What is U2's 'Stairway'?

[bayernfc]

I'd have to say Streets (or One for the 90s fans)... just because it's their best known song to casual fans and has been played in every concert ever since. Personally, I like Until The End of The World, but hey that's just me.

 

[Inner El Guapo]

Actually, Comfortably Numb was Pink Floyd's "Stairway".

Totally agree.

for U2, it's Streets.

But if we are picking a bands Stairway, you can't pick long indulgent semi-instrumentals, or else Led Zeppelins Stairway would even be their own Stairway.

We are talking about landmark songs right?

Dave had Floyd right, I have U2 right.

 

[ADecentMelody]

From the last barrage of commercially live performances - Superbowl, NFL, etc. - I think it would be Streets. Though WOWY is their first number one single, I think rabid fans would still opt for the live version of Bad.

 

[Roland of Gilead]

Bad and Streets with a little "40" to hold it all together. Mmmmmm, I think I'll make myself a sandwich now.

(This is one song you know. The cd player doesn't lie. )

 

[discothequeLP]

Originally posted by



In totally unrelated Conclusion, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and U2 are the holy trinity to which I put all music against...

wow...we can hang out together man, i think exaclty the same!!!


of course i would say that U2, Pink Floyd, and Led Zeppelin are the holy trinity, but, hey, whatever.



who's better: Evans or Paige?

 

[UCLAforU2]

With or Without You.

Without a doubt, the signature song.

 

[vivaSA]

ONE

 

[trevgreg]

In terms of guitar based numbers, Streets would be if it had to be a single. Or else, I'd probably go with Until The End Of The World too.

 

[macphisto777]

I don't like stairway to heaven and I am a huge fan of Led Zeppelin. It's not because of hearing it too much either. The song is crap. The real question from any real U2 addict is "what is Led Zeppelin's song that is remotely equivalent to the emotional depth or poetry of a U2 song". A band that writes songs that make you heal, dream, believe, cry, ....... that is the mark of a true legend. A band that becomes a part of your life like something you can't lose such as your deepest memories or VD, that is U2. Maybe Going to California. I can't remember anyone ever playing a Led Zeppelin song as their wedding song( a pinnacle moment in peoples lives). When I listen to several different U2 songs, my mind often chimes in, " this has got to be the best U2 song ever". If Zep is considered as writing their masterpiece song as Stairway, not to sound unrealistic, then Bono ,the Edge, Larrry, and Adam have authored more than one but MANY masterpieces. If you are wondering why so many fans have trouble finding 1 song as their oppinionated holy grail, it is because there are more than just one. Zep got lucky to have one zenith song of epic proportions. U2's birthright has been to consistently create music that becomes more than just batches of songs but rather a collection that evolves into a part of your life attached to pieces of your existence that could never be seperate one from the other. A one definitive U2 song? You apparently have not become the U2 addict with a need like a disease to completely absorb and commune with their music but are merely a fan of which can be so fairweather. There is a higher place to go than to hear this band the way you do. Go deeper than thinking that this is a band that should be considered as having their " Stairway", let them become as your blood of which you could not live without. I could wax poetic about this all day but I won't. Do you get my point.

 

[vivaSA]

Isn't 'One' also the most covered U2's song?
I mean Johnny Cash covered it, and Bob Dylan is about to do that too.
It's gotta be 'One'.

 

[Aardvark747]

Gotta be One.
Pink Floyds would certainly be Comfortably Numb, as for Zep, imo, Going To California is better than Stairway, but we're talking about what song the band is most famous for.

 

[Sonic]

One

 

[Earnie Shavers]

and Bob Dylan is about to do that too.

Really? For what?

I think Streets & With Or Without You are very close, but One will go down in history as their best moment.

Streets and WOWY are their most famous, but One is regarded as one of the best songs ever written by anyone.

 

[intedomine]

Doesn't exist.

Streets comes closest, but I dont think u2 have really consolidated a "Stairway" yet.

 

[dandy]

Bad is a brilliant song, but the casual listener doesn't even know about this song, trust me, I once spent twenty minutes trying to convince a group of people that Bad was an original U2 song, not a Michael Jackson remake.

 

[bonolady]

one .........

 

[Joshua87]

ok, dont get me wrong, but one is not u2s best song and not anything near an epic. I would have to say that Bad is most stairway like, and stairway IS a great song, i dont know how anyone could bash it. It was their first masterpiece, as was Bad, so that is definietly U2's epic, whether most people know it or not.

 

[Bono's Doll]

One came to mind first--but I think Bad is more epic.

 

[digsy]

I think some people might be missing the point.

Stairway to Heavan is by no means Led Zeppelins BEST song, it is just one of the most popular (both by their hardcore fans and casual listener) Hence its position as a signature song.

Bad is a brilliant song, but the casual listener doesn't even know about this song, trust me, I once spent twenty minutes trying to convince a group of people that Bad was an original U2 song, not a Michael Jackson remake.

One is also brilliant, but not as commercially appealing as With or Without you. It won a grammy and is by far the most recognizable U2 song EVER.

Therefore in MY OPINION, which is only my opinion, With or without you is U2's signature song.

thats atrange because my viewpoint on how this should be judged is exactly the same as yours, but i would think that One and not WOWY is the most recognised and well-known song to teh casual listener. its always the song that non-fans know and rate highly.

i think a stairway song is one that crosses all boundaries - it can be a band you dont really know or like but somehow one of the songs seeps into the worlds consciousness and stays there, and to me, while not my personal favourite, One has got to be that song

 

[James U2]

I would say Sunday Bloody Sunday, and here's why:

Part of what Stairway to Heaven is so famous for is that it's frequently one of the first songs people learn to play on guitar (remember wayne's world? - sadly, i do). For U2, Sunday Bloody Sunday is that one song that everyone learns on guitar, mainly because it's so simple to play (well, to a certain extent). It's the same with Metallica's Unforgiven and the Smashing Pumpkins' Today.

james

 

[barrett]

One.

I think Streets and Bad and others are in the epic category for U2 fans and especially fans of U2 in concert. For the non-concert going casual fan/radio listener I think One has taken over as their signature song. I f you look at the "stairway" songs of the bands named above, I think most of the diehards of those bands probably would not put those songs in a greatest song category.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

meh... i refuse to partake in this thread based upon my continued campaign to get people to stop thinking stairway is the end all when it comes to rock tunes.

 

[e edge]

i definitely think it's One. that's the song everybody knows. i have lots of friends who aren't U2's fans and they don't know (and that is really sad ) SBS or Bad, but they do know One. everybody knows and appreciates it.

 

[ZeroDude]

Yea, everyone knows One and the 3 Jt singles too (Streets,WOWY, ISHFWILF ), everyone reacts to One when it comes on the radio, listens and takes something from it, although i think U2 don't need a " Stairway" style song.................

 

[Nate Dogg]

What the hell is Led Zeppelin's "One"?

That's what I want to know.

 

[ZeroDude]

They don't have one.................. funny enough.

 

[AtomicBono]

What the hell is Led Zeppelin's "One"?

That's what I want to know.

I like that question better

But yeah, One, with Streets in a close second. Guess I don't have anything really original to add to this thread

 

[Cute Irish Bono]

I think Pride is one!

 

[PowerSurge]

thats atrange because my viewpoint on how this should be judged is exactly the same as yours, but i would think that One and not WOWY is the most recognised and well-known song to teh casual listener. its always the song that non-fans know and rate highly.

i think a stairway song is one that crosses all boundaries - it can be a band you dont really know or like but somehow one of the songs seeps into the worlds consciousness and stays there, and to me, while not my personal favourite, One has got to be that song

You make alot of great points...BUT...the basis for your argument is that "One" is the most recognised song in the U2 catalogue. Once again I disagree for this reason only:

The best selling U2 album EVER is Joshua Tree, and the Grammy winning song from that album (landmark album/landmark song) was With or Without You.


I really don't like this song much really, I love One but I can't deny the fact that although many people my age group (21-35) recognize and love One, more people from all age groups acknowledge WOWY as the signature song. Just imagine how many people are casual U2 fans that DON'T own Achtung Baby? Now how many of them own J-Tree? Just about all of them.

Oh and I agree with Headache in a Suitcase about the fact that Stairway to Heavan is NOT the end all of rock songs, but once again you can't deny its appeal to the casual listener, hardcore fan, and beginner guitar player. Remember the scene in Wayne's World?

 

[u2bonogirl]

yeah either streets or one.....
from a casual listener standpoint that is.