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The Joshua Tree - U2 · Barber Cuts: Beats and Bars

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Welcome Survivor cuts, beats and bars.
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We're a father to daughter music podcast that slices into some of
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the greatest albums, one cut at a time.
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With no industry ties or formal training, just a shared love of
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music, we explore albums across genres, rating favorites and
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skips while digging into what makes each one iconic.
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I bring the beats. And I bring the bars and
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together we deliver real talk and fresh takes from both sides
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of the sound. What is up everyone?
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I'm Riley. That was different and I.
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Am Todd and. Welcome to this week's episode
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of Barber Cuts. And so we are this week talking
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about The Joshua Tree by U2 1987.
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And also please hopefully continue to work with us as we
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get recordings and videos down. Zoom is causing fits with us so.
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And I am mildly irritated. Which?
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Takes a bit to do. Yes.
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So all that to be said, thanks for joining us again and let's
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get started. So Riley, least favorite two
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from The Joshua Tree. OK, I might be showing my hand
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early and I might not be getting disowned this week.
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I would say the question is more is less.
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What's the least favorite and which song like didn't fit and I
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like. I think only one in my head
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really stood out as being like maybe this one doesn't fit in
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this album, but a really good song nonetheless.
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And this one is Bullet the Blue Sky.
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OK. Now, but like I liked it though,
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obviously because it was hard. It was like one of the harder
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songs and I like that as well and I thought it was a good
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song, but I will say it seemed out of place, especially
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immediately after following like I still haven't found what I'm
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looking for with or without you. Both pretty slow songs and then
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going to running to Stand still, which is another slow song.
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Like it like kind of jars you and then you have to go back and
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I don't know, I really don't just like any songs.
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That's so this is this is hard. And you know, we we label it as
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least favorite to and I guess as you listen through an album,
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there's going to be songs that you gravitate to and play more
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than others. And so, but least favorite may
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again, sometimes it sometimes there are like, Oh, I hate that
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song. That was not the case on this
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album, and I found myself struggling the same way.
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So my do you want to leave it at bullet the blue sky?
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I got I put 2 because I followed the rules.
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But you know. Broken the rules plenty of
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times. This is true.
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My, my, the two, my 2 least favorite, you know, one of them
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was trip through your wires again, love the harmonica
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portion of it. But just as far as comparing it
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to others, it, it didn't do as much for me as the others.
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And then the other one that I put, you know, I, I even wrote,
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I've done it twice in a row now with Oasis last week and now
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this week. Mothers of the Disappeared
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lyrically, that is such a beautiful, sad, and I hate to
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say that it doesn't like, it's one of my least favorites, but
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musically it, it's not as much as some of the other songs on
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the album for me. But that to be said, I'll come
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back to Mothers of the Disappeared with something that
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I found really neat in it later. So that's those are my least
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favorite too. And again, I like them.
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So spoiler alert, maybe for ratings, but if I had to, if I
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had to pick two, those would have been it.
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So favorite too. Riley.
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So one of my favourites was wait.
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I hear. It there's the harmonica you
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were talking about. I found myself coming back to
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this one a little bit more of like on the it's not heavy.
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It's more poppy, but more instrumental and like uppity
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song. I love the way he says trip
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through your wire. I like, I don't know, it just it
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enthralls me. I keep that's also the same with
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me and Oasis. Like I've been obsessed with
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like the way artists say things lately, But I just think it's
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it's a good song. I think it's the lyrics are
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still there, but I think all things considered, it's one of
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the lighter songs on this album where it's just being like it's
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essentially just saying like you keep teasing me and I keep not
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falling for it. Like I just can't catch it,
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Which I guess is the lyric person is bad for me to choose.
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But I think it is nice on a song or for an album that has like
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super heavy lyrics all the time to have they do at least one
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song that's a little bit less heavy.
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Also, I don't know if it's Bono. I don't know if it's someone
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else. Whoever it is, they need to do
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more of that for you too. Whatever.
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Whoever's doing the like, oh, in the middle of the songs and like
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just screaming, I say put that in more U2.
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I don't care if you have to do it post.
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Given the fact that it's lyrics and voice, I I would say it's
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Bono and, and I think he's the one that plays the harmonica as
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well. So he is, which is awesome.
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But yeah, I, I think it's such a fun, I mean fun part to go.
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I just really like that woos. I really like the woos.
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Yeah, I can see that. And then my other favorite, it
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was hard to pick too, 'cause they all stand out.
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But I do have to say this one has been.
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I have liked the song for a while and I when I think of this
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album, this is the song I think of more than I still haven't
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found what I'm looking for. It was their most popular
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singles, so it's not that crazy that it's the one I recognize.
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But gosh, it's a good song. Lyrically, it's amazing.
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It's kind of he, he wrote about it almost being in like the
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purgatory of like performing and being gone all the time and also
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trying to be like your typical guy in a relationship.
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And I think the sentiment of I can't live with or without you
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is like way more impactful than people give it credit for when
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they just sing it like the idea of like, I can't be without you.
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But yet when I'm with you, it's almost just as bad.
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Like there's no winning in this situation.
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And the whole song explains that feeling beautifully.
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A and then with it being like this slow, somber song that
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builds towards the end and just keeps building, like feels like
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kind of where you're trying to think it through.
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And the more you think it and the more you think it, the more
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it builds in you. And you can hear it in his
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voice. Like it's just, I think he gets
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his point across perfectly in this song and it's such a good
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song and I. I agree.
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Like it it wasn't, it wasn't one that I had because like this is
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their biggest thing. And oftentimes with U2, this is
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the song that people think about and justifiably so.
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Like it, it's, it's huge. But I agree with you, you know,
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he starts off real quick and says like, I'll wait for you.
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And then like 2 lines go and he introduces that conflict that
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the rest of the song is about and saying I'll wait without
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you. So yes, the conflict is
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immediately there in the calmness of the voice.
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But yet, like you said, it, it builds.
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Yeah. You can kind of hear it towards
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the end. Yeah, like around 3 minutes when
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he goes, yeah, real high and I don't want to Yeah.
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So. I'm telling you, people need.
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That is that climax that goes up, and it is so good.
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I'm telling you guys, Bono just needs to keep screaming.
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Yeah, you know, and no, go ahead.
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It works every time. It works every time.
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So like you, you mentioned it him saying that it was that
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struggle between being a married man and being a rock'n'roll
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performer essentially, you know, but the, the, the neat thing
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about it is that if you just listen to the song, you know,
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you can apply it to really any situation that has a natural,
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well call a natural tension to it.
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That I I struggle with both sides of this and what I want to
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do and where I want to go and when I want to be this and when
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I want to be that and when should I and when I when
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shouldn't I So and. And I.
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Yeah, go. I I think it's so neat to sing
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that like it's a song that someone can relate to, like
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everyone can relate to something, whether it be a
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significant other or honestly, like family is such like a hard
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thing, like tension. And that's coming from a family
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that gets along great. But like everyone just has
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tensions with how they live their life.
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But I just think it's a beautiful song.
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I, I think, I would hope, I wish more people listen to the song
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and listen to the lyrics 'cause it makes it that much better.
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Also, I I do think that this becomes a song kind of like, oh
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gosh, every step you take or every breath you I can't.
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Remember the exact every breath you take.
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Where people are like, oh, so sweet, I can't live without you.
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And it's like, no, like it is a sweet song, but it's not sweet
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song the way you're thinking. It's a sweet song.
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It's a sweet song saying like this can't happen.
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I can't be with you. And that sucks because I want to
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be with you, but that also sucks and there's no winning.
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And it's like, it's but in my head, like I'll say I never
11:48
really listened that closely coming from like even as a lyric
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person, because it sound like, I mean, it fits the sound of a
11:55
love song. It fits the voice.
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It fits like, and you hear without you, I can't live
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without you. And you're like, oh, love song,
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play it at a wedding. And it's like, don't play it at
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a wedding. Don't do that.
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But yeah, that's AI mean. That is a really good song.
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And I know, I guess people in my age range.
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I don't, I don't because I know that's when Friends was super
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big. But the Ross and Rachel scene
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where it's playing on the radio, which is.
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Which I will so. Well, yeah, I will say I was
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going to say like, oh man, I wish they didn't have that song,
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but I'm like, Nope, that's their song.
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Yeah. The whole will they want the
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whole series being like, will they, won't they?
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But they're bad together. But they're bad not together.
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That's a perfect song for them that whoever came up with that
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got it on the nose. Yes, they, they, they saw what
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was there, paid attention to those lyrics and like, oh, this
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song will work. And it just so happened to be a
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huge, monstrous song that everybody knew.
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So it worked. It worked well for him.
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So yeah, was that your first one?
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I think that was only your first one.
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No, I played trip through your wire.
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Don't forget, you keep forgetting about trip through
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your wire. That's why you said you didn't
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like it that much, and then you. Forgot it again.
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It just, it just blends in for me.
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Say that's impressive if it blends in when the beginning of
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that song is the most startling harmonica entrance you've ever
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heard. True it is.
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It is so I, I was, you know, for the record, probably my favorite
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YouTube song favorite from this album is with or without you.
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But I also didn't want to list it because that I, you know, and
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I had notes to talk about it, but I didn't I didn't want to
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put that in. So I wanted to pick, you know, 2
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that may not get as much play time as the first four.
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First four really huge, especially the first 3.
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So I went with two different ones that I really like.
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First is Exit, which I was wondering if you would pick this
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one because it's in your genre. It is a it is a murder ballad.
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And so you've you've had a song of the week before that's a
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murder ballad. So I was wondering if you want
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to go with it, but you didn't. So lyrically, it's probably the
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darkest one they've got. It's about a religious fanatic
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serial killer. Maybe is the best way of putting
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it or is the right way to put it on?
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I guess I can. Here we go play it.
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But it does have a quiet, haunting beginning.
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It's got AI mean. I'm playing it now and we're 15
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seconds in and you probably can't even hear it.
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But it's it's got a very quiet baseline.
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The vocals when they do come in are they're they're in there.
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So it's it's quiet and haunting and got this echo in it.
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And again the the song is building over a minute 30 gets
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louder and louder to the 150 mark.
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And then the part that really got me is around the two O 6
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mark. Let me see.
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So here's that building that's probably very, very loud and
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then it's got this heartbeat pulse this low.
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I guess it's the base. It could be a super low and
16:18
there it is. And and like that's just so
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cool. And then the, you know, he's
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going through the line, saw the hands that build can also put
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down like the hands of love. And it's showing that again,
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Bono and this realizing that the concepts that can be meant for
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good can also become distorted. And so again, we we talked about
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the little bit of tension there with with or without you.
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There's a tension here as well, and that things created for good
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can also be for evil and the the chaos of the music here that and
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when you were talking about songs that didn't fit, I thought
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you were going to mention this one.
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Now this one, this one fits to me because it's like it has the
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anger, but it's more subdued bullet.
17:24
The blue skies like a very like he growls in it and like really?
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Yeah, gets into it. But this one I did really like.
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Yeah, this one's really good and and, and it ends in this chaos
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of music. And what I what I read when I
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was talking, you know, doing research, is that this was a one
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take unrehearsed like the the lyrics were polished, but I
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think this the music was, was unrehearsed.
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And so they. They phrased it as a jam.
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Sesh. Yeah, a lot of people can pick
17:55
up on that and and think that it doesn't belong.
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But it it, it was really good to me.
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The the other one was running to stand still.
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So happy. Why?
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This was like up there for me. Yeah.
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And so this slide guitar, again, a haunting sound that that's
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that's there, it switches somewhere in there to a piano,
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but there it is just very nice, calm and really just like I can
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sit down, lay on my back and just like look up at clouds or
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it gives you that cool sound. But again, there's the the
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tension that we keep coming back to.
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It's a song about a the heroin epidemic that was going on in
19:04
Dublin during the 1980s. It's a famous lyric from it that
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says I see seven towers, but I only see one way out that that
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refers to the and anybody in Ireland probably crucify me for
19:20
it, but Ballymen Flats in Dublin had seven towers of living
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quarters. And it started off, it seems
19:28
like it was nice, but then went haywire and ended up being a
19:35
ticket. They've been torn down since
19:36
then. But the lyrics are very heavy.
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But other than the haunting beginning, the song is soft and
19:44
pretty. You know, it's got this nice
19:46
build to it, but unlike what you mentioned with with or without
19:52
you, this song builds but an explosion never happens like you
20:00
expect it to. And the biggest it gets is
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really during the voice or sorry, during the verses and
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kick start to the very end where we hear it.
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And this is really the the climax of it.
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And she is raging. She is raging.
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Storm blows up in her eyes. And then it goes quiet and.
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So she will suffer the needle chill and she's running to stand
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still. So just that circular nature of
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addiction, always running, always trying to get to the next
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fix or to the next thing and ends with a little more
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harmonica and slide guitar that end quietly together.
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And it's just a beautiful song that when you get to the lyrics,
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can often, you know, delve in even deeper for people.
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So it it's it's again, it was one of my favorite ones that
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wasn't like one of them. They're super most popular
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songs. So wanted to really just talk
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about a couple of those. So running to stand still and
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exit. So all that to be said, Riley,
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why should people go listen to The Joshua Tree?
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Because it's a awesome album. I mean, I think.
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From the 80s, so I won't say that much.
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It is an awesome album from the 80s.
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I I think Mama Pod said something about it and I think
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that it's a perfect way to sum up the album.
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It really just makes you feel every bit of the album like, and
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and Bono has a way of doing it where you can feel the emotion
22:21
behind each song in a very real way, whether that be anger,
22:26
whether that be like the chaos of the serial killer, whether
22:30
that be the mourning of a mother losing their child or
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frustration. Like you can feel that so
22:38
clearly through each song and not just through the lyrics, but
22:41
through his voice and through the way the instruments build
22:46
and don't build and stay calm and like all of these things.
22:51
And I think he was. So, I mean, I like ahead of his
22:59
time is the wrong thing. But he was so aware in this
23:04
album, and I think from it, in his other work of what's going
23:07
on around him. And he very much wanted music to
23:10
be a way to speak out about things.
23:14
Like, very few of his albums technically are about things
23:19
that are relevant today, like in the sense of he was writing
23:22
about very specific events at very specific times.
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And if you go through and study his lyrics, like, you can see
23:28
like, oh, this is about like in the 80s, this was happening and
23:31
that's why he was writing this. Right, like running to stand
23:34
still is a perfect example of that it it.
23:37
Yes, or the. Issue going on at that moment.
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Yeah, or Mothers of This, the Disappeared.
23:44
Like that was about a very specific thing that was
23:46
happening at the time. There were quite a few songs
23:49
that were about like mini wars that were going on at the time.
23:53
Like there were lots of things that are very specific, but I
23:59
think that's almost beautiful. I think it's very neat when
24:04
people can use music for stuff like that and it still be widely
24:09
accepted and widely enjoyed and be considered one of the best
24:12
albums of all times. I think that's very difficult to
24:14
do. I think that's why one of the
24:17
reasons Marvin Gaye was so influential and Stevie Wonder,
24:20
like both of them wrote about like things.
24:23
Marvin Gaye's more so than Stevie Wonder, but he comes to
24:25
mind too. But like Marvin Gaye's album was
24:28
a whole like, I mean, it's a time stamp.
24:32
Like it's like, OK, Yep, this is during this time of life, but
24:36
people can still relate to it and feel it and apply it to new
24:41
things. And I I just think that's crazy
24:43
impressive. But yeah, you get a nice
24:46
snapshot of what the time was when he was writing this album.
24:50
Things that were going on that maybe don't haven't gotten
24:53
talked about that much while also it's still being an
24:56
impactful album today. Yeah, I, I agree.
25:00
I mean, and and so I guess before I say anything about
25:05
Joshua Tree, just you know, you 2 Bono, The Edge and the other
25:11
two guys is is really what probably mainstream are.
25:15
But Adam Clayton does bass, Larry Mullen Junior does drums.
25:19
First album released in 1980. Boy, third album War in 1983 was
25:25
their first to hit #1 in the UK and that's where they really got
25:32
established as this socially conscious group writing these
25:35
lyrics about what you mentioned of, of the time they really
25:41
became known for their live performances.
25:43
And again, a lot of people from the 80s remember Live Aid in
25:47
1985, I had a 10 minute song that really, you know, messed up
25:54
their whole set because Bono got down off the stage and, and went
25:59
and like danced with a person from the crowd.
26:02
And that really cemented them as like crowd pleasing favorites.
26:08
And then after that came this album in 87.
26:13
And this one really established them as international stars and,
26:19
you know, been their greatest critically acclaimed album and
26:24
greatest commercially successful album.
26:30
You know, one of the biggest selling albums of all time.
26:33
Gave the band it's only #1 singles in the US with or
26:37
without you. I still haven't found what I'm
26:39
looking for. One of the best selling artists
26:42
of all times. 22 Grammys, 8 Brit Awards, 2 Golden Cloves, you
26:45
know, UK Hall of Fame, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
26:50
From 1980 to 2022, they were the second highest grossing live
26:57
music artist. That's pretty impressive given
27:00
all the people from the 80s, you know, so and then the other
27:07
thing that I found that was really neat, they've been around
27:09
as U2 since 1978. So they're almost as as a band,
27:16
almost as old as I am, and they've had the same four
27:19
members. That's impressive.
27:22
That is impressive. I don't, I don't, I don't know
27:25
any other band off the top of my head that that has done that.
27:29
I'm, I'm sure there are some, but that, that, that in itself
27:34
is, is really impressive. You know, the The Joshua Tree
27:39
itself inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame National Recording
27:45
Registry by the Library of Congress.
27:50
It won Grammy Awards for album of the year, best rock
27:53
performance. So like, U2 as a band is great.
27:59
This is what most people consider their, you know, best
28:05
work. Yeah.
28:08
So go listen to it. Any anything else to add?
28:14
Yes. What else?
28:17
I don't know. I mean, there's not really
28:19
anything people do. You have anything?
28:22
Don't know. I don't know.
28:28
No, there's not really anything people don't already know.
28:32
I think. Yeah.
28:35
I just think it's music that makes you feel things, and
28:37
that's what music should do. I think music's two jobs.
28:41
Or to make you feel a lot or to make you feel numb to something.
28:43
And I think any song that doesn't do one of those really
28:48
well, I mean, that's when you start to lose meaning.
28:54
But I tend to air on liking the songs that make you feel a lot,
28:57
for better or for worse. So I really liked this album
29:00
because of that. Makes you feel a lot.
29:03
Yeah. All right, so best beats and
29:06
bars. So Raleigh, what's the what's
29:09
the best bar from this album? I have two I'm breaking rules
29:18
today. All over the place.
29:21
Yeah, one of them is the With or Without You, which I guess I
29:25
could have talked about when I was talking about liking this
29:27
song. But there's one specific, like
29:30
all of the verses are kind of saying like something and then
29:37
I'll wait without you or I'm waiting for you or something
29:39
like that. But it's usually some sort of
29:41
like juxtaposition or being in pain.
29:45
It's pretty sad. But specifically the one that I
29:50
really liked is through the storm.
29:52
We reached the shore. You give it all, but I want more
29:55
and I'm waiting for you. I I think that is like the song
30:00
and a summary in my head. Like through the storm we
30:04
reached the shore. So like we just figured
30:07
something out, like we've gotten past something hard and we can
30:11
be together and you're giving it your all, but it's not enough
30:15
for me. And so I'm waiting until you can
30:17
give me what I want, which is like obviously not the way you
30:20
should think about a relationship, but like it's kind
30:22
of that feeling of this is everything you have and it's not
30:26
enough for me. And so I'm going to keep waiting
30:29
for you, but I'm going to keep waiting until you have more to
30:33
give. But it's I think that's just the
30:36
song in a nutshell. Yeah, that's very good.
30:39
But I just think that's a really good summary.
30:44
And then, OK, my computer has decided to stop working.
30:49
So you can go with your beat and then I'll do my next.
30:54
Messing all kinds of things up. So my my best beat is, and
31:01
again, it's going to start slow, but it's not going to start at
31:07
all if I have it muted, is it? So the opening of the album Here
31:17
We Go where the streets have no name, no singing until 1:45, but
31:24
before so before that's kind of kind of neat.
31:28
And so you hear this organ synth intro with these swells of notes
31:33
that just merge from one into another.
31:36
And the other thing like in 1987 for a single on the radio, this
31:40
was unusual for such a long intro.
31:45
And, and coming up is the guitar is going to start to come in
31:50
from the background and get louder and louder.
31:54
So there it is almost like wind chimes coming in about a minute
32:01
and 10 the bass kicks in and the drums kick in and they they
32:07
create this runaway train in quotes rhythm that just propels
32:17
the song forward in in here. There it is.
32:25
And so you have now this fast moving train in contrast.
32:34
And again, I'll keep using that word tension from the ambient
32:39
niceties of the beginning and the the song is building, but
32:47
yet the vocals are about to come in and they don't match really
32:54
the building either because they're there's a they're more
33:02
quiet and subdued than what you hear in other places.
33:05
And, and what he ends up getting to.
33:07
And so the the first couple of minutes of this and we, we've
33:14
talked about and This is why I think it's glad that you brought
33:17
it up a couple times as well. First couple minutes of this
33:21
album create a tension that's throughout the entire album in
33:25
one way or the other. Sometimes there's obvious,
33:27
sometimes not so much. And so just some quick examples.
33:31
The some of these we didn't talk about, but the drums and I still
33:37
haven't found what I'm looking for.
33:38
So the second song, the drums are actually behind the beat.
33:42
And so there's this tension created by not landing and
33:47
hitting on the beat almost. I know they they may not have
33:52
meant it this way, but the drum beat still.
33:55
Hasn't. Still hasn't.
33:57
Yeah. So the drum beat hasn't found
33:59
its home. So it's still, you know, it
34:02
still hasn't found what it's looking for, you know, which is
34:06
neat. We've talked about the With or
34:10
Without You, the feedback you hear and Bullet the blue Sky
34:14
that Builds until this slide guitar solo.
34:18
I mentioned the tension in Running Standstill and From
34:20
Exit. And then there's also this
34:23
tension in Mothers of the Disappeared and it's got this
34:28
industrial sound to it that has this quiet, reserved music and
34:35
vocals because it is talking about forced abduction from an
34:40
Argentinian dictator, I believe. And it has one last swoon in it.
34:47
And then it ends with about a minute and 45 seconds of music,
34:52
just like the album started. So it's really cool to to to see
35:02
the arc of it of this. And it even ends in this ambient
35:06
type of music as Mothers of the Disappeared closes that it
35:11
starts. And so to hear it, hear the
35:13
album almost start and end in the same way with all this
35:19
tension in between, man, that's master Flea done.
35:25
So kudos to you 2. As if you know all the
35:29
accolades. This is just one more forum from
35:32
us. The Barber family likes to use.
35:35
The Barber family likes Joshua Tree, so they can retire now,
35:38
right? So did you get?
35:40
Did you get your computer working for your best beat or
35:46
best bar? Well, I just pulled it up on my
35:50
on my phone. My other favorite lyric lines up
35:55
well with you, so I'm glad it worked out this way.
35:57
Is from mothers that they disappeared, which I am glad
36:00
we're talking about. It deserves its roses is the
36:06
burst, I guess. In the wind we hear their
36:09
laughter. In the rain we see their tears,
36:11
hear their heartbeats. We hear their heartbeats.
36:15
I mean, what a summary of grief and yeah, just despair.
36:21
And I what? Were you saying hear their
36:24
heartbeats? That part.
36:26
Yes, in the wind, we hear their laughter.
36:31
Oh no, you were talking about this part up here.
36:36
Yeah. Yeah.
36:37
I just think it's beautiful or like just I don't beautiful is
36:43
the wrong word. Sobering, I guess is a better
36:45
word. And I, I really, again, I don't
36:52
know if it was meant to be this or just repeated or whatever,
36:57
but the, what I read about the song is that it was calling out
37:00
different countries for not, or for taking part in it and not
37:06
stopping what was going on, but kind of allowing it to happen.
37:10
And so for them to be a pretty well known band at this point
37:15
and like, their singles had already gone big, like people
37:19
were looking forward to this album.
37:21
And to have a song that's not just saying like, oh, we hear
37:24
their heartbeats. Like we're constantly reminded.
37:26
Like he calls on people. He's like, hear their
37:29
heartbeats. Like you hear their heartbeats.
37:31
You feel this too. Like this is on you just as much
37:34
as it is on all of us. And like, feel that with them.
37:38
And I think through saying like this is how they feel to all of
37:44
a sudden saying like hear their heartbeats and calling kind of
37:48
to the listener to pay attention.
37:51
It's a very cool thing to do whenever you're talking about
37:56
something that needs awareness around it.
37:59
And and it I'll turn it up because this was a lyric that I
38:03
loved. And the trees are sun stand
38:09
naked through the walls are Darter's cry.
38:19
You know, see their tears in the rainfall.
38:21
That's the last lyric of the album.
38:25
And then you get back to what I was talking about, where it gets
38:27
back to minute 45 of it's just a beautiful ending that is so sad,
38:38
you know? When you look at.
38:40
It and you know, just the the political commentary on this and
38:45
and again, you, you can agree with you to Bono or or not they
38:53
weren't they weren't shy about letting it come through in their
38:59
lyrics. I mean, there's a whole song
39:01
called In God's Country. Yeah, you know, even bullet.
39:06
Even bullet. The blue skies.
39:08
Really. Commentary.
39:10
Against. American government?
39:12
Really so? But I I just think this song is
39:20
very sobering and does not let anyone get away from that
39:25
feeling. And with with lyrics like our
39:29
sons and daughters were cut down and taken from us or even the in
39:33
the trees, our sun Stan naked or like such uncomfortable, like
39:38
visceral images that are hard to get out of your head, like just
39:42
sobering. And I I appreciate that he
39:46
didn't tone it down because, I mean, people were actually
39:51
experiencing that with their children.
39:53
And that's a horrific thing to experience.
39:56
So to not beat around the Bush, but explicitly.
40:01
But I know it. It almost made Mama Barbara
40:03
weep. So, awkward segue.
40:10
What are our ratings with that being the song we were talking
40:15
about? The end.
40:16
There was no easy way to get around that.
40:18
So. Yeah, I know.
40:20
I'm doing. It I'm going 10s around the
40:24
board, I'm going 10s around the board.
40:26
Me too, that was an easy one. 10s around the board.
40:30
I mean, come on. Lyrically it's super strong,
40:33
Vocally super strong, instrumentally super strong.
40:37
Like you don't. I don't think like even bullet
40:40
the blue sky, I said it sounds the most off, but that doesn't
40:43
mean it sounded like super out of place.
40:45
It was just jarring, which probably was what they were
40:48
trying to do knowing them. So I, I just think there's no
40:57
place I can even try to be like, objectively that wasn't the
41:01
strong, no crazy strong album. And I liked every one of them.
41:07
Now I can't listen to Exit that much 'cause it makes me creeped
41:11
out. And I can't listen to Mothers of
41:13
the Disappeared because boy, that might be making me feel a
41:17
little too much all the time. But like, I loved every song.
41:23
But as a as a, as a set of songs put together in an album and
41:30
again in the 80s where like there was probably way more
41:35
intention, not intentionality into order and placement and
41:39
what goes on. Like, it's good.
41:42
It's real good from start to finish.
41:46
And, you know, listening to it as, as we walk around the
41:51
neighborhood, like I get chills during various parts.
41:55
And I know, I know Lisa did too. And that's when, you know, she
42:01
stopped me in the middle of the walk.
42:02
I know I like the song. It makes me feel like you said,
42:06
every part of my body, like I'm just feeling it, you know, And,
42:12
and that I think is what music does.
42:15
And, and, you know, yeah, different music does that for
42:19
different people. But that is, that is the power
42:22
of music. Yeah.
42:26
So. And they performed in the Vegas
42:28
sphere. So I mean, they've won this.
42:29
Is true. This is true.
42:31
I am I am mildly after after going to the to the sphere to
42:35
see a different artist which I didn't even know who'd we go see
42:41
Kenny Chesney. I wasn't there.
42:44
I know you weren't, but I mean, we talked about it.
42:46
I think it was. Yeah, it's a country artist.
42:48
Yeah, it was a country artist. We're not real country fans.
42:50
He's he's the one who loves UT. Wesley is.
42:55
No, the artist. Can he?
42:56
Chest No, I know, I'm saying. I'm saying you said we're not.
43:00
You and I aren't. Yeah.
43:02
You got dragged there because family is.
43:04
True, but like that was a fantastic show, like and and it
43:10
was partly because he's a fantastic performer, but it was
43:13
the seer. So I am I am disappointed we
43:16
didn't go see you 2 there. But anyway, more on that as well
43:23
and a bit. Anything else tins around the
43:26
board. Tins around the board won't go
43:30
listen to you too. Yep, song of the week.
43:35
Riley, what's your song of the week?
43:37
Yes, my song of the week. As it's been getting warmer, I
43:42
have been really enjoying listening to a little bit more
43:45
upbeat of songs. Oh, sorry, you're gonna play
43:48
your song of the week first, no? Or, and this has been my pick
43:56
right now, it's You and Your Friends by Peach Pit.
44:01
I'm a huge Peach Pit fan, so everyone should go listen to
44:05
Peach Pit. They're very, they're indie
44:09
rock, but something about them is very, I don't know, poppy to
44:18
me. Like, not poppy in the sense of,
44:20
like, pop music, but like, poppy, like jumping.
44:24
Yeah. And I really like this one in
44:29
particular. I really like songs that kind of
44:31
like, I don't know how to explain it.
44:37
This part. Oh, not this part.
44:40
I'm going to try to find it where it kind of speeds up and
44:45
then slows down super quickly here.
45:04
I, I do know what it is. I love it when a song builds and
45:07
does not like fulfill the build, like where the beat gets really
45:11
fast and then it just like ends and that's what the build was
45:14
too, but it's just a chill in my head.
45:19
Windows down. This one's kind of one of their
45:22
angrier ones, funnily enough. But I I think it's a fun song to
45:28
listen to. I do think the lyrics is funny.
45:32
The main part is, come on, baby, let me hear it.
45:35
Everyone's a villain, say, for you and your friends.
45:38
And I think that's just a very funny thing to be like calling
45:41
someone out for like, OK, little is perfect, I'm at fault because
45:46
you and your friends can't be. But yeah, go listen to Peach
45:50
Pit, especially as it's getting warmer.
45:53
Go for a drive. Windows down each pit.
45:57
Good, you and your friends. Very good.
46:02
Mine is a little bit different and so let that play out a
46:25
little bit. We want to hear this.
46:33
So Bulls on Parade by Rage Against the Machine and I'm
46:41
going to turn it down a little bit because there is a non
46:44
family friendly word at the beginning, but this is from
46:50
1996. So why?
46:52
Why this song? Because Rage Against the Machine
46:57
opened for Bring the They opened for U2 at the Liberty Bowl in
47:04
Memphis, May in 97. And at the time I went to see
47:09
the concert and I went for Rage Against the Machine, not U2.
47:18
The crazy part is Mama Pod, you did not know her yet and she was
47:23
at the same concert for you too. For for you too.
47:27
And y'all didn't know each other?
47:29
We, we did not we. So that was May of 97.
47:34
We started dating. We were trying to figure it out
47:39
some time ago, maybe June or July of 97.
47:43
So this was very not not very long for that, but so it was
47:50
after the song came out and and has much of what Rage Against
47:54
the machine is known for high energy in the music, high energy
47:58
and the angst and political commentary, social justice of
48:03
the lyrics. Very recognizable opening, but
48:09
it's probably most well known for a part that's that's coming
48:15
up here and it's this vinyl scratch sounds like a DJ
48:23
scratching a record, but it's really Tom Morello on guitar.
48:28
So here it goes. So that's a guitar, which is
48:39
really. Cool.
48:40
That's that's impressive. Yep.
48:47
And so, you know, the let it keep going, but it ends and then
48:53
the same want wah from the opening kicks in and to close
48:57
out the song. And so obviously these there's
49:01
the blah blah, the 2 bands obviously very different in
49:05
music, but not so much in political and social commentary.
49:10
And so you you really need to delve into the lyrics of each
49:17
band to really see why it made so much sense for them to be on
49:21
the stage together. So that was that was pretty
49:24
cool. And then also completely
49:27
unrelated in our 7° of separation with other episodes
49:32
of our podcast. Rage Against the Machine broke
49:35
up in 2000 and 2001. The remaining members teamed up
49:39
with a guy we've talked about the form Audioslave.
49:43
That guy was Chris Cornell, so. Like a Rolling Stone baby.
49:49
That's pretty cool. So there's our Songs of the
49:54
Week, Peach Pit and Rage Against the Machine.
50:03
Fairly closely related. Go do a.
50:08
Go do a a put them in a playlist in a queue of Peach Pit raging
50:13
on the machine, you know, alternating between those two
50:17
and like, you'll have some music whiplash.
50:21
So I hope you enjoy. That brings us to our next album
50:30
and our run of great albums. What's next?
50:35
You know what it is? I don't.
50:37
You told me. I can't remember.
50:38
I'm old. Spy then it is whatever people
50:44
say I am. That's what I'm not by the
50:46
Arctic Monkeys. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
50:49
Another newer artist, newer album, one that's more, way more
50:54
my speed. I think you like the Arctic
50:56
Monkeys, but they're indie all so a little bit more my speed.
51:05
So I'm super excited to listen to it and share that with you
51:08
and see what you think. Yeah, All right, so Arctic
51:14
Monkeys on deck. If you haven't, go listen to
51:20
Joshua Tree by U2 and delve into some of their other catalog that
51:27
got a bunch of good stuff and and, and quite an interesting
51:32
discography. They they took some detours
51:37
after after Joshua Tree or really a couple albums after
51:43
Joshua Tree that people thought were weird.
51:46
So go go listen to that. It's not Joshua Tree type
51:49
sounding all the way through their discography.
51:52
So go listen to that and Peach Pit, Rage gives Machine and
51:57
Arctic Monkeys coming up. So that's all we got.
52:01
Until next time. I'm Todd.
52:03
And I'm Riley, and this is another episode of Barbara Katz.