Best Song Survivor v2: The Joshua Tree era

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Please select your FAVOURITE song(s)


  • Total voters
    54
  • Poll closed .

Axver

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Please vote for your FAVOURITE song(s).
The top SEVEN songs from this era proceed to the Late 1980s Quarter Final.

Welcome to the Joshua Tree era round in Best Song Survivor v2! The object of this game is to find Interference's favourite U2 songs. Each album will be featured in a single round with the non-album tracks from its era. The amount of finalists from each era is based on seeding from the latest U2 Album Survivor. These rounds will last 48 hours and will be multiple choice polls where you vote for your favourite tracks (within reason). A suggestion is to vote for the amount of tracks that will proceed to the next round, although this is not a hard and fast rule. Remember that there is a tradeoff: if you vote for more songs, the power of each of your votes is dampened, but if you vote for fewer songs, you get to spread your influence less far.

Only original U2 songs with official studio releases will compete. However, you are free to vote on the basis of live versions, alternate versions, remixes, etc., as in the normal version of Survivor. Basically whatever you think best represents the song in your mind.

Unlike previous rounds, there was no close tussle in the Unforgettable Fire era for its lower qualifying spots. The closest battle was actually for first place, with the top three songs all finishing within a vote of each other. Surprisingly, the title track emerged most popular, ahead of Bad. Also, for the first time since the Boy era, a non-album track qualified for finals - Love Comes Tumbling. The results were:

(bold = qualified for finals)
1. The Unforgettable Fire - 42 votes
=2. A Sort of Homecoming - 41
=2. Bad - 41
4. Pride - 31
=5. Love Comes Tumbling - 23
=5. Wire - 23
7. Promenade - 21

8. Indian Summer Sky - 15
=9. Disappearing Act - 10
=9. The Three Sunrises - 10
11. Boomerang II - 8
=12. Elvis Presley and America - 6
=12. Elvis Presley and America - 6
14. Bass Trap - 5
15. Yoshino Blossom - 4
=16. Boomerang I - 3
=16. Sixty Seconds in Kingdom Come - 3
18. 4th of July - 1
(Total voters: 49)
 
Incidentally, with 23 songs, this is our largest era of the tournament, just ahead of Achtung with 22 songs and ATYCLB with 21.

Like somebody pointed out in the previous thread, when you put together all the non-album tracks from UF and JT, you really do have another whole album of material that would compare very favourably to most U2 albums. Add in the standouts from Edge's soundtrack for Captive and that becomes even more true.

This round is harder for me to vote on than I expected. One Tree Hill is obviously a lock, what with the 26 December 1989 performance being the best five minutes of U2 ever. Exit, MOTD, Spanish Eyes, Luminous Times, and RHMT are also locks. But beyond that... it's really hard to choose. WOWY holds a special place in my heart, especially for the 1987-90 live versions, but its live performances since Popmart leave a sour taste. In God's Country is awesome, Bullet's been consistently impressive live, Streets goes without saying but probably won't need the help, Rise Up is under-rated, etc., etc.

I just hope ISHFWILF doesn't make it through. Hideously over-rated.
 
I hope it does - hideously underappreciated! Lot of songs i'd like to see push through, especially some of the b-sides.
 
Obviously Streets is widely considered to be the stand out track on this amazing record, and is essentially the defacto U2 anthem. There's nothing more to say about that which hasn't been said. And there are a lot of great songs on this record.

But to me it's One Tree Hill that is the quintessential Joshua Tree song and deserves a special mention. It's stood the test of time flawlessly, and, whether in its album or live incarnation, I continue to be moved by it today as much as the first time I heard it. Actually moreso. It manages to be haunting, heartbreaking, spiritual, soulful, yet redemptive and hopeful, all within its timeless five minutes and twenty-two seconds. This song is pure poetry. This isn't a one note sentiment, and OTH doesn't jump out at you the first time the way many of the JT songs do. Rather, it spends years working its way into your soul. It plants a seed and it stays there and grows.

The rest of the record's songs are all varying degrees of great and good, and even ISHFWILF, which I tired of for a long time, remains a much more substantial song than its status as a hit pop single would seem to indicate. The b-sides are incredibly strong (for the most part, there are a couple clunkers here...Wave of Sorrow was a mistake), which is saying something considering how many of them there are. This was inarguably U2 at their most prolific.

Achtung Baby no doubt revealed a much more mature, musically accomplished band, but for all that record's strengths (and there are many), it never touches JT's or TUF's highs. There's no Streets or ASOH on AB. And while TUF remains my personal U2 favourite, objectively speaking the argument can be made that JT is their best record, and one of the best rock albums ever.
 
UF was hard. This is damn near impossible.

So much for not diluting my vote. I picked 14 songs.

The only song I didn't pick off TJT proper was Trip Thru Your Wires. And I don't even skip that song, I just like it significantly less than the rest of them.

The Joshua Tree is U2's finest album hands down, and among the finest of any band ever.
 
Streets
Still Haven't Found
WOWY
Bullet
Running
Red Hill
In God's Country
One Tree Hil
Exit
Walk To The Water

This is their best album, closely followed by The Unforgettable Fire.
 
Wow. Difficult selection. When you see all of these songs lined up one right after another you really get a sense of all of the great music created during this period. The Joshua Tree is a perfect album. Very fond memories of its release.

I selected 8 songs:
Still Haven't Found
WOWY
Running
Red Hill
In God's Country
One Tree Hill
Walk to the Water
Spanish Eyes
 
Obviously Streets is widely considered to be the stand out track on this amazing record, and is essentially the defacto U2 anthem. There's nothing more to say about that which hasn't been said. And there are a lot of great songs on this record.

But to me it's One Tree Hill that is the quintessential Joshua Tree song and deserves a special mention. It's stood the test of time flawlessly, and, whether in its album or live incarnation, I continue to be moved by it today as much as the first time I heard it. Actually moreso. It manages to be haunting, heartbreaking, spiritual, soulful, yet redemptive and hopeful, all within its timeless five minutes and twenty-two seconds. This song is pure poetry. This isn't a one note sentiment, and OTH doesn't jump out at you the first time the way many of the JT songs do. Rather, it spends years working its way into your soul. It plants a seed and it stays there and grows.

The rest of the record's songs are all varying degrees of great and good, and even ISHFWILF, which I tired of for a long time, remains a much more substantial song than its status as a hit pop single would seem to indicate. The b-sides are incredibly strong (for the most part, there are a couple clunkers here...Wave of Sorrow was a mistake), which is saying something considering how many of them there are. This was inarguably U2 at their most prolific.

Achtung Baby no doubt revealed a much more mature, musically accomplished band, but for all that record's strengths (and there are many), it never touches JT's or TUF's highs. There's no Streets or ASOH on AB. And while TUF remains my personal U2 favourite, objectively speaking the argument can be made that JT is their best record, and one of the best rock albums ever.

Pretty much agreed all around, nice post.
 
Not that it's my favorite, but I think some people forget how truly awesome BTBS is.
 
I voted a bit differently this time. :hmm: I only clicked three songs, even though my first instinct was to click a bunch of them because well, they're that good. I decided to try and help ISHFWILF that must go through by not diluting it with the ones that could pose a threat to it, like Bullet, IGC, and Exit. I could have voted for just ISHFWILF actually but I gave a vote to 2 from each end of the spectrum that deserve it as well. Streets, RTSS and OTH don't need any help. I voted for WOWY because it's consistently been my favorite U2 song of all time. And I voted for MOTD because it's a rare gem, even though it won't have a chance at going through anyway. So just the 3 votes. I hope ISHFWILF makes it.
 
I went with the first six tracks on the album. Bullet is on my list mainly because of the juggernaut it was on some of those tours. Streets and With or Without You speak for themselves; I Still Haven't Found and Running to Stand Still are sublime examples of Bono making what could seem preachy or didactic into moving pleas; and I've always loved the vocal in Red Hill Mining Town.
 
I'm really glad that RTSS is doing so well. I'm listening to that song right now... wow, it's so great, in all of its incarnations.

Also, I just realized that I voted for Sweetest Thing by accident. I haven't the faintest idea why I did that. It's probably beyond the time for votes to be removed, and it wouldn't matter anyway, but just let the record state that I do not actually believe that Sweetest Thing is of a similar quality to With or Without You, Streets, or One Tree Hill.
 
Was your Sweetest Thing vote meant to be for another song, digitize? Happy to remove or re-allocate it.
 
Hahaha I'm the only one who's voted for Trip :rockon:

I just joined you, always loved that song.

Other than one or two dubious tracks from the TJT remastered special edition I could have happily voted for any of these.

I agree with what Nick said about One Tree Hill, it is everything U2 are best at and a song I can't imagine any other band being capable of recording. Streets is my next favourite followed by Red Hill Mining Town.

I also threw votes at Deep in the Heart, Luminous Times, Mothers of the Disappeared and Running To Stand Still, but as I said, almost all these tracks would be worthy to get through.

Achtung Baby is my favourite U2 album but the TUF-TJT period is definitely the bands most creative era, great singles, album tracks and b-sides abound.
 
How's that brain damage treating you? :wink:



I can add a vote for that. The tournament may have a ban on vote changing, but I'm happy to add/correct votes when people have made a mistake or missed an option.
No thanks. It was my own 'fault' and the vote changing in the last survivor was extremely annoying.

But I appreciate:up:
 
TTYW is way better than a fucking demo like Desert of our Love. This poll is a joke!

HIVE! HIVE! HIVE!
 
How does Bullet only have 19 votes? That song was a juggernaut live pre-Vertigo tour.
 
Well, it kinda got ruined after ZooTv for me. So that really turned me off the song. :shrug: ZooTv Live performances were ace, but yeah, don't really care all that much.
 
Popmart and Elevation performances were fantastic. One of their best songs.
 
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