For this week’s article we’re going way back – all the way back to the early days before U2 had released anything, let alone had any hits or chart-toppers. I’m talking about a song that U2 recorded in 1978 and which wasn’t released officially until 26 years later, “Street Mission”.
Read MoreU2101 – Tryin’ to Throw Your Arms Around the World
In last week’s article (which can be read here), I wondered why U2 don’t delve into the genre of reggae more than they do. Well, one U2 song that has the mellow bounce of a good reggae tune, even if it doesn’t meet all the technical requirements of that style of music, is “Tryin’ to […]
Read MoreU2101 – Don’t Take Your Guns to Town
U2 have quite a history with Johnny Cash, starting in the late ’80’s, when they were exploring the south-western United States and enjoyed a lunch with Cash and his wife, June Carter Cash at the couple’s home – You can read all about it on page 204 of the great U2 by U2 book.
Read MoreU2101 – Instant Karma
Bono has never been shy about admitting his admiration for and love of John Lennon. The connection makes sense if you think about it. John Lennon, especially in his post-Beatles life, was an artist who really put his money where his mouth was regarding world affairs, much as Bono is.
Read MoreU2101 – A Sort of Homecoming
Every three albums we see a bit of a shift in U2’s sound, and never has that difference been more pronounced than with The Unforgettable Fire. Coming off of the post-punk and straightforward rock that the band occupied themselves with on their first three albums, the ethereal, multi-layered and dense fourth offering saw the band […]
Read MoreU2101 – White as Snow
Last week, I wrote about U2’s song “Winter”, so it seems only fitting that I take this opportunity to record some comments on its sister song, “White as Snow”.
Read MoreU2101 – Winter
Although it officially started a little over a month ago, much of the eastern region of the United States got their first real taste of the winter this past weekend, as some spots saw as much as 31 inches of snow. Of course, the wild weather got me thinking about a couple of U2 songs, […]
Read MoreU2101 – The Sweetest Thing
U2’s “The Sweetest Thing” is, in my experience, one of the band’s most polarizing songs. Folks seem to fall into one of two camps – either they love the song or they hate it. At the heart of the matter seems to be the listener’s feelings on pop music, which makes sense to me because […]
Read MoreU2101 – Miracle Drug
One of my favorite radio appearances by U2 in the last decade or so was the short set that they played for Zane Lowe’s nightly show on BBC Radio 1. The band played four songs from the yet-to-be-released How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb and then closed the set with a dynamite performance of “Beautiful […]
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U2101 – When Love Comes to Town
I don’t remember where I saw it now, but a few years ago I read a list that inventoried the greatest rock ‘n’ roll singers of all time. Bono was number 3 on that list, behind Freddie Mercury and Robert Plant, and while I don’t necessarily agree that Bono ranks behind those other luminaries, at […]
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