I know that a lot of you are probably groaning to yourselves after reading the title up there “The Fly?!? Oh, man! I hate that stupid song!” while just as many of you (I’m looking at you here, Joe) are jumping up and down with joy. My first experience with the song came right after […]
Read MoreWhy U2 – Reason #20
It’s funny how much my opinion of an artist’s character influences my perception of their art. If I discover that some artist that I’m getting into is a woman-beater, for instance, or a meth addict, it really detracts from my enjoyment of their artistic output. I wrote recently about how I feel a kinship with […]
Read MoreCovering U2 – Reggae
It’s funny how one thing leads to another. Recently, I wrote about Daniel Lanois’ cover of U2’s “Thank You”, and writing about that got me on a Daniel Lanois kick that’s still going strong. Earlier today, I was listening to his Black Dub project’s debut album, which contains several references to reggae music, both subtle […]
Read MoreU2101 – Slow Dancing
As I matured in my U2 fandom, there was a period of transition from collecting albums to hunting down more obscure tracks, like one-offs for soundtracks and collaborations with other artists. One of my favorite discoveries from this period was the 1993 B-side, from the Stay single, “Slow Dancing“, which was originally written by Bono […]
Read MoreWhy U2 – Reason #19
Like most obsessive fans, I get a thrill out of discovering hidden factoids or messages left by the object of my obsession – in this case, U2. Fortunately, they seem perfectly happy to oblige my willingness to pore over every note and pixel by providing lots of odd little bits for me to find – […]
Read MoreCovering U2 – The Early Birds
Today I wanted to discuss a couple of U2 covers where the other artist actually got to the song before U2 did. Roy Orbison’s “She’s a Mystery to Me”, written by Bono and Edge, produced by Bono, and even featuring some simple guitar from our favorite front-man, is a perfect example. The song was originally […]
Read MoreU2101 – Vertigo
I’ve written a lot in the past about some of U2’s more obscure gems, deep album tracks like “Running to Stand Still” or “Electric Co.”, but today I want to celebrate one of U2’s best-known songs, “Vertigo”, from 2004’s How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (HTDAAB) album. “Vertigo” is, in my experience, one of those […]
Read MoreWhy U2 – Reason #18
U2 are frequently referred to as “The Biggest Band in the World”, and I suppose that the meaning of that phrase is open to interpretation, but at the end of the day, I’m not sure how true it is. “Best Band in the World”, sure. All day, every day, but “biggest”? I think that it […]
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Covering U2 – Luka Bloom and Dream Theater
Most U2 fans are at least familiar with who Christy Moore is, due to the handful of collaborations between him and the band (The Ballad of Ronnie Drew, North and South of the River, etc) but I suspect that fewer of us are as familiar with Christy’s younger brother Luka Bloom. Luka recorded a cover […]
Read MoreU2101 – Electric Co.
If you don’t know, “Electric Co.” was originally recorded and released back in 1980 for inclusion on U2’s debut album, Boy. Bono has explained the song by saying that it’s about a friend of his who suffered from some mental problems and was subjected to electric convulsive therapy, which, in Bono’s view “made him worse.” […]
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