What's new
Fantasy Football - Footballguys Forums

This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

The 100 Greatest “New Wave” songs 1. Everybody Wants to Rule the World-Tears for Fears (1 Viewer)

dhockster said:
So we have a really tight race so far with The Cars showing up with 4 songs, Duran Duran with 3 songs, and the Police with 3 Songs. With 40 songs to go who will have the most songs in the top 100? one of those 3 or someone else? Tim, you can't answer.
Click to expand...
I’ll go with the Talking Heads

 
40. “Sunday Bloody Sunday” U2 (1983, from War) 

https://youtu.be/EM4vblG6BVQ

Let me first note that only U2’s early material qualifies for this list- nothing that was recorded post 1984 or so is eligible. 

That being said, I’ve always believed this was one of their best songs anyhow. Edge’s killer opening guitar riff is probably the best he ever did. 

 
timschochet said:
40. “Sunday Bloody Sunday” U2 (1983, from War) 

https://youtu.be/EM4vblG6BVQ

Let me first note that only U2’s early material qualifies for this list- nothing that was recorded post 1984 or so is eligible. 

That being said, I’ve always believed this was one of their best songs anyhow. Edge’s killer opening guitar riff is probably the best he ever did. 
Click to expand...
Great song. IMO this is one of the very few mainstream songs where the live version is the definitive one.

 
I like U2 but am not a huge fan.   Sunday Bloody Sunday is a great tune and I’m surprised it’s not top 20.   Tim has been full of surprises. That’s awesome and makes this interesting.   

 
New Wave was my first favorite music.  I was born in 1971 and started getting interested in music in about 1980 so New Wave was the natural choice.  As a 9 and 10 year old, I would listen to Kasey Kasem's top 40 every Sunday night religiously.  I would hold up a tape recorder to the stereo to record songs.  I remember thinking that Tainted Love was the bee's knees.  Then when I was 11 and 12, I got into Night Flight on USA Network and Night Tracks on TBS.  My friend and I would go to the roller rink every Friday night and get back around 10:30pm.  Night Flight would have already started at 10pm CST.  Night Tracks would come on at 11pm CST.  Once 11pm rolled around, we would take turns going up to the television to switch the channel every commercial or when a bad song was on.  Kind of similar to switching back and forth between the AFC and NFC games on Sunday afternoons.  Unfortunately, we did not have a remote control so we had to physically go up to the tv to switch the channel.

 
Don Hutson said:
New Wave was my first favorite music.  I was born in 1971 and started getting interested in music in about 1980 so New Wave was the natural choice.  As a 9 and 10 year old, I would listen to Kasey Kasem's top 40 every Sunday night religiously.  I would hold up a tape recorder to the stereo to record songs.  I remember thinking that Tainted Love was the bee's knees.  Then when I was 11 and 12, I got into Night Flight on USA Network and Night Tracks on TBS.  My friend and I would go to the roller rink every Friday night and get back around 10:30pm.  Night Flight would have already started at 10pm CST.  Night Tracks would come on at 11pm CST.  Once 11pm rolled around, we would take turns going up to the television to switch the channel every commercial or when a bad song was on.  Kind of similar to switching back and forth between the AFC and NFC games on Sunday afternoons.  Unfortunately, we did not have a remote control so we had to physically go up to the tv to switch the channel.
Click to expand...
I still do, but I won't elaborate in the vain hope that Tim has this included in his final 39 (which he says has already been determined, so who knows).

 
Herb said:
timschochet said:
40. “Sunday Bloody Sunday” U2 (1983, from War) 

https://youtu.be/EM4vblG6BVQ

Let me first note that only U2’s early material qualifies for this list- nothing that was recorded post 1984 or so is eligible. 

That being said, I’ve always believed this was one of their best songs anyhow. Edge’s killer opening guitar riff is probably the best he ever did. 
Click to expand...
Great song. IMO this is one of the very few mainstream songs where the live version is the definitive one.
Click to expand...


Don Hutson said:
MTV played the live version a ton.  I remember being awed by how epic the video was.
Click to expand...
Was reading the comments below the version that @Don Hutson posted. There was a beautiful one..."When you want to go to Chick-fil-a but realise what day it is."

 
Don Hutson said:
MTV played the live version a ton.  I remember being awed by how epic the video was.
Click to expand...
You and me both.  I literally never listen to the studio version; that live version from Under a Blood Red Sky is most certainly the definitive version.  

U2 has tons of great songs over the last 40 years (I am fan of all of their eras, to varying degrees), but this remains one of their best. 

 
timschochet said:
Edge’s killer opening guitar riff is probably the best he ever did. 
Click to expand...
He never appears on “best of” lists with the axe gods of hard rock and metal. But dam if The Edge’s guitar didn’t just bleed great opening rhythm lines.

...

Did any of you guys ever listen through The Wall and realize that The Edge, as a hungry young musician, probably practiced endlessly playing through David Gilmour’s rhythm work?

 
There’s a great documentary called “It Might Get Loud” that traces the careers and styles of guitarists from 3 eras - Jimmy Page, Edge, and Jack White. The interviews with Page and the look at Edge’s approach and technique are fantastic. 

 
HellToupee said:
IMO U2’s best song by far
Click to expand...
lovelovelovelove it, and i always defer to the scenic version ... it's as gorgeous and moving a tune as one could ever hear.  

but my favorite song from them, by far, is the title track from my favorite album of theirs ... a swirling, atmospheric soundscape - expertly guided by the dual production team of Lanois/Eno. 

but, gotta say, the ONE track on that album that really doesn't fit, imo, is the huge hit that i just know Timmah is gonna foist up on here, prolly top 20, if not higher ... it rhymes with "Glide", and i couldn't stand it in '84, and i sure as #### can't stand it now - it never "grew" on me.  at all.

PS- seeing "S,BS" on a New Wave countdown is kinda odd to me,  but here we are.  

im'ma leave it all at that. 

 
I feel like U2s fallen out of favor with a lot of music nerds...maybe their (or bonos) self importance and omnipresence or maybe they've kept at for so long and have had some weaker stuff lately.

But as I tried to jump into this "this is my favorite u2 song" discussion, there are just soooo many fantastic songs, its hard to narrow down. I'll say Bad, which is my typical go to. Under appreciated later tune that just came to mind, Kite. 

 
The_Man said:
There’s a great documentary called “It Might Get Loud” that traces the careers and styles of guitarists from 3 eras - Jimmy Page, Edge, and Jack White. The interviews with Page and the look at Edge’s approach and technique are fantastic. 
Click to expand...
For guitar or just music nerds, this is a great watch.

 
El Floppo said:
I feel like U2s fallen out of favor with a lot of music nerds...maybe their (or bonos) self importance and omnipresence or maybe they've kept at for so long and have had some weaker stuff lately.

But as I tried to jump into this "this is my favorite u2 song" discussion, there are just soooo many fantastic songs, its hard to narrow down. I'll say Bad, which is my typical go to. Under appreciated later tune that just came to mind, Kite. 
Click to expand...
yeah, spot on with all of that ... they've become the Rolling Stones of the post-punk era. 

"Bad" is epic ... man, that whole (sans the tune that rhymes with "Bride") album takes you in so many brilliant directions ... very glad they worked with those producers, it was quite a ballsy follow up to "War".

they showed maturity and growth there on UF ... "Joshua Tree" was the signature "WE'VE ARRIVED AS FULL BLOWN ROCK STARS" moment, but why did they take 3 years to follow up UF with a proper studio release?  hmmmm.  yeah, hypothetical here, don't expect you to have the answer  :lol:  they were busy touring and cultivating Bono's god-like persona, i guess. 

at their best, they were as good as anything we've ever heard - and i loved 'em dearly right up to Rattle n' Hum ... but that bloated indulgence kinda soured me ... "Achtung" was redemptive in a yuuuuuge way, but i stopped paying attention pretty much after it's follow up. 

 
otb_lifer said:
but, gotta say, the ONE track on that album that really doesn't fit, imo, is the huge hit that i just know Timmah is gonna foist up on here, prolly top 20, if not higher ... it rhymes with "Glide", and i couldn't stand it in '84, and i sure as #### can't stand it now - it never "grew" on me.  at all.
Click to expand...
[record skip]

Agree about the title track ... but wow ... I think the song you don’t like could well be their pinnacle. Top 5 for the band for sure. One of The Edge’s very best rhythm tracks, especially his opening. But yeah, different strokes and all.

 
otb_lifer said:
yeah, spot on with all of that ... they've become the Rolling Stones of the post-punk era. 

"Bad" is epic ... man, that whole (sans the tune that rhymes with "Bride") album takes you in so many brilliant directions ... very glad they worked with those producers, it was quite a ballsy follow up to "War".

they showed maturity and growth there on UF ... "Joshua Tree" was the signature "WE'VE ARRIVED AS FULL BLOWN ROCK STARS" moment, but why did they take 3 years to follow up UF with a proper studio release?  hmmmm.  yeah, hypothetical here, don't expect you to have the answer  :lol:  they were busy touring and cultivating Bono's god-like persona, i guess. 

at their best, they were as good as anything we've ever heard - and i loved 'em dearly right up to Rattle n' Hum ... but that bloated indulgence kinda soured me ... "Achtung" was redemptive in a yuuuuuge way, but i stopped paying attention pretty much after it's follow up. 
Click to expand...
Feel like you nailed the sentiment I was trying to explain. Bloated is the absolute right word- musically and culturally. And I followed the same trajectory as you in terms of following them....man- when I first heard I will follow, that was it 

That said, the album with Kite (and I think beautiful day) was genuinely good with a bunch of solid songs. The one after that had vertigo and one or two others too. I lost track before and after that (those came out early in my relationship with the wife, and she's a huge fan...might be said I have a passing resemblance to Bobo, especially with long hair and those Romeo Gigli sunglasses)

And somewhere before that, One, showed up...arguably their best song (or at least in that long list of best songs)

 
Doug B said:
otb_lifer said:
but, gotta say, the ONE track on that album that really doesn't fit, imo, is the huge hit that i just know Timmah is gonna foist up on here, prolly top 20, if not higher ... it rhymes with "Glide", and i couldn't stand it in '84, and i sure as #### can't stand it now - it never "grew" on me.  at all.
Click to expand...
[record skip]

Agree about the title track ... but wow ... I think the song you don’t like could well be their pinnacle. Top 5 for the band for sure. One of The Edge’s very best rhythm tracks, especially his opening. But yeah, different strokes and all.
Click to expand...
It felt so overplayed and anthemic, I get wearing out on it...but I agree- yet another all-timer from them

 
El Floppo said:
It felt so overplayed and anthemic, I get wearing out on it
Click to expand...
i believe the single predated the album by at least a month, iirc (i remember diving into UF circa Thanksgiving '84, milestone of my Irish side granpa passing at that time ... he was 85, and got a real kick outta them). 

my main issue with it was that i felt it dwarfed the brilliant step forward that the entire album was ... it's certainly not a horrible song, and one can only gladhand it's merit via the subject matter, but this is where i believe they (Bono, really) started down the pretentious route, whereas the rest of UF saw more of a vulnerability for the entire group, as a departure from the more raw stylings of their earlier work .... "Pride" felt more like "War" era U2, though the arrangement/production did give it a much more polished and gargantuan sound than anything off the first 3 platters (again, Lanois/Eno).

seen in the time capsule of late '84, it plays a bit differently, i suppose ... but now, some 36 yrs  after the fact, i see it as the moment Bono began the flip from earnest vox to really self important 'rock god' earnest vox. 

it was his first taste of worldwide (see: AMERICAN) adulation in spades, and mah man ran with that mutha. 

i shan't piss on anyone who loves it, but it is not anywhere near my wheelhouse of favorites. 

 
HellToupee said:
Really good song , definitely top 5 U2 song for me. Feel the same about “glide”
Click to expand...
My top five in no particular order:

New Year’s Day

Sunday Bloody Sunday

Bad

The Unforgettable Fire

All I Want is You

Honorable Mentions:

Where the Streets Have No Name

Wire

October

I Will Follow

Two Hearts Beat as One

Pride

Clearly, I skew pre-Achtung Baby.

 
El Floppo said:
Feel like you nailed the sentiment I was trying to explain. Bloated is the absolute right word- musically and culturally. And I followed the same trajectory as you in terms of following them....man- when I first heard I will follow, that was it 

That said, the album with Kite (and I think beautiful day) was genuinely good with a bunch of solid songs. The one after that had vertigo and one or two others too. I lost track before and after that (those came out early in my relationship with the wife, and she's a huge fan...might be said I have a passing resemblance to Bobo, especially with long hair and those Romeo Gigli sunglasses)

And somewhere before that, One, showed up...arguably their best song (or at least in that long list of best songs)
Click to expand...
By the way, Kite is an amazing song. But U2’s impact on me is so tied in with my youth and that formative time in my life, that neither that song nor likely any other song they ever record will connect with me like those during the Boy-Rattle years. 

 
bigbottom said:
By the way, Kite is an amazing song. But U2’s impact on me is so tied in with my youth and that formative time in my life, that neither that song nor likely any other song they ever record will connect with me like those during the Boy-Rattle years. 
Click to expand...
Absolutely.

I asked somebody upthread which song/album they heard first for tears for fears...with that idea in mind. I honestly have the moment I first heard I will follow on kusf (college station) engrained in my head- visually and audibly... Sitting in my room and bam. Those bands, songs and albums in those formative 12-18yo years for me still define what I like and listen to.

 
otb_lifer said:
yeah, spot on with all of that ... they've become the Rolling Stones of the post-punk era. 

"Bad" is epic ... man, that whole (sans the tune that rhymes with "Bride") album takes you in so many brilliant directions ... very glad they worked with those producers, it was quite a ballsy follow up to "War".

they showed maturity and growth there on UF ... "Joshua Tree" was the signature "WE'VE ARRIVED AS FULL BLOWN ROCK STARS" moment, but why did they take 3 years to follow up UF with a proper studio release?  hmmmm.  yeah, hypothetical here, don't expect you to have the answer  :lol:  they were busy touring and cultivating Bono's god-like persona, i guess. 

at their best, they were as good as anything we've ever heard - and i loved 'em dearly right up to Rattle n' Hum ... but that bloated indulgence kinda soured me ... "Achtung" was redemptive in a yuuuuuge way, but i stopped paying attention pretty much after it's follow up. 
Click to expand...
U2 was huge in the early years and rolled out one great song after another.  It just wasn’t my taste and I never became a huge fan.   I have always enjoyed the Dismantle the Atomic Bomb album.  The songs are beautiful and the album flows so well.  

 
39. “Electricity” OMD (1979, from Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark) 

https://youtu.be/Y43XLVqjytQ

Their best song, IMO. I really dislike some of their other famous hits like “If You Leave”. Ghastly stuff, not making MY list. 

“Electricity” is also, outside of Kraftwerk, regarded as perhaps the most influential “electronic” song of all time, paving the way for all sorts of other artists. Which is a little ironic if you watch the video I linked because the bass is real , the drums are real, etc. The electronic elements of the song appear to actually be understated. 

 
Last edited by a moderator:
I just edited my last post as that’s not a guitar it’s a bass. Not sure if there is a guitar in the song; I don’t think so. 

 
timschochet said:
39. “Electricity” OMD (1979, from Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark) 

https://youtu.be/Y43XLVqjytQ

Their best song, IMO. I really dislike some of their other famous hits like “If You Leave”. Ghastly stuff, not making MY list. 

“Electricity” is also, outside of Kraftwerk, regarded as perhaps the most influential “electronic” song of all time, paving the way for all sorts of other artists. Which is a little ironic if you watch the video I linked because the guitar is real , the drums are real, etc. The electronic elements of the song appear to actually be understated. 
Click to expand...
I was a huge omd fan during those first couple albums. Good song- although I have quite a few others I prefer.

I was and am also a huge krsftwerk fan- and I've honestly never heard anybody reference this song as even influential for electronic music, let alone anywhere near in the same breath kraftwerks influence was.

 
otb_lifer said:
lovelovelovelove it, and i always defer to the scenic version ... it's as gorgeous and moving a tune as one could ever hear.  

but my favorite song from them, by far, is the title track from my favorite album of theirs ... a swirling, atmospheric soundscape - expertly guided by the dual production team of Lanois/Eno. 

but, gotta say, the ONE track on that album that really doesn't fit, imo, is the huge hit that i just know Timmah is gonna foist up on here, prolly top 20, if not higher ... it rhymes with "Glide", and i couldn't stand it in '84, and i sure as #### can't stand it now - it never "grew" on me.  at all.

PS- seeing "S,BS" on a New Wave countdown is kinda odd to me,  but here we are.  

im'ma leave it all at that. 
Click to expand...
I agree that The Unforgettable Fire is an amazing song, a top 5 U2 song for sure.  I would also put Bad up there, when talking about the live version of course.  The version from Wide Awake in America seems to be the favorite, but I prefer the one from the Rattle & Hum film.  

My favorite is All I Want Is You from Rattle & Hum (it would also be in my all-time top 10 by anyone).  

 
timschochet said:
39. “Electricity” OMD (1979, from Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark) 

https://youtu.be/Y43XLVqjytQ

Their best song, IMO. I really dislike some of their other famous hits like “If You Leave”. Ghastly stuff, not making MY list. 

“Electricity” is also, outside of Kraftwerk, regarded as perhaps the most influential “electronic” song of all time, paving the way for all sorts of other artists. Which is a little ironic if you watch the video I linked because the bass is real , the drums are real, etc. The electronic elements of the song appear to actually be understated. 
Click to expand...
Surprising pick. I like it!  :excited:
 

ETA: They are still amazing live.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
timschochet said:
39. “Electricity” OMD (1979, from Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark) 

https://youtu.be/Y43XLVqjytQ

Their best song, IMO. I really dislike some of their other famous hits like “If You Leave”. Ghastly stuff, not making MY list. 

“Electricity” is also, outside of Kraftwerk, regarded as perhaps the most influential “electronic” song of all time, paving the way for all sorts of other artists. Which is a little ironic if you watch the video I linked because the bass is real , the drums are real, etc. The electronic elements of the song appear to actually be understated. 
Click to expand...
As others have said, this is a great song, but there are better from OMD. I look forward to seeing where the others are.

 
whoknew said:
As others have said, this is a great song, but there are better from OMD. I look forward to seeing where the others are.
Click to expand...
Tim called it their best song. I wouldn't understand that coupled with more omd songs higher up the list.

As such, that means we're like due for some...so i wonder which ones will be there? 

 
El Floppo said:
Tim called it their best song. I wouldn't understand that coupled with more omd songs higher up the list.

As such, that means we're like due for some...so i wonder which ones will be there? 
Click to expand...
I just saw that. Poor reading skills on my part.

Well, we agree to disagree.

 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

timschochet
The 100 Greatest Songs of 1976 #1. Foreplay/Long Time
10 11 12
Replies
580
Views
90K
DocHolliday
DocHolliday
timschochet
The 100 Greatest Songs of 1982 #1. Little Red Corvette
16 17 18
Replies
880
Views
87K
Hastur
Hastur
timschochet
The 100 Greatest Songs of 1977 #1. Come Sail Away
12 13 14
Replies
674
Views
38K
John Maddens Lunchbox
John Maddens Lunchbox

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 1 (members: 0, guests: 1)
Back
Top