The Essence Of U2

[Snowlock]

Pretend you're taking a U2 history class via their music. What 50 songs, in order of their release best defines this band- or better put, what defines what the band was attempting to do at a given time period? This isn't your 50 favorite songs; its what you feel are the couple of songs that captures the youth of Boy, the rebellion of War, the South-western desert of The Joshua Tree, the Europop of Zooropa, the spirituality of Bomb?

If you were to load 50 songs into your iPod, Windows Media Player or 3 CD-Rs and then play in one sitting, which would you choose to take you from late-seventies Dublin, through America's Heartland and off to (heh) a place called Vertigo?

Use anything, Album Cuts, Singles, Live Tracks, whatever floats your boat.


1. Out Of Control (Original Version)
2. 11 O'Clock Tick Tock
3. I Will Follow
4. Stories For Boys
5. Gloria
6. Tomorrow
7. October
8. Sunday Bloody Sunday
9. New Years Day
10. Surrender
11. 40
12. A Sort Of Homecoming
13. Pride
14. bad
15. The Unforgettable Fire
16. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
17. With Or Without You
18. Red Hill Mining Town
19. One Tree Hill
20. Desire
21. Angel Of Harlem
22. When Love Comes To Town
23. Love Rescue Me
24. Night & Day (Twilight Mix)
25. Zoo Station
26. Until The End Of The World
27. The Fly
28. Love Is Blindness
29. Zooropa
30. Numb
31. Lemon
32. Stay
33. Miss Sarajevo
34. Discotheque
35. Mofo (Phunk Phorce Mix)
36. Last Night On Earth (Single Mix)
37. Please (Single Mix)
38. Sweetest Thing (Single Version)
39. The Ground Beneath Her Feet
40. Beautiful Day
41. Stuck In A Moment
42. Walk on
43. In A Little While
44. New York
45. Electrical Storm (William Orbit Mix)
46. Beat On The Brat
47. Vertigo
48. City Of Blinding Lights
49. All Because Of You
50. Yahweh

 

[BONO'ppetit]

What 50 songs, in order of their release

Good question but that's too much work for me. It would be easier and quicker for me to list the songs I'd leave off. That might include about 5 or 6 songs.

 

[I'm Ready]

how bout 2 or 3 fromn evry album thats easier 50s 2 much

1.I will follow
2.electric co.
3.11 o clock ticktock
4.gloria
5.sunday bloody sunday
6.seconds
7.40
8.pride
9.bad
10.wire
11.With or Without You
12.In God's Country
13.Zoo Station
14.The Fly
15.Acrobat
16.Zooropa
17.Stay
18.Discotheque
19.Gone
20.Beautiful Day
21.Walk On
22.Vertigo
23.Sometimes You Cant Make it On Your Own
24.Yaweh

Hows that?

 

[U2DMfan]

I don't know, but if I were to pick 50, I think I could squeeze the song 'ONE' in there somewhere.

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

1. out of control (from U2 three)
2. 11 o'clock tick tock
3. i will follow
4. a day without me
5. gloria
6. fire
7. october
8. sunday bloody sunday
9. seconds
10. like a song
11. surrender
12. 40
13. pride (in the name of love)
14. wire
15. the unforgettable fire
16. promenade
17. elvis presley and america
18. where the streets have no name
19. i still haven't found what i'm looking for
20. with or without you
21. running to stand still
22. exit
23. desire
24. heartland
25. all i want is you
26. zoo station
27. even better than the real thing
28. the fly
29. mysterious ways
30. trying to throw your arms around the world
31. ultraviolet (light my way)
32. acrobat
33. love is blindness
34. zooropa
35. numb
36. lemon
37. daddy's gonna pay for your crashed car
38. some days are better than others
39. the first time
40. dirty day
41. hold me, thrill me, kiss me, kill me
42. united colours
43. slug
44. your blue room
45. always forever now
46. miss sarajevo
47. discotheque
48. do you feel loved
49. last night on earth
50. please

 

[U2DMfan]

certainly not my favorite 50 songs, but probably a good representation of their history.


the Post Punk era
1. I Will Follow
2. Out Of Control
3. Electric Co.
4. 11 O'Clock Tick Tock
5. Gloria
6. October
7. I Threw A Brick Through A Window
8. Tomorrow
9. A Celebration
10. Sunday Bloody Sunday
11. New Years Day
12. Like A Song
13. Two Hearts Beat As One
14. Surrender
15. "40"

the Americana Eno/Lanois era
1. A Sort of Homecoming
2. Pride
3. The Unforgettable Fire
4. Bad
5. Where The Streets Have No Name
6. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
7. Bullet the Blue Sky
8. With or Without You
9. In God's Country
10. One Tree Hill
11. Desire
12. Angel of Harlem
13. Hawkmoon 269
14. God Part II
15. All I Want is You

Lemonic Ironic Verses
1. The Fly
2. Even Better Than The Real Thing
3. Until the End of the World
4. One
5. Mysterios Ways
6. Numb
7. Lemon
8. Stay
9. Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me Kill Me
10. Miss Sarajevo
11. Your Blue Room
12. Discotheque
13. Mofo
14. Staring at The Sun
15. Gone

Vertigo and Soul

1. Beautiful Day
2. Walk On
3. Kite
4. Vertigo
5. City of Blinding Lights

it's hard to choose, I know there are maybe 10 or 12 songs that should be on everyone's list (like ONE or Streets) if you are actually trying to make a somewhat historical account, rather than just list your favorite 50 songs. Zoo Station might need to be on there, just too many from Achtung. EBTTRT was a big single, so I went with that...and so on.

 

[liamcool]

The Post Punk Era:

1. Pete The Chop (live from Dublin 26/02/80)
2. Touch
3. A Day Without Me
4. Twilight
5. Another Time, Another Place (live from The Paradise, 06/03/81 [First Show])
6. Gloria
7. Rejoice
8. Tomorrow
9. A Celebration (live from Hattem 14/05/82)
10. 11 O Clock Tick Tock (live from Werchter August 1982...the 4th I believe)
11. Treasure (Whatever Happened To Pete The Chop?)
12. New Year's Day (Album Version)
13. Like A Song...
14. The Refugee
15. Forty

[END DISC ONE]

The Welcome To America, Your Hosts Are Brian Eno And Daniel Lanois Era:

16. Boomerang I
17. A Sort Of Homecoming
18. The Unforgettable Fire
19. Indian Summer Sky (Live From Nantes 1984)
20. Elvis Presley And America
21. With Or Without You
22. Running To Stand Still
23. Exit
24. Mothers Of The Disappeared
25. Desire
26. All Along The Watchtower (live from the Free The Yuppies concert)
27. Angel Of Harlem
28. God Part II
29. Heartland
30. Where The Streets Have No Name (live from Melbourne 13-10-1989)

[DISCLAIMER: I did not include Pride because it doesn't really sound like anything from this era, and I didn't want to ruin Treasure by putting Pride with it, because I hate Pride.]

[END DISK TWO]

The Egotistical Era Of Mr. McPhisto:

31. The Fly
32. Zoo Station
33. Until The End Of The World
34. Mysterious Ways
35. Love Is Blindness (live from Dublin August 1993)
36. Zooropa
37. Numb
38. Lemon
39. Some Days Are Better Than Others
40. The Wanderer
41. Discotheque
42. Do You Feel Loved?
43. Last Night On Earth
44. Miami
45. If You Wear That Velvet Dress

[DISCLAIMER: Yes, One, Stay and SATS are all omitted, because none of them really sound like things that are attempted to be achieved here.]

The Vertiday Era:

46. Beautiful Day
47. New York
48. Vertigo
49. Yahweh
50. Vertigo

[DISCLAIMER: Yes, Vertigo twice. That's showing my discontent at the double Vertigo on the Vertigo Tour.]