For your iPods - U2 Playlists

[Rafiennes]

Two months in the making, countless trial and errors, countless hours of listening and re-listening, having it all worked out and then being thrown for a loop by the iTunes release of U2- Unreleased and Rare...jeesh, can't a guy get a break? I have come up with playlists to chronicle U2 from start to finish using the Trilogy Album Theory (set # 4 being the toughest since only two albums have been released so far).

Yes, yes, some songs that 'should' be on there aren't and some that are may have no place. Some of this was completely personal, but I think, all in all, it's a good representation of the band and how they've come along as artists (without focusing too much on the 'hits' and the 'singles') The only thing that I stuck to was that each set had to open wit the first song from the first album and close with the last song of the last album, other than that, it was a lot of fun. I hope you enjoy...and if not...then months of time, effort and absolutely no money have gone down the drain...

Set 1 – Boy to War

1. I Will Follow
2. Rejoice
3. New year’s Day
4. Drowning Man
5. I Fall Down
6. Stories For Boys
7. Seconds
8. Out Of Control
9. Two Hearts Beat As One
10. The Electric Co.
11. With A Shout
12. Gloria
13. October
14. Sunday Bloody Sunday
15. A Day Without Me
16. Like A Song…
17. Scarlet
18. “40”


Set 2 – The Unforgettable Fire to Rattle & Hum

1. A Sort Of Homecoming
2. In God’s Country
3. I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For
4. Desire
5. Bad
6. The Unforgettable Fire
7. Where The Streets Have No Name
8. Angel of Harlem
9. With or Without You
10. Wire
11. Red Hill Mining Town
12. Bullet The Blue Sky
13. One Tree Hill
14. Heartland
15. Pride (In The Name Of Love)
16. God Part II
17. All I Want Is You


Set 3 – Achtung to Pop

1. Zoo Station
2. Until The End Of the World
3. Do You Feel Loved
4. One
5. Lemon
6. Staring At The Sun
7. The Fly
8. Numb
9. Discotheque
10. Gone
11. If God Will Send His Angels
12. Ultraviolet (Light My Way)
13. Please
14. Dirty Day
15. Acrobat
16. Stay (Faraway, So Close)
17. Wake Up Dead Man


Set 4 – ATYCLB to HTDAAB

1. Beautiful Day
2. Elevation
3. All Because Of You
4. Love And Peace Or Else
5. Original Of The Species
6. Electrical Storm (Orbit mix)
7. Crumbs From Your Table
8. Peace On Earth
9. Miracle Drug
10. Stuck In A Moment
11. Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own
12. Kite
13. In A Little While
14. New York
15. Vertigo
16. Walk On (single version)
17. Yahweh

I then went ahead and did some b-sides and extra stuff...

Set 5 – B-Sides & Rare Tracks

1. Spanish Eyes
2. Dancing Barefoot
3. Lady With The Spinning Head (extended mix)
4. Everlasting Love
5. Summer Rain
6. Luminous Times (Hold On To Love)
7. Satellite Of Love
8. Happiness Is A Warm Gun (Gun Mix)
9. Holy Joe (guilty mix)
10. North & South Of The River
11. Two Shots Of Happy, One Shot Of Sad
12. Sweetest Thing (original version)
13. I’ve Got You Under My Skin
14. Unchained Melody
15. Walk To The Water
16. Don’t Take Your Guns To Town
17. Fortunate Son
18. Big Girls Are Best
19. Hallelujah, Here She Comes


Set 6 - B-Sides & Rare Tracks

1. Levitate
2. Ground Beneath Her Feet
3. Always
4. Flower Child
5. Love You Like Mad
6. Slug
7. I’m Not Your Baby (w/ Sinead O’Connor)
8. Mercy
9. Salome
10. Paint It Black
11. Miss Sarajevo
12. Your Blue Room
13. Smile
14. Stateless
15. The Hands That Built America
16. Xanax & Wine
17. Fast Cars
18. Are You Gonna Wait Forever?
19. A Room At The Heartbreak Hotel

 

[Balfron]

i hate listening to songs outside their albums but this might be cool because it is still the same 'era'.

Would you say your playlists flow like they could be on an album? Or would you say they are more a group of tracks played one after another, rather than flowing on?

 

[neutral]

very cool!


I don't have an iPod but I think I may make playlists in iTunes with these.

 

[ascender_RS]

Good work!

TBH I've started just using the shuffle feature and having a couple of different playlists - Night & Day up to HTDAAB and Boy - R&H. Stick on all the b sides and remixes and its nice not knowing what comes next.

 

[Numb1075]

Nice work.

I just did something similar, created a playlist called "U2 40". It's 40 songs by U2 that I think define their career plus personal favorites. If nothing else, it's lots of fun to put together.

 

[Rafiennes]

i hate listening to songs outside their albums but this might be cool because it is still the same 'era'.

Would you say your playlists flow like they could be on an album? Or would you say they are more a group of tracks played one after another, rather than flowing on?

I worked really, really hard to find the flow and I think they do work. Yes.

However, I found I was so used to the albums that at first some of the song trasitions were jarring, but after a few listens, I got really, really used to them

 

[deltau922]

I have them in pretty much chronological order, with b-sides and remixes at the end (save for the occasional non-album single). I only kept the B-Sides and remixes that I like, although I'm this close to getting rid of Mercy and Are You Gonna Wait Forever).

I Will Follow
Twilight
An Cat Dubh
Into the Heart
Out Of Control
Stories for Boys
The Ocean
A Day Without Me
Another Time, Another Place
The Electric Co.
Shadows and Tall Trees
Gloria
I Fall Down
I Threw a Brick Through a Window
Rejoice
Fire
Tomorrow
October
With a Shout
Stranger in a Strange Land
Scarlet
Is That All?
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Seconds
New Year's Day
Like A Song...
Drowning Man
The Refugee
Two Hearts Beat As One
Red Light
Surrender
"40"
Gloria
11 O'Clock Tick Tock
I Will Follow
Party Girl
Sunday Bloody Sunday
The Electric Co.
New Year's Day
"40"
A Sort Of Homecoming
Pride (In The Name Of Love)
Wire
The Unforgettable Fire
Promenade
4th Of July
Bad
Indian Summer Sky
Elvis Presley And America
MLK
Bad
A Sort Of Homecoming
The Three Sunrises
Love Comes Tumbling
Where The Streets Have No Name
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
With Or Without You
Bullet The Blue Sky
Running To Stand Still
Red Hill Mining Town
In God's Country
Trip Through Your Wires
One Tree Hill
Exit
Mothers Of The Disappeared
Helter Skelter
Van Diemen's Land
Desire
Hawkmoon 269
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
Freedom For My People
Silver And Gold
Angel Of Harlem
Love Rescue Me
All Along The Watchtower
When Love Comes To Town
Heartland
God Part II
The Star Spangled Banner
Bullet The Blue Sky
Pride (In The Name Of Love)
All I Want Is You
Zoo Station
Even Better Than The Real Thing
One
Until The End Of The World
Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses
So Cruel
The Fly
Mysterious Ways
Tryin' To Throw Your Arms Around The World
Ultraviolet (Light My Way)
Acrobat
Love Is Blindness
Zooropa
Babyface
Numb
Lemon
Stay (Faraway, So Close!)
Daddy's Gonna Pay For Your Crashed Car
Some Days Are Better Than Others
The First Time
Dirty Day
The Wanderer
Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me
Discotheque
Do You Feel Loved
Mofo
If God Will Send His Angels
Staring At The Sun
Last Night On Earth
Gone
Miami
The Playboy Mansion
If You Wear That Velvet Dress
Please
Wake Up Dead Man
Sweetest Thing
Beautiful Day
Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of
Elevation
Walk On
Kite
In A Little While
Wild Honey
Peace On Earth
When I Look At The World
New York
Grace
Electrical Storm
The Hands That Built Americ
Vertigo
Miracle Drug
Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own
Love And Peace Or Else
City Of Blinding Lights
All Because Of You
A Man And A Woman
Crumbs From Your Table
One Step Closer
Original Of The Species
Yahweh
Another Day
11 O'Clock Tick Tock
Touch
A Celebration (Single)
Treasure (Whatever Happened to Pete the Chop)
New Year's Day (remix)
Spanish Eyes
Deep In The Heart
Silver And Gold
Sweetest Thing
Walk To The Water
Desire (Hollywood remix)
Hallelujah, Here She Comes
A Room At The Heartbreak Hotel
Dancing Barefoot
God Part II (remix)
Unchained Melody
Everlasting Love
Night And Day
The Lounge Fly Mix
Lady with the Spinning Head
Satellite Of Love
Where Did It All Go Wrong?
Salomé
Paint It Black
Fortunate Son
Can't Help Falling In Love
I've Got You Under My Skin (w/Frank Sinatra)
Slow Dancing
Dirty Day (Bitter Kiss remix)
Miss Sarajevo
GoldenEye
Pop Muzik (Radio Edit)
Happiness Is A Warm Gun
Holy Joe
North And South Of The River
Your Blue Room
Fast Cars
Are You Gonna Wait Forever
Mercy
Love You Like Mad
Xanax and Wine
All Because Of You
Native Son

 

[Rafiennes]

Would love some feedback if anyone dares to try and give these playlist sets a listen.

 

[pookersmom]

Would love some feedback if anyone dares to try and give these playlist sets a listen.

Yeah, I did, and they rock. You did a nice job. And all the hard work for me. So blessings on your head.

Now could you make me a list of live tracks, please? Hehe.

 

[pookersmom]

Would you say your playlists flow like they could be on an album? Or would you say they are more a group of tracks played one after another, rather than flowing on?

I realize you're not asking me but I'll respond anyway -- I think they flow as well as an album. And as one who thinks the song order on the last two albums is all wrong anyway, in some places these playlists flow even better to me.

 

[GG_The_Fly]

Would love some feedback if anyone dares to try and give these playlist sets a listen.

Rafiennes - I am going to give it a try - a question first, though:

For I will Follow, for example, do you use the Boy version or the Best Of version?

I mean, do you use the better mastered version (if there's one available) or do you use the actual CD?

Is this a stupid question? Sorry if it is. . .

 

[Rafiennes]

Rafiennes - I am going to give it a try - a question first, though:

For I will Follow, for example, do you use the Boy version or the Best Of version?

I mean, do you use the better mastered version (if there's one available) or do you use the actual CD?

Is this a stupid question? Sorry if it is. . .

Not a stupid question at all.
I use the song from the actual album t came from. I avoided using remasters, remixes (with the exception of Walk On -- basically cos I can't stand the whole Bono As Barry White Talking thing in the begining of the song)

I took it from the point of view that I was trying to archive the progress the band has made and treated it like i could only use the songs from the time period they were released in -- nothing later...does that make sense?

Hope that answers your question

 

[Rafiennes]

Yeah, I did, and they rock. You did a nice job. And all the hard work for me. So blessings on your head.

Now could you make me a list of live tracks, please? Hehe.

Thanks for the blessings AND the feedback!

 

[Roland of Gilead]

Those look cool. I'll give them a go.

Here is a real test: Represent each decade in a 1 hour itunes playlist (1980-1990, 1990-2000, 2000-????) 1 hour! Not 1.1. This isn't easy. Plus, you'll end up cutting some good tracks. You might find a live version of a song that is shorter than the studio/single version. You might put the longer live version in because it is the best version of the song. I went with the idea that the song's origin made it fit in that era regardless of what version you went with. Ex) Streets, Go Home Slane 2001 would fit in the 1980-90 playlist.

You end up with 3 hours covering U2's career to date.

 

[Aardvark747]

I have two big playlists, of the Ballads and the Rockers.

 

[GG_The_Fly]

Not a stupid question at all.
I use the song from the actual album t came from. I avoided using remasters, remixes (with the exception of Walk On -- basically cos I can't stand the whole Bono As Barry White Talking thing in the begining of the song)

I took it from the point of view that I was trying to archive the progress the band has made and treated it like i could only use the songs from the time period they were released in -- nothing later...does that make sense?

Hope that answers your question

So far they're great, although I am missing a couple of the B-side tracks - 'I'm not your Baby' and 'Mercy' - never heard those. . .

These took me an hour to get into the right playlists, I have no idea how long they took to make - must have taken for ever . . .
Outstanding, though!

 

[Catman]

Good playlist, Rafiennes, but one problem - no "City of Blinding Lights"

 

[Rafiennes]

Good playlist, Rafiennes, but one problem - no "City of Blinding Lights"

I went back and forth on that song. In the end (and I know I'll get lynched for this) I felt it wasn't of the stronger songs on the album. It's personal, I know, but it was also hard to find a perfect fit for it in that particular batch of songs.

 

[Rafiennes]

So far they're great, although I am missing a couple of the B-side tracks - 'I'm not your Baby' and 'Mercy' - never heard those. . .

These took me an hour to get into the right playlists, I have no idea how long they took to make - must have taken for ever . . .
Outstanding, though!

They took a long time to fix up. A LOT of trial and error. The one thing that I'm really proud about is the idea of starting with the first song off the first album and ending with the last song off the last album (i.e. Zoo Station - Wake Up Dead Man)

I'm glad people are liking the playlists.

 

[AtomicBono]

Dude, that's awesome! I'm gonna try that! My only suggestions (and these are soley personal preferences) would be swapping If God... for Mofo and Peace on Earth for When I Look at the World. I think the second would probably work fine, but the first might mess up the flow...but this is really great, thanks! I need to do more playlists. I've only got two for solely U2, one for ballads and one for "party" songs, and they both need work.

1. Stuck in a Moment
2. Drowning Man
3. The First Time
4. Stay
5. Kite
6. One Step Closer
7. Sometimes... (live from under Brooklyn Bridge. more passion, and I don't like the little falsetto in the album, during "SIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING...")
8. The Ground Beneath Her Feet
9. With or Without You
10. All I Want is You
11. Wake Up Dead Man
12. Running to Stand Still
13. Who's Gonna Ride...
14. One

That probably needs some work, but One just HAS to end it. Just has to.

1. Discotheque
2. Do You Feel Loved
3. Mofo
4. Mysterious Ways [Solar Plexus Club Mix]
5. Even Better...
6. All Because of You
7. Vertigo
8. Desire
9. Xanax and Wine

It's really short. Also needs work. But thanks for these playlists, Rafiennes! I'll try them.

 

[AtomicBono]

Just wanted to say I listened to the first playlist and am now on the second, and...wow! It really does flow very well. As a patron of playlists and mix CDs, that makes me really happy. There's a certain art to it. Good job man!

 

[GG_The_Fly]

I am new to this but I wanted to put together an accompanying live playlist - a 'super concert' if you will in that it would be a collection of great live U2 songs, but as Rafiennes has done, should work as a collection, here's my first try:

1. Elevation - From Slane Castle [DVD]
2. Mofo - Live at Foro Autodromo, Mexico City (Hasta La Vista Baby!)
3. I Will Follow - Live from Under the Brooklyn Bridge
4. Vertigo - Live from Under the Brooklyn Bridge
5. All Because of You - Live from Under the Brooklyn Bridge
6. Even Better than the Real Thing - Live in Paris (ATYCLB Promo off French single for Stuck in a Moment
7. Beautiful Day From Slane Castle [DVD]
8. Until the End of the World - From Elevation Boston [DVD]
9. New Year's Day - From Slane Castle [DVD]
10. Out of Control - From Slane Castle [DVD]
11. Sunday Bloody Sunday - From Slane Castle [DVD]
12. In a Little While - From Elevation Boston [DVD]
13. Stuck in a Moment - From Slane Castle [DVD]
14. Desire - From Slane Castle [DVD]
15. Angel of Harlem - From Slane Castle [DVD]
16. Kite - From Slane Castle [DVD]
17. Staring at the Sun - Live at Foro Autodromo, Mexico City (Hasta La Vista Baby!)
18. Sometimes You Can't Make it on Your Own - Live from Under the Brooklyn Bridge
*19. Miracle Drug - HTDAAB Promo from HQ
20. Please - Live at Foro Autodromo, Mexico City (Hasta La Vista Baby!)
21. Bad - From Elevation Boston [DVD]
22. "40" - Live at Point Depot, 31 Dec 1989
23. All I Want Is you - From Slane Castle [DVD]
24. Where the Streets Have No Name - - From Slane Castle [DVD]
25. Bullet the Blue Sky - - From Elevation Boston [DVD]
26. Running to Stand Still / Dirty Old Town - Live at Point Depot, 31 Dec 1989
27. With or Without You - Rattle and Hum [DVD]
28. Pride - From Slane Castle [DVD]
29. Discotheque - Live at Foro Autodromo, Mexico City (Hasta La Vista Baby!)
30. The Fly - From Elevation Boston [DVD]
31. Stay (Faraway, So Close!) - From Elevation Boston [DVD]
32. One - From Slane Castle [DVD]
33. Wake Up Dead Man - From Elevation Boston [DVD]
34. Walk On - From Slane Castle [DVD]

The limitation is that I only used high-quality sources - commercial releases of live songs - with the exception of miracle drug, which has no HQ source so far - all of the songs came from either DVDs (ripped Mp3s) or from CDs that they've officially released. The Hanover Quay recording of miracle drug is pretty good. . . because of the limitations, there's a lot of songs from Slane where I would have used more from R&H (but there's the extra dialogue at the beginning of the songs to contend with)

I would love feedback! Please tell me what you think or make suggestions for alternatives!

 

[Rafiennes]

Just wanted to say I listened to the first playlist and am now on the second, and...wow! It really does flow very well. As a patron of playlists and mix CDs, that makes me really happy. There's a certain art to it. Good job man!

Thank you very much. I'm thinking about doing a best of the rest kind of playlist, covering the songs I didn't have in there.

Maybe soon

 

[Wildhit]

I think it would be really cool if somone could come up with a U2 Workout Mix. I exercise alot and I have to have music while I workout, so someone should compile a workout mix with U2's uptempo songs like I Will Follow, Discoteque, Mysterious Ways etc. Thanks in advance!

 

[u2girlcj]

Dude, that's awesome! I'm gonna try that! My only suggestions (and these are soley personal preferences) would be swapping If God... for Mofo and Peace on Earth for When I Look at the World. I think the second would probably work fine, but the first might mess up the flow...but this is really great, thanks! I need to do more playlists. I've only got two for solely U2, one for ballads and one for "party" songs, and they both need work.

1. Stuck in a Moment
2. Drowning Man
3. The First Time
4. Stay
5. Kite
6. One Step Closer
7. Sometimes... (live from under Brooklyn Bridge. more passion, and I don't like the little falsetto in the album, during "SIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING...")
8. The Ground Beneath Her Feet
9. With or Without You
10. All I Want is You
11. Wake Up Dead Man
12. Running to Stand Still
13. Who's Gonna Ride...
14. One

That probably needs some work, but One just HAS to end it. Just has to.

This is so close to what I would do (and I've been meaning to do this for a month), but one question - since Ground Beneath Her Feet isn't on "Complete", did you find it on iTunes. I should look, but I'm lazy

 

[TheRooster]

Ground Beneath Her Feet is on the Complete U2

 

[u2girlcj]

Ground Beneath Her Feet is on the Complete U2

Well holy it sure is. (I guess it helps when you look under "the..." instead of "ground"). I SWARE early posts when it came out lamented that MDH wasn't included. You just made my day Rooster - no, that made my month!!!!!

 

[GG_The_Fly]

Well holy it sure is. (I guess it helps when you look under "the..." instead of "ground"). I SWARE early posts when it came out lamented that MDH wasn't included. You just made my day Rooster - no, that made my month!!!!!

Or you can get the MDH soundtrack, which is a whole lot better than the movie. . .