“20” – U2 TRACKS POLL (voting closes midday, Thursday 4 August)

i'm actually having a hard time thinking of a song for my negative vote -- i'm not the biggest U2 fan and there are a lot of songs i'm kind of indifferent to, but very few i actively dislike, aside from a few of the really glaring duds from the last couple albums that hardly need to be taken down a peg

I'm excited for this poll. I just saw them play in NJ last week and was phenomenal. I saw them twice before, on the Joshua Tree tour and the Achtung Baby one, and this was far and away the best.

Why all the hate for Bono? It seems very 1989.

^^^ a man who has grown tired of the peacemakers of the west

"Angel of Harlem," "When Love Comes to Town," "God Pt. 2" -- lots of contenders from R&H for worst ever. Also: three quarters of Pop and half of ATYCLB.

yeah i just saw them live for the first time this summer so i'm very primed for this poll

i don't particularly dislike any of the R&H or Pop hits. don't like all of them (but actually am thinking of putting "Angel of Harlem" and "Discotheque" on my ballot).

What's the take here on the "Desire" remix?

I loved it in '88. In South Florida the Top 40 station played every hit in its dance remix iteration.

From 'Pop', 'The Playboy Mansion' is great

Still love Neil Tennant's quote from '89:

What [rock critics} basically want is for it to be like 1969 again. It 's this thing where British –- or in U2's case, Irish –- groups discover the roots of American music. U2 have discovered this and they're just doing pastiches [his voice rises] and it's reviewed as a serious thing because DYLAN PLAYS ORGAN on some song and B.B. King plays on some throwaway pop song "When Love Comes to Town" that could have been written by Andrew Lloyd Webber. It could have been Starlight Express if you ask me.

...We hate everything that they are and stand for. We hate it because it's totally stultifying, it says nothing, it is big and pompous and ugly. We hate it for exactly the same reasons Johnny Rotten said he hated dinosaur groups in 1976. To me U2 are a dinosaur group. They're saying nothing but they're pretending to be something. I think they're FAKE."

But my favorite track still is 'Gloria'

I was pretty shocked by it at the time, naif that I was, but that was savvy on the band's part.

xxxp

That's a good quote but why is a pop band being fake a bad thing?

anti-rockists like to use the language of the oppressor against them

1980-91 trax: 17
1992-present trax: 3

LOL at the idea of U2 doing Rattle and Hum, or anything else really, to please critics.

1980-91: 10
1992-present: 10

Done
1980-87:19
1988:1

Part of me is hoping your lone 1988 vote is "Hallelujah (Here She Comes)", because I didn't have room for it myself.

gonna think about this one over the weekend. The Joshua Tree was the first album I owned (on cassette tape) and Achtung Baby also made a big impression a few years later (Rattle & Hum not so much). Suspect those two will dominate my ballot although there'll be room at the top for more 80s stuff, especially the title track off The Unforgettable Fire.

Speaking of which, RTE (the Irish national broadcaster) did a pretty interesting documentary about the making of TUF, including footage of Eno, Lanois and U2 recording and mucking about in Slane Castle and Windmill Lane. It's easily findable on youtube altho unfortunately I can't post the link here as I'm at work. Worth a watch, if only for those who were wondering upthread why people hate Bono - even in 1984 he was a complete tit, as is abundantly clear in this doc.

^^^ a man who has grown tired of the peacemakers of the west

Am I buggin' you? Don't mean to bug ya.

clemenza, if you're looking to vote for more than a song or two, here's some lesser-knowns from my Top 20 worth hearing:

"Miss Sarajevo" from Soundtracks 1
"Wake Up Dead Man" from Pop
"Surrender" from War
"Cedars of Lebanon" from No Line on the Horizon
"Daddy's Gonna Pay For Your Crashed Car" from Zooropa which is like a really good Talking Heads song
"11 O'clock Tick Tock" from Under a Blood Red Sky

sorry, Original Soundtracks 1--not the most memorable title.

It's a pretty good record - not releasing it as a U2 album proper strikes me now as a rare 90s false step from them.

I liked your review by the way

Thanks! Also love the Long Mix of "Two Hearts Beat as One."

Thanks for the suggestions. I think I'm just incapable of ever really liking them, the way some people are with R.E.M. or Yo La Tengo or other bands I love. I may submit a ballot with five songs, I'm not sure yet, but because I'm such a non-fan, I wouldn't exercise the negative option.

I've got eleven ballots now, which is an excellent start, thanks all. I've replied to everyone, if you haven't received an acknowledgement let me know.

Great stuff, but of course I WANT MORE.

It's a beautiful day bump - why not use it to draw up a ballot?

bump for night owls

good morning

Still working on my ballot, but so far "Wire" from TUF is my #1.

Working on a ballot here. Not a huge fan, think I probably dislike a lot more of their songs than I enjoy. Having to fill with lots of old album tracks, and listening to those, much of them seem like the one song repeatedly rewritten. Was a pleasure to discover 'Drowning Man' again though, one pre-Eno song where atmosphere really triumphs over anthem.

Not sure at all what my #1 is, nor what I'm gonna spend my hate tokens on.

I have been listening to old tapes of them live
and watching youtube videos of Zoo TV tour.

I will make a top 20 list and send it to Mr Klata.

you are good men

Just want to pop in and rep for the "deep" cuts from "The Joshua Tree" (which is to say, pretty much anything from side 2): "In God's Country," "One Tree Hill," "Exit" and "Mothers of the Disappeared."

My ballot was ridiculously 'Joshua Tree' heavy but I somehow didn't vote for 'exit', as Ismael rightly pointed out. I feel suitably chastened by that omission. It should have been there to make it 9 from JT instead of the paltry 8 I ended up with ;)

I have voted in this poll.

I was surprised, looking at the wiki list, how many songs I do not know.

I found it hard, in any case, to keep it down to 20. But I am satisfied with that 20.

I wish Spotify had the Passengers record.

I may submit a ballot with five songs, I'm not sure yet, but because I'm such a non-fan, I wouldn't exercise the negative option.

Are non-fans supposed to vote or not? I mean: unlike e.g. Pavement, almost everybody has heard the singles from this band and has opinions about them. Should people like me, who have never listened to a U2 album all the way through, not vote? Or should I send you a ballot with the four U2 songs I think are really great?

i'm not running the poll but imo there should be no 'barrier of entry' for voting in these things, if you like any number of eligible songs and want to help them do well you should go for it. especially a big singles act like U2 where pretty much everyone knows dozens of their songs and has opinions about them.

Oh, definitely vote!

It's not about making up the numbers - I reckon about 20-25 ballots are needed to make it worthwhile and we should get there no problem - it's just that it's valuable if more people have decided 'yes, this deserves to be there'.

It'd probably be useful if you want to big up (without giving away too much) some songs which might otherwise be overlooked. Boomerang I is an excellent groove imo.

I wish Spotify had the Passengers record.

Available here, in the UK at least: http://open.spotify.com/album/40i4U8691CTAUVKSEQ5wcy

Jesus Christ, where do you even start with their worst track? I thought that 'The Saints Are Coming' was horrific but then I listened to their version of 'Unchained Melody' and it's a whole new world of horrible. Did they do any cover versions that are worth hearing?

just sent in my ballot, ended up being a little funky and 40% post-Achtung, kind of playing up the idiosyncrasies of my fairly canonical view of the band (lots of ballads, for one thing -- for some reason the slowies always get to me most with U2).

My previously stated indifference notwithstanding, I've always loved "In God's Country." That was the highlight of Three Kings for me.

i take it everybody is sick to death of 'one'?

Voted.

I favour their 90s stuff. Placed "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses" very high because I love both versions of that song equally. Placed "Hold Me Thrill Me" and "Desire" very high, partially influenced by how much I like the videos for both. More obscure picks: "A Celebration", "11 O'Clock Tick Tock", "If You Wear That Velvet Dress". Hate voted for "Angel Of Harlem", but could've easily picked "When Love Comes To Town".

Love "Snake Charmer" but I thought it was cheating.

90s 10
80s 9
00s 1

Angel of Harlem's nice, what's with all the disapproval of that one?

i voted for it.

Did they do any cover versions that are worth hearing?

I like "Satellite of Love", "Dancing Barefoot", and "Can't Help Falling in Love".