Remember, I was a U2 Fangirl First.

So, I just got an email about this.

And it's nice. Don't get me wrong, it's a very good set, and a really well-done package.

However.

There's part of me that has to pfft at the whole thing, and I know that my fellow fangirl pizanite is going to be right there with me.

Any U2 fan worth their salt is going to already have everything on the "OMG SEEKRIT B-SIDES!!11" disc (or at the very least, everything worth having) because they got the U2 set when the U2 ipod came out. Or, they may have spent time and money in places like Tower Records, Virgin Megastore, and Sam Goody thumbing through rack after rack of cd singles and actually discovering these b-sides by the sweat of their own brow. Such industrious fans know that the live version of "Silver and Gold" found on Rattle & Hum is FAR superior to the album version. The album version has no Bonologue, which is, in my opinion, the best part of a rather simple song. Some of the tracks on disc two are definitely worth a listen (I've always been partial to "Spanish Eyes," "Walk to the Water," and "Luminous Times.") And some I'm not sure I've heard, but as I've discovered with many, many other B-side collections (U2 and otherwise), most tracks wind up on the cutting room floor for a reason. It's neat to see how a track develops into other tracks (like "Lady With the Spinning head" pretty much was the mother of Achtung Baby and a good bit of Zooropa), it just gets monotonous after awhile. For every gem, there are several lumps of carbon, to say nothing of the re-runs. (Sweetest Thing" became a hit single when it was included in the first Best Of collection, so I hardly see how it qualifies to be here, but oookay.)

Also, while I really like The Joshua Tree, and admit it's one of U2's finest, it was never one of my favorites (that honor has always belonged to Achtung Baby, and nothing has come close to challenging it.)

I'm just going to sit here and wait patiently for another 4 years for the release of Actung Baby's 20th anniversary set. Even though I am certain I will have everything on it already, including whatever live DVD they decide to add in (although a full version of the MSG concert that aired in a severely edited format on FOX in 1992 might be nice).

There's really nothing new. What I'd really like is another new album, and maybe, I dunno, a tour. And for them to release U2 by U2 in a format that I can read without having to rest that monstrous book on a table. *sigh*

Remember, I was a U2 Fangirl First.

So, I just got an email about this.

And it's nice. Don't get me wrong, it's a very good set, and a really well-done package.

However.

There's part of me that has to pfft at the whole thing, and I know that my fellow fangirl pizanite is going to be right there with me.

Any U2 fan worth their salt is going to already have everything on the "OMG SEEKRIT B-SIDES!!11" disc (or at the very least, everything worth having) because they got the U2 set when the U2 ipod came out. Or, they may have spent time and money in places like Tower Records, Virgin Megastore, and Sam Goody thumbing through rack after rack of cd singles and actually discovering these b-sides by the sweat of their own brow. Such industrious fans know that the live version of "Silver and Gold" found on Rattle & Hum is FAR superior to the album version. The album version has no Bonologue, which is, in my opinion, the best part of a rather simple song. Some of the tracks on disc two are definitely worth a listen (I've always been partial to "Spanish Eyes," "Walk to the Water," and "Luminous Times.") And some I'm not sure I've heard, but as I've discovered with many, many other B-side collections (U2 and otherwise), most tracks wind up on the cutting room floor for a reason. It's neat to see how a track develops into other tracks (like "Lady With the Spinning head" pretty much was the mother of Achtung Baby and a good bit of Zooropa), it just gets monotonous after awhile. For every gem, there are several lumps of carbon, to say nothing of the re-runs. (Sweetest Thing" became a hit single when it was included in the first Best Of collection, so I hardly see how it qualifies to be here, but oookay.)

Also, while I really like The Joshua Tree, and admit it's one of U2's finest, it was never one of my favorites (that honor has always belonged to Achtung Baby, and nothing has come close to challenging it.)

I'm just going to sit here and wait patiently for another 4 years for the release of Actung Baby's 20th anniversary set. Even though I am certain I will have everything on it already, including whatever live DVD they decide to add in (although a full version of the MSG concert that aired in a severely edited format on FOX in 1992 might be nice).

There's really nothing new. What I'd really like is another new album, and maybe, I dunno, a tour. And for them to release U2 by U2 in a format that I can read without having to rest that monstrous book on a table. *sigh*