U2 - Community rankings - FIN - #4 Sunday Bloody Sunday, #3 - One, #2 - Bad, #1 - Where the Streets Have No Name -Spotify links, thanks to Krista4 (6 Viewers)

[krista4]

My top 10 has finally been breached, as I was one of the #10 rankings for Stay and could have gone a couple of slots higher. :( I can see why people might not have it in their top 10 or even their top 25, considering how many great songs there are to choose from, but for it only to make 22 lists at all really is befuddling to me. To me it's a nearly perfect song, as JML described very well. I also love Pip's comment that it's like a painting in music form. All of those layers pull me in and give me a different experience of the song each time I listen. It's endlessly fascinating.

 

[Alex P Keaton]

No idea what my ranking was on this. Really love the whole album. Big fan of this song too, particularly the guitar work, the verses, and the vibe. It would rank higher if not for dumb lines like “don’t let the bustards grind you down.” Or “I must be an acrobat, to talk like this and then act like that.”

I do, OTOH, like lines such as “I’d join the movement if there was one I could believe in. Yeah I’d break bread and wine, if there was a church I could receive in.”

The "bastards" line really is silly. The bolded lyric above that you don't like is pretty good IMO, though.

Scored a near-bingo and near-Grace-under-Pressure bingo with this one at #33. Love the guitar parts in particular, as well as the whole vibe. This hung around in the low teens for me for a long time and only dropped in my final rankings due to the lyrics, which grind me down. I think I over-penalized for those and should have had it more like the high 20s. Sorry, Acrobat.

:reported:

 

[Alex P Keaton]

My top 10 has finally been breached, as I was one of the #10 rankings for Stay and could have gone a couple of slots higher. :( I can see why people might not have it in their top 10 or even their top 25, considering how many great songs there are to choose from, but for it only to make 22 lists at all really is befuddling to me. To me it's a nearly perfect song, as JML described very well. I also love Pip's comment that it's like a painting in music form. All of those layers pull me in and give me a different experience of the song each time I listen. It's endlessly fascinating.

These are the type of comments that get me listening to these songs over and over. Just listened to it again. It’s good stuff.

 

[Nemesis]

34 Elevation Song about sex.......Heavy doses of effects & distortion
Won the 2001 Grammy for Best Rock Performance By a Duo or Group With Vocal. U2 won 4 awards that night, including Best Rock Album.


33 Who's Gonna Ride Horses About letting go of someone at the end of a relationship......Bono drew upon watching Edge go through a separation from his wife, after 7 yrs of marriage.
It proved very difficult to record w a dozen different mixes..... different studios, different producers, different opinions from record execs, & different lyrics.
In concert, the band struggled to perform it live & dropped it from the ZooTV rotation.


32 Acrobat About Bono acknowledging his personal weaknesses, contradictions, & inadequacies. The song has an unusual 6/8 time signature & developed from an Edge riff during a Auckland, NZ soundcheck. Although rehearsed extensively in an acoustic form during the Zoo TV Tour, "Acrobat" had never been performed live until U2 played it at the 1st night of the E+I Tour at Tulsa, Oklahoma on May 2, 2018. Every other song from AB had gotten at least 1 live performance. Part of the reason for finally playing the song was because devoted U2 fans had been requesting it.

The lyrics went thru multiple revisions.......check out my previous write up that compares the early BABY Version vs the FINAL Version
@Alex P Keaton its chorus "Don't let the bastards grind you down" is aimed at the press who gave U2 a serve w the R&H album & film.


31 Stay Developed during AB recording sessions in Berlin....initially titled “Sinatra” & then re-worked & finished for Zooropa.
"Stay" was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song. Interestingly, another song co-written by Bono (& performed by Sinead O’Connor), “You Made Me the Thief of Your Heart,” was also nominated for the 1995 Golden Globes. In the end, both tracks lost out to “Streets of Philadelphia” by Bruce Springsteen.

 

[Alex P Keaton]

34 Elevation Song about sex.......Heavy doses of effects & distortion
Won the 2001 Grammy for Best Rock Performance By a Duo or Group With Vocal. U2 won 4 awards that night, including Best Rock Album.


33 Who's Gonna Ride Horses About letting go of someone at the end of a relationship......Bono drew upon watching Edge go through a separation from his wife, after 7 yrs of marriage.
It proved very difficult to record w a dozen different mixes..... different studios, different producers, different opinions from record execs, & different lyrics.
In concert, the band struggled to perform it live & dropped it from the ZooTV rotation.


32 Acrobat About Bono acknowledging his personal weaknesses, contradictions, & inadequacies. The song has an unusual 6/8 time signature & developed from an Edge riff during a Auckland, NZ soundcheck. Although rehearsed extensively in an acoustic form during the Zoo TV Tour, "Acrobat" had never been performed live until U2 played it at the 1st night of the E+I Tour at Tulsa, Oklahoma on May 2, 2018. Every other song from AB had gotten at least 1 live performance. Part of the reason for finally playing the song was because devoted U2 fans had been requesting it.

The lyrics went thru multiple revisions.......check out my previous write up that compares the early BABY Version vs the FINAL Version
@Alex P Keaton its chorus "Don't let the bastards grind you down" is aimed at the press who gave U2 a serve w the R&H album & film.


31 Stay Developed during AB recording sessions in Berlin....initially titled “Sinatra” & then re-worked & finished for Zooropa.
"Stay" was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song. Interestingly, another song co-written by Bono (& performed by Sinead O’Connor), “You Made Me the Thief of Your Heart,” was also nominated for the 1995 Golden Globes. In the end, both tracks lost out to “Streets of Philadelphia” by Bruce Springsteen.

Good stuff!!

Mrs APK: “That’s a weak slate for songs 31-34. None of those were in my rankings.”

Me: “umm, well in fairness you only ranked 25 songs so…….”

 

[John Maddens Lunchbox]

All I have time for today is teasers unfortunately.
The 3 old songs coming up have a combined three top 10 rankings. Stay had five by itself. Mothers of the Disappeared had 6. What these 3 tracks have though is votes with us breaching 29 rankers twice for these 3 songs.

One of the 3 songs doesnt have any top 10 rankings. It does have 8 rankings between 11 and 14 though
Another one has 8 rankings between 19 and 23
The other one scatters them all the way from 4 to 79

Because these are all Lillywhite produced tracks we have requests for 2008 remasters on all of them.

 

[John Maddens Lunchbox]

Any idea how to edit the text in the OP? I can edit the title, but no luck with the body

On the bottom left of your post there should be a tab marked Edit. It should be next to the report tab and above the like icons.

Thanks. Maybe because of the length of the post it just freaks out when i do it.maybe i will try a different brwoser

 

[Pip's Invitation]

Any idea how to edit the text in the OP? I can edit the title, but no luck with the body

On the bottom left of your post there should be a tab marked Edit. It should be next to the report tab and above the like icons.

Thanks. Maybe because of the length of the post it just freaks out when i do it.maybe i will try a different brwoser

I just ran into this problem today with the playlist post in GP4. The new board has a limit of 10,000 characters per post. When I tried to update the playlist post, it said the update failed because the post exceeded the character limit. So I split it up into three new posts. You might have to do something similar.

 

[John Maddens Lunchbox]

Any idea how to edit the text in the OP? I can edit the title, but no luck with the body

On the bottom left of your post there should be a tab marked Edit. It should be next to the report tab and above the like icons.

Thanks. Maybe because of the length of the post it just freaks out when i do it.maybe i will try a different brwoser

I just ran into this problem today with the playlist post in GP4. The new board has a limit of 10,000 characters per post. When I tried to update the playlist post, it said the update failed because the post exceeded the character limit. So I split it up into three new posts. You might have to do something similar.

Thanks. Im not quoting the OP, but mine should exceed 10000 characters significantly. Not sure what to do about that. Might have to do a word count on word or something and see what it comes at

 

[John Maddens Lunchbox]

(33) - 30 - 40
(33) - 30 - 40 Remastered 2008
(33) - 30 - 40 Live Under a Blood Red Sky

Vulture.com ranking and comment -16/218 - The story behind the track’s genesis — the band’s studio time literally running out and being one track short, Bono saying “Let’s do a psalm” — is completely and totally outweighed by the beauty of the recorded performance: Edge standing in on bass, with chords that go straight to the heart, simple but powerful backing vocals, and Bono’s voice, not at its most magnificent, but definitely in his feelings. It is an ode, a tribute, a deep blues — and even though the lyrics were lifted from Psalm 40, they are vague enough to leave space for the nonbeliever to find his or her own meaning in the track. It was likely subconscious, but significant, that the line in “Sunday Bloody Sunday” — “How long must we sing this song?” — that opened the album would be mirrored here at the end.

But you can’t write about “40” without talking about its place in the live show. It would close most of the band’s shows in the ’80s, and was one of those moments that became a crucial part of what U2 was to their fans. The spikiest mohawked punks would stand down, hold hands, put their arms around the people near them and sing their hearts out on the chorus. And there was nothing quite like making your way out of the venue and hearing the refrain echoing off the lobby walls, down the streets, and into the subways. It was — is still — a piece of U2 magic that is hard to explain adequately. It closes a show gently, with civility and unity. It lifts your heart up, which is what a psalm is meant to do, even if you’re a nonbeliever.

Original Comment - Great to close out a show. Great singalong. How many times would you just put this one song on? I thought about adjusting my ranking to put it 7 spots lower, but that would be cheating just for lolz. It is where it is.

Total Points - 1164.25

Rankers - 29

Average Points per rank - 40.15 (Approximately a 42nd rank).

Ranks - 35th on average points per ranker

Highest Rank - 4

Lowest Rank - 79

Previous Rank - 33-30

Special Version Requested -
(33) - 30 - 40 Remastered 2008
(33) - 30 - 40 Live Under a Blood Red Sky

Ranking Comments - Out of all the rankings, only one of us, and he has mentioned this, put it at 40. Not me btw. Although the studio version is the main version, i think we can all agree that Under a Blood Red Sky or seeing it live in the early days is where this track brings memories.

 

[John Maddens Lunchbox]

(23) - 29 - Out of Control
(23) - 29 - Out of Control Remastered 2008

Vulture.com ranking and comment -7/218 - To be fair, “Out of Control” is the actual anthem of the album (as compared to the single, “I Will Follow). “Out of Control” is direct and driving, no fancy percussion or tricks or echoes, every single member of the band playing at 11. There’s a little shift on the bridge custom-made for audience participation by the way of hand claps, arms raised, and then an instrumental break from the drive, strung with some guitar notes and echoing “out of controlllll”s from Bono; it’s just a second to catch your breath because the last verse and chorus are pushing forward even harder — before that ringing, decorous ending.

Original Comment - Product of its time. You Can hear the punk roots. I am actually shocked that I am the highest ranking on the oldest U2 song or close enough. Vulture is on the right track. Boy gets reduced to one track left joining Rattle and Hum, October, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb and All that you cant leave behind.

Total Points - 1166

Rankers - 26

Average Points per rank - 44.85 (Approximately a 33rd rank).

Ranks - 30th on average points per ranker

Highest Rank - 7

Lowest Rank - 64

Previous Rank - 23-29

Special Version Requested - (23) - 29 - Out of Control Remastered 2008

Ranking Comments - it surprises me that this drops even further than where it placed last time. I thought it got robbed then. When i hear what everyone says about early U2 and how raw they were etc, this is the track I think of. Cause its patchy, production is an issue, but it is so exciting.

 

[John Maddens Lunchbox]

(48) - 28 - Two Hearts Beat as One
(48) - 28 - Two Hearts Beat as One Remastered 2008

Vulture.com ranking and comment -91/218 - Another tour de force for Mr. Adam Clayton, the bass on this created the deepest, most unexpectedly danceable rhythm. As a pop song, it’s well-constructed, and did admirable duty as the record’s second single. But where this song excels is in the dance remix by Steve Lillywhite, which pulls out the bass line and keyboards and digs a solid groove.

Original Comment - Not good enough to be a single, but it was the early days so just finding their feet. Its a great album track though. I rated it 4th highest on the LP. I am fascinated by the love it/hate it rankings here. Not only do we have a 2, we have a 24. I am guessing there are personal stories here. Then we have the 182. Maybe this song killed their grandmother. I seem to be the only one who sides with vulture in the upper middle part of the rankings.

Total Points - 1267.60

Rankers - 29

Average Points per rank - 44.80 (Approximately a 35th rank).

Ranks - 31st on average points per ranker

Highest Rank - 11

Lowest Rank - 118

Previous Rank - 48-28

Special Version Requested - (48) - 28 - Two Hearts Beat as One Remastered 2008

Ranking Comments - This one takes a massive leap, but we don’t have a single top 10 ranking. Last time we had a #2. Incredibly we have 8 rankings between 11 and 14. Im pretty sure this will be the last track not to have a top 10 ranking.

 

[John Maddens Lunchbox]

Next up we will see our first track with 30+ rankings.
We will also see our final tracks with less than 29 rankers.
One of them has only 24 rankers and for it to be this high is incredible. It has the highest points per ranker until we hit #13
We will see our last track after 2000, much earlier than last time.

We still have two tracks that were in the 40s last time, and one that was in the 50s. We will see one of them tomorrow. Time for Bullet the Blue Sky? The other 2 tracks fall from the top 20.

 

[Alex P Keaton]

(23) - 29 - Out of Control
(23) - 29 - Out of Control Remastered 2008

Vulture.com ranking and comment -7/218 - To be fair, “Out of Control” is the actual anthem of the album (as compared to the single, “I Will Follow). “Out of Control” is direct and driving, no fancy percussion or tricks or echoes, every single member of the band playing at 11. There’s a little shift on the bridge custom-made for audience participation by the way of hand claps, arms raised, and then an instrumental break from the drive, strung with some guitar notes and echoing “out of controlllll”s from Bono; it’s just a second to catch your breath because the last verse and chorus are pushing forward even harder — before that ringing, decorous ending.

Original Comment - Product of its time. You Can hear the punk roots. I am actually shocked that I am the highest ranking on the oldest U2 song or close enough. Vulture is on the right track. Boy gets reduced to one track left joining Rattle and Hum, October, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb and All that you cant leave behind.

Total Points - 1166

Rankers - 26

Average Points per rank - 44.85 (Approximately a 33rd rank).

Ranks - 30th on average points per ranker

Highest Rank - 7

Lowest Rank - 64

Previous Rank - 23-29

Special Version Requested - (23) - 29 - Out of Control Remastered 2008

Ranking Comments - it surprises me that this drops even further than where it placed last time. I thought it got robbed then. When i hear what everyone says about early U2 and how raw they were etc, this is the track I think of. Cause its patchy, production is an issue, but it is so exciting.

I was at 15 on this. Quintessential early U2. Vulture writeup nails it. Huge fan. Unranked by Mrs APK. When asked for comment……”this is why I don’t like ranking things. I don’t know why it didn’t make my list, maybe because it was a Tuesday, who knows?”

Debated pointing out that she didn’t make the list on a Tuesday but then decided to keep quiet. Good idea?

Back to the song, yeah, this is early U2 and their punk roots. It really doesn’t get much better IMO….well, except for 14 other songs.

 

[Alex P Keaton]

(33) - 30 - 40
(33) - 30 - 40 Remastered 2008
(33) - 30 - 40 Live Under a Blood Red Sky

Vulture.com ranking and comment -16/218 - The story behind the track’s genesis — the band’s studio time literally running out and being one track short, Bono saying “Let’s do a psalm” — is completely and totally outweighed by the beauty of the recorded performance: Edge standing in on bass, with chords that go straight to the heart, simple but powerful backing vocals, and Bono’s voice, not at its most magnificent, but definitely in his feelings. It is an ode, a tribute, a deep blues — and even though the lyrics were lifted from Psalm 40, they are vague enough to leave space for the nonbeliever to find his or her own meaning in the track. It was likely subconscious, but significant, that the line in “Sunday Bloody Sunday” — “How long must we sing this song?” — that opened the album would be mirrored here at the end.

But you can’t write about “40” without talking about its place in the live show. It would close most of the band’s shows in the ’80s, and was one of those moments that became a crucial part of what U2 was to their fans. The spikiest mohawked punks would stand down, hold hands, put their arms around the people near them and sing their hearts out on the chorus. And there was nothing quite like making your way out of the venue and hearing the refrain echoing off the lobby walls, down the streets, and into the subways. It was — is still — a piece of U2 magic that is hard to explain adequately. It closes a show gently, with civility and unity. It lifts your heart up, which is what a psalm is meant to do, even if you’re a nonbeliever.

Original Comment - Great to close out a show. Great singalong. How many times would you just put this one song on? I thought about adjusting my ranking to put it 7 spots lower, but that would be cheating just for lolz. It is where it is.

Total Points - 1164.25

Rankers - 29

Average Points per rank - 40.15 (Approximately a 42nd rank).

Ranks - 35th on average points per ranker

Highest Rank - 4

Lowest Rank - 79

Previous Rank - 33-30

Special Version Requested -
(33) - 30 - 40 Remastered 2008
(33) - 30 - 40 Live Under a Blood Red Sky

Ranking Comments - Out of all the rankings, only one of us, and he has mentioned this, put it at 40. Not me btw. Although the studio version is the main version, i think we can all agree that Under a Blood Red Sky or seeing it live in the early days is where this track brings memories.

Had it at 52. Unranked by the Mrs. Wish I was old enough to have heard it live in the early days. While it is lovely, I find it dull personally.

 

[Alex P Keaton]

(48) - 28 - Two Hearts Beat as One
(48) - 28 - Two Hearts Beat as One Remastered 2008

Vulture.com ranking and comment -91/218 - Another tour de force for Mr. Adam Clayton, the bass on this created the deepest, most unexpectedly danceable rhythm. As a pop song, it’s well-constructed, and did admirable duty as the record’s second single. But where this song excels is in the dance remix by Steve Lillywhite, which pulls out the bass line and keyboards and digs a solid groove.

Original Comment - Not good enough to be a single, but it was the early days so just finding their feet. Its a great album track though. I rated it 4th highest on the LP. I am fascinated by the love it/hate it rankings here. Not only do we have a 2, we have a 24. I am guessing there are personal stories here. Then we have the 182. Maybe this song killed their grandmother. I seem to be the only one who sides with vulture in the upper middle part of the rankings.

Total Points - 1267.60

Rankers - 29

Average Points per rank - 44.80 (Approximately a 35th rank).

Ranks - 31st on average points per ranker

Highest Rank - 11

Lowest Rank - 118

Previous Rank - 48-28

Special Version Requested - (48) - 28 - Two Hearts Beat as One Remastered 2008

Ranking Comments - This one takes a massive leap, but we don’t have a single top 10 ranking. Last time we had a #2. Incredibly we have 8 rankings between 11 and 14. Im pretty sure this will be the last track not to have a top 10 ranking.

Mrs APK checking in at 18. She likes to rock out to this song, particularly the last verse. No comment from her (poor order of questions by me this morning…..should have asked about this song first…..)

IMO this song drags a bit in the middle and I don’t really love the ending. Regardless, it’s a really good jam, good enough for 33 on my list. Bono spent time on the lyrics, and that matters to me.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

(48) - 28 - Two Hearts Beat as One
(48) - 28 - Two Hearts Beat as One Remastered 2008

Original Comment - Not good enough to be a single,

It was a single in the US.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

40 = 35

Out of Control = 21

Two Hearts Beat as One = 14

40 is a great album and concert closer. I missed it at the only show I saw in the '80s because I had to leave before the encore due to curfew.

Out of Control is one of their great early rockers. The only reason it's not higher is because of the incredible quality of the songs in my top 20.

I was hooked on Two Hearts from the minute I first saw the video on MTV. The bass is fantastic, the stuttering guitar is infectious and Bono's vocals are impassioned without going overboard. Taken together, these things gel into a track that is completely successful yet doesn't really sound like anything else in their catalog.

 

[simey]

40 - I ranked it #16, and chose the Under a Blood Red Sky version. The first time I saw them live they ended the show with this song, and it was awesome. I like the War version too, but the live version is my favorite.

Out of Control - I ranked this song #26. I think it is a fun energetic song.

Two Hearts Beat as One - I ranked this song #36. This is one of those songs where some days I like it better than other days, but I always like it.

 

[simey]

(34) - (31) - Stay (Faraway So Close)

I didn't know this song. I like it.

 

[krista4]

I was at 15 on this. Quintessential early U2. Vulture writeup nails it. Huge fan. Unranked by Mrs APK. When asked for comment……”this is why I don’t like ranking things. I don’t know why it didn’t make my list, maybe because it was a Tuesday, who knows?”

Debated pointing out that she didn’t make the list on a Tuesday but then decided to keep quiet. Good idea?

Back to the song, yeah, this is early U2 and their punk roots. It really doesn’t get much better IMO….well, except for 14 other songs.

Had it at 52. Unranked by the Mrs. Wish I was old enough to have heard it live in the early days. While it is lovely, I find it dull personally.

I would like to sign on to APK's comments above. I had Out of Control at #22, for the reasons he cited, and 40 at #59 (by far my lowest ranked song remaining), for the reasons he cited. We've talked about 40 before in terms of live vs. studio recordings, and I can see why it would be held in high esteem as a live performance, but the studio version is good but kinda dull.

 

[krista4]

Two Hearts Beat as One = 14

I was hooked on Two Hearts from the minute I first saw the video on MTV. The bass is fantastic, the stuttering guitar is infectious and Bono's vocals are impassioned without going overboard. Taken together, these things gel into a track that is completely successful yet doesn't really sound like anything else in their catalog.

And I'd like to sign on to Pip's evaluation of Two Hearts Beat As One. This was probably the song that shocked me the most when I was doing my ranking. For some reason I'd had it in my head as being kind of an upper-middling-level song, and even now when I saw it come up in the countdown, before looking at my rankings I figured I must have had it in the 40s. Nope, it was my #12, and in fact had skated around in my top 10 for a while. I'm not sure why I have such a mental block on this song, but just listening to it again I remembered why I had it so high, and Pip's description hits on a lot of that. The bass part is fire, and I'm a sucker for a great bass line, but the guitars and the vocal are also infectious, and I love Pip's description of the guitar part as "stuttering," which is a perfect way to characterize why it's infectious. As he said, Bono is impassioned but not overboard. The propulsion offered by those three elements makes this as exciting a song to me as any of their works.

 

[Brony]

Great stretch of songs. I had
Forty - 40 (I was doing my first cut of rankings by tiers and 40 shook out at 39, so I moved it to 40 cause I'm good like that)
Out of Control - 17
Two Hearts Beat as One - 24

Really enjoy the energy of Out of Control and Two Hearts. In later albums, I find myself gravitating to the slower songs, but I'm the opposite on their early stuff.
40 definitely gets a strong bump cause of the live shows. Without those experiences, it would probably be around 100. But it brings back great memories and is one of the few songs where hearing it immediately connects me to a live show rather than the album experience.

 

[Anarchy99]

I was the one that had Two Hearts #2 the first time around. That might have been a little bit overzealous, so I dropped it to #11 this time. Like all of the songs, my ranking will vary from day to day based on my mood. Sitting here right now, I might rank Two Hearts even lower (not in the mood for anything loud). Tomorrow it could be back in my Top 5 if I am feeling peppier. I've been in more of an alternative mood lately and have been binging The Cure. Two Hearts doesn't fit so well with The Cure.

 

[Anarchy99]

I always thought "40" was just ok. Good but not great. It never really grabbed me. Basically, two verses and a chorus that repeats over and over again. IMO, it shouldn't get bonus points for drunk people singing along to close out a show (and continue the chorus while walking to the parking lot). Very repetitive and not exactly covering any new ground musically speaking. Singalong songs usually get a bump. I had it at 80.

 

[Nemesis]

30 "40" Last second add to the album before being thrown out of the studio....Adam had already gone home when they recorded this, so Edge played both guitar & bass.
Audio on the UABRS album is NOT from Red Rocks.........it was recorded during the Rockpalast Festival in Germany
This is the actual performance from Red Rocks

Tempe AZ 1987 Outtake Footage that didn't make R&H 12/20/1987 (YES....THAT famous concert! at the 6:30 mark you can see Adam playing lead guitar & at 6:45 mark, you can clearly see Edge playing the bass.)


29 Out of Control one of their very 1st songs written. Was included on their 1979 3-song EP release "Three"
Producer from CBS Records made them play it over and over in the studio until they got it right.

28 Two Hearts In March 1983, BOTH "Two Hearts" & "SBS" were released as singles in different regions.
"Two Hearts" (US, UK, Ireland, & Australia, & rest of the world)
"SBS" (Germany, Netherlands, Spain, & Brazil)
("40" was not released as a commercial single, but rather as a promotional single in Germany.)

The video depicts U2 performing on a rooftop at the Sacré-Coeur Basilica in Montmartre, Paris, with the city laid out in the background (Eifel Tower in the distance at the 0:18 second mark & again at the 3:00 mark).

 

[Pip's Invitation]

I was the one that had Two Hearts #2 the first time around. That might have been a little bit overzealous, so I dropped it to #11 this time. Like all of the songs, my ranking will vary from day to day based on my mood. Sitting here right now, I might rank Two Hearts even lower (not in the mood for anything loud). Tomorrow it could be back in my Top 5 if I am feeling peppier. I've been in more of an alternative mood lately and have been binging The Cure. Two Hearts doesn't fit so well with The Cure.

Love Cats is the Cure’s Two Hearts Beat as One. Or something like that.

 

[simey]

IMO, it shouldn't get bonus points for drunk people singing along to close out a show (and continue the chorus while walking to the parking lot). Very repetitive and not exactly covering any new ground musically speaking. Singalong songs usually get a bump.

I think it is a fitting song to end the War album with, and I think it is a good song to close a U2 concert with. The song is simple, and was derived from the book of Psalms in the Bible, and I find it uplifting. What makes the live version special for me, is all the people enjoying and embracing a moment of happiness, and singing a spiritual song back to a spiritual band who ended the evening on a spiritual note. Personally, I think a lot of the Bible is fiction, but the book of Psalms is made up of poems and hymns. You don't have to be religious or spiritual to find or feel some encouraging or healing messages to live by in the book of Psalms. Anyway, when I saw them end the evening with this song, the band didn't leave all together. They all left individually during the song, and the last person to go was Larry. You didn't have to be drunk or chemically impaired in any way to feel the spirit of the night wrapped up in the song. Just listening to it live on the album captures the spirit.

 

[Anarchy99]

IMO, it shouldn't get bonus points for drunk people singing along to close out a show (and continue the chorus while walking to the parking lot). Very repetitive and not exactly covering any new ground musically speaking. Singalong songs usually get a bump.

I think it is a fitting song to end the War album with, and I think it is a good song to close a U2 concert with. The song is simple, and was derived from the book of Psalms in the Bible, and I find it uplifting. What makes the live version special for me, is all the people enjoying and embracing a moment of happiness, and singing a spiritual song back to a spiritual band who ended the evening on a spiritual note. Personally, I think a lot of the Bible is fiction, but the book of Psalms is made up of poems and hymns. You don't have to be religious or spiritual to find or feel some encouraging or healing messages to live by in the book of Psalms. Anyway, when I saw them end the evening with this song, the band didn't leave all together. They all left individually during the song, and the last person to go was Larry. You didn't have to be drunk or chemically impaired in any way to feel the spirit of the night wrapped up in the song. Just listening to it live on the album captures the spirit.

I get that concerts ending with "40" were a unifying and bonding experience. They ended with that on the War and TJT shows I went to. Good times. Fun and memorable experience. That being said, I still don't think it's much of a standalone song. It's not one I will search for when I am in a U2 kind of a mood, and there's about a 50% chance I would skip it if it came up on shuffle play. Of course, I will play an entire show and listen to it at the end and walk away satisfied thinking it was a great show and that was a great way to end it. I guess I have a hard time ranking it just on its own.

 

[Grace Under Pressure]

(33) - 30 - 40
(33) - 30 - 40 Remastered 2008
(33) - 30 - 40 Live Under a Blood Red Sky

(48) - 28 - Two Hearts Beat as One
(48) - 28 - Two Hearts Beat as One Remastered 2008

(23) - 29 - Out of Control
(23) - 29 - Out of Control Remastered 2008

These are 3 huge U2 songs. I'm at 21 on 40, 23 on Two Hearts, and 46 on Out of Control.

40 is the live set ending, memory trip inducing, instant nostalgia producing tune that brings us back to when a band could unify 10s of thousands of us. Even if just for a short time.

Two Hearts and Out of Control are early staples. Foundational U2. I could have bumped up Out of Control a bit. All good though.

It feels like we've entered iconic territory.

 

[John Maddens Lunchbox]

(15) - 27 - City of Blinding Lights

Vulture.com ranking and comment -20/218 - It’s U2’s best New York song, capturing their love of the city and the mythology of it. It’s one of those songs with dozens of layers of meaning, and one of the particular ones that transformed once it was in front of U2 fans — specifically New Yorker U2 fans. “Oh, you look so beautiful tonight,” is the kind of line that only Bono can get away with singing to 20,000 people and sincerely meaning from the bottom of his heart. It is about the love of a big city, and about how you can both lose and find yourself there. “Time won’t leave me as I am / But time won’t take the boy out of this man,” Bono sings. The opening chords feel like walking through New York when the snow has just started to fall. It is a moment full of optimism and hope.

Original Comment - My favourite U2 track of this century and I have it top 5 overall. Everything they do well is here on this track. This is ranked 20 higher than the next track of the last 20 years. Some achievement. We really are getting to the major tracks now. The #82 ranking drops this significantly. If it were at 26, this finishes 6th. Even a 54 gets it to 10th. Has shades of New Years Day in the Piano work.

Total Points - 1334.40

Rankers - 27

Average Points per rank - 49.42 (Approximately a 26th rank).

Ranks - 26th on average points per ranker

Highest Rank - 2

Lowest Rank - 142

Previous Rank - 15-27

Special Version Requested - None

Ranking Comments - We will now start seeing way more top 10 rankings. This one has 3 in the top 5 and five overall in the top 10. It has a strong set of next tier rankings with 12 rankings between 18 and 32. It just diesnt have enough that put this in the top 25 to bring it to where it was last time. Maybe 27 overall is fair enough. I dont think so but on all metrics its in the right spot

 

[John Maddens Lunchbox]

Not sure if i will do 1 or 2 next.
The next one easily eclipses the top 10 tally of any song to date. It has 9. With an 11, three 12s and a 13, so 14 top 13 rankings. After that we have a 24 then everything else is below 35. It also strangely only has 24 rankings, so winds up at 26. With more than half the people ranking it rating ut very higHly it is a surprise to see it fall out of the top 20. With 24 votes here, all but one from one now on has 30 or more.

 

[simey]

(15) - 27 - City of Blinding Lights

I ranked this song #45. I wasn't sure if I had ranked it or not, but I checked my list and I did. It's a good song on an album I didn't listen to a lot, and when I did I usually played "Vertigo" on repeat.

 

[simey]

Not sure if i will do 1 or 2 next.

I think you should do a trio.

 

[krista4]

City of Blinding Lights was my #18. I kept moving it around along with Every Breaking Wave and Song for Someone as my three "new-ish songs I really loved." It ended up in the highest slot of the three, and I love its energy. That beginning really pulls me in to an exciting trip all along the way.

 

[krista4]

So Bullet the Blue Sky is going to make the top 25, eh? Congrats to @Pip's Invitation!

 

[Pip's Invitation]

City of Blinding Lights = 45. It’s quite the experience. Rich arrangement with a bit of Where the Streets-style energy.

 

[Alex P Keaton]

City of Blinding Lights was my #18. I kept moving it around along with Every Breaking Wave and Song for Someone as my three "new-ish songs I really loved." It ended up in the highest slot of the three, and I love its energy. That beginning really pulls me in to an exciting trip all along the way.

I had it at 21. Never knew it was about NY until this board, and now I love it even more. And thanks for the reminder that I left out Every Breaking Wave.

 

[Grace Under Pressure]

I'm not that good at being aware of which songs haven't come up yet. Because of that, I was a bit surprised to see City of Blinding Lights come up now.

It's a great, great song. I'm a big fan. I have it ranked at 48, but that's no knock. This is a rising anthem, definitely one of the best post-2000 U2 tunes. Absolutely love it.

Excellent job on getting it ranked this high! I can't really take any credit for that, but hey. That's never really stopped me before.

 

[John Maddens Lunchbox]

So Bullet the Blue Sky is going to make the top 25, eh? Congrats to @Pip's Invitation!

Not so fast....i still have #26 to do......ah, who am i kidding its not BTBS. It doesnt have 14 top 13 rankings lol

 

[krista4]

Not sure if i will do 1 or 2 next.
The next one easily eclipses the top 10 tally of any song to date. It has 9. With an 11, three 12s and a 13, so 14 top 13 rankings. After that we have a 24 then everything else is below 35. It also strangely only has 24 rankings, so winds up at 26. With more than half the people ranking it rating ut very higHly it is a surprise to see it fall out of the top 20. With 24 votes here, all but one from one now on has 30 or more.

Not so fast....i still have #26 to do......ah, who am i kidding its not BTBS. It doesnt have 14 top 13 rankings lol

I had interpreted the bold above to mean it was in the top 20 on the prior countdown, but I might have misread it. That's why I didn't think it could be BTBS.

 

[John Maddens Lunchbox]

(17) - 26 - So Cruel

Vulture.com ranking and comment - Our hero has lost his campaign to win back his sweetheart, and now he is left to face his desolation. It’s time to descend into bitterness: “I gave you everything you ever wanted / It wasn’t what you wanted.” The theme of betrayal loomed large over Achtung Baby with the end of the Edge’s marriage, the alienation of Berlin in the winter, and the band uncertain this wasn’t going to be the end of U2. “Between the horses of love and lust / We are trampled underfoot,” Bono sings. The question, then, is whether you get up from the ground or surrender.

Original Comment - Excellent look at the intracaies of relationships. Wrapped in a sweet melody. Not sure what Vultures deal is with this one, but none of us are close to their ranking.

Total Points - 1340.85

Rankers - 24

Average Points per rank - 56.86 (Approximately a 16th rank).

Ranks - 18th on average points per ranker

Highest Rank - 4

Lowest Rank - 112

Previous Rank - 17-26

Special Version Requested - None

Ranking Comments - 14 of the 24 votes have this at 13 or higher. Its average vote per ranker should place where it was last time, but for some reason this song didnt register on almost half the lists. From now on we have nothing but 3/4s of the rankers investing in a song. IMHO This song is one of the best non single songs from the band. Passion, truth and not a fake note anywhere. A masterpiece.

 

[krista4]

What was the Vulture ranking on "So Cruel"?

For me, it was #13 and easily could have been in the top 10. Not only not a "fake note" anywhere, but not a misplaced note anywhere. I agree it's a masterpiece.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

(17) - 26 - So Cruel

I had it at 79. I suspect everything else left is much higher on my list.

I like the song but the pacing drags a bit for me, which places it in the lower half of the Achtung songs in my mind. My younger self when the CD was on was just waiting for it to get to The Fly and Mysterious Ways.

 

[John Maddens Lunchbox]

Our next song is our first somg to crack 30 votes with 31, and its the only reason it is above So Cruel.
It only has 6 top 13 votes and 14 in the top 25. Where it makes up ground is lots of votes in the upper middle territory between 26 and 60 with 15 votes there.
It is one of the only 3 left that placed over 40th last time. Is it Bullet the Blue Sky? Mathematically its a 33% chance.

 

[simey]

(17) - 26 - So Cruel

I ranked this song #37. I love the song, and wasn't sure where to rank it. My favorite part of the song is the lyrics. I went back and forth on where to place it. The higher/lower thing screws with my head, because I'm in the same camp as Binky. My favorite number is 37, so I decided to place it there.

 

[Alex P Keaton]

(17) - 26 - So Cruel

Vulture.com ranking and comment - Our hero has lost his campaign to win back his sweetheart, and now he is left to face his desolation. It’s time to descend into bitterness: “I gave you everything you ever wanted / It wasn’t what you wanted.” The theme of betrayal loomed large over Achtung Baby with the end of the Edge’s marriage, the alienation of Berlin in the winter, and the band uncertain this wasn’t going to be the end of U2. “Between the horses of love and lust / We are trampled underfoot,” Bono sings. The question, then, is whether you get up from the ground or surrender.

Original Comment - Excellent look at the intracaies of relationships. Wrapped in a sweet melody. Not sure what Vultures deal is with this one, but none of us are close to their ranking.

Total Points - 1340.85

Rankers - 24

Average Points per rank - 56.86 (Approximately a 16th rank).

Ranks - 18th on average points per ranker

Highest Rank - 4

Lowest Rank - 112

Previous Rank - 17-26

Special Version Requested - None

Ranking Comments - 14 of the 24 votes have this at 13 or higher. Its average vote per ranker should place where it was last time, but for some reason this song didnt register on almost half the lists. From now on we have nothing but 3/4s of the rankers investing in a song. IMHO This song is one of the best non single songs from the band. Passion, truth and not a fake note anywhere. A masterpiece.

I had this at 48 (????) but have always loved it. Could easily be as high as 20 on any given day, depending on my mood. As mentioned by @simey the lyrics are the best part. But I do also like Bono’s falsetto. It’s a tragically beautiful song.

 

[Alex P Keaton]

(17) - 26 - So Cruel

I had it at 79. I suspect everything else left is much higher on my list.

I like the song but the pacing drags a bit for me, which places it in the lower half of the Achtung songs in my mind. My younger self when the CD was on was just waiting for it to get to The Fly and Mysterious Ways.

Even though it meant you also were just a couple songs away from Tryin to Throw Your Arms Around the World?

 

[krista4]

I ranked this song #37. I love the song, and wasn't sure where to rank it. My favorite part of the song is the lyrics. I went back and forth on where to place it. The higher/lower thing screws with my head, because I'm in the same camp as Binky. My favorite number is 37, so I decided to place it there.

I had this at 48 (????) but have always loved it. Could easily be as high as 20 on any given day, depending on my mood. As mentioned by @simey the lyrics are the best part. But I do also like Bono’s falsetto. It’s a tragically beautiful song.

You monsters.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

I ranked this song #37. I love the song, and wasn't sure where to rank it. My favorite part of the song is the lyrics. I went back and forth on where to place it. The higher/lower thing screws with my head, because I'm in the same camp as Binky. My favorite number is 37, so I decided to place it there.

I had this at 48 (????) but have always loved it. Could easily be as high as 20 on any given day, depending on my mood. As mentioned by @simey the lyrics are the best part. But I do also like Bono’s falsetto. It’s a tragically beautiful song.

You monsters.

And I ranked it even lower do what does that make me?