Top 7 U2 Videos

(Originally published on Yahoo! Voices on March 14, 2012. Links in this article were extracted then)

Everyone knows that it's almost impossible to rank U2 songs and make a list of them. Everyone has tried (myself included) with varying degrees of success or failure. It is much easier to rank and list their best videos. Although U2 have always been on the forefront of innovative, ground-breaking videos (as they are with everything), there are definite standouts. I'm sure there will be differing opinions. By all means share them. However, these are my opinion of the top 7 U2 videos to date. I did not attempt to span their whole career of approximately 35 years, nor did I bother with representing albums or eras. I simply went with what I consider the absolute best U2 videos up to the present.

7. "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me"- Originally written for the album "Zooropa" (1993) but pulled from the tracklisting before its final release, this song was later given prominent place on the "Batman Forever" Soundtrack (1995). The song on its own is fabulous- one of their best- but this concept for the video made it unforgettable. This is the first time in history that a music video was animated to such an extent- and, of course, U2 were all for it because it meant they did not have to be present for a video shoot. The concept plays with the idea of the beloved Zoo TV characters Mr. MacPhisto and The Fly as if they are locked in battle against each other. Interesting bit of trivia: the Riddler's line at the beginning is voiced-over by the Edge. He felt that Jim Carrey did not enunciate clearly enough. The "t" sound that you hear on the end of the word "bat"- that's the Edge. On Youtube: http://youtu.be/n8FAO2-cHaE

6. "Elevation"- Released on the album "All That You Can't Leave Behind" (2000) and also featured on the "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" Soundtrack (2001), this mosh-on-the-spot, classic-concert-sing-along has a video to match its catchy, adrenaline-pumping sound. I admit to never having watched "Tomb Raider", but it does seem to me as though the special effects in this video anticipate "Inception" with Leonardo DiCaprio (2010). What is absolutely wonderful here, however, is the clear showcasing of U2's famously clever sense of humor. I never stop laughing every time I watch this video! On Youtube: http://youtu.be/19KstSgU-c0

5. "Stuck In A Moment (You Can't Get Out Of)"- This song is from the album "All That You Can't Leave Behind" (2000) and was written in response to the suicide of INXS' lead singer Michael Hutchence. The song had two videos. The Rest-of-World version involved Bono being kidnapped and then thrown from a moving van over and over and ultimately being saved by the Edge. But the U.S. version was pure genius, despite U2 admitting that they really "don't get" American football. This is another video during which I cannot stop laughing the entire time it plays. From John Madden's U2 reference laden play-by-play opener to the Charlie Brown moment (watch for it), this is a jewel of a creation. Definitely, one of U2's all time best videos. On Y! Music: http://music.yahoo.com/u2/videos/view/stuck-in-a-moment-you-can-39-t-get-out-of--37310533

4. "Numb"- Written by the Edge about his divorce from high school sweetheart Aislinn O'Sullivan, this song is from the album "Zooropa" (1993). This is the first experiment U2 had with anything like rap (but not the last). The first time I saw this video I couldn't believe that this was a U2 song. It sounded so foreign to their past work. But the humor of the video eventually convinced me. There's something unique and contagious about Irish humor and this is a video which, once again, showcases that. It also features Morleigh Steinberg whom the Edge began dating after the Zoo TV tour wrapped and whom he married in 2006. She is the bellydancer. Some accounts suggest this video was shot in one take. At the end, U2's manager Paul McGuinness whispers in the Edge's ear: "There's someone I'd like you to meet." According to the Edge, that simple statement puts the fear of God in him! On Youtube: http://youtu.be/H2lbiS1fris

3. "The Sweetest Thing"- This is Ali's song. Ali is, of course, Bono's wife. He wrote it as an apology for forgetting her birthday during the Joshua Tree sessions. For years, he refused to release it for the public. But when the compilation album "The Best of 1980-1990" was released in 1998, this song became its promotional single. Two versions of it were featured on the album which had two CDs: the album proper and a "B-sides". It also had a brief moment in the film "Mr. Deeds" (2002) starring Adam Sandler in which it coincided with Bono's uncredited (and hilarious) cameo as a homeless man. This video is certainly one of U2's best. It must have been a monster to arrange. This is the only official music video in which Ali appears and Bono's apology in it is elaborate. The streets of Dublin were closed for the shooting. And, yes, that is the actual cast of "Riverdance"! Yet another video which inspires plenty of laughs and convinces girls the world over that true love does exist in this world after all. On Youtube: http://youtu.be/5WybiA263bw

2. "If God Will Send His Angels"- I don't think anyone has attempted anything similar to this video yet. From the seriously underrated "Pop" album (1997), this song is about domestic violence- this time from the point of view of the abuser. It's a character Bono has only invoked this once. The video, by all accounts, was one of the most difficult to make that U2 have in their entire body of work. There were two cameras set up on the table, each facing the opposite direction, so that those on either side of the table could not see each other. That is why they seem to talk all at the same time. The cameras were high-speed panning cameras. This meant that the vocal track that Bono had to lip-synch was slowed to the point of being unrecognizable. He reported suffering agonies while trying to catch the cues of the song. But the effect is marvelous! The color is delightful. And the nervous-breakdown feeling that the hurried movements suggest is perfectly suited to the mood of the song. There is so much going on in these frames that it is difficult to see it all. The firemen that enter had actually arrived nearby to answer a call (you can see the truck's lights in the background) and found themselves invited to join in the shoot. Towards the end, Bono exits the diner on one level of the frames and can be seen pausing outside it on the other level. This is truly innovative filming. On DailyMotion: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xj1j8_u2-if-god-will-send-his-angel_music

1. "Please"- This is my all time favorite U2 video. From the "Pop" album (1997), this song was written about the Troubles in Ireland when the ceasefire (one of many) that U2 helped to orchestrate along with a great many other individuals (in 1994) was broken in 1996. A ceasefire declared in July 1997- one month after the release of "Pop"- continues unviolated to the present (with the exception of the Omagh bombings). This is a highly emotional song and so is the video. Full of dagger-sharp, painful symbolism and literal tears (Bono weeps in front of a screen of blue sky and clouds), this video is poetry in film. It only improves with repeated viewing. On Youtube: http://youtu.be/hmegLKDI6IU

What are your favorite U2 videos? What should have made this list, in your opinion? Begin the controversy (a word I use with all humor) in the comments below. I'd love to hear your opinions!