'Sonic Otherness'

May

2012

'Sonic Otherness'

Caroline van Oosten de Boer was founding editor of U2log.com (2000-2011) and author (with Pimm Jal de la Parra) of 'U2 Live - A Concert Documentary' (Omnibus Press).

It was New Year's Day from War in 1983 that introduced her to the band while 'the agony, ecstasy and catharsis' of Moment of Surrender in 2009, she thinks, might be the band's 'finest moment.' She's seen U2 play live sixty-plus times and these days keeps other fans up to date on twitter - @u2log.

We asked Caroline to dig into her back catalogue, slip the old b-sides on the turntable and come up with her U2 Playlist. (Have a listen on the audio player and tell us what you think in the comments below.)

1. NEW YEAR'S DAY - WAR
This is the song that made me aware of U2, without knowing their name, who they were, where they came from and what they stood for. I was in college, went clubbing and heard two tunes that took my fancy: The Clash’s Rock the Casbah, and this one. It still gives me a thrill every time I hear them play it live.

2. TWO HEARTS BEAT AS ONE - WAR
One thing that strikes me listening to War is the incredible nervous energy a lot of the songs have. Surrender, Like A Song and The Refugee (I’ve only just copped on how tribal, how very Adam and the Ants that one is) are all relentless and so is Two Hearts Beat As One. There’s a bootleg out there that’s got 13 different studio takes of this song. Only for masochists.

3. A SORT OF HOMECOMING - THE UNFORGETTABLE FIRE
I picked this one over the album’s title track and Wire, both of which rank high on my long list. Listening to it now it’s as uplifting, joyous and hopeful as it felt 28 years ago when I first put the needle in the groove. As The Unforgettable Fire was more or less my introduction to U2 (apart from the aforementioned New Year’s Day), I had no preconceptions when I bought the LP, but it’s sonic otherness must have freaked out older fans somewhat.

4. RED HILL MINING TOWN - THE JOSHUA TREE
I bought The Joshua Tree on cassette during a 7 hour layover in Toronto the week it was released. Walking through a mall with this album on my headphones, by the time I got to Red Hill Mining Town – not my favourite track on the album, which is Exit - I realised I didn’t know where I was or where I was going – I’d got lost in the music and I had to find a place to sit down.
It’s the spoken words “we’ll scorch the earth, set fire to the sky, we stoop so low, to reach so high” that take me back to ‘87 when, at what was possibly the height of my unconditional fandom, I made my first U2-friends and saw the band live for the first time..

5. 6. 7. WALK TO THE WATER, LUMINOUS TIMES (HOLD ON TO LOVE) and DEEP IN THE HEART
On odd days, Walk to the Water is my favourite U2 song of all time. “He said he was an artist, but he really painted billboards” is a phrase that continues to puzzle and amuse me. In large, capital letters.
If it had been up to me, and, if I’m not mistaken, The Edge, these three b-sides would have formed the heart of The Joshua Tree. Then the album would have been “The Unforgettable Fire Part II”, U2 wouldn’t have cracked America, they’d never have reached the heights of fame or hung around with supermodels, and then the band would still have been yours and mine alone and hearing their songs on the radio would still be a surprise and make your chest swell with pride. You know, in Bizarro Land.

8. A ROOM AT THE HEARTBREAK HOTEL
While Angel of Harlem is a catchy tune, I love the b-side of the single, its darker counterpart: the other side of the American Dream. Less of the Memphis Horns, more of the drama. It slots in nicely with the great Joshua Tree b-sides mentioned above.

9. NIGHT AND DAY
The only cover song in the list. If we take Sinatra’s interpretation as a starting point - and I love Sinatra - here’s where U2 improve on his version: they bring out the ‘night’ in the song. Where Sinatra croons romantically, Bono finds his inner stalker and goes for total despair, with great results.

10. LOVE IS BLINDNESS
I’ve written here before about my initial reservations with Achtung Baby, but the closing track has always been a favourite. U2 embrace European traditions in this piano-based ballad, with its almost classical opening (shades of Beethoven’s Mondscheinsonate) and Brel-esque sensibilities. Right up my alley.

11. THE FIRST TIME - ZOOROPA
Bono’s version of the Parable of the Prodigal Son ambiguously muses on leaving, not coming home and different kinds of love. Confident vocals set against a slightly unsettling, rumbling backing track, it’s a mood that’s continued in the next song on Zooropa, Dirty Day.

12. MIAMI - POP
What? Ok, I hear you. You hate this song. Fair enough. Maybe it’s not the greatest track on Pop, but baby, you should have seen it live. On the road, this strange little ditty became the perfect vehicle for Bono to show off the full extent of his ability to ham it up: strutting around in his peacock shirt, with his Clockwork Orange meets Ulster Orangeman bowler hat, twirling a Stars and Stripes brolly. Taking into account the band was playing this the week Gianni Versace was murdered on Miami Beach, it blew our heads completely when we saw them do it – some of the best memories I have of seeing U2 live with my friends. For me, Popmart was the greatest tour, and the Miami / Bullet the Blue Sky / Please cluster was its thumping heart of darkness.

13. PLEASE - POP
‘Stop fighting, please, let’s talk, please?’ is how Bono quietly introduced Please to the audience at Popmart opening night in Rotterdam. Then he unleashed his wrath. What does it for me in this song, apart from the incredible vocals, is Craig Armstrong’s string arrangement.

14. A MAN AND A WOMAN - HOW TO DISMANTLE AN ATOMIC BOMB
If there’s a theme to this playlist it’s that it uncovers what I like best in U2: drama, atmosphere, pathos, anger. And then there’s melody, which this song has heaps of. If you’d divide U2’s songs into seasons, this one, Staring at the Sun and Electrical Storm would represent Summer. And in U2’s world, Summer apparently equals conflict and compromise, and great songs.

15. MOMENT OF SURRENDER - NO LINE ON THE HORIZON Seven and a half minutes of agony, ecstasy and catharsis. U2’s finest moment came on their twelfth studio album. I’m with Eno, they should have never cut it for time and it should have been the first single. That would have been a real boot up the arse of daytime radio.

Click here to read Jacknife Lee's U2 Playlist

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20 Comments

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jpdickson - 14 September, 2012

Memories...

Caroline, we've probably changed our choices from the early 90's when we used to be part of the U2 mailing list (gartholmew or something like that wasn't it?). I remember responding to a call for a list of 10 songs that you would love to hear played acoustically and I said 'Exit' as my top choice as it was my fav song from JT. I remember your response being that it would be impossible to play acoustically. Now much older and wiser I can agree with you! Love your list BTW.

gfbiii - 02 July, 2012

Outstanding List

Any list that contains "Walk to the Water" --- one of the greatest U2 songs ever --- is world-class. I remember sitting in my car as a college student, before going to work on any given day, listening to that song over and over repeatedly. Wow!

musicabona - 17 May, 2012

Wonderful list!

Reading these beautiful descriptions combined with some personal memories is pure joy! I love all the songs chosen by Caroline and I am glad to find some great rarities here. For me The Unforgettable Fire with its powerful opener A Sort Of Homecoming is an album that never ceases to amaze me through its rich layers of sonic expression. Singing Red Hill Mining Town, Bono delivers 100 percent of his passion, letting his voice move from its lower shades to this incredibly high tone pitch we hear in the chorus. I agree that wonderful Joshua Tree b-sides such as Walk To The Water could accompany the atmospheric moods of The Unforgettable Fire. When listening to Luminous Times (Hold On To Love) I am always fascinated by its intensity built up throughout the whole piece. And Love Is Blindness is just one of those masterpieces revealing all the despair and inner struggles The Edge had to go through after his divorce. The soft melancholy of the music flows gently until one guitar note suddenly breaks through that lonely darkness-a note that screeches, disturbs and shouts out all his feelings with heartbreaking force.

caroline - 15 May, 2012

Thanks!

Hey all, thanks for reading my playlist :-)

pain_18_ - 11 May, 2012

What??

Love is Blindness is not a piano-based ballad, it's one of The Edge's most powerful guitar moments !!!!!

CNF - 10 May, 2012

Nice one Caroline

5. 6. 7. WALK TO THE WATER, LUMINOUS TIMES (HOLD ON TO LOVE) and DEEP IN THE HEART "If it had been up to me, and, if I’m not mistaken, The Edge, these three b-sides would have formed the heart of The Joshua Tree. Then the album would have been “The Unforgettable Fire Part II”, U2 wouldn’t have cracked America, they’d never have reached the heights of fame or hung around with supermodels, and then the band would still have been yours and mine alone and hearing their songs on the radio would still be a surprise and make your chest swell with pride. You know, in Bizarro Land. " Beautiful thought! U2 should make a song out of these words ;-) (Cor salutes Caroline)

greydogblues - 09 May, 2012

sweet

will be tuning in to some of these from a different perspective...

johnhollandeire - 08 May, 2012

Moment of surrender

your are so right caro

Thomas T - 07 May, 2012

Miami

Love Miami!!! There is some great music on Pop and I agree about the Pop tour. I watched the live in Mexico City DVD for the first time last year and was blown away.

Hardfelt - 07 May, 2012

Idiosyncratic

I really like this list as it one made by a real fan - not someone who worked with the band, or knows them from back in the day. Just goes to show that they are not only a great band, but have a decent catalogue of songs; which, if mined, will produce some rare gems for the uninitiated.

Graemevdw - 07 May, 2012

Uncovering U2's Greatest Musical Secrets

I'm 100% in agreement with Caroline's playlist! These are (some) of the songs that make U2 truly great- those unconventional, timeless diamonds lurking deeper down the track listings of each album. With daytime radio becoming increasingly formulaic and airing tracks so quickly forgotten, Moment of Surrender would have been a brilliant first single, or Breathe, or Unknown Caller- Three years on and I'm still getting into U2's finest moment album. And, don't you love how the critics are split on it!

NanyandGonzo - 07 May, 2012

Love these sharings!!!

I do enjoy reading what other people think and like about U2's songs. I agree with the songs, especially some of her comments. Wish I had listened to them playing Miami live, because I still have problems with that one. Love to see Love is Blindness and Red Hill Mining Town, I particularly re-discovered them by checking the video in the De-Luxe box of Joshua Tree and the first one in the extra material of Achtung Baby when Edge is singing it. Please, keep up with these type of comments, it gives you a new perspective :-)

peto39 - 06 May, 2012

Nice PLay List

Mine is as follows: 1. Out of Control 2. A Sort of Homecoming 3. Lady with the Spinning Head - Best of B Sides 4. Two Hearts Beat as One 5. With or Without You 5. Red Hill Mining Town 6. If God Would Send His Angels 7. Gloria 8. 40 - Under a Blood Red Sky Version 9. Kite - live in Sydney Version 2006 10. Unknown Caller 11. Heartland - Rattle and Hum 12. Bad 13. Wild Horses 14. Into the Heart 15. Miracle Drug

broonie9 - 05 May, 2012

broonie9

well thought out list from an obvious u2 fan that knows her stuff.

joshthetree - 05 May, 2012

Good Play List

Good playlist quite close to mine ;0)

barbie61311 - 04 May, 2012

Barbie061311

An absract of magnificent and a tremendous legacy to a increditable band.A great reminder of past and present!

LetMeInTheSound7 - 04 May, 2012

A little oops! Great songs though!

Great list! Great songs! I don't remember A sort of Homecoming being on the Joshua Tree though. :)

bowieno - 04 May, 2012

Great selection

nice spectral choices all around --agree about moment of surrender

Leon2 - 04 May, 2012

Caroline's list.....

What can I say, it's a fine list with lots of mine favorits!! Thanx C

pepebasabeleoz1 - 04 May, 2012

WHAT A PL!

Totally agreed with the "miami" live version, awesome! "Moment..."is a finest piece of art...and "the first time" live from vertigo tour, was a beautiful and unexpected gift.

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