Streets1972
Babyface
Having been a lurker on here for a while, I thought I would start a thread with a semi-positive outlook, cos' it seems that a lot of time here is spent saying what people don't like about U2, how about talking about what you do like.
The point is that everyone who listens to U2 has a valid opinion, and I would like to hear people's explanations for their top 15 (I don't like Top 10s, so sue me) U2 songs in reverse order.
To start the ball rolling, here are my favourites:
15: A Sort of Homecoming - Celtic rock, lyrically inspired
14 - Pride - The one that made them big, the one that I can recall hearing standing on a hill a couple of miles from Croke Park during their 1985 homecoming concert
13 - Exit - U2 go to the dark side. Really. Darker than they normally go. Bad side of the law dark even.
12 - 11 O'Clock Tick Tock - Edge's guitar chiming, Bono wailing, the whole band rocking and driving
11 - Gone - A shimmering, passionate up yours to the world, a more upbeat version of "Don't Let the Bastards Grind You Down".
10: COBL - Streets-like opening, a classic U2 builder, until...."I'm getting ready to leave the ground"
9 - The Ground Beneath Her Feet - A song that fits the book it was written for, a song that fits U2 and begs to be sung.
8 - Sunday Bloody Sunday (acoustic version) - I love this for the heartbreaking sadness rather than the original angry defiance. And as ever, the Edge shines.
7 - 40 - U2's closer that I've never heard live, but a song that never fails to stir me on album or video.
6 - Stay - Most days this is my favourite U2 song, possibly because it's the one I enjoy singing most. Today writing this list, however, it can only get this high on the ladder. Still a stunning piece of writing, singing, and overall performance.
5 - One - the universal U2 song. Wonderful, aching words, emotionally stirring, and the killer phrase: "Carry each other. Carry each other. One"
4 - Where the Streets Have No Name - U2's best live song, and possibly the best opening to a song. Ever.
3 - Miracle Drug - these last three are really interchangeable but ever since I first heard this sublime song it has never failed to give me a thrill. The sound, the lyrics, the last minute of the song....Wow.
2 - WOWY (Stars version) - An ecstatic moment, even in the vicious throes of love. As always the Edge's sound is supreme, Bono voices torment with the best of them, and the "stars" section just caps it off.
and....
1 - Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own - the most naked song U2 have done, it sums up why the band are still the best around in my view. Songs with heart, with emotion, that touch you and make you want to nod your head, pump your fist and cry at the same time. It has the most shattering couplet in the U2 catalogue: "SIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING, you're the reason I sing / You're the reason why the opera's in me"
As you can see, I'm including the Million Dolllar Hotel soundtrack, so the lists are open to all comers. If you like Mission Impossible better than anything else the band has done, that's cool, say so. But say why as well, not why you can't stand every other song that's on everyone else's list.
Cheers...
The point is that everyone who listens to U2 has a valid opinion, and I would like to hear people's explanations for their top 15 (I don't like Top 10s, so sue me) U2 songs in reverse order.
To start the ball rolling, here are my favourites:
15: A Sort of Homecoming - Celtic rock, lyrically inspired
14 - Pride - The one that made them big, the one that I can recall hearing standing on a hill a couple of miles from Croke Park during their 1985 homecoming concert
13 - Exit - U2 go to the dark side. Really. Darker than they normally go. Bad side of the law dark even.
12 - 11 O'Clock Tick Tock - Edge's guitar chiming, Bono wailing, the whole band rocking and driving
11 - Gone - A shimmering, passionate up yours to the world, a more upbeat version of "Don't Let the Bastards Grind You Down".
10: COBL - Streets-like opening, a classic U2 builder, until...."I'm getting ready to leave the ground"
9 - The Ground Beneath Her Feet - A song that fits the book it was written for, a song that fits U2 and begs to be sung.
8 - Sunday Bloody Sunday (acoustic version) - I love this for the heartbreaking sadness rather than the original angry defiance. And as ever, the Edge shines.
7 - 40 - U2's closer that I've never heard live, but a song that never fails to stir me on album or video.
6 - Stay - Most days this is my favourite U2 song, possibly because it's the one I enjoy singing most. Today writing this list, however, it can only get this high on the ladder. Still a stunning piece of writing, singing, and overall performance.
5 - One - the universal U2 song. Wonderful, aching words, emotionally stirring, and the killer phrase: "Carry each other. Carry each other. One"
4 - Where the Streets Have No Name - U2's best live song, and possibly the best opening to a song. Ever.
3 - Miracle Drug - these last three are really interchangeable but ever since I first heard this sublime song it has never failed to give me a thrill. The sound, the lyrics, the last minute of the song....Wow.
2 - WOWY (Stars version) - An ecstatic moment, even in the vicious throes of love. As always the Edge's sound is supreme, Bono voices torment with the best of them, and the "stars" section just caps it off.
and....
1 - Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own - the most naked song U2 have done, it sums up why the band are still the best around in my view. Songs with heart, with emotion, that touch you and make you want to nod your head, pump your fist and cry at the same time. It has the most shattering couplet in the U2 catalogue: "SIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING, you're the reason I sing / You're the reason why the opera's in me"
As you can see, I'm including the Million Dolllar Hotel soundtrack, so the lists are open to all comers. If you like Mission Impossible better than anything else the band has done, that's cool, say so. But say why as well, not why you can't stand every other song that's on everyone else's list.
Cheers...