My taste in music has changed quite a bit over the years — from mostly pop to mostly rock — but one of the few bands that has stuck with me through the years is U2.
U2 is one of the principal bands that my parents grew up with, so naturally my sister and I grew up hearing the same music. Vacations to New Hampshire, grocery store runs, even trips to the car wash were excuses to pop Bono & Co. into the six-disc CD changer. To this day, I associate certain songs of theirs with specific memories that bring me back to my childhood years.
In light of U2’s recent announcement about their new album, How To Re-Assemble An Atomic Bomb, which will piggyback off of their 2004 How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb, I thought I would open my final year as a member of the Panther Press by looking back. Here are some recent U2 songs I’ve discovered — or, rather, re-discovered!
Vertigo
“Uno, dos, tres, catorce!” is Bono’s entry into the opening track on How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb. “Vertigo” opens the 2004 album with the perfect balance of rock ‘n’ roll fervor and upbeat melodies. The lyrics, with such imagery as the “Girl with crimson nails has Jesus around her neck,” persist through themes of love and euphoria.
The Fly
The Fly Glasses are perhaps Bono’s signature accessory, but I hadn’t discovered their song of origin until somewhat recently, when I was driving with my dad. He had Achtung Baby playing. I wasn’t sold until I heard the chorus: “Love, we shine like a burning star/We’re falling from the sky.” For some unknown reason, that lyric resonated with me. Not even halfway through the song, I asked, “What song is this?”
In A Little While
In this digital age we find ourselves, many people play their music of choice via bluetooth speakers connected to their phones. At my house, we still have a substantial collection of CDs. One day not too long ago, my mom was playing All That You Can’t Leave Behind on her CD player, and I happened to come downstairs in time to catch “In A Little While.” I wasn’t familiar with this track, but was immediately intrigued. Many of U2’s songs involve vivid imagery and figurative language, but this number takes you on a melodic journey — complete with Bono’s classic non-lexical vocables in each chorus.
Kite (Live at The Fleet Center, Boston, MA)
“Kite” is arguably one of U2’s most beautiful, emotional, and heart-wrenching songs, but the live recording from Boston in June of 2001 is something else entirely. In this version in particular, Bono puts emotional weight and depth into every note. Every word has so much memory behind it. The sheer sound that is created — between Bono’s vocals and acoustic guitar, Edge’s electric guitar, Larry Mullen’s drums, and Adam Clayton’s bass — is simply a testament to the talent and spirit of the band that is U2. The accompanying video of the live performance demonstrates the closeness of the band members and how much they enjoy making music together. While the recorded version of the song is certainly worth a listen as well, personally, I think the live version is a treasure.
Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own
My most recent find, “Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own,” came to me only a few weeks ago, when, once again, my mom was playing How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb on the CD player. This song has an air to it — both a lightness and a depth — that seems to transcend time. “And it’s you when I look in the mirror/And it’s you when I don’t pick up the phone/Sometimes you can’t make it on your own.” Evidently, Bono wrote the song about his father, whom he clearly references with the line, “You’re the reason why the opera is in me.”
Mothers of the Disappeared
For some reason, I always used to skip over the last two songs on The Joshua Tree when listening to the 1987 album. I don’t remember hearing those last two as a child, so in my mind they disappeared (for lack of a better term). One day last year I was wrapped up in my work and forgot to skip past it, and thus I discovered the beauty of the song that is “Mothers of the Disappeared.” I associate the song with my junior year of high school, as I would often listen to it while reading in my English class. It holds a powerful message, but is delivered with an almost lullaby-esque quality.
Moment of Surrender
“Moment of Surrender” is driven by its deeply resonant beat and lyrics. Bono’s existentialism reaches a height in this song as he explores ideas of invisibility and identity: “I could see in the reflection/A face staring back at me…I did not notice the passers-by/And they did not notice me.” I think many of us can relate to this imagery — some of us often feel invisible, and often have the realization that we are just one person in the masses, a singular star in the vast expanse of space.
Staring At The Sun
I played this song on April 8th when my mom, my grandfather, and I were watching the solar eclipse. 1997’s Pop was one of U2’s more experimental albums, but “Staring At The Sun” stands out as a key track. It paints the picture of a perfect moment on a summer day while hinting at underlying themes of figurative blindness, reality, and spirituality.
The Little Things That Give You Away
In 2017, when my dad told me about U2’s new album Songs Of Experience, I wasn’t the same avid U2 fan I am now. I didn’t explore the album fully until a few years ago, but I still had a tendency to skip over certain songs in favor of others. One day, I was listening to the whole album absentmindedly and heard “The Little Things That Give You Away.” The first part of the song is beautiful, but it was at the two-and-a-half minute mark that I realized what I’d been missing. The second half of the song is almost its own entity, with Edge’s classic reverberating guitar and Bono admitting, “Sometimes/I can’t believe my existence/I see myself from a distance/I can’t get back inside.” I relate to the existentialism of his thoughts, and love the lyrics coupled with the song’s crescendoing melody.
The Crystal Ballroom
My sister recently discovered this track on the deluxe edition of the highly controversial Songs Of Innocence album. About halfway through, the song reaches its pinnacle: a burst of guitar closely followed by Bono’s “oh, oh, oh, oh, oh!” It’s a dance break moment in a song about love and longing: “We’re the ghosts of love in every face/In the ballroom of the crystalline/Everyone’s here with me tonight/Everyone but you.”
One (Songs of Surrender)
When many people think of the band U2, the song “One,” originally off of their 1991 album Achtung Baby, comes to mind. In 2023, U2 released Songs Of Surrender, a collection of 40 songs reimagined. “One (Songs of Surrender)” is a beautiful take on the original song. Not many of U2’s songs feature piano and such simplicity, but this track evokes the true emotion behind each chord and lyric.
A Sort of Homecoming
Before I even heard “A Sort of Homecoming,” I had seen the Disney+ documentary of the same name. It doesn’t take much for me to get attached to a U2 song, and that holds true for this one. After hearing my mom play it a few times, I was hooked by the sound of the chorus. This song feels like a homecoming (of sorts).
The Unforgettable Fire
“The Unforgettable Fire” has an airy beginning that one might compare with the essential “Where The Streets Have No Name.” But as soon as Adam’s bass filters its way in, we know this song will have a different feel. The verses have a dangerous sort of sound, a reaching, “almost there” feeling. Likewise, the chorus feels like a melodic climax. Bono’s lyrics call out to the listener, another example of his frequent mix of emotion-evoking existentialism and concrete descriptions that create a complex landscape.
Stay (Faraway, So Close!)
Perhaps the central track off of U2’s other experimental album, Zooropa, “Stay (Faraway, So Close!)” has the classic swing of a typical love song. But, as evident in the lyrics, the love in question is an unrequited love. The words express an inability to reach someone and the helplessness that is felt by the narrator.
Bonus: My Top Twenty-Five
You know, I was going to do a Top Ten list, but there’s just too many good ones.
25. One Step Closer
24. Original Of The Species
23. All I Want Is You
22. New Year’s Day
21. Cedarwood Road
20. Every Breaking Wave
19. Song For Someone
18. Iris (Hold Me Close)
17. Landlady
16. Bad
15. Mysterious Ways
14. One
13. Miracle Drug
12. City Of Blinding Lights
11. No Line On The Horizon
10. Magnificent
9. Walk On
8. One Tree Hill
7. Ultraviolet (Light My Way)
6. Your Song Saved My Life
5. I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For
4. Where The Streets Have No Name
3. Invisible (RED) Edit Version
2. Gloria
1. With Or Without You
How To Re-Assemble An Atomic Bomb
It’s been twenty years since 2004’s How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb, so I suppose it’s only fitting that the new album is titled How To Re-Assemble An Atomic Bomb. A collection of 10 unreleased songs from the original album, Re-Assemble is sure to attract long-time fans.
“Country Mile” and “Picture of You (X+W)” were the first two songs to be released ahead of the album, followed by “Happiness.”
Considering U2 has been together for almost fifty years, it will be interesting to see what their next project will be, independent of their previous discography.
The album is scheduled for release on November 22, 2024.
Click here to see the official trailer.
