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  1. ^ couldn't agree more. While Pride and SBS are probably dead horses (does that expression makes sense in English?) for most of the fanbase, Streets does absolutely NOT belong to that group. I seriously doubt that a sizeable amount of the audience at a U2 show thinks "Oh, Streets... Time for a beer/bathroom/sandwich break"... You know what I mean.
  2. "Flogging a dead horse" is an English expression, but playing Pride is *not* flogging a dead horse. The performances of Pride for Obama or SBS for MTV cleary show that there is life yet in these songs.

    I do agree with you on R&H being instrumental in shaping Streets. But the video to Streets already got that ball rolling: it was a performance song from the start. It was also the opening track on JT, as well as the opener during the JT tour and the LoveTown tour. It was played between SBS and Pride on Zooropa, in the latter half of the show.

    The September 11th connotation is mostly an American thing and I say that as a European with heavy US connections. The rest of the world simply doesn't see everything in terms of pre- and post-9/11, but there is a tendency in the USA to do exaclty that. Also, the people of yurp don't usually watch the Superbowl (although I do and I can recommend it to anyone).

    The key to Streets is that it could be associated with Northern Ireland, or Africa, or the USA. It has evolved more in meaning than in musical content. It has been presented in different lights and allows the listener this freedom of interpretation as well. It has always been that kind of song.
  3. Since there are still a lot of "casual" fans at U2 shows, Pride and SBS I'd be willing to bet that they still go over very well in most instances. Pride is a good sing-a-long tune while SBS has a lot of pumping energy. We all just listen to too many bootlegs - if that's even possible.
  4. I actually cannot imagine a U2 show without Sunday Bloody Sunday. I've heard it a million times (at least) and it still gets me pumped.

    And I don't think I qualify to be in the "casual U2 fan" category anymore.


  5. i preferred never to see that sort of new life

    rotation is a good way not to make songs "dead horses" .. provided that there are ..
  6. Originally posted by germcevoy:Streets is less today than it has ever been I think. Now or Vertigo. Its just another SBS or Pride. I do like the odd segue from 360 but the song itself is tired. It peaked during 87 but ZooTV are my favourite performances.

    I agree with the first part of this, it is less today only because Bono just doesn't have as much passion for it anymore. I honestly believe it Streets reached its peak during the Elevation Tour with that magical 40/Psalm 116 segue and then Bono running like a madmen around the heart. It built on the strong performances and build-up achieved on ZooTV and the funky rendition of it during Popmart.

    What I don't agree with is the claim that its just another SBS or Pride. Nothing could be further from the truth in my opinon. All you have to do is rock up to a live concert to know this is not the case. But that probably has a lot to do with the fact that its played at every concert and there have been a squillion bootlegs and live recordings.

    Streets is so much a segue, atmospheric kind of song as a previous forum topic here focussed on. Vertigo and 360 just didn't do it for me segue-wise although You'll Never Walk Alone was bearable.
    Next tour let's get back to basics and precede it with a classic like Running or Bad so it can rediscover the magic.


  7. Bono's rapping/shouting certainly needs work, but I could appreciate what Jay-Z brought to SBS. Even if you don't like that kind of stuff, the rest of that song was outstanding in that performance; great setting too...

    As for streets, I'm pretty sure that for "casual fans" it has the same classic status as songs like SBS or Pride. Plus there is a whole generation of casuals fans for whom songs like BD and Vertigo *are* classics.

    I must stress again how brilliantly Streets works as a show opener, much better than Breathe or BD, on par with Elevation, only surpassed by Zoo Station, which for casual fans is probably the strangest opener. Obviously, with Streets opening there is no segueing.
  8. it's not Bono rapping .. it's the other man that gives blasfemy to it
    agreed that it was a good performance .. till what should have been the "no more" part

    i'd also like to see Streets as opener again ,, sometimes at least
  9. ^ +1 to the Streets as opener thing. Nevermind the "no, because the show peaks too early" argument, that's bullshit. Start off with Streets and get it done!! (like they said on the pre-Glastonbury interview with Larry)
  10. if they opened and closed with Vertigo even more they can do the same with Streets and put it somewhere in the middle too
  11. Originally posted by aussiemofo:[..]
    I agree with the first part of this, it is less today only because Bono just doesn't have as much passion for it anymore. I honestly believe it Streets reached its peak during the Elevation Tour with that magical 40/Psalm 116 segue and then Bono running like a madmen around the heart. It built on the strong performances and build-up achieved on ZooTV and the funky rendition of it during Popmart.

    What I don't agree with is the claim that its just another SBS or Pride. Nothing could be further from the truth in my opinon. All you have to do is rock up to a live concert to know this is not the case. But that probably has a lot to do with the fact that its played at every concert and there have been a squillion bootlegs and live recordings.

    Streets is so much a segue, atmospheric kind of song as a previous forum topic here focussed on. Vertigo and 360 just didn't do it for me segue-wise although You'll Never Walk Alone was bearable.
    Next tour let's get back to basics and precede it with a classic like Running or Bad so it can rediscover the magic.


    Valid points. It's the segues and the intro that make it. When Bono takes over it just grinds to a hault. The album version retains the pace throughout in a way that even the best live versions can't. But the best live versions had decent vocals. It's still brilliant and better than SBS (Pride was better than usual on 360) but it's just a million miles from what it was. My negativity is based on its current fomt which is slow and a little tired.
  12. Though just for balance I did just goosebump at New Years Eve at The Point.