There are a few songs in U2’s catalog that the band has never played live. Songs like “Acrobat” and “Red Hill Mining Town” that, despite the most fervent hopes of the band’s fan-base, have never made the transition to an on-stage performance. Add to that list today’s topic, “Drowning Man”, from 1983’s War album.
Read MoreU2101 – Beat On the Brat
A lot has been said and written over the years about the legitimacy of Bono’s claims that U2 is a punk band. I personally believe that although their do-it-yourself origins qualify as extremely punk-ish, most of their music doesn’t meet the hard and fast qualifications of punk rock. I say “most of their music” because […]
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U2101 – Tomorrow
I’ve written in the past about Bono’s ability to write lyrics that seem to be about more than one thing. I feel that it’s probably his greatest gift as a songwriter, and today’s song is one of the earliest examples of this talent in action. From 1981’s October “Tomorrow” is one of the most overtly […]
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U2101 – Lemon
Like millions of people across the globe, I was shocked and dismayed this past week to learn of the passing of Prince. I wanted to write something this weekend about the few times that U2’s and Prince’s lives intersected, but I was conflicted as to what precisely my topic should be. At first, I was […]
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U2101 – Blow Your House Down
Like many U2 fans (and like Bono himself, if the stories are to be believed), I own a copy of the CD set Salome: The (Axtung Beibi) Outtakes, a three CD bootleg set of early recordings from the Achtung Baby sessions. This set is essential for any hardcore U2 fan because it shows the evolution […]
Read MoreU2101 – Unknown Caller
It seems like lately all of my articles have been about songs from U2 albums that the band seem like they’d be just as happy to forget. Prior to today, I wrote about two straight songs from Pop and today the song that’s on my mind is from No Line on the Horizon.
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U2101 – Please
Last week, we discussed the lead off single from U2’s Pop album, so I thought that today would be the perfect opportunity to talk about another of my favorite singles from the same album, the fourth single, “Please”.
Read MoreU2101 – Discotheque
“Discotheque” is kind of a weird song in U2’s catalog. On one hand, a lot of fans have negative memories of the song as the first single from Pop, U2’s much-maligned techno-music influenced ninth album. On the other hand it was U2’s last top ten hit in the United States, so I have a feeling […]
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U2101 Electrical Storm
I fondly remember the fervor that hit U2’s online fan community back in August, 2002 when their new single, “Electrical Storm” first debuted on BBC Radio 1. It seems that the program’s DJ, one Sarah HB, had run into Bono on her wedding day. As a gift, he had given her a CD that contained […]
Read MoreU2101 – Endless Deep
Since, as I write this, there are just about two hours left in Adam’s birthday (at least in my time zone), I thought that I should write a little something about all of our favorite bass player.
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