this time, dreamed about u2. they were still on tour and they were doing this thing where the first 10 or so fans got to sit on the stage during the show. so of course that caused more riots than now it is now haha. but i went to a show and i got to sit on stage. it was really just sitting on the side of the stage and it sorta sucked cuz you couldn’t really see them. just hear it. i went to a 2nd show, got onstage again, but this time we got to actually sit on stage where people could see you. so i’m sitting in the middle of the stage near edge, who was on adam’s normal side though. edge was playing a steel drum that was made out of plastic and lit up each time he hit it. they finished that song, which apparently was from pop, and the crowd started chanting more pop more pop more pop. the show went on, and there was one song, where 2 other girls came and were sitting by me. bono came over and the 2 girls stood up and were all over bono and dancing with him. and i didn’t want to make an ass out of myself, so i scootched over and was like, i’m just gonna sit here and chill with edge, who was also now sitting on the stage. so i did, and he was all happy cuz he finally got a girl instead of bono. so he’s all cuddly with me and totally feels me up hahahah. then bono comes over to “fight for me” with edge, but he sorta looks like mick jagger close up, and i’m like wow bono you got so unattractive with age. i guess the show ends shortly after that, and i’m leaving and run into eric and i tell him how fun it is to be on stage for a show, and he’s like yeah duh. and there was this other girl there who had been on stage too, it was her 15th show, and she was all bragging. and then u2 was apparently playing jamestown the next day lol.
there is an article on yahoo right now about how bono’s poverty campaigning almost split up u2. and you know what, the rest of the band has every reason to be irritated or whatever about bono turning into a fucking politician. “But Bono said he now feels the other band members recognize that U2’s audience appreciates what he is doing.”….we appreciated it in the “off season” between albums, between making a shitty record, between tours. you are a bloody rockstar bono, act like it! more of us miss the OLD bono, than appreciate the NEW bono. i don’t care if you spend every dollar you have on political and economical causes, but first and foremost, you’re in a rock band. you can talk to president bush and everyone else til you turn blue about poverty, and african debt, etc. but when i go to a ROCK CONCERT i don’t want to hear about it. i don’t want to hear the declaration for human rights, i already know it. you’ve converted every fan that you can already, to your causes, to the one campaign. you’re not gonna reach anyone else. give it up. save it for the down time. “They are hugely supportive spiritually and financially of the work I do, but they are in a rock ‘n ‘roll band, and the first job of a rock ‘n ‘roll band is not to be dull,” Bono told British Broadcasting Corp. radio. and you know what, you ARE boring now. i’ve decided that’s my problem with bono and this year’s tour. it’s not exciting, it’s not fun. u2 has always been a political band, had a sarejevo hookup during zoo tv, always championed various causes. but it’s gone way too far now. i don’t care if bono supports the right for grass to grow in sidewalk cracks, i don’t want to go to a show and hear about it. it’s just become really obvious that bono cares more about his causes than this 25 year old music career. he even said it himself, that he’d rather be remembered for the good work he has accomplished politically than for his music. and it’s just beyond apparent now. you can tell when you see him, or read interviews, or attend a show. it makes me sad. i don’t want to go to a rock concert and listen to and see just another puffed up bull shitting politician. i can get that at home on the news. i want to go and see a good, exciting, fun rock show. and that’s not what you get from u2 anymore. sorry bono. i did love you. i just can’t right now. enough already. go back into the studio and create a good fucking record, leave the political work to the politicians.
you said you would wait til the end of the world….
u2 in buffalo tonight. kate wanted to go early and i was not about to sit outside in the freezing buffalo cold all day. she was kinda mad, but adrienne said she’d go, so the 2 of them went at 3:30. turns out they got to sit inside the whole time haha. i didn’t get there til around 5:30 and leighanne didn’t get there til around 6. she found me in line, and we had both forgotten our u2.com membership info so we had to go in the regular loser line hahaha. anyway. we ended up right behind adr and kate on the floor anyway, so it was all good.
then we almost got in a fight. at a fucking u2 show LOL. and it was not just us, it was the 4 of us, and 2 other girls who almost got in a fight with this girl and guy. here’s the story. la la la we’re all standing on the floor waiting for u2. and suddenly this girl gets up in front of the people next to us and she has big signs. then suddenly she’s in front of kate with the signs. kate starts getting pissed as well as this blond girl next to leighanne. kate finally says something to the girl, who says something back (i couldn’t hear) but it ends up with the girl not moving. well the story is that this girl has a friend being held hostage in iraq…and i guess this gave her the right to get up front at a u2 show so bono could see her sign…cuz bono can call over to iraq and have prisoners freed. ok whatever. so then we’re all being bitchy and making comments about iraq and having friends there blahblahblah. catty girl stuff haha. then for some reason the security guard talks to the girl, and this guy who is apparently with her pushes up to talk to him. then stays there. so the blond girl freaks out and is like “are you going to go back there now” and the guy just says no. so blond girl is PISSED and goes to find a security guard to get the guy out. well this leads to more of all of us being catty and bitchy. lei said something, and the guy just starts staring at her. so i start staring at him. he finally looks at me and we talk all snotty to eachother about how we’re having such a good time. then he goes back to staring at lei, says something to her, and she just snapped. “just shut the fuck up, do you know how fucking annoying you are being and how much you’re pissing everyone off….” it continued with more fucks etc. we’re all laughing. then theres this red haired girl next to the blond girl who is all pissed too. as soon as u2 came on pretty much, red head got security to finally get these people to move. so they did, but stopped right next to me, out of sight of the security guard. whatever. they weren’t in front of us anymore.
ok so that’s the fight. the opener was institute, gavin rossdale’s new band. and him just walking on stage with all his hotness was enough to make them better than the other u2 openers hahaha. the music was bush-ish, and they played 2 bush songs. so it was alright. and he was just so hot gah. hahaha
u2 was good. of course i can find something to complain about but i’m not going to, because surprise surprise we got “until the end of the world” back into the set and “mysterious ways” and both fucking rocked. that achtung baby encore again. they replaced “miracle drug” with “original of the species” which was a nice change. added “stuck in a moment” to one of the encores…and since u2 was in buffalo 25 years ago the day john lennon was killed there were alot of references and beatles/lennon song inserts into the show…sgt peppers, some christmas thing, and the entire “instant karma” song during the encore. it was a fun show. no one has ever accused bono of not talking alot at shows haha. he was typical bono in that regard. but yeah. good show. “until the end of the world” was great, and funny cuz bono started chasing edge around the ellipse. they brought a belly dancer girl from the crowd up on stage for “mysterious ways”, and kept her to dance with for all of “with or without you”, which occured directly in front of us haha. “yahweh” was still awful, but i completely tuned it out and didn’t even realize when the song was over LOL. i can’t think of anything to mention at the moment.
went to pearl street brewery after the show, cuz this guy on myspace has a u2 cover band which were playing there after the show. so we got dinner and drinks, and i had the best beer ever. it wasn’t guiness but it was their own guiness type beer, and it seriously was so good. could be bad news in the future hahaha. jk.
*edit 4-22-09* setlist from u2gigs.com…i SO don’t remember gloria or original of the species
1. City Of Blinding Lights
2. Vertigo / Help (snippet)
3. Elevation
4. Gloria
5. The Ocean
6. I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For / In A Little While (snippet)
7. Beautiful Day / Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (snippet) / Happy Christmas (War Is Over) (snippet)
8. Original Of The Species
9. Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own
10. Love And Peace Or Else
11. Sunday Bloody Sunday / Rock The Casbah (snippet)
12. Bullet The Blue Sky / The Hands That Built America (snippet) / When Johnny Comes Marching Home (snippet)
13. Miss Sarajevo
14. Pride (In The Name Of Love)
15. Where The Streets Have No Name / All You Need Is Love (snippet)
16. One / Help (snippet)
encore(s):
17. Until The End Of The World
18. Mysterious Ways
19. With Or Without You
20. Stuck In A Moment You Can’t Get Out Of
21. Instant Karma!
22. Yahweh
23. 40
walked to walgreens cuz i have nothing to do in the hotel room. was tempted to dye my hair blue for tomorrow but i know it’ll just bleach orange, and then blue on top of orange is puke, so it would be horrible. but i managed to finally find the bono rolling stone mag out right now. i can’t get through the article, it’s massively long and i’m just not in the mood. but he looks good in it. and he makes a quote on the current album that is right on: “it’s the best collection of songs we’ve put together – there’s no weak songs. (i disagree of course) but as an album, the whole isn’t greater than the sum of its parts, and it fucking annoys me.” hahah great!!
i’m sick.
so i bought a bottle of absinthe. the kind i got, i got based partly on reviews i read, and because it looked like it had a cool label. got it today, and holy crap it really does have the coolest label ever. once we drink it on the mini tour i’m totally filling it back up with green water to display.
heather is gonna come visit on sunday and go photograph at the terminal. so i get to go freeze my ass off again hahah. all good.
there was something else i was going to say but i forget what it was.
oh yeah. kate decided to go to the u2 detroit show after all. but my ebay auction had bids and only 3 hours left so i couldn’t cancel it. we tried to use kates account to super bid so she’d guarantee to win it, but ebay was broken and we couldn’t bid. i cancelled the first 2 bids and figured if it was broken, no one else could bid. but someone managed to bid for 100$ and win, so i had to tell them i couldnt see the tickets cuz i was going to use them afterall. shitty. hope he doesn’t turn me into ebay.
i wish it could have been any other way…
*sigh* today was crap. turns out i wasn’t a 10pm start today, so i was an hour and a half late to work. they made me a 10 start so that i wouldn’t get any points, and still got out as 4 as always with the late starts. sucked but turned out ok. i am a 10 tomorrow however. fine. and i am a 10 NEXT friday. none of this makes me look good anymore. not sure i mentioned it, but u2 detroit is in jeopardy. we have mandatory customer service training at work, and of course my scheduled day is the 24th, the day of the show. i had requested the 23/24 off 2 months ago but they won’t give it to me because of this training. shift manager talked to me on tuesday about why i needed it off, which i lied of course, family reunion was my excuse and that my parents are making me go even though i don’t want to. he said he’d see what he could do, but i wouldn’t be surprised if they don’t switch my day. and i don’t know what that means for me. hopefully i find out if they can or cannot switch my day, and if i’ll get fired for not showing up so i can sell my ticket, or kate can take both and go with someone else, or something. i could use 300$ from selling the ticket but kate will be devastated.
and today was crap cuz i was just really depressed. i think the drugs have been working for the most part. none of the reasons behind my mood have gone away, they just aren’t bothering me anymore, and i’m not thinking about them constantly. which is part of my whole problem with the field of psychology and why i decided not to continue to phd level. i do have my first appt with the shrink on wednesday however. today was just…blah. another day wasted with me doing nothing, me getting upset and crying for the first time in a while. just thinking about things again and yuck.
and i’m completely freaking out with the probability of meeting trent reznor at one of the next 5 shows. because it is going to happen, and i will friggen make a total fool of myself and it’ll be awful. i’ll be able to die with my life complete, but i’ll still probably throw up.
i always wanted a craftmatic adjustable bed when i was a kid. i only just recently realized that it’s basically a hospital bed.
bearing all catastrophe, tonight was my last night flooring. i looked at my schedule for next week and i am back on the dealers schedule. i also apparently forgot to request off for oktoberfest…so i need to find someone to pick saturday up for me or i’ll be using my last sick day for it…and i like to have a buffer day. ah well. i was afraid that everyone in upper management was mad at me…no one said 2 words to me all day today. finally the shift manager, around 2, mentioned me having one day left til the switch, and he was fairly cheerful and didn’t seem mad. so that’s good, cuz i didn’t want to deal with immaturity.
ok and friday did it, i’m totally in love with bono again. the 3 shows this tour haven’t given me the feeling that hamilton did, i’m not sure anything can, but yeah. in love with bono again. but that mother fucker played discotheque at tonights show. I KNEW THAT WOULD HAPPEN. and apparently eddie vedder dropped by.
the boot of wednesday night sounds great. real good quality. friday hasn’t appeared yet, hope it does.
and we’ll shine like stars in the winter
my GOD was this show better than wednesday.
we didn’t head up to toronto til adr1’s plane arrived, and we got up there around noon. we ended up being in line behind the same woman we were behind on wednesday, who is named sandy. talked with her alot today, which was cool. and we were maybe 10 feet behind where we were in line on wednesday. they had already split the lines up – and this time, since there had been no presale for this show, you could be in the u2.com line without having presale tickets. great, i left my membership at home thinking we couldn’t use it. good thing kate and lei had their’s, cuz you were allowed to bring a friend. so that allowed us to be much farther up in line than we thought when we first saw it. nice. it rained all day, and was chilly. eh whatever.
so doors open, lei scans first and takes off when she didn’t get into the ellipse. my ticket scanned for inside. i was probably the least enthusiastic about scanning for inside the ellipse ever, cuz it didn’t really matter to me. but i took adr1 inside with me, and we ended up barrier right in front of edge. nice. kate was outside on adam’s side, and lei was same place as wednesday on the outside. let’s find the setlist…
City Of Blinding Lights
Vertigo
Elevation
Electric Co.
The Ocean
Beautiful Day
Miracle Drug
Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own
Love & Peace Or Else
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Bullet The Blue Sky
Miss Sarajevo
Pride
Where The Streets Have No Name
One (w/Daniel Lanois)
The Fly
With Or Without You
All Because Of You
Fast Cars
Yahweh
Out Of Control (with 4 fans playing, band took over at end)
40 (with adam playing guitar and edge playing bass)
ok i wanna say, bono was way friggen hot tonight. haha. his voice has sounded pretty good most of the time, especially considering he’s doing a bit of opera. daniel lanois came out at the end of “one” and took over bono’s guitar, which was cool. he’s still dorky tho haha. “the fly” was much better tonight than wednesday. bono had way more energy, way more of a stage presence, almost like zootv bono. it was hot haha. “fast cars” 2nd time ever playing (first time was monday), and it was way cool. it’s an extra track on the new album, if you bought the special book release. very very cool. nice mariachi dancing from bono and guitar from edge. i’ll say it again..way hot haha. where’s the cardboard?! haha of course, out of film by that point cuz i forgot my digital and went and got a disposable from lei when i got barrier inside. oh well. “out of control” was a nice surprise, and they brought up 4 guys who had a sign that their band wanted to play with u2. so they started the song and then u2 took over, which was awesome. “40” was great, as they weren’t going to play it, but bono asked the rest of the band if they could play one more. so they did that, then one by one left the stage, larry being last. it was a really nice way to end the show. apparently there were cameras taping the whole show, as reported by lei, but adr and i only saw them up front filming the audience between songs once, and then onstage for “all because of you” and “fast cars”…bono said something about us being on tv. i dunno what that was all about. it’d be nice to see a video of fast cars, cuz…it was hot 🙂 from u2.com: “No sooner had the band caught their breath than director Lian Lunson – she of
the acclaimed Leonard Cohen documentary I’m Your Man,
premiered in the city earlier this week – is up on stage with a film crew. The
band are playing Fast Cars again, only the second live performance ever (Don’t
laugh!’ says Bono) and it is being committed to film. (Who knows what for ?
Guess we’ll find out soon enough.) The director gets a kiss on the cheek as she
takes her crew off stage and it’s a time for celebrations – this being the
eightieth birthday of the one and only BB King.
”
oh yeah. before “yahweh” bono starts talking about how it’s somebody’s birthday…bb king’s birthday. so at this point everyone starts freaking out that bb king is there, and that they’ll play “when love comes to town”. bono’s such a tease. but it was bb’s birthday, so bono CALLED HIM from the end of the ellipse and everyone sang happy birthday to bb. he definitely needed my horns at that point, macphisto throwback moment. haha.
oh, and yeah i got a guitar pick. it’s black with a shiny red target on it. it’s either from the tour, or sold by Target stores hahaha (that was a joke).
yeah. i don’t have much to say about the show, but it was just so much better than wednesday. the little add ons, the (slight) change in set list, it was just better. i’ll still be pissed if they play something from pop tomorrow. the idea of calling in and going up again tomorrow passed through us, but rumor is tickets are running 500$ from the scalpers. yikes. i can wait a month til detroit.
in other news, adr2 decided to go to san diego for nin. she text me from the show that they stopped because of a medical emergency – jerome was having chest pains. the show was cancelled and rescheduled for november some time. scary.
and we’ll shine like stars on a summer night…
today was day 1 of 2 u2 shows in toronto this week. i actually had been not at all excited about it just given how much everything sucks lately. after boston not going well, and being disappointed in the show itself, i was just not looking forward to seeing them 4 more times.
well they did a better job this time. actually a lot better. tho i still have complaints.
it was great because they massively rearranged the set list. it was no longer all new stuff, and really really old stuff for the first half, and then doing a greatest hits set before going into the achtung encore. they mixed it up nicely through the main set, they sounded better, bono wasn’t limping and in pain. it was definitely alot better. my complaint is that they played a whole TWO songs from achtung. “one” and “the fly”. no “until the end of the world” which is a tragedy really. we DID get “with or without you” this time, which was great cuz i miss it. we also got “bad”…unfortunately “miss sarejevo” replaced “running to stand still”…as expected there was no “who’s gonna ride your wild horses” as that seemed to be a special treat for the final boston show. i’ll find a real setlist somewhere. they brought daniel lanois, one of their long time producers, out at the end of “bad” as he’s from hamilton.
we got up there around 6:30am, and were around 35 in line (we got numbered by the line nazi – holy crap i remembered this lady from hamilton in 2001, but it wasn’t as bad as today…she numbered everyone, ok cool…later she went and stamped some ppl with a stamp that she was saying was bono’s lips…then as people are trying to sleep in line, she decides to do what the employees of the air canada center are supposed to do, which was to move and arrange all the metal barriers…we happened to have at least 6 behind where we were sitting, and by the end i was like, can i ask what is the point of all this? shes like, well people are going to jump in line ahead of you, and security is gonna do it anyway…SO LET THEM. later she came by and asked if she could use our sidewalk chalk so i guess it was a truce. didn’t mean we stopped making fun of her tho haha). i somehow managed to sleep in a folding stadium chair for a few hours. with lots of loud traffic around. amazing. spent the rest of the day coloring, and drawing with chalk, and reading etc.
once inside, none of our tickets scanned for inside the ellipse, so kate headed to adam’s side, and me lei and james headed to edge’s side. all 4 of us were at barrier for the whole show, on the outside of the ellipse. and i like that much better than being inside, cuz you can just see everything. on the way in someone had lost their devil horns, so finders keepers i wore them for the whole show haha. and now for my teenie bopper fan girl moment, during “streets” bono was walking along the ellipse over by us, and he absolutely 100% dead sure made eye contact with me, and started smiling cuz of my horns. and i almost threw up haha. it was so exciting hahahahah. a few people down from us was “Mrs Edge” from interference who lei used to talk to. she belly dances and was dressed up. even though they didn’t do “mysterious ways” (complete lack of achtung what?) bono found her and brought her on stage during “bad” which was totally cool. i’d die. there were some tough parts, teary parts i should say, through the show but i totally lost it during “one”. i’m a retard. hahah. how cliche, crying during “hurt” and now crying during “one” again. at least last time, i had the excuse of u2’s sept 11th tribute at hamilton during “one” and all the emotions running high from all that 4 years ago. this time i have no excuse i’m just lame haha.
one of the funny things about the day, was this crazy homeless black guy that was at the NIN shows was at this show too. he’s a pretty good homeless dude, as he actually sort of performs for money. he does crazy song rant things, and is rather entertaining in a black homeless crack head kinda way. and the same scalpers were there as at NIN and i hate the one guy i wanted to hit him.
but yeah….it was good. excited for friday. hopefully we get some set changes, and some big songs back into the show. we’ll see. adr arrives fri morning so we’ll probably get up there this time around noon. hoping to still do ok in line.
1. Vertigo
2. The Electric Co.
3. Elevation
4. Beautiful Day
5. I
Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For
6. City Of Blinding Lights
7.
Miracle Drug
8. Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own
9. Love And Peace
Or Else
10. Sunday Bloody Sunday
11. Bullet The Blue Sky
12. Miss
Sarajevo
13. Pride (In The Name Of Love)
14. Where The Streets Have No
Name
15. One
16. The Fly
17. With Or Without You
18. All Because
Of You
19. Yahweh
20. Bad / 40
when looking for the setlist, lots of people who had seen monday’s toronto show were disappointed in tonight’s. can’t say, i wasn’t there. i still think this was more enjoyable than boston. it still has problems though. there is something really lacking this tour. i don’t know if it’s energy, or bono’s stage presence lacking as someone suggested, but something is off. kinda sad. lei and i keep saying it’s cuz the elevation tour was just so perfect, but i dunno. not that much has changed, but it feels completely different.
and also when looking for the setlist, apparently DISCOTHEQUE AND MOFO were rumored to be appearing in the set!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! holy crap i’ll die to get either of them, especially mofo. i kept saying it’d be so awesome if they surprised everyone and busted out with mofo. and i swear if they don’t appear on friday, but do on saturday that i’m not at, i’ll be pissed haha.
this is my overdue u2 post. i ask that you read until the “more…” after that, you can feel free to not read, tho i’m not really doing this for my own health…
songwriters and musicians often say that they don’t do the writing, that the songs they come up with are things that are given to them, or that come to them, or are channeled through them by a higher power. they are just outlets for things that exist somewhere. that they are mediums. and there are times when this seems like the only explanation for music. er, well…some music. maybe not all of it. good music i’d say (of course, with “good” open to interpretation though i consider myself to be very fair when it comes to judging a good or bad song…i pride myself in the ability to think something is good even if i don’t like it *ahem*thebeatles*ahem*).
sometimes it just hits me that there was a point in time where a certain song didn’t exist. and i find that very hard to believe. the song that strikes me the most in this regard is “with or without you” by u2. i cannot wrap my mind around the fact that before 1987 this song did not exist. that the world went on without ever knowing this song. i don’t consider it to be u2’s best song, i’d say it’s in my top ten and maybe top five, but…they’ve done better work, and there are things they’ve done that i like more. but it’s mainly this song in their whole body of work that i think, there is no way this song didn’t exist before “the joshua tree”. in general i don’t even like “the joshua tree”, i like half of it, the rest bores me. but “with or without you” hits me as this song that holds some kind of power that makes it absolutely eternal. it existed before it’s creation and it will exist forever. it’s immortal you could say.
i think it’s hard to explain.
some of what u2 and the general public consider to be their best work, i have a love/hate relationship with. i’ll focus on the 2 big ones…
1. “one” from achtung baby. i hate this song. i love this song. i hate this song because it is so perfect. aside from the unpleasant associations i once had with the song (i’ve gotten over that) i hate it. it’s over played, it’s over thought about, it’s over discussed. it’s the song that u2 claims kept them together when things were at their worst within the band. blahblahblah. boring. and then sometimes i hear it and i realize how phenomenal the song is, how perfect it is, how the lyrics are some of the most…accurate i have ever heard. accurate is not really the right word, but i don’t know how else to explain it. it is the most appropriate and accurate description of human relationships i have ever seen. and i hate it. it’s powerful and emotional and a masterpiece. it’s overdone, and overplayed but it’s perfect.
2. “stay (faraway so close)” from zooropa. i don’t like this song. seriously. i don’t really care for the music, and i don’t understand how bono can claim that it may be the best song they ever wrote. and then you get to the lyrics. this song is completely different from “one”. “one” is perfect, “stay” is not. but “stay” holds that same power that “one” has. no one knows “stay” (hell no one knows zooropa), it’s not over done, not every band on earth has covered it (have any?)…i even forget the song was made, and then i hear it, and all i can ever say is “i forget how incredible this song is”. it’s hard to explain how this song makes me feel, so i don’t know if i should say anything else, i feel that i’m not saying much and not getting my point across. where “one” is about the entire package, “stay” is about the lyrics…they are incredible.
And if you look, you look through me
And when you talk, you talk at me
And when I touch you, you don’t feel a thing
If I could stay…
Then the night would give you up
Stay… and the day would keep its trust
Stay… and the night would be enough
I admittedly am not familiar with u2’s early albums (pre-joshua tree) aside from the singles. If you were to classify my fandom i’d be a 1990s-u2 fan – achtung, zooropa, pop (yes i like pop, er half of it). So I’m not going to address their early albums. I have a problem with u2. every u2 cd i own i hated at first listen. with the exception of pop. i liked the first 5 songs on joshua tree, hated the rest. i hated all of achtung except mysterious ways. i was indifferent to zooropa. i don’t really remember pop, i got it when it came out, and listened to it tons, but was detached and i don’t remember really having an opinion on it (except that i hated “the playboy mansion” and to this day i think it’s one of the worst songs ever created by man). i thought “all that you can’t leave behind” (ATYCLB) was boring. and “how to dismantle an atomic bomb” (HTDAAB) was a huge let down…but anway…
the joshua tree – i am expected to like joshua tree because EVERYONE likes joshua tree, because it’s such a great album, one of the greatest albums of all time, u2s best work, blahblahblah. well no. i don’t like joshua tree. it’s boring. it’s not bad, it’s fantastic work, it just bores me. but i guarantee anyone who only knows joshua tree would have their mind blown by post-joshua tree u2. the general public knows parts of 2 u2 albums…the first 3 tracks of joshua tree and 2 or 3 from achtung baby (ok and some from that last one that made everyone get through sept11th)…but they are seriously missing out on u2’s gems and what i consider to be their best work.
achtung baby – hands down u2’s best album. when i got it, i hated it, but i dug it out 4 months later and was completely blown away. i could not understand how i had not liked it when i first listened. it has some of the most incredible songs on it, including my favourite song of all time “love is blindness”. to me, nothing is better than “love is blindness”. it is the most haunting song u2 has recorded, and sometimes i feel like it just sinks into your bones. achtung baby is one of the only albums i’d consider to be perfect – every song is good, there is no filler. there is no reason to have a fast forward button.
zooropa – i feel like this album was one big giant experiment. it sounds nothing like u2’s past (well…i’m not sure anyone expected achtung after joshua tree either). i was rather indifferent at first, but then i got to the point where i loved it, and found it very uplifting (…tho there i can’t seem to think if there is a low point in the album, and i mean low in the emotional sense, there is nothing depressing on it…) there is nothing about it that should be uplifting, it’s mostly devoid of any sort of spiritual message that would be uplifting (exception: the first time) but something about the music makes it so. but then there’s “the wanderer” with johnny cash that just ruins the experience of the album. burn it on a cd for yourself minus the last track and it’ll be fine haha
pop – everyone hates pop. and it’s a shame really. this was bono’s last great lyrical album. after this he lost his touch. again, it sounds nothing like what u2 is supposed to sound like (but i never understood why that’s a bad thing, for any band, to grow and change etc). it just further alienated everyone who thought joshua tree was the be all and end all of u2. i like half of this album, but i’m beginning to appreciate all but 2 songs. “the playboy mansion” as i said, is the worst song ever created, and “miami” is high on that list as well. i’ve learned to appreciate “please” after hearing it live, “velvet dress” is incredibly sensual, and “wake up dead man” is ok…this album features “gone” and “staring at the sun” which i consider to be a few of u2’s best songs. without getting into the history of the album and how it was unfinished, u2 definitely grew into these songs by playing live and i can’t imagine u2 being u2 without this album.
all that you can’t leave behind – i read a review of ATYCLB where they said that u2 had created their 3rd masterpiece. i disagree, but i don’t think anyone is surprised – it was recorded post 1990s hehe. again, hated the album, but dug it out after seeing u2 live, and realized it wasn’t so bad. seriously, it got me through the emotions of sept11th. it sounds cliched but it did. i don’t know why. listening to it made me happy no matter what kind of mood i was in. every song but “grace” was fun for me. but since then i’ve gone back to only liking half of it (see a trend? hah). “walk on” saves the entire album. “walk on” is an amazing song and i don’t know why it took them so long to come up with it.
how to dismantle an atomic bomb – i am still in the phase where i don’t really like this album. it has some really incredible lines in it, but it was a huge let down after all the hype about it being a “guitar driven” record, with “vertigo” being the first single and that it’s so fun, and after 5 years since the previous album – i expected more. it fell short. it’s not bad, but i’m not in love with it. the temple bar “vertigo” mix is hilarious tho hahah. i have the love/hate thing going on with “miracle drug” because i think it speaks for me and i hate that it does. i find that i can’t really listen to it at the moment because it makes me too emotional. and it contains “yahweh” which is on the list with “miami” and “the playboy manson” and if they play it live, that’s when i’ll go to the bathroom.
i’m not the kind of person to like everything a certain band has ever created, be it u2, nine inch nails, whoever…if a song sucks, it sucks, and i’ll say it. there are alot of things u2 have done that i don’t really like, you can’t please everyone. but u2 is u2 and everything they’ve created is who they are. it’s bono, edge, adam and larry and it could never be anyone else.
the rest of this post, under the cut, is what i find to be u2’s most incredible lyrics. i have my reasons for liking the ones i choose, feel free to try to figure out why…if you made it this far, you might as well keep reading, maybe you’ll get struck by a few…
bad – If I could through myself/Set your spirit free/I’d lead your heart away/See you break, break away/Into the light/And to the day
the unforgettable fire – Stay this time/Stay tonight in a lie/I’m only asking but I…/I think you know
with or without you – My hands are tied/My body bruised, she’s got me with/Nothing to win and/Nothing left to lose
running to stand still – You got to cry without weeping/Talk without speaking/Scream without raising your voice
She runs through the streets
With her eyes painted red
Under black belly of cloud in the rain
In through a doorway she brings me
White gold and pearls stolen from the sea
She is raging
She is raging
And the storm blows up in her eyes
red hill mining town – Our love runs cold/In the caverns of the night/We’re wounded by fear/Injured in doubt
(in reading the joshua tree lyrics i feel as if i should give it another chance)
god part II – You glorify the past/When the future dries up
even better than the real thing – We’re free to fly the crimson sky/The sun won’t melt our wings tonight
one – Did I ask too much/More than a lot/You gave me nothing/Now it’s all I got
until the end of the world – In my dream I was drowning my sorrows/But my sorrows, they learned to swim
who’s gonna ride your wild horses – Took a drive in the dirty rain/To a place where the wind calls your name/Under the trees the river laughing at you and me/Hallelujah, heavens white rose/The doors you open/I just can’t close
so cruel – (all of it really haha) Her lips say one thing/Her movements something else/Oh love… like a screaming flower/Love… dying every hour… love
the fly – Every artist is a cannibal, every poet is a thief/All kill their inspiration and sing about their grief
mysterious ways – One day you will look… back And you’ll see… where
You were held… how By this love… while You could stand… there You could move on this moment Follow this feeling
tryin to throw your arms around the world – How far you gonna go/Before you lose your way back home/You’ve been trying to throw your arms/Around the world
ultraviolet – Sometimes I feel like I don’t know/Sometimes I feel like checkin’ out/I want to get it wrong/Can’t always be strong/And love it won’t be long…
acrobat – No, nothing makes sense/Nothing seems to fit/I know you’d hit out/If you only knew who to hit
love is blindness – Love is clockworks/And cold steel/Fingers too numb to feel
zooropa – Don’t worry baby, it’s gonna be alright/Uncertainty can be a guiding light
lemon – And I feel
Like I’m slowly, slowly, slowly slipping under
And I feel
Like I’m holding onto nothing
She wore lemon
To colour in the cold grey night
She had heaven
And she held on so tight
stay – A vampire or a victim/It depend’s on who’s around
dirty day – You’re looking for explanations/I don’t even understand/If you need someone to blame/Throw a rock in the air/You’ll hit someone guilty
discotheque – I want to be the song be the song that you hear in your head
But you take what you can get
‘Cause it’s all you can find
Oh you know there’s something more
do you feel loved? – With my teeth at your back/And my tougue to tell you the sweetest lies
mofo – Lookin’ for a sound that’s gonna drown out the world
staring at the sun – I’m nearly great/But there’s something missing
last night on earth – The more you take the less you feel/The less you know the more you believe
gone – You’re holding on to everything so tightly/Till there’s nothing left anyway
You’re taking steps that make you feel dizzy
Then you get to like the way it feels
You hurt yourself you hurt your lover
Then you discover…
What you thought was freedom was just greed
please – and you never knew how you’d stoop to make that call/and you never knew what was on the ground till they made you crawl/and you never knew that the heaven you keep you stole
beautiful day – You’re out of luck and the reason that you had to care
stuck in a moment you can’t get out of – I am still enchanted by the light you brought to me/I still listen through your ears, and through your eyes I can see
walk on – And if the darkness is to keep us apart/And if the daylight feels like it’s a long way off/And if your glass heart should crack/And for a second you turn back/Oh no, be strong
kite – I’m a man, I’m not a child/A man who sees/The shadow behind your eyes
Who’s to say where the wind will take you
Who’s to know what it is will break you
I don’t know which way the wind will blow
Who’s to know when the time has come around
Don’t wanna see you cry
I know that this is not goodbye
new york – In the stillness of the evening/When the sun has had its day/I heard your voice a-whispering/Come away child
hold me thrill me kiss me kill me – You don’t know how you got here/you just know you want out/believing in yourself almost/as much as you doubt
vertigo – It’s everything I wish I didn’t know/But you give me something/I can feel
miracle drug – (all of it) I want a trip inside your head/Spend the day there…/To hear the things you haven’t said/And see what you might see
sometimes you can’t make it on your own – Listen to me now/I need to let you know/You don’t have to go it alone
city of blinding lights – Can you see the beauty inside of me?/What happened to the beauty I had inside of me?
all because of you – i’m not broke but you can see the cracks/you can make me perfect again
a man and a woman – The only pain is to feel nothing at all/How can I hurt when I’m holding you?
crumbs from your table – You speak of signs and wonders/I need something other/I would believe if I was able
one step closer – I’m ’round the corner from anything that’s real/I’m across the road from hope/I’m under the bridge in a rip tide/That’s taken everything I call my own
i fear that some of the more important songs are going to be cut from the live show, and that’s really a shame. i really liked “new york” live, but it’ll get cut most definitely. i wouldn’t mind if they cut “one”. i don’t know what my ideal playlist would be, but it would include “love is blindness” definitely, “acrobat” and “so cruel” would be nice…
top five favourite u2 songs in no particular order:
love is blindness
gone
with or without you
hold me thrill me kiss me kill me
walk on