Red Light 54
excellent choice. this is in fact the worst U2 song, other than "Yahweh." For a near classic, War has some awful overproduced shit on it. what were they thinking with the backing vocals??
Grace 49
oh come on. it's boring, and it's nothing if not "safe," and it's hardly an exceptional song in any way, but I feel it's a very appropriate album closer. usually U2 albums tend to fade away at the end with weak tracks, and then end with an attempted epic. ATYCLB instead hits you with "New York" in the second to last track. That is the climax, the most hard hitting moment of U2's career this millennium, and "Grace" is the beautiful comedown. A whole album of this and they'd be Sarah McLachlan or Amy Grant. But as a non-Christian I still find it moving in a way, because it's graceful and subtle, unlike "Yahweh."
Miami 43
This is good. It's funny, it's musically memorable, and it has some balls. Helps me buy the concept of Pop.
Peace on Earth 25
This is good. It sounds too much like Sting or Sarah McLachlan, but if you can get past the adult contemporary production and the simplistic sounding title, this is the deepest song Bono has attempted to write about the world since Pop. The basic melody is memorable too, at least compared with the ones on HTDAAB.
Wild Honey 21
Easy listening in a good sense. Very nice, pure pop that isn't pretending to be anything else, and again, subtle. I like the atmosphere of this record. Not as good as "In a Little While" but man, you guys are so not choosing the worst U2 songs, you're just naming everything on ATYCLB.
Elvis presley and america 21
Gets an unfair rap. Boringish, but nice atmosphere, as with everything on that album. I always found songs like Promenade and even Bad cheesy in comparison.
A man and a woman 19
Pretty wimpy, but there are worse. It's the kind of thing I would be able to enjoy more if a band pretending to be rock n roll had not done it. At least it doesn't sound like Switchfoot meets The Joshua Tree (most of the rest of HTDAAB).
The Wanderer 18
A+ for the attempt. I don't really think it's that good. But... it's not one of their worst songs. Again, it has balls.
The First Time 18
I find Bono's vocals annoying on here, but it's one of his most interesting Christian songs lyrically. If Zooropa had had some more extreme stuff at the end, this would have made a great transition, unfortunately although it's a better song than Grace, it makes less impact, in between other low key songs.
Babyface 17
Okay, now we're getting somewhere. Beautiful production, but the general "ironic" stupidity of the songwriting is out of place on Zooropa. They should have saved it for Pop, cause they ruined what could have been one of the best first halves of an album ever.
All because of you 17
Good choice. Just fucking lame and boring. Dinosaur rock. Nice to see them not trying to rip off the Joshua Tree for once with the new stuff though.
In a Little while 16
One of the best on ATYCLB! Really good! One of the few honest "back to roots" type songs.
Stuck in a moment 16
Great lyrics and melody. Pure pop, very overproduced, all that, but within the formula, it succeeds. If U2 was still writing songs like this I would understand better when people say it's okay for them to pander to the radio because they're so much better than what else is out there.
Velvet Dress 15
Beautiful intimate production. Doesn't go anywhere, but doesn't need to. The problem on Pop is it's followed by equally slow tracks.
Playboy Mansion 15
Good call, should have been higher. U2's third worst song after "Yahweh" and "Red Light."
The Refugee 13
I like this, the production just makes it sound like some rugby chant. Peter Gabriel could have pulled it off better. Not one of the worst tracks on War, though.
Trip through your wires 11
So this gets off just cause it's on Joshua Tree? Not nearly as bad as the first three, but U2's 4th worst song.
Discothèque 10
Best on Pop. And I like Pop. The dialup-modem bridge is genius. This song is just brilliantly put together, produced, mixed from start to finish. And it can be either meaningless or profound.
Sweetest thing 9
Nice.
Yahweh 9
How this isn't much higher, I have no idea. You all must think it's blasphemy to vote against a Christian song? "40" is quite overrated too.
When I Look at the world 8
The one song on ATYCLB I always skip. Utterly boring, generic adult contemporary. Now THIS is Sarah McLachlan territory. #5 worst song ever.
Daddy…crashed car 7
An experiment that I do think failed, but it still has an edge. You have to give it credit for that. More interesting than some tracks on the second half of Zooropa.
Like a Song 6
Way overproduced and melodramatic. I enjoy it, but I recognize its flaws. Certainly superior to what they're doing now.
City of blinding lights 6
Gives a new meaning to overproduced. Also, the synth melody is a complete rehash of "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses," as if I wanted to be reminded of the weakest moment on Achtung Baby. I would say it's about on a par with average new Coldplay... this kind of stuff has its merits for some, and honestly I can't say parts of War and Unforgettable Fire werent just as cheesy, but I'm not a fan.
Except that one line "look ugly in a photograph." That line contains the only reality in HTDAAB, an album of generic cliches. It gives some personality to this song, to this love story, and makes it feel honest, whereas I needed to read an interview with Bono to get that honesty from the cliches of "Sometimes You Can't..." even if it's a superior song. That's why I can't dislike "City of Blinding Lights." They've done much worse, recently.
New York 6
Come on, this is the only thing on ATYCLB besides Beautiful Day that could be said to approach "exciting." Now this is proper Eno production. This is proper ethereal hard rock.
Pride 5
Cheesy as hell. And still brilliant, though hardly one of my favorite U2 songs. An example of the love/hate aspect of '80s commercial pop music-- it's innovative, but sometimes lacking in taste. The chorus is lame. The backing vocal chanting and the bridge and the way it fits into those first three on Unforgettable Fire make it perfect. Amazing production and great message makes a questionable song into a classic.
I threw a brick through a window 5
Come on, October is a better album by far than HTDAAB. This pretty much sounds like all the other songs on October, so what's to hate? (I admit I dont know the album that well).
Wake up dead man 5
A+ for having the guts to piss off the Christian establishment. Musically so-so and about as "experimental" as Alanis Morrissette after her Indian trip, but an effective ending for Pop. Kicks the shit out of "God Will Send His Angels" at least. Love the horrible rhyme of "order / disorder / tape recorder."
So Cruel 5
This took longer to get into than any other U2 song for me. Boring at first. It's a slow build. Heartbreaking vocals and melody enlivens old cliches. Those two piano chords are beautiful. And again you make the mistake of picking this over the inferior Wild Horses. If they're both filler, that one is more so. And how about "Tryin' to throw Your Arms"??
Numb 5
I'm a Radiohead fan. I cannot dislike this song, and is pretty much established the commercial precedent for what they have done. Many many lame cliched angsty ridiculous pop songs have been called "Numb," a couple seem to come out every year now, and this is the only good one.
Elevation 5
This has no business appearing before "Vertigo." Don't you see, this song doesn't even pretend to be meaningful. It is completely light, and throwaway, and stupid, and the hook is incredible. It lightens the self importance of the first two songs on ATYCLB. "Vertigo" ripped it off with none of the lightness, and just lands with a big thud.
Stay 4
Perfect. It's both Pitchfork's favorite U2 song, and Bono's. How can you go wrong with that??
Exit 4
I never understand why this gets criticized. Oh yeah, I do. It's about atmosphere, like "Mothers of the Disappeared." Some U2 fans only like being hit over the head by things.
Please 4
The lyrics alone make it out of place in such a list.
Some days are better than other 4
Okay.
Love is Blindness 4
Do you like music at all?
Dirty Day 3
Okay. another example of how Zooropa could have been bettered. Nothing outright bad about it though, just dull. Nearly anything from HTDAAB could be in front of this and Some Days....
Mofo 3
I can see some people not liking this. It doesnt pull what it's trying to do off maybe as well as it could have. The riff is good though and the lyrics are odd, a lot more interesting than the side 2 Zooropa stuff.
The Unforgettable Fire 3
Probably U2's cheesiest production ever. But I have a thing for cheesy synths when used on songs with genuinely depressing themes. Slickness depresses me anyway, so it helps get the message home. A very sad song. Not sure if I really "like" it.
Sometimes you can't make it 3
Only completely good track on HTDAAB. Yeah, retro, but still pretty good.
MLK 2
Gorgeous. Synthy but not overproduced for once.
The Ground Beneath Her Feet 2
Should have replaced "Grace." Not miles better, but equally pleasant with some better lyrics. Neither of them is nearly interesting enough to be called bad.
Drowning Man 2
War has some cheesy stuff, doesn't it?
Surrender 2
Cheesy. Atmospheric. I like it, but if it was a Foreigner song, which it could be, I'd probably hate it. Another example of War's weakness even in its most enjoyable tracks. I dont usually say it, but "New Year's Day" is unbelievably cheesy as well. But it's such a great song you quickly get over that (New Year's, not Surrender).
Miracle Drug 2
Unnecessary. Is it 1987? It's very melodic and I probably wouldnt hate it if it actually had been on The Joshua Tree, but it cant be forgiven because a certain lyric near the beginning is the worst song lyric ever written by anyone.
Electrical Storm 2
Within the bounds of the boringly slick and retro nu-U2 sound of HTDAAB and parts of ATYCLB, this is a great pop song. It certainly beats "Walk On." When they started doing stuff like this, they should have hung it up, but still, nice hooks and atmosphere.
If God will send his angels 2
#6 worst U2 song.
to em'! Some of them you put a lot of thought into, like this post, and others have made me just...
