William's Song a Day Blog - est. September 2007

From: Achtung Baby ; Year: 1991; Genre: Alternative Rock I find it quite peculiar how, it would seem, that most people I've come into contact with one way or another have chronological "dividing lines" for the great U2 music and the not-so-great U2 music. Now, I'm sure that there are many fans out there that like all eras of the band's music, and/or prefer their more recent material. For me personally, Achtung Baby is really the last record from the band that I truly enjoy without a doubt. Sure, it's not as good as The Joshua Tree album, but there are a lot of excellent, memorable songs on this one. This song: One , is one of those songs you should immediately recognize and should invoke some memories along with it. The aspects that I like the most about it is the overall tone/chord progression of the guitar as well as the mellow, unobtrusive keyboards throughout parts of the song.   Watch the music video on YouTube.       My song pick 1 year ago today: Me...

From: War ; Year: 1983; Genre: Rock Here's another absolutely perfect track that ended a record; it's another song with a heavy, and powerful construction both musically and lyrically. It's quite a feat that U2 pulled off extremely well with the overall high-emotional state of the album from beginning to end; I guess it also helps that the song was based on the 40th Psalm .   Hear 40 (How Long) on YouTube.       My song pick 1 year ago today: Phil Collins - I Don't Care Anymore   My song pick 2 years ago today: The Flying Burrito Brothers - Dark End of the Street   My song pick 3 years ago today: Talk Talk - Living In Another World My song pick 4 years ago today: The Kinks - In a Foreign Land My song pick 5 years ago today: Rare Earth - Hey Big Brother My song pick 6 years ago today: The Drifters - Up On The Roof My song pick 7 years ago today: Lou Rawls - Long 'Bout Midnight My song pick 8 years ago today: The Temptations - Ain't Too Proud to B...

From: War ; Year: 1983; Genre: Rock A bit ago I was meaning to pick this song from U2, but another song just seemed like a better choice for that day. Now I'm finally able to get around to adding this one to my blog. Hear Seconds on YouTube. My song pick 1 year ago today: Rammstein, featuring Viktoria Fersh - Moskau My song pick 2 years ago today: Led Zeppelin - Black Dog My song pick 3 years ago today: Guns N' Roses - Patience My song pick 4 years ago today: Yes - It Was All We Knew My song pick 5 years ago today: Billy Joel - Worse Comes to Worse My song pick 6 years ago today: Marillion - Assassing My song pick 7 years ago today: Ian Anderson - Kismet in Suburbia My song pick 8 years ago today: Hawkwind - Fable of a Failed Race My song pick 9 years ago today: Billy Joel - It's Still Rock and Roll to Me My song pick 10 years ago today: Daft Punk - One More Time My song pick 11 years ago today: Al Stewart - Time Passages My song pick 12 ye...

From: October ; Year: 1981; Genre: Rock Was thinking this morning that I should choose a song about this month, October. As with most songs written about this month this title-track from their 1981 record is a bit maudlin and wistful. I think it has to do a lot with the zeitgeists of the time: the uncertainty of the future and such. Still it's a very pretty song albeit very short in length. Hear October on YouTube. My song pick 1 year ago today: Pendragon - Victims of Life My song pick 2 years ago today: Parliament - Mothership Connection (Star Child) My song pick 3 years ago today: Joni Mitchell - Furry Sings the Blues My song pick 4 years ago today: Paul Revere & The Raiders - Kicks My song pick 5 years ago today: C.W. McCall - Ghost Town My song pick 6 years ago today: Stevie Nicks - Stand Back My song pick 7 years ago today: Jigsaw - Blow, Blow, Thou Winter Wind My song pick 8 years ago today: U2 - Mysterious Ways My song pick 9 years ago today: ...

From: The Unforgettable Fire ; Year: 1984; Genre: Rock I had them on my mind this morning, and since I hadn't picked one from them for a bit I thought I would go ahead and do so. Hear A Sort of Homecoming on YouTube. My song pick one year ago today: A-ha - The Sun Always Shines on T.V. My song pick two years ago today: Cream - Crossroads My song pick three years ago today: Luther Davis Group - You Can Be a Star My song pick four years ago today: Megadeth - Hangar 18 My song pick five years ago today: Black 47 - Different Drummer My song pick six years ago today: Band of Horses - The First Song My song pick seven years ago today: Forest - A Glade Somewhere My song pick eight years ago today: Weather Report - Teen Town My song pick nine years ago today: Johann Sebastian Bach - BWV 1068 - Orchestral Suite No.3 in D-Major, " Air "

From: Rattle and Hum ; Year: 1988; Genre: Blues Rock This morning I found myself in the mood for something from U2; this classic bluesy rock song featuring the late great B.B. King seemed perfect. Hear When Love Comes to Town on YouTube. My song pick one year ago today: Alice in Chains - I Stay Away My song pick two years ago today: Jaco Pastorius (featuring Sam & Dave) - Come Over, Come Over My song pick three years ago today: Chet Atkins - Whispering My song pick four years ago today: Pink Floyd - Another Brick in the Wall, Parts 1-3 My song pick five years ago today: Blue Öyster Cult - X-Ray Eyes My song pick six years ago today: Alton Ellis - Sunday Coming My song pick seven years ago today: Pat Benatar - Treat Me Right My song pick eight years ago today: Ronnie Milsap - Smokey Mountain Rain

1455 U2 - The Unforgettable Fire From: The Unforgettable Fire , Year: 1984 Genre: Rock I heard this one the other day on the radio and had it on my mind again today. The arrangements throughout this song are quite good. In my opinion this is one of U2's more distinct sounding tracks; there is so much going on in the background. Here is the studio version on YouTube. Here is a live performance circa '87 on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Tears for Fears - Everybody Wants to Rule the World My song pick two years ago today: Thompson Twins - Hold Me Now My song pick three years ago today: Bachman-Turner Overdrive (BTO) - Gimme Your Money Please +

1445 U2 - Where the Streets Have No Name From: The Joshua Tree , Year: 1987 Genre: Rock Over the weekend the cable television channel VH1 Classic has been celebrating the 30th anniversary of MTV . I find it kind of odd that they would be celebrating it on VH1 Classic instead of, I don't know, MTV ? I guess that they would rather run marathons of their normal crap that has nothing to do with music on there instead; it begs the question as to why they still call it "Music Television" when there is hardly anything musical about it. I don't think that I have actually tuned into MTV in well over 10 years now and I wouldn't have it except for the fact that it's a basic cable channel. Since they've been doing this 30th anniversary thing it's been a crap shoot every time you tune into VH1 Classic that something good is going to be on. Anyway, I'm picking a song here eh? Yesterday I happened upon a classic U2 concert from the mid eighties and...

1144 U2 - Mysterious Ways I felt like listening to some U2 this morning. Whilst out and about yesterday I heard this track on the radio, I figured it would make a nice pick. Achtung Baby is really their last album that I truly like, not to say that they haven't released anything good since. While they have released quite a few songs that I like since, it's just maybe a few songs off each album that I personally like. Contrast that with say War or The Joshua Tree ; those albums are permeated with excellent music and I usually play them through without skipping a track. I really wish many bands would go back to the concept of making records the masterpiece rather than just one or two hit singles and then just fill the rest of it up with ill-conceived filler. Watch the music video to Mysterious Ways on Youtube. My song pick a year ago today: Iron Maiden - Seventh Son of a Seventh Son + My song pick two years ago today: The Who - Behind Blue Eyes + My song pick three years ago ...

912 ( U2 - I Will Follow ) Having one of those days where I set out to do my song pick sans a song in mind that felt right for the day. However, this morning whilst on the road I heard some U2 and their music kept going through my mind; especially their earlier sound. I decided that I should choose something from their earlier catalogue. This straight-ahead rocker hails from their first album, " Boy ;" it was one of the album's hits. Here is the music video on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: The Delgados - Keep On Breathing My song pick two years ago today: Yoko Kanno (The Seat Belts) - Tank! +

779 ( U2 - Pride (In the Name of Love) ) I have been listening to a bit of U2 recently and figured that it was time to add another one of their songs to my list. One thing that I have always loved about U2 is the intensity at which they perform their music; this song exemplifies that intensity. This is one of my favorite of U2's songs, I especially like Bono's vocals on this track. Watch the music video on YouTube. Here is a live performance from '84 on YouTube. There are quite a few more live performances available to view as well My song pick a year ago today: #407 The Charlie Daniels Band - Uneasy Rider My song pick two years ago today: #39 Megadeth - Psychotron +

Happy New Year! Just got done watching the ball drop on Dick Clark's Rockin' Eve and figured that I would pick a song before I headed off to bed. Very interesting festivities tonight on television, no real good acts performed that caught my attention tonight. However, one of the better highlights was Robbie Knievel making a jump on the Las Vegas Strip, which was pretty awesome. Anyway, I could not let this day go without choosing this aptly named song for the occasion. I have always liked this one quite a bit, although it's not my favorite song by U2. The rhythm is the main draw for me, I love the smooth yet melancholy sound; it is just a great track. Here is the music video on YouTube. Here is a performance from Top of the Pops on YouTube. +

A while ago I had a friend that was getting into music after being brought up in a very sheltered existence concerning music. He wanted to know if there were any Irish bands that were political and intense, I rattled of a bunch of bands to him and I showed him some of the different Irish bands' music, in the end he came to like U2. Anyway, this is an excellent political, anti-conflict song that dealt with the violence in Ireland. Probably the three main aspects of the song that make it what it is: the drum beat, the guitar riffs, and Bono's vocals. Here is the studio version on YouTube. Here is a live performance on YouTube. +