The Listomania I make the lists, you shoot them down. Quid Pro Quo.

127. U2 – Beautiful Day

Yeah, I know. Half of you just shook your heads, some of you maybe even gave a little "what the fuck" under your breath. Don't let your coworkers/classmates/pets hear your disdain. Because I DO NOT care. I'm going to make this very clear. U2 are the second most overrated band of all time. (#1? Red Hot Chili Peppers. And I will fight that to the death.) And they have released a total of one good song since 1992. But if you can't allow for just ONE song on this list about unbounded optimism and wide-eyed wonder, then stop reading. Come back later tonight, the next song is literally the EXACT opposite.

I'm not an Optimism, Man-It's-A-Beautiful-Day kind of guy, and I never will be. But for a brief 4 minutes (perfect length) when this song is playing, I can be. I can buy into the cheesy synth strings, the Kraftwerk-in-Kindergarten electric drum kit, and the choir of angels that still plays at one fifth Bono's volume. In my head, I know I can rip into those things, point out how it sounds like a group of the lame kids who know the girls will eventually notice the nice guys some day made this on Casio equipment at church camp. But in my belly, I don't give a shit. This is a great song. And it reminds me of a pre-9/11 world when all I thought about was how to prevent boners in school and whether or not I could get home for syndicated Simpsons every day.

I really don't think I need to talk about the song. You know it, and either you feel the same way, or you stopped reading paragraphs ago. But when Bono yells "TOUCH Meeeee" with an inflection only he can seriously and sincerely attempt, and the Edge sends his guitar into overdrive, and the real drums kick through, and everything clicks, I can't help but feel like maybe it is a beautiful day. Maybe tomorrow will be too. And then all the other sad bastard shit I like comes on, and the church that U2 built for me evaporates, like their credibility after 1991.