u2 best song survivor: miscellaneous round qualifiers

[KhanadaRhodes]

i have decided to take on the task of doing a new survivor round. why, you may ask, are we doing the same survivor we just finished months before? this time, i'm taking a different approach.

while the elimination process itself is the usual (vote for the worst, song with the most votes is eliminated), the voting process will be different. just for fun, ALL votes will be submitted via e-mail just to see how everything turns out without any strategic voting. (note: i find nothing wrong with doing this and have done this myself in past rounds!) any votes made in a thread or through any means other than the e-mail given will not be counted.

before we get started though, i shall present the songs that will go in the miscellaneous rounds. these are b-sides and any other official released material that has not made it onto a physical album. as usual, any cover songs, live versions, or remixes do not qualify. here is the list:

1979-1983:
street mission
shadows and tall trees (demo version)
the fool
out of control
stories for boys
boy/girl
another day
twilight (single version)
11 o'clock tick tock
touch
things to make and do
j. swallow
a celebration
trash, trampoline, and the party girl
treasure (whatever happened to pete the chop?)
endless deep

1984-1989:
boomerang 1
boomerang 2
the three sunrises
love comes tumbling
bass trap
sixty seconds in kingdom come
beautiful ghost/introduction to songs of experience
luminous times (hold on to love)
walk to the water
spanish eyes
deep in the heart
silver and gold
the sweetest thing '87
race against time
hallelujah (here she comes)
a room at the heartbreak hotel

1991-1997:
alex descends into hell for a bottle of milk/korova 1
lady with the spinning head (uv1)
salome
where did it all go wrong?
slow dancing '93
hold me, thrill me, kiss me, kill me
bottoms (watashitachi no ookina yume)
viva davidoff
holy joe (garage mix)
holy joy (guilty mix)
north and south of the river
slow dancing '97

1998-2009:
the sweetest thing '98
stateless
levitate
love you like mad
flower child
summer rain
always
big girls are best
smile
xanax and wine
all because of you (alternate version)
native son
yahweh (alternate version)
sometimes you can't make it on your own (alternate version)
are you gonna wait forever?
window in the skies
no line on the horizon 2

as you can see, there are some alternate versions and demos. since these songs are officially released, these count of course. for holy joe, since there is no version of the song that isn't a remix, i have three ideas. we can either just throw both up during the applicable miscellaneous rounds and leave it at that, or do a one-off poll to see which one qualifies to be included. finally, since the guilty mix was included with some releases, that could also be counted as the definitive version. but it seems unfair to disqualify both since they are both technically remixes.

songs that are disqualified, however, are any remixes, covers, or live songs. this will be repeated in each round, but VOTING IS ONLY TO BE BASED ON THE ORIGINALLY RELEASED STUDIO TRACKS. if any deviation from this is necessary (such as the alternate remixes), then it will be stated. otherwise assume when i say i will follow, i mean track one off boy.

finally, you might be wondering where the ground beneath her feet and fast cars are. since those were included in the uk releases, they are included in their respective albums.

i'll leave this open for a couple days for anyone to voice their opinions, and then we'll get started on the actual voting. the rounds will be open for 24 hours as usual (though when we get to finals i will probably keep those open for 48 hours). the e-mail address will be provided when the rounds start.

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

already realized i forgot the ballad of ronnie drew so that will be added to the list.

 

[coolian2]

good idea. i'm sooooo glad you're including the ground beneath her feet on atyclb too.

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

thanks

 

[Axver]

This'll be interesting. I've been looking forward to this ever since you first had the idea, Khan. Though I must say I prefer integrating each era's non-album tracks in with the album. When the b-sides have their own rounds, they get slaughtered the minute they enter the final, but when they're in with the album, they hold their own and beat some of the less popular album tracks.

Either way, Holy Joe's such an awkward case. I say do just whatever you prefer, since you're running the show. My preference was to simply list "Holy Joe" without reference to either version and let people just decide how to vote for themselves.

Also, I notice no Winter or Two Shots (then again, do we count the officially released Two Shots as live and thus disqualify it?). What about I'm Not Your Baby - U2 enough to make it? And are you including the unreleased tracks from the Boy, War, UF, and JT remasters? I notice the 2004 iTunes tracks are there, but not the remaster tracks.

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

either way is fine with me, really. i suppose whatever everyone else prefers, if they should be kept separate or be integrated with their albums.

oh, and the exclusion of those songs was me forgetting i'll add them, though technically like you said two shots is disqualified for being live. i wish we could include the bonus tracks on the unforgettable fire, but sadly it's still a couple months until it's released. plus, i'm afraid the newness of any unreleased tracks on there might skew the results.

 

[coolian2]

i'm not your baby is disqualified for being a cure for insomnia.

 

[Axver]

either way is fine with me, really. i suppose whatever everyone else prefers, if they should be kept separate or be integrated with their albums.

oh, and the exclusion of those songs was me forgetting i'll add them, though technically like you said two shots is disqualified for being live. i wish we could include the bonus tracks on the unforgettable fire, but sadly it's still a couple months until it's released. plus, i'm afraid the newness of any unreleased tracks on there might skew the results.

My vote's for integration. But really, run it the way you find suits you best. You know as well as I do that running Survivor can get a bit much over a long period of time (especially if you're manually adding votes received by e-mail!). If one way will be easier for you to manage than the other, I say go with that.

Ah, good point. I expect Disappearing Act in particular will get a 'newness' boost if the reaction on the thread about it is anything to go by. I've been thinking I'll run the usual poll edition in the new year, so by then it might be a good time to add in the UF bonus tracks.

As for Two Shots, I think it's been included in the past, as it's not exactly billed as being live ... but then, I doubt there'll be a massive outcry if it's excluded.

 

[bonocomet]

Since the version we have of Two Shots is the only existing version we have, I think it ought to be included, so as not to leave out a legitimate, officially released original u2 song. Either way though, sounds like fun. And a lot of work Thanks!

 

[BigMacPhisto]

Quality idea, but I'm still waiting patiently for the Remixes Survivor.

 

[coolian2]

Quality idea, but I'm still waiting patiently for the Remixes Survivor.

you can't run it?

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

k, as long as no one else has any other objections (i have grouped all miscellaneous songs with their album or closest album and added two shots), this will all start tomorrow.

 

[Axver]

k, as long as no one else has any other objections (i have grouped all miscellaneous songs with their album or closest album and added two shots), this will all start tomorrow.

Cool. What have you put HMTMKMKM with? I think I put it with Pop last time around, but seriously considered including it in the Passengers round.

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

Cool. What have you put HMTMKMKM with? I think I put it with Pop last time around, but seriously considered including it in the Passengers round.

i wasn't entirely sure where to put it. timewise it would fit with passengers, but it certainly doesn't fit musically! i've got it put with pop but i'm not too picky about where it goes.

 

[Axver]

i wasn't entirely sure where to put it. timewise it would fit with passengers, but it certainly doesn't fit musically! i've got it put with pop but i'm not too picky about where it goes.

I think Pop is the best choice. I considered Zooropa, as it originated then, but it doesn't quite fit there - and plenty of songs have been released later than the sessions they originated in, but we don't backdate them. Then as you say, it just doesn't fit musically with the Passengers era, even though it came out at roughly the same time. It makes sense with Pop, and clearly U2 thought so too by the way they featured it on Popmart.

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

I think Pop is the best choice. I considered Zooropa, as it originated then, but it doesn't quite fit there - and plenty of songs have been released later than the sessions they originated in, but we don't backdate them. Then as you say, it just doesn't fit musically with the Passengers era, even though it came out at roughly the same time. It makes sense with Pop, and clearly U2 thought so too by the way they featured it on Popmart.

yeah, my initial thought was zooropa for the reasons you said, but then i also decided against it for the reasons you said. it really does fit best with pop.


which is also why the 98 version of the sweetest thing is with atyclb

 

[Axver]

which is also why the 98 version of the sweetest thing is with atyclb

I approve of this decision wholeheartedly.

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

first round is up! http://www.u2interference.com/forums/f189/u2-best-song-survivor-boy-round-1-a-200727.html