ok, so i've finally been convinced to start my own blog. be forewarned: this blog has no intended endpoint and will likely encompass a plethora of unrelated topics in a subtly related the way that only *dude* can manage. the first topic is a "pilot episode" of sorts that some of my friends have already been exposed to via email. however, i did tweak a couple mixes a bit, so hopefully these are the *final* u2 mixes once and for all. any feedback is welcomed and desired. enjoy!
one of my finest accomplishments over the past few months has been reinvigorating myself with music for the first time in years, and during this time i quickly realized how some of my tastes had evolved. back in college, u2 was probably a borderline top 10 favorite band of mine, but after a brief revisiting, i realized just how significant this band was not only for my personal tastes, but for the history of rock music and music in general. bono sings in indian summer sky that, "the seasons change and so do i." u2 has reinvented itself time and time again while still retaining its unique character and sound, delivering powerful messages, composing memorable melodies, and having the ability to tap into the listener's soul and create a spiritual and emotional connection embodying the human spirit that the listener may not even want or be aware of but is nevertheless compelled to submit to. such is the power of music, especially when channeled through the proper avenues, and u2 is the perfect avenue, particularly of bands following the so-called classic rock era. bono is one of the most charismatic frontman ever, awing the listener through both his soulful singing and heartfelt lyrics, while the edge creates a sonic landscape and symphony as the perfect complement and backdrop for bono. u2 is the truth; their earnestness not only shines through as being representative of the band's communication, but also a reflection of the musical climate and state of society when the songs are sprung forth from their collective creativity. to put it simply, u2 not only speaks for themselves, but for the entire world. that being said, u2 can be terrible finishers and have admitted as such. hence, i have spent many months laboring over how to adjust u2's entire catalog so as to optimize the musical and thematic narratives of their albums. listed below are my personal track listings for each album; brian eno and company can thank me later.
the hype -- cartoon world:
1) street mission
2) the fool
3) cartoon world
4) pete the chop
5) lost on a distant planet
6) alone in the light
7) father is an elephant
8) jack in the box
9) speed of light
10) things to make and do
11) the dream is over
speed of life ep:
1) another day
2) 11 o'clock tick tock
3) saturday night
4) touch
5) boy-girl
6) speed of life
boy, october, and war: as is; the trilogy of early/pre-brian eno u2
the unforgettable fire: as is; the first collaboration with brian eno
yoshino blossom ep:
1) disappearing act
2) love comes tumbling
3) the three sunrises
4) yoshino blossom
5) bass trap
6) be there
the joshua tree (double album, clocking in at just over 90 minutes. would've been fine to release and sell on cassette for the price of a single album. while i wouldn't make any adjustments to the joshua tree as a single album, i feel there is just too much worthy additional material to cast aside as b-sides -- 3 of which are legitimate singles -- and none of it is indulgent (although some are a bit unpolished, sounding more like demos than finished tracks, and could've been rerecorded/produced again for placement on the album). granted, a few songs probably wouldn't be included on any single album version, but they still complement the other songs nicely and are not simply filler. fwiw, a double album version would've yielded 12 potential singles!):
disc 1:
1) where the streets have no name
2) i still haven't found what i'm looking for
3) with or without you
4) spanish eyes
5) running to stand still
6) luminous times
7) sweetest thing (single mix)
8) trip through your wires
9) one tree hill
10) rise up
disc 2:
1) beautiful ghost/introduction to songs of experience
2) bullet the blue sky
3) silver and gold (b-side version)
4) wave of sorrow
5) red hill mining town
6) in god's country
7) race against time
8) walk to the water
9) deep in the heart
10) exit
11) mothers of the disappeared
rattle & hum (omission of live tracks helps album flow better. addition of three b-sides before the last song help give the album a fuller feel and sense of completeness.):
1) van diemen's land
2) desire
3) hawkmoon 269
4) angel of harlem
5) love rescue me
6) when love comes to town
7) heartland
8) god part II
9) slow dancing
10) hallelujah here she comes
11) a room at the heartbreak hotel
12) all i want is you
unchained and endless:
disc 1 (b-sides):
1) j.swallo
2) a celebration
3) party girl
4) angels too tied to the ground
5) treasure
6) boomerang II
7) desert of our love
8) my time hasn't come
9) just ask
10) silver and gold (sun city version)
11) she's a mystery to me
12) slow dancing (willie nelson version)
disc 2 (instrumentals and covers):
1) endless deep
2) boomerang I
3) sixty seconds in kingdom come
4) alex descends into hell for a bottle of milk/korova
5) unchained melody
6) everlasting love
7) dancing barefoot
8) jesus christ
9) christmas (baby please come home)
10) springhill mining disaster
11) wild irish rose
12) night and day
salome:
1) got to get together
2) blow your house down
3) heaven and hell
4) salome
5) morning child
6) doctor doctor
7) going down south
8) jitterbug baby
9) sunset in colors
10) back mask
11) chances away
12) sweet baby jane
achtung, baby: as is! one of the greatest albums ever!
zooropa:
1) zooropa
2) babyface
3) numb
4) lemon
5) stay
6) daddy's gonna pay for your crashed car
7) some days are better than others
8) theme from let's go native (from passengers)
9) goldeneye
10) hold me, thrill me, kiss me, kill me
11) two shots of happy, one shot of sad
12) the first time
13) dirty day (i prefer live from sydney 1993 version)
14) the wanderer
passengers -- original soundtracks 1 (eliminates three tracks that don't fit in musically with the rest of the album):
1) united colours
2) slug
3) your blue room
4) always forever now
5) beach sequence
6) miss sarajevo
7) ito okashi
8) one minute warning
9) corpse
10) plot 180
11) a different kind of blue
pop (if you want to appreciate the whole album as a work of art, then play all original album recordings. however, if you want a more polished, finished product, possibly closer to what u2 had envisioned but could not finish due to time constraints on their pop recording sessions, then substitute single versions for album versions of last night on earth, please, and if god will send his angels.):
1) pop muzik
2) mofo
3) do you feel loved
4) discotheque
5) staring at the sun
6) gone
7) last night on earth
8) holy joe (guilty mix)
9) miami (live from popmart edmonton)
10) the playboy mansion
11) if god will send his angels
12) north and south of the river
13) if you wear that velvet dress
14) please
15) wake up dead man
"popmart" (experience a live version of pop using popmart recordings and a slightly different song order. the reason i decided to create a live version of pop was because i felt like the only way to experience some of the great organic material on pop was without all of the layers of the electronic music on top of the band. now, that is not to say that the pop album is not great in-and-of-itself for what it is and was meant to be -- a groundbreaking fusion of rock and electronic music -- but i think that a live version of pop gives a new perspective for those who are already satisfied with the album, and for those who are not, an opportunity to hear the potential in those songs fulfilled.):
1) mofo (live from las vegas popmart)
2) discotheque (live from mexico city popmart)
3) do you feel loved (live from las vegas popmart)
4) staring at the sun (live from popmart santiago)
5) if god will send his angels (live from las vegas popmart)
6) last night on earth (live from mexico city popmart)
7) gone (live from mexico city popmart)
8) miami (live from edmonton popmart)
9) if you wear that velvet dress (live from las vegas popmart)
10) please (live from los angeles popmart)
tops and bottoms:
1) lady with the spinning head
2) where did it all go wrong?
3) in the name of the father
4) elvis ate america
5) holy joe (garage mix)
6) big girls are best
7) if you wear that velvet dress (featuring jools holland)
8) theme from the swan
9) viva davidoff
10) bottoms
11) mission impossible theme
12) satellite of love
13) fortunate son
14) paint it black
15) happiness is a warm gun
16) can't help falling in love
all that you can't leave behind: as is; cautiously optimistic u2 entering middle age and trying to regroup after their experimental run in the 90s
electrical storm:
1) the ground beneath her feet
2) stateless
3) electrical storm (william orbit mix)
4) never let me go
5) the hands that built america
6) falling at your feet
7) love you like mad
8) summer rain
9) flower child
10) don't take your guns to town
11) levitate
12) always
13) ave maria
how to dismantle an atomic bomb:
1) vertigo
2) miracle drug
3) city of blinding lights
4) all because of you
5) sometimes you can't make it on your own
6) a man and a woman
7) love and peace or else
8) xanax and wine
9) are you gonna wait forever?
10) mercy
11) smile
12) crumbs from your table
13) one step closer
14) original of the species
15) yahweh
(no line on the horizon: as is; about half the album is decent, and the other half is either forgettable or it flounders.)
best songs from each album:
boy -- twilight
october -- gloria
war -- new year's day
tuf -- bad
joshua tree -- i still haven't found what i'm looking for
rattle & hum -- all i want is you
achtung baby -- one
zooropa -- hold me, thrill me, kiss me, kill me (lemon if limited to actual original album songs)
passengers -- miss sarajevo
pop -- staring at the sun
atyclb -- beautiful day
htdaab -- sometimes you can't make it on your own
quintessential songs from each album:
boy -- i will follow
october -- gloria
war -- sunday bloody sunday
tuf -- pride
joshua tree -- where the streets have no name
rattle & hum -- angel of harlem
achtung baby -- one
zooropa -- lemon
passengers -- miss sarajevo
pop -- please
atyclb -- walk on
htdaab -- city of blinding lights
best singles from each album:
boy -- i will follow
october -- gloria
war -- new year's day
tuf -- pride
joshua tree -- with or without you
rattle & hum -- desire
achtung baby -- mysterious ways
zooropa -- hold me, thrill me, kiss me, kill me (numb if limited to actual original album songs)
passengers -- miss sarajevo
pop -- discotheque
atyclb -- beautiful day
htdaab -- vertigo
sentimental song (preferably not a single or radio song) from each album:
boy -- an cat dubh/into the heart
october -- stranger in a strange land/tomorrow
war -- drowning man/red light
tuf -- a sort of homecoming/promenade
joshua tree -- one tree hill
rattle & hum -- heartland
achtung baby -- acrobat
zooropa -- stay
passengers -- always forever now
pop -- do you feel loved
atyclb -- kite
htdaab -- mercy (sometimes you can't make it on your own if limited to actual original album songs)
highlight song not included in any of the previous categories (limited to actual original album songs):
boy -- out of control
october -- rejoice/october
war -- like a song/surrender
tuf -- elvis presley and america/mlk
joshua tree -- red hill mining town/trip through your wires
rattle & hum -- van diemen's land
achtung baby -- love is blindness
zooropa -- daddy's gonna pay for your crashed car
passengers -- beach sequence
pop -- if you wear that velvet dress
atyclb -- grace
htdaab -- miracle drug
best u2 song: one
quintessential u2 song: pride
best u2 single: with or without you
most sentimental u2 song: bad
best u2 non-album song: silver and gold
b-sides collection:
drunk chicken/america
20) sweetest thing (b-side version)*
------------------
calling out to someone*
take today
------------------
33) elvis ate america
theme from the swan
holy joe (garage mix)*
34) big girls are best*
------------------
39) we love you
------------------
43) dreaming with tears in my eyes (bono only)*
44) summer wine (the corrs with bono)*
45) when the stars go blue (the corrs with bono)*
46) don't come knocking (bono and andrea corr)*
a dying sailor to his shipmates (bono)
that's life (bono)
in the name of the father (bono and gavin friday)
------------------
47) (winter)*
notable covers:
1) everlasting love
2) unchained melody
3) christmas (baby please come home)
4) jesus christ
5) night and day
6) wild irish rose
7) satellite of love
8) dancing barefoot
lost highway
springhill mining disaster
70s/80s instrumentals:
1) things to make and do
2) endless deep
3) yoshino blossom
4) boomerang 1
5) bass trap
6) sixty seconds in kingdom come
"greatest hits"
80s:
1) i will follow
2) gloria
3) new year's day
4) two hearts beat as one
5) sunday bloody sunday
6) 40
7) pride
8) the unforgettable fire
9) bad
10) with or without you
11) i still haven't found what i'm looking for
12) where the streets have no name
13) bullet the blue sky
14) the sweetest thing (single mix)
15) desire
16) angel of harlem
17) all i want is you
90s:
1) the fly
2) mysterious ways
3) one
4) even better than the real thing
5) who's gonna ride your wild horses (album version)
6) until the end of the world
7) numb
8) lemon
9) stay
10) hold me, thrill me, kiss me, kill me
11) miss sarajevo
12) discotheque
13) staring at the sun
14) last night on earth (single version)
15) please (single version)
16) if god will send his angels (single version)
00s:
1) beautiful day
2) stuck in a moment you can't get out of
3) elevation
4) walk on
5) electrical storm
6) vertigo
7) sometimes you can't make it on your own
8) city of blinding lights
9) all because of you
10) original of the species
extended "greatest hits" version:
1) 11 o'clock tick tock
2) a sort of homecoming
3) running to stand still
4) in god's country
5) one tree hill
6) spanish eyes
7) silver and gold
8) when love comes to town (this is not the "best of" u2, but "greatest hits". i know this song is not one of u2's best.)
9) zoostation
10) tryin' to throw your arms around the world
11) ultraviolet
12) zooropa
13) the first time
14) your blue room
15) gone
16) in a little while
17) mercy
other notable songs:
1) october
2) mlk
3) red hill mining town
4) trip through your wires
5) mothers of the disappeared
6) heartland
7) so cruel
8) acrobat
9) love is blindness
10) dirty day
11) mofo
12) kite
13) peace on earth
14) grace
15) miracle drug
i really believe that last legitimate u2 material was from how to dismantle an atomic bomb (hence, why everything after it i've put in parentheses). i was not impressed by the new songs on their "u218 singles" compilation. however, i did enjoy u2's new rendition of *one* with mary j. blige. here are some other u2 albums/projects of note (i omitted any albums that would fall under the "greatest hits/best of" designation):
under a blood red sky -- "mini lp" live album recorded during the war tour
wide awake in america ep -- two live songs from the unforgettable fire tour and two b-sides (the three sunrises, love comes tumbling) that i have included in my mix of the unforgettable fire
hope you enjoy my versions and can spot the differences and/or improvements between u2's final mixes and mine.
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