Four Guys from Dublin – Part 3

After training finished, I headed east to begin my two years of Peace Corps service as a high school English teacher in a city on the Black Sea. Those first few months at post were lonely- I was living alone in the apartment of a young man who had recently died (I forget if it was drugs or suicide, or both)- but U2’s The Best Of 1980-1990 helped pull me through. Songs like “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”, “Where the Streets Have No Name”, and “Bad” spoke to what I was experiencing at the time- everything- and I was grateful for the company (there was no cell phone, laptop, or Internet).

In much the same way U2 started out in Dublin, as new Peace Corps Volunteers we too were young, pious, and idealistic- but by the end of two years in Bulgaria we had grown wiser, more cynical, and more hedonistic- just like U2 when they broke with their former image and ushered in a completely new sound and attitude with Achtung Baby- an album that was not afraid to party on the dance floor (“Even Better Than the Real Thing”) or explore the darkness (“Love Is Blindness”). Now that was exciting.

Bono is the front man but it’s guitarist the Edge who gives U2 their signature sound and will keep listeners fist pumping to “Pride (In the Name of Love)” or playing air guitar to “All I Want Is You” long after the band has faded into oblivion. But what has U2 done for me lately? I don’t like their last three albums and I wonder if the band is too old to learn new tricks- or if they still have it in them to do something unexpected and reinvent their sound again. But they’re so rich and still make so much money from touring- why should they care? Perhaps they’re like a tired, dissatisfied couple who stay together for the kids- or- in U2’s case- for their thousands of employees and even larger number of fans who demand it. Here are some more of my favorite U2 songs. Enjoy!

01. U2 – “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” (1987)

02. U2 – “Van Diemen’s Land (Live)” (1988)

03. U2 – “Even Better Than the Real Thing” (1991)

04. U2 – “All I Want Is You” (1988)

05. U2 – “Bad” (1984)

06. U2 – “Pride (In the Name of Love)” (1984)

07. U2 – “Where the Streets Have No Name” (1987)

08. U2 – “Beautiful Day” (2000)

09. U2 – “Love Is Blindness” (1991)

10. U2 – “‘40’” (1983)

Listen to the playlist on Spotify...

... or check out the playlist on YouTube

(To open music in separate window, click title bar at top of video box)

Recommended Links:

It Might Get Loud – Trailer

It Might Get Loud – Where the Streets Have No Name

U2 on CBS Sunday Morning 2015

U2 – “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” (1987)

U2 – “Where the Streets Have No Name” (1987)