Bono and The Edge ranked #35 on RS's 'Greatest 100 Songwriters' List

[RoKKeR]

The 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time | Rolling Stone

When they first got started in the 1970s, the ambitious lads in U2 made a deal to split all their publishing money evenly. But as important to U2's sound as Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. may be, Bono and the Edge have been the primary songwriting team in the band from day one. Bono brings the grand vision and uncanny ear for heroic hooks, and the Edge brings his sonic mastery and an eagerness to push boundaries. Working together, the duo have pursued their expansive vision from the adolescent cry of "Out of Control" to political anthems like "Sunday Bloody Sunday" to the stadium-shaking roar of "Where the Streets Have No Name" to the funky, danceable "Mysterious Ways" and "Discotheque" all the way through the highly-personable "The Miracle (of Joey Ramone)" from last year's Songs of Innocence. As the band's charismatic frontman, Bono may soak up a lot of the credit, but he's the first to admit how important the Edge is to their songwriting. "Smart people know what [the Edge] does, and he doesn't care about the rest of the world," Bono told Rolling Stone in 2005. "I get annoyed and I say, 'How do people not know?'"

Thoughts? On that or the list as a whole?

 

[LemonMelon]

George Harrison is not 62 spots worse than John Lennon if we're considering them as solo artists.

 

[bono_212]

Yeah, by separating Lennon and McCartney, I think Lennon was WAY too high.

I think Bono and Edge are in a decent spot.

 

[Hollow Island]

U2 write the songs, not Bono and Edge. Even the ones that they bring in, Larry and Adam work on. And others, they write by jamming. Remove any and the songs are different. U2 are a team.


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[Hollow Island]

I think RS means " highly personal," not "personable."


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[corianderstem]

U2 wrote Miami.

 

[Hollow Island]

I thought your mammy wrote Miami

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[Headache in a Suitcase]

Does Brian Eno get an asterisk?

 

[superchuk5]

U2 write the songs, not Bono and Edge. Even the ones that they bring in, Larry and Adam work on. And others, they write by jamming. Remove any and the songs are different. U2 are a team.


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The songs all credited to "U2," so I don't like how Adam and Larry aren't included. You can't just write off their very real contributions.

If you split Lennon and McCartney you have to also include Lennon-McCartney because you have to acknowledge that they were better together than apart. They accentuated each other's strengths while dulling the weaknesses. Even songs written almost exclusively by one had valuable input from the other (example: John's only contribution to "Hey Jude" was telling Paul to keep the line "The movement you need is on your shoulders." small, but significant.). I've never bought into the John vs. Paul thing because the point was that they were a perfect team, with their own strengths and weaknesses.

 

[Mack_Again]

I hated that list because The Clash, REM, and The Smiths (Marr and Moz) was so low there. And it's true that U2 write music as a group though.....Edge mint do a lot of it himself


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[mikal]

Wait. Who are Larry and Adam. Are those the other two guys that were on stage with U2 when I saw them in Chicago a couple months ago?

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[gweeps]

They give most of the great folksy/singer-songwriter types a slot and not Townes Van Zandt? Or John Denver?

And why is Taylor Swift or the guy from Green Day on here? Also, too many rappers w/ possible ghostwriters.

 

[Sr. Poop]

I'm sure I'll take shit on here for this but Dave Matthews deserves to be on this list.


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[U2DMfan]

Top 50

Well too high
-Chuck Berry
-Lou Reed
-Garcia and Hunter
-Max Martin

Well too low
-Michael Jackson
-David Bowie
-Johnny Cash
-Neil Diamond

 

[U2DMfan]

Bottom 50

Too High
Notorious B.I.G
Strummer and Jones
Patti Smith
R. Kelly

Too low
Willie Nelson
REM
The Bee Gees
Benny and Björn

 

[PopFly]

U2 write the songs, not Bono and Edge. Even the ones that they bring in, Larry and Adam work on. And others, they write by jamming. Remove any and the songs are different. U2 are a team.

Agreed. I suspect Edge & Bono themselves would be upset at this list for ignoring Larry & Adam's contributions to the band's music. We've heard enough Edge/Bono solo work (Goldeneye, the Spidey musical) to know what it differs significantly from U2 music, i.e. it's not nearly as good.

 

[Sr. Poop]

Dave Matthews


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[BigMacPhisto]

U2 appears on today's Pitchfork list of the Top 200 Songs of the 1980s...."Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "With or Without You" were the selections. Kind of funny because when Pitchfork wrote a book years back (The Pitchfork 500), they selected "New Year's Day" and "Bad"...so much for consistency.

 

[gweeps]

I'm sure I'll take shit on here for this but Dave Matthews deserves to be on this list.


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He's/they're great. On ticket sales alone, they should be up there.

I love a couple of their newest songs. But I'm still hoping stuff like Crazy Easy, JTR, Loving Wings, Sugar Will, Shotgun, The Idea of You and A Dream So Real make an album someday.

And it's still surreal he's played Let You Down this year after an 18 year absence.

 

[Oregoropa]

When is RS going to rank top 100+ U2 songs? They've done it for other artists. The only attempt I've seen at it was that shitty Radio.com guy's picks

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

He's/they're great. On ticket sales alone, they should be up there.

I love a couple of their newest songs. But I'm still hoping stuff like Crazy Easy, JTR, Loving Wings, Sugar Will, Shotgun, The Idea of You and A Dream So Real make an album someday.

And it's still surreal he's played Let You Down this year after an 18 year absence.

So your argument is that Dave Matthews should be on this list of songwriters because of... ticket sales?

 

[LemonMelon]

Dave Matthews' solo career unsurprisingly did not last beyond one album. The main reason people care about the guy is his band and their great live performances.

I grant that he does have the very good Luther College unplugged album, but I think the reason he isn't here is because his studio albums don't hold up.

 

[gweeps]

I think the reason he isn't here is because his studio albums don't hold up.

Yeah, their studio albums are spotty. Aside from the 4 they did with Lillywhite, that is. (Under the Table and Dreaming, Crash, Before These Crowded Streets, Away from the World.)

I advocate Dave Matthews/DMB being on there because of ticket sales alone simply because these lists are essentially opinion anyway.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

But... It's a list about songwriting

 

[BigMacPhisto]

Yep...and to suggest that Dave Matthews is on par as a songwriter with anybody on that list is pretty laughable...and also shows how unfamiliar the people suggesting that are with the contributions of the people on this list.

 

[cobl04]

Yeah, their studio albums are spotty. Aside from the 4 they did with Lillywhite, that is. (Under the Table and Dreaming, Crash, Before These Crowded Streets, Away from the World.)



I advocate Dave Matthews/DMB being on there because of ticket sales alone simply because these lists are essentially opinion anyway.

You wouldn't fucking put Chad Kroeger on there. What the fuck are you talking about?


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[nbelcik]

Yeah, when I do listen to Dave Matthews Band it's because I'm working on my drumming and I want to hear Carter Beauford drum, the song writing is pretty bad except for a few songs.


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[bono_212]

Huge fan of the band, and I'm torn here. I assume with a songwriting list like this you are basically looking at the lyrics to the song, and the actual music being played, basically acoustic, right? Music and lyrics? If so, based on Luther College alone, I'd suggest that Dave actually probably does deserve to be on the list.

And I'm pretty damn fond of his lyrics as well, though I am well aware that they are a jam band and that's what makes them especially interesting, but I think of songs like Crash Into Me, Bartender, Crush, Grey Street, etc and I usually point to them as favorite lyrical songs as well.

And to be fair, Music and Lyrics are credited to Dave alone for the most part, again, leaving me with the sense that, yes, he should've been on the list.

 

[Catman]

Could never really get into dmb unfortunately, but I do loooovveee love love Crash into Me <3

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[LemonMelon]

It's embarrassing that Elliott Smith isn't on here. John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats should be as well. He has been ridiculously prolific for decades and the quality seldom dips.