grade when it came out and for 6 months it was all me and my friends in school would talk about.....evryone knew and loved that song...... its thoroughly deserving of all the critical acclaim, grammy awards and fan admiration.
 
Good song, nothing more. It's overrated. My ears love it, but my mind doesn't. It is one of the best new millenium songs just because there isn't much of an competition
 
It is a pretty darn good song.... It took elements of Pop (the rhythm section) and elements of Boy (the guitar section) and melded them.
 
Pero said:
Good song, nothing more. It's overrated. My ears love it, but my mind doesn't. It is one of the best new millenium songs just because there isn't much of an competition
Click to expand...

I agree. My emotional attachment to the song is basically b/c it led me to U2, but I have no attachment to the song itself.
 
It would have some compitition with various songs from 'Kid A', 'Amnesiac', and 'Hail To The Thief' by Radiohead for the title of song of the century thus far. Not to mention a track or two from HTDAAB.
 
It's the song that saved U2 from heading into to obvillion. It's the essentinal song of the second half of U2's career (Zooropa on). Of course I'm biased since it's the song that got me into U2.
 
Well now we're talking about the culural relevance of the song, not how great it is. While it's a finely crafted tune, just because it won Grammys doesn't make it better than other U2 songs. We all know the kind of crap that usually wins there. And just because it lured a lot of lost sheep back into the U2 fold doesn't make it the best. To me, if you asked a computer to spit out a "U2 song", this is what it would give you. I don't really feel that's a good thing. It's TOO obvious.

I've always liked Beautiful Day, but never loved it. I like half the songs on ATYCLB better, and almost everything on The Bomb better. And that's just the recent material.


laz
 
in our neck of the woods, one U2 song has stood the test of time on both our rock stations, our alternative station, our elevator music station, and our undefinable station....and it is?

with or without you.

at least three stations play it daily (i hear it three times a day at work as my co-workers all have a different station tuned in on their radios on their desks :D
 
beautiful day is a beautiful song... some days

one is a beautiful song... every day and every night, because its always relevant on a larger scale...

BD is a more personal song, but it isn't always relevant
 
we are not talking about the most popular song of the new century, but about the most ... i don't know how to say it ... kind of the "go-to" song. BD works in so many different ways -- it can sell cars, celebrate olympians (special or not), move audiences, it's loved by 14 year olds and 44 year olds, it resurrected U2, won them a slew of grammies, politicians campaign to it all the time, it moves metaphorical moutains with hyperbole-prone rock critics. my personal opinion doesn't really matter; what matters is how the song has settled into popular culture. everyone's heard it, and everyone likes it, but not too much to get orgasmic over. it simply works perfectly, as it is perfectly vague and perfectly exciting.

i like it a lot, and get that fun adrenaline rush, especially at the end, the whole "what you don't have you don't need it now ..."

no, it's not as popular as "hey ya," but that's why people still like it, whereas i haven't heard "hey ya" on the radio since new year's 2003/4. BD has legs, it will always have legs, and it's destined to become a standard, up there with "one" and ISHFWILF.

let's not forget -- many songs we now refer to as timeless were never #1 hits, but they last in the collective consciousness because they are both utterly accessible and enjoyable and malleable to the occasion, yet more substantial than the flavor of the month.
 
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"Beautiful Day" was the song that really started me becoming a fan. I saw the video, liked the song, then see it's by U2. Before that, I had heard about U2, I knew there was a band called U2, but that was all I knew, I didn't even know they were an Irish band. I knew the names of lots of bands, but not a whole lot more. :shrug:

"U2 is Irish?!" Before that, the only Irish band I knew that was Irish, was the Cranberries.

I really liked "hold me...kill me" when it first came out, but that was it, I liked the song, but I wasn't, at that age, (about 13) really interested in music. I'd like a song, but to find out more about who did the song, nah.
 
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Zootlesque said:
Let me get this straight. It's 2005 and you want to name the definitive song of 2000 - 2099?
Click to expand...

So far...

...based on all the music we have heard this century....
 
I've been tryin to think of what the contenders would be for the Song of the Century so far...

Beautiful Day - U2
Hey Ya - Outkast
Crazy in Love - Beyonce
Stan - Eminem
Clocks - Coldplay
What you waiting for - Gwen Stefani
music - madonna
it wasn't me - shaggy
smooth criminal - alien ant farm
whenever wherever - shakira
complicated - avril lavigne
murder on the dancefloor - sophie ellis
livin it up - ja rule
get the party started - pink
where is the love - black eyed peas
bring me to life - evanescence
fuck it - eamon
superstar - kelis


most of these songs make me cringe....
 
For me BD is a very cool stright up Rock song, with a strong, subtle bass, drum line that comes at you in waves. But although less catchy, I think Kite is a better overall song
 
You folks crack me up with your song of the century bologna....it wouldn't be any of the songs mentioned in this thread though I can tell you that....if I had to pick a U2 song though(for this century) I'd say "City Of Blinding Lights" because it is magic. ...originally titled "Scott Walker" in it's working stages...and when you start throwing Scott Walker's name out there..it had better be among the top songs of this century or any before and after. But "intedomine" who threw together that list of contenders from what they've heard on the "radio" obviously just cracked me up. Most likely none of us have even heard the greatest song of the century because it sure as hell will never be played on the radio. My personal vote today though would be "Your Hand In Mine" by Explosions in the Sky. But let's dig into songs that are actually great ok? Not the latest Billboard topper.
 
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