Friday Random Ten – the Really, Is U2 Still Cool? edition March 6, 2009 Jill You know the drill: Put your MP3 player in shuffle and post the first 10 songs that come up. And then someone explain to me why anyone would pay $300 to hear U2 live. Friday song you should all listen to: Big Weekend (thanks Dave). Who else is ready for summer? 1. Les Savy Fav – One Way Widow 2. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Dudley 3. Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson – Mountaineer’d 4. Radiohead – 15 Step 5. Tom Waits – Anywhere I Lay My Head 6. The Pogues – The Old Main Drag 7. Amr Diab – We Hikaytek Aih 8. The Bloodsugars – Purpose Was Again 9. Voxtrot – Wrecking Force 10. Cat Power – Living Proof Friday videos (only two this week, because I have shit to do): Telepathe: Band of Horses:
1. Hole – “Gutless” 2. Feist – “1234” 3. Taproot – “Poem” 4. Jill Scott – “Love Rain” 5. Toad the Wet Sprocket – “All I Want” 6. Innocence Mission – “Keeping Awake” 7. Violent Femmes – “Kiss Off” 8. Jeffrey Gaines – “In Your Eyes” 9. Tori Amos – “Bliss” 10. David Gray – “Nightblindness” Does this in anyway redeem me from the Coldplay thing? 😉
SAD FACE, JILL, SAD FACE. Though, in all fairness, the only person I’d pay $300 to see is Paul McCartney. And that’s only because he’s my third favorite Beatle — and more importantly, my first favorite living Beatle. Ha.
I loved, loved, loved U2 up through “The Joshua Tree”. They jumped the shark in November 1987, when Bono took it on himself to vandalize Justin Herman plaza in San Francisco. Nothing has been the same since. I haven’t bought a U2 record since the disappointing “Achtung Baby”. They peaked around the year you were born — “War” is a stunningly good record.
Now this will reveal something about me, but not sure what… 1. Pharmacists ” Me and Mia” 2. Bonnie Raitt-“Burning Down the House” 3. Curtis Salgado “Cookie Dough” 4. Boston “Rock and Roll Band” 5. Cherry Poppin Daddies “Come Back to Me” 6. Billy Bragg “To Have and To Hold” 7. Lucinda Williams “World Without Tears” 8. U2 “Zoo Station” 9. The Bangles “Walk Like an Egyptian” 10. Melissa Etheridge “I Want to Come Over”
This’ll be interesting, since Shiner is the one who loaded this installment of stuff on my ipod. I asked him to surprise me with stuff that would be good to work out to: 1) Cold Eye–She Keeps Bees 2) Magic–Ladyhawke 3) I’m Melting!–Rainer Maria 4) Concerning the UFO Sighting Near Highland, Illinois — Sufjan Stevens 5) Tallulah–Tori Amos 6) Blue and Gold Print–Mates of State 7) Team–Bon Iver 8) Jezebel–Iron and Wine 9) All Wrong–Morphine 10) Thrice All American–Neko Case Jesus, who would I pay $300 to see? It would have to be someone dead like Janis Joplin or the Clash, since $300 is really quite cheap for time travel and/or resurrection.
Kind of an odd mix, even for me today. The second track is especially obscure. It’s from a compilation called “Girls in the Garage, vol. 3,” a bunch of garage band tracks from the 60’s. 1. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds “O Children” 2. The Girls “Rocket For Girls” 3. The Mills Brothers “The Very Thought of You” 4. Hank Williams III “Blue Devil” 5. Eddie Cochran “Cotton Picker” 6. Tribe 8 “Old Skool, New Skool” 7. Joe Jackson “It’s Different For Girls” 8. Tony Borders “Cheaters Never Win” 9. Talking Heads “Life During Wartime (Live)” 10. Patti Smith “Sonic Reducer (Live)”
oh what a special and random list… 1. Gimme Your Good Lovin’ – Diving for Pearls 2. Til I Hear It From You – Gin Blossoms 3. Just Like Heaven – The Cure 4. Lovin U – Alicia Keys 5. Oughta Know – Alanis Morissette 6. O My My – Ani Difranco 7. Be Be Your Love – Rachael Yamagata 8. Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours – Stevie Wonder 9. Hungry for Love – Katie Reider 10. Tiny Dancer – Ben Folds
1. Lovely – Suicidal Tendencies 2. Up Against the Wall – Peter Bjorn and John 3. Evacuate the Vacuous – The Unicorns 4. Dismantle Me – The Distillers 5. Drink til we’re gone – Lucero 6. Luvstory – Sigur Ros 7. Piggy – NIN 8. A Slow Dance – Explosion in the Sky 9. Sweet Year Old- Shudder to Think 10. Black Mirror – The Arcade Fire
I’m with you Hugo, War was an incredible album. But even at their peak U2 wasn’t worth $300 bucks. Still, my biggest problem with U2 has always been that their best work (like most of War) co-opted the sound of the early Goth movement and made it difficult for better bands to get a break because major labels saw them as U2 clones. Not their fault, but it still sucked. Anyway, my list: 1) Be My Dark Angel – Electric Six 2) Ghoulina – Nekromantix 3) Falling – Lacuna Coil 4) Good Day Sunshine – The Beatles 5) World in My Eyes – Depeche Mode 6) Slaying the Lambs – Aeternus 7) Nothing’s The Same – Black Label Society 8) Arntor, Ein Windir – Windir 9) Breaking Up The Girl – Garbage 10) Downfall – Children On Stun
1. Won’t U Please B Nice – Nellie McKay 2. Blue Blanket – Andrea Gibson 3. So Done – Jeannie Ortega 4. Closer to You – Brandi Carlile 5. Annabelle – Antje Duvekot 6. Love Me Like You Mean It – Molly Venter 7. Dogs – Damien Rice 8. Let Him Fly – Dixie Chicks 9. Clean Getaway – Maria Taylor 10. Promises – Gregory Douglass
I have paid, three times, pretty close to US$300 to see Paul McCartney. The first time (Driving Rain Tour, Toronto) I had 21st row or thereabouts, the next two (Driving Rain Tour, Cleveland and Us Tour, Detroit) were 14th row, dead centre. To me, he’s the equivalent of Superman (Neil Finn is Batman, BTW) and I don’t regret a single penny. I wouldn’t pay anywhere close to that to see U2 (only saw the Joshua Tree tour when I was in high school); I absolutely fucking love The Edge, though.
I have paid, three times, pretty close to US$300 to see Paul McCartney. The first time (Driving Rain Tour, Toronto) I had 21st row or thereabouts, the next two (Driving Rain Tour, Cleveland and Us Tour, Detroit) were 14th row, dead centre. To me, he’s the equivalent of Superman (Neil Finn is Batman, BTW) and I don’t regret a single penny. JEALOUS. I just hope that he comes back to my area one last time before he decides to finally retire (I’m not trying to push him at all, but it has to be in the somewhat near future), so that I can see a real live Beatle in my lifetime. Sigh.
Aside from never being too impressed by McCartney’s work, I think he’s kind of a douchebag on a personal level. A friend of my father’s manages production for smallish bass company in Chicago. A few years ago an order came in from McCartney for a high end custom model. After the work was completed (which was a chore in itself) McCartney’s manager explained that “Mr. McCartney hasn’t paid for an instrument since he bought his first Rickenbacker” and expected the instrument (which cost somewhere in the high four figures/low five figures to build) to be comped. I think it says something about the quality of a person who is personally worth over a billion dollars when they try to screw a little company out of what, for them, is essentially pocket change.
That should say “McCartney’s solo work” in the first sentence. His work with the Beatles was inspired.
Um, I don’t know if those comments are just directed at everyone or at me in particular, but anyone who knows anything about my Beatles fandom knows that I would not disagree with your assessment of either Paul’s solo work or his douchiness. In fact, I’m quite prone to pissing off Paul fans/Beatles fans who are Paul lovers. Though of course I do still love Paul. Part of loving the Beatles is loving Paul both because of and in spite of his douchiness. Since, you know, he really is a massive douche. *ducks*
U2 and Sir McCartney are worth $300 if you plan to attend the shows for a whole week (ave. $43/show). I would attend shows for Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins for $1,120 a month ($40/show). With that said, here is my Random ten (shuffled Media Player): 1. Goodbye Earl [04:20] — Dixie Chicks 2. Rock ‘N Roll Fantasy [03:18] — Bad Company 3. 2000 Blues [04:42]- ZZ Top 4. Stayed Awake All Night [08:28] — Bachman Turner Overdrive 5. Uptown/Head/Sister [11:46] — Prince 6. Back in NYC/Hairless Heart/Counting Out Time [11:46] — Genesis 7. Paper in Fire [03:47] — John Mellencamp 8. Too Much Ain’t Enough [02:56] — Tom Petty 9. Tarkus [20:42] — Emerson, Lake & Palmer 10. Lady Madonna [02:18] — The Beatles Bonus: 11. You Talk Too Much [04:34] — George Thorogood 12. New Year’s Day [05:37] — U2 13. House of Four Doors/Legend of a Mind/House of Four Doors, Pt. 2 [12:31] — The Moody Blues 14. The Rover [05:37] — Led Zeppelin 15. The Ballroom Blitz [04:03] — Sweet
Cara: I was just kind of complaining about Paul in general. Its a hobby of mine whenever he comes up in conversation because, really, he was always my least favorite Beatle (Ringo gets a bad rap, man!!!!), then again, I know pretty much no one else agrees with my blasphemous George/John/Ringo/Paul thing. What can I say, he’s the guy I love to hate 😉 Also, I just love the story because the guy who works for the Bass company is the most laid back aging hippy you could ever meet and he forced Paul to pay for the first bass he’d payed for in close to 50 years.
Also, I just love the story because the guy who works for the Bass company is the most laid back aging hippy you could ever meet and he forced Paul to pay for the first bass he’d payed for in close to 50 years. Hehe. Awesome. Paul is not the guy I love to hate, but he is the guy I love to mock. My Beatles picks in terms of music go: John/Paul/George/Ringo. By personality, they go: John/George/Ringo/Paul. But in terms of just favorite Beatles overall, they go: John/George/Paul/Ringo. But I definitely agree that Ringo gets a bad rap. Poor Ringo.
My shuffle is always such a mish mash of music: 1. Nazra-Ruby 2. Symphony #9: movement 3-Dvorak 3. Rush-Talib Kweli 4. Scottish Symphony: movement 2-Mendelssohn 5. A Long Walk-Jill Scott 6. Musiq Soulchild-Musiq Soulchild 7. Nagada Nagada-Javed Ali & Sonu Nigam 8. If I Needed Someone-The Beatles 9. third movement, Largo: Trio in Re Minore-Shostakovich 10. Some Other Time-Leonard Bernstein