Say something Nice about ILM's usual suspects.

Well, I love the Clash. Their first album is pretty damn untouchable.

U2 is still sort of my favorite band. And the Clash are great. Bruce should just leave his well-written songs to people with better production and less annoying music, Nebraska and "Racing in the Streets" aside.

I brought two U2 discs to work today, just because. I don't really listen to them that much, unless they're forced on me, but I really like "In a Little While" and I have fond memories of Achtung Baby. I put in All That You Can't Leave Behind first thing, and didn't get past track three. I mean, I guess I can see how an otherwise intelligent person might rock out to "a MOLE! in a HOLE! like your SOUL!" -- okay, I lied. I really don't see that at all.

Achtung Baby, on the other hand, surprised me all over over again. Very good album. Bono turns the self-righteous down to almost zero and the bad rhymes down to a totally tolerable 4, and lets the production, riffs, and melodies do all the work. It's not like it's deep or anything, unless you're aching to hear that love is for sharing, sex is dirty, and Bono is "ready." But damnit, I was able to listen to the record and actually *like* it. A breakthrough U2 day for me.

I want to give this a go!

Bruce Springsteen:  "Dancing in the Dark" is a glorious moment for the '80s, both song- and video-wise. "I'm On Fire" is one of the most spine-tinglingly gorgeous songs around. "Glory Days" is a fantastic sing-along song. When I was a teenager, I adored "Tunnel of Love".

The Clash:  Combat Rock is awesome. "White Man in Hammersmith Palais" is awesome. "Lost in the Supermarket" is awesome. "Janie Jones" is awesome. "Guns of Brixton" is awesome. "Clash City Rockers" is awesome. Need I go on?

U2:  I used to be a huge fan of theirs. The Unforgettable Fire was one of the albums I played most often back around 1992 - 1993. I was always bothered by how every single music criticism I read concerning them seemed to be full of adoration, but at the same time my # 1 favorite musical artist (need I mention... ?) was constantly getting slammed by these same critics, but I never really let that stop me from being a fan of theirs up until sometime late last year, when I saw that even those music writer-type people (including people from around here) who will swear up and down that they love Duran Duran don't really seem to love them when it matters, and I kept on seeing nothing but adoration all over the damn place when it came to U2, so I stopped listening to them full stop. I haven't picked up a single U2 album in about a year. And I would like to love them again, but that would mean I would join a chorus I don't want to be a part of.

Oh wait.

(And yes, it does seem as though I will always be a Duran apologist. This will never leave me. *shrug* Someone's got to do it, though.)

They are all brilliant, and all way better than the hip-hop, disco and R&B crap that most ILM regulars waste their time listening to.

2006: the year Geir got serious about pop music

Apparently, the Edge has all the Anthrax albums. This kinda amazed me.

He has a billion dollars, he could own the skeletons of the Thompson Twins too.

I thought this was the thread to say nice things about Ned.

I did, too.