The Worst of the Best Podcast

audio.m4a
Welcome to the worst of the best podcast.
You wanted the best.
Well, they didn't freaking make it.
So here's what you get from Canada, Ryan and Ruben.
All right, brother.
All right.
You too.
And you too.
Love them or hate them.
How many times have you seen you two live in person?
How many times has Bono sang for a supper to you?
I've seen you two live three times and three times too few.
I love seeing them live.
They're an incredible band.
I have a weird love.
I've never had a hate relationship with you two.
But they're that type of band where when I started getting into them, I was a teenager.
And this was when I was deeply rooted into heavy metal, rock and roll, the hair metal.
And so you too was kind of at odds with what I thought as a teenager I should be into.
Joshua Tree, we're going to get to these albums, but I want to talk about how I got into you too.
So Joshua Tree comes out, of course, takes the world, rightfully so, takes the world by storm.
And I hear these songs.
And I remember thinking, oh, why do these songs have to be so good?
They shouldn't be so good.
They're not metal.
They're not rock and roll.
They're not rock and roll.
But they're not metal.
They're more rock and roll than we think we give them credit for.
But they're not – they weren't the metal or hair metal sound that I was – you know, the Skid Row and Guns N' Roses Metallica.
So I felt like I was guilty liking what I thought was kind of a softer band.
But I couldn't help it.
So I got to the point where I gave in.
I caved in.
I'll tell you what it was, though.
Tell me.
It was like 1988, and they did it back when the radio was big.
They had the contest of the best song of 1987 or 88.
And this was the same time that Appetite for Destruction came up by Guns N' Roses.
And I was, of course, a huge G&R fan.
And when it was voted in that With or Without You by U2 had beaten Sweet Child of Mine or whatever for the best, most requested song, I remember that kind of hurt me.
I was like, no, how could you guys be better or bigger than Guns N' Roses?
Because in my world, they were – G&R was the biggest band.
My world.
Good G&R reference there, right?
My world.
Okay, so that being said, I've been a fan since 1988.
It's now 30 years later.
A huge fan to this day.
I saw them on the Pop Mart tour, Octoon Baby tour, and Zoo TV tour.
I saw them on All That You Can't Leave Behind tour, Tom McBond tour twice.
I was at the video recording for City Blinding Lights, and I saw them the next night.
I saw them for a 360-degree tour, the Joshua Tree tour.
Awesome.
For 2017.
That's awesome.
Between the two brothers here, we know our U2 a little bit.
On some of their older stuff, I admit, when I got into Joshua Tree, I kind of followed them heavily from forward.
And I didn't really go back to the back catalog.
A lot of U2 fans, I don't know if they're like me, but some of their deeper, older cuts, I'm not really that into.
It's almost like early Bruce Springsteen, some of his early, like East.
I don't know.
It doesn't have the same kick and feel.
But anyways.
That's fine.
War.
What is it good for?
Not much.
Before we get to the list, this is the five top-selling U2 albums.
So these aren't necessarily the albums that are our five favorites.
These aren't our favorites.
These are just from record sales.
These are the top five selling albums of U2.
Because I would have added a couple that are not on here.
For example, Zuropa did not make the top five.
And I love Zuropa.
And my favorite U2 song is on Zuropa.
Zuropa.
The title track.
I love that song.
I absolutely love that song.
So anyways.
At 11 million copies.
War.
War.
What is it good for, Rue?
Well, it's good for our podcast.
Absolutely nothing.
So I actually had a hard time, I will admit, for full disclosure, picking the worst song from this album.
Because I don't know it very well.
I just know, of course, the big hits that come from the album.
Such as Sunday, Bloody Sunday.
New Year's Day.
Two hearts beat as one.
Surrender.
I know these songs.
I know them from their concert videos and things like that.
So I kind of had to bow out of this one.
And Ruben picked his worst song.
And I heard it.
Drowning Man.
And I kind of agree with the pick.
Just too moody.
Yeah.
Okay.
Just a little.
So here we go.
Here's a little bit of a sample of Drowning Man by U2.
I thought I had it ready to go.
My apologies.
One of the things I like about U2 is that they're a real band.
The bass player, Adam, and the drummer, Larry, they get to weigh in on what Edge and Bono are doing.
Okay.
And to me, this is a song that sounds like they've been weighing in.
You know what I mean?
Oh, okay.
That just, they're able to have that balance.
And I feel it's unbalanced.
Take my hand.
Okay.
You know I'll be there if you can't touch the sky.
Okay.
That's Drowning Man.
So not the greatest song.
Ruben's picked for worst song from their fifth top-selling album, War.
If it's on the radio, I'll turn it on.
Sure.
Yeah.
You know what I mean?
But it's just, no, it doesn't move me.
Okay.
Now, I'm surprised about their fourth, the number, their fourth top-selling album, Ribbon, is All That You Can't Leave Behind.
Great album.
Yeah.
Incredible album.
All That You Can't Leave Behind.
It came out in 2000.
And it sold 12 million copies.
That's not too shabby for a band at this point who's been out for almost two decades.
Yeah.
It has such tracks on its beautiful day, Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out of, Elevation, Kite, Walk On, all these great songs.
Ruben, is there a song on this album that is the worst of their-
Easily, hands down.
If it lets it off, it'd be a better album.
Track 11, Grace.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I agree.
Grace.
Stand by.
This is our live-
Is that what you're going to pick, too?
Well, that and Peace on Earth was my two picks.
Oh, yeah.
He had that playing earlier.
But come on, Grace.
It's a name for a girl.
It's also for a girl.
Yeah.
All right.
All right.
All right.
There's a lot of people that tune out.
When I say people, I mean-
All right.
For our three listeners, there's-
Yeah.
So, check it on your own.
If your name's Grace, you've got a song written about you.
Too bad it's crap.
So, Chris is chiming in.
Thanks, Chris, for joining the conversation.
As always, he's a great supporter of the show.
He goes, I love plenty of their stuff, but my absolute favorite track comes off the Batman
Forever soundtrack.
Hold me, thrill me, kiss me, kill me.
It's a killer song.
Great song.
Great.
It really is.
Yeah.
I agree.
I agree.
I agree.
So, that will not be making our worst of the best pick because, quite frankly, it's a good
song.
It's not on our best-selling album.
It's not on one of their best-selling albums, unfortunately.
Okay.
So, Ruben and I are now in a total agreement that Grace, from their All That You Can't Leave
Behind, they should have left that one behind.
Did you already say that joke?
No.
Okay.
I don't think I did.
Do you want me to say it again?
Okay.
So, you two should have left behind Grace, and All That You Can't Leave Behind.
Anything else you want to talk about with that album?
I mean...
Great tour.
Yeah.
It's the Elevation tour.
Yeah, I missed it.
The last tour I saw was the Pop Mart tour.
They're coming out with the Lemon and everything.
That was the last time?
Yeah.
I haven't seen them since...
This is the 90s?
Yeah, 98, 99.
Holy crap.
Time, money, and availability.
Like, I mean...
Yeah, sure.
You got to have a bunch of things going on.
Yeah.
It's not through lack of...
It's never been through, like, I've had the opportunity, and I've said no.
No.
I'm doing dishes tonight.
Yeah.
It's just...
Well, money is everything.
So, it's either money and or time or availability of being around.
Oh, that's a shame.
Yeah.
All right.
So...
I can't tell you.
It's gotten better.
Yeah.
You've missed on a lot of really good shows, Ryan.
Thank you.
Anything else?
My favorite album of theirs is actually their third selling album.
Third best-selling album.
Sorry.
The third best-selling album is actually Zuropa.
It's not my favorite.
Did I say it's my favorite album?
It's not my favorite.
My favorite song is from Zuropa.
But it's not my favorite album.
It's a close contender in sales.
Yeah.
But my favorite album of theirs, believe it or not, is Rattle on the Hump.
I just...
Maybe it's part nostalgia.
But this album, for me...
Because it came out after...
Obviously, it came out after Joshua Tree.
And so for me, this was kind of the album that I got to listen to before...
Before...
Like, Joshua Tree was already huge and big, and I got sucked into the YouTube vortex.
Sure.
So when this one came out, it was like, I got to listen to it fresh.
Fresh.
Without any radio play or anything, because this was before, like, things were that big on the radio.
Of course, you had MTV and much music, what have you.
But I knew the single, Desire, which is, you know, not my favorite song from the album anyways.
But, yeah, this album sold 14 million copies.
It's incredible.
That's a big number.
And I know a lot of people don't dig this album.
It's kind of aligned by people, I think.
I love this album.
Let's just...
We're not going to do track by track, but there's some tracks on here that...
Can we just say first, right off the bat, all I want is you.
Thank you.
I appreciate that.
I'm married.
I know.
You know this.
I know this.
Yeah.
And I know there's a couple weird throwaway songs.
They don't really count as songs.
It's not even U2 singing, like, Freedom For My People and The Star Spangled Banner, played
by Jimi Hendrix.
Like, it's a very politically charged, kind of, like, almost U2 trying to get their green
card for the U.S. type album.
It's really...
It's a very American album.
Sure, yeah.
It's like U2 drawing on their Bruce Springsteen...
I like the album.
The cover's on there, along the watchtower.
I thought they'd kill it.
How to Skelter.
All I Want Is You is one of the greatest U2 songs ever made.
Yeah.
It's probably my second favorite U2 song on this album.
Yeah.
I'd like a turn at the end of it.
So, do you have a pick where you're kind of looking over this?
I am looking over, too.
You can't include covers.
Not that you were going to.
But covers don't count for the worst or any of the live performances.
Okay.
That's still easy for me to do.
Okay.
Before you pick, just let me double check my picks here.
All right.
Oh, yeah.
I know what's...
Okay.
No, I don't know what you're going to pick.
I know what I'm going to pick from...
Okay.
So, from the...
So, for my pick, it's not any of the covers they did on this album or any of the live performances
from the Joshua Tree before.
The worst song on Ride on the Hump for Ryan, my pick is Heartland.
Uh-huh.
And it's the same type of vibe of the other songs.
Okay.
For me, as far as I'm concerned.
Just kind of goes on.
Okay.
Kind of...
Are you picking Heartland, too?
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Oh, you're...
Oh, I didn't know you're picking Heartland, as well.
Okay.
We're...
Are we three for three in the green?
We're three for three, yeah.
Okay.
So, if any of our listeners don't know what Heartland sounds like, let's just...
There's probably a reason why I thought that good.
Yeah.
Heartland is...
On one of the best-selling albums in the world, you don't know it because it's not that good.
Oh, please.
Sixty-six.
I will speak.
Okay.
All right.
Okay.
Come on.
All business drive.
Oh.
Okay.
Ruben's, like, so quick to stop these songs.
Why are you always so quick to stop these songs?
Because it's the worst.
Well, it's the worst, but it's not a bad song.
It's just the worst of the best.
I've got to say, I'm a huge YouTube fan.
Of course.
The worst songs are the worst, I think, are...
Well, Grace, I could go my whole life without ever listening to.
That's for sure.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Who the Grace was.
Is it a person?
Is it a person he's singing?
Yeah.
Anyways, so that was our pick for the third top-selling album of all time was Rattled Hum.
14 million copies.
Their worst song was Heartland.
It was, like, a weird, yeah, a weird Americanization.
These guys are from Dublin, Ireland.
They shouldn't be singing about American Heartland.
Oh, people say that by Eminem and his hippity-hunt.
Hippity-hop.
Hippity-hop.
Hippity-hop.
Hippity-hop.
All right.
So, any guesses what their second top-selling album is, Room?
Aktoon.
Aktoon, baby.
This...
Love it.
This album's incredible.
I keep saying every album's like, this album is a stratosphere.
It's an incredible album.
This is amazing.
This is an amazing album.
It is an amazing album.
Perhaps, I think perhaps the very best album.
Probably.
I agree.
As far as production, song for song, pound for pound, I agree.
Another good example of where Heartbreak makes for good art.
Ah.
It's mainly written about the edges of the force.
Oh, really?
Okay.
Now, here's a lot of interesting Rebalkan trivia.
Ryan carried the U2 flag in the Rebalka home first and the longest.
Ah.
Yes.
I owned Aktoon, baby.
Nobody else in the house owned it.
I used to, like...
I bought it in a CD the day it came out.
I brought it home.
And I was, like, digging on this album.
And I remember, particularly my older brother, not getting into this album.
And I was like, come on, guys.
And I was like...
I remember being the sole flight carrier for this album.
I believe that's how you feel.
Maybe.
This is how I remember.
Sure.
You're disappointed that I have a different memory?
Maybe.
Well, yeah.
I know your memories are always right.
No, I don't understand that.
I do think you got the album before me.
But I believe it was more because of the same reasons why you didn't see the other shows.
I didn't have any money.
I just don't remember you saying, Ryan, can I have that CD?
Because I had the sole CD in the house.
Or I just didn't lend it up.
I think you were into it before I was.
Yeah.
Yeah, I agree.
But it doesn't mean that you didn't like it.
I just remember...
I just kind of...
Honestly, because we were...
As brothers, we were really into our music.
Yeah.
Because this was before YouTube.
The real game.
Understatement.
Yeah, we were like fanatical about our music.
And we all had our own band, so we kind of liked.
And I dug that Ruben was really into Smashing Pumpkins.
I really wasn't, but I dug that he was.
And it was like, I got it, but that was Ruben's thing.
He was the Smashing Pumpkins fan brother.
Sure.
And Ryan is really into Roxette still to this day.
I love Roxette.
What do you want from me?
But I just remember with U2, I felt like with this album in particular,
I felt like I was alone.
I don't remember the brothers, everyone else liking it to.
I don't remember.
I think I was a little late to embrace it compared to you.
Yeah.
But it's just finding interest in my brothers.
I still remember seeing Even Better Than The Real Thing.
We're at the Hubbard's house in the summer.
This came out, I think, in September or that summer.
The video came on, Even Better Than The Real Thing.
And we're like, whoa, what is this?
This is a tough one.
Every song on this album, every song on this album is really, really good.
It's one of those albums where it's old killer, no filler.
But I do have my worst pick.
And it's even when I was listening to this album back, and I'm sorry, I have to look.
I think it was 1991.
I honestly don't remember the exact year.
1991 it came out.
Boy, can you believe it's been that long already?
It's such a good album.
1991, this album.
And it does not age.
It doesn't have that age feel.
No, it doesn't.
Yeah.
And in fact, I remember listening to it for the first time on my CD player.
And I remember thinking, oh, my.
They have changed their sound.
And I loved it.
I loved the drive, the electronic sound, Bono's fly glasses.
I loved it all.
And I remember, of course, some of the older you do.
Because I was a newish fan.
I'd only been a fan for a couple years.
Yeah.
So I wasn't like dying the wool.
We got the political things.
You didn't have your Burkitt stocks on.
Yeah.
Like, you know, you used to sing about all this.
You know, I was like, no, I like the change they did.
I do have my word.
Even as a teenager, this was the song.
It was kind of like, ew.
And it was a single, mind you.
And it was a single.
And it's very boring.
And it doesn't hold up for me today.
So I'm just going to say it.
Are you ready to pick?
You're saying it was a single?
It was a single.
Okay.
Fine.
Go ahead.
Mysterious Ways.
It's kind of repetitive and not very.
I get why the release is a single.
You know what?
I'm going to go with you on this one.
Oh, really?
Wow.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
It's all right.
It's all right.
All right.
The song, it was a hit single.
I know it got airplay.
But even as a teenager during this time, I remember not being that.
I didn't enjoy it as a teenager.
This song does not hold up today.
I can still like it.
It's the worst.
That's all I'm saying.
You can explain.
You know what?
I might change my answer.
Okay.
That's fine.
That's fine.
I might change my answer.
Okay.
This is one of these songs, though, Ruben.
This is where, for me, is where the stuff before the chorus, I like more than the chorus.
The chorus is the song.
This is a hard album.
This is what I mean.
I don't pick this as a song that I will never want to hear again.
It's just, if a track was a match that you follow.
That's the line.
To hurt is to steal.
That's a great line.
That's a great line.
All right.
Well, Chris has said my metal card is bye-bye, probably because of the Rockset comments.
So, yeah, Ryan has a podcast called?
Yeah, I have another podcast that I do with Christopher Goff.
It's called Pop Goes the Metal Podcast, and we often refer to our metal cards being taken
away from us, which seems to be every episode.
So, maybe we're not as big metal heads as we think we are, but I love Rockset.
I'm not ashamed to say it.
I'm not ashamed to say it.
Okay.
You should be.
Yeah.
All right.
So, Eileen's jumped into the conversation, and she just shouted out Sunday, Bloody Sunday.
I don't know if she's saying it's a song that she hates or a song that she likes,
but, yes, it's a great song.
We like it.
It was not our pick for worst of the best song.
Oh, she's not a big fan of U2.
I'm not a big fan of U2, too.
Well, U2 can just not listen to our episode U2.
Okay.
So, Ruben, what is your pick for?
Maybe So Cruel.
That was, I was on the fence.
I did kind of a hot pick, you know what I mean?
Yeah.
You know, but So Cruel.
What?
Do you need to hear it again, Ruben?
Because I don't know.
Maybe it's not as bad as you think it is, but let's hear it again.
Oh, no.
I like this one.
Oh, yeah, yeah.
There's no way this is the worst.
No way.
I want to listen to this album now.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Okay.
That's like Bono's voice.
Yeah.
This was incredible.
The falsetto that he discovered, really.
And then his voice from Our Tongue Baby.
And then they did it with Passengers, which is another kind of sad project with U2.
Yeah.
Okay, Ruben, you're having a hard time with this.
Mysterious ways.
Mysterious ways.
Mysterious ways.
It's my final answer.
This is move on.
I feel like I've lost my U2 card.
No, you haven't lost your U2.
That's okay.
It's okay.
It's the rules.
You haven't lost your card.
You haven't lost your card.
Okay, any guesses, Ruben, as to what the number one selling U2 album of all time is?
At a whopping 25 million copies worldwide.
There's artists that would, any hints you might want to give the audience at this time?
Well, if you're watching us on our Facebook Live, you'll see that I'm wearing the t-shirt of Joshua Tree Tour.
This album.
This album is pretty cool.
It's a pretty cool album.
It's 30 years old, 31 years old.
Can you believe it's that?
I know.
I know.
It's a great show, by the way.
Mom, friend, and sons were opening.
My wife and I went and saw it.
She wasn't really familiar with the album.
She kind of knows the older stuff.
And so she decided to listen to the album every morning while working out.
And she didn't like it at first, but then it grew on her.
Which happens with good music.
Like, you're not going to listen to a lot of gaming style, that guy.
What was his name again?
Kim Jong-un?
Yeah, Kim Jong-un's Alter Ego.
Yeah.
You don't listen to that and go, oh, I really get it.
I'm understanding the layers of everything.
But with good music, you can do that.
Long story short, we walked in the wrong spot.
Oh.
We got the wrong line.
Right.
And we're supposed to be in the nosebleeds.
And we walked onto the floor.
And you made it on the floor.
You made it on the floor.
We watched the whole show there.
That's what they call a happy accident.
Yeah.
Joshua Tree.
Number one selling U2 album of all time.
What's the worst song?
25 million copies.
I already know what my pick is.
Ruben, do you know what your pick is?
Are we going to go five for five?
Are we going to go five for five?
Because I don't know what your pick is.
Just wait.
I already know.
Just wait.
Just wait.
Let me do this.
Oh, I know my pick.
I know my pick easily.
Easily.
And it will be yours.
Okay.
Well, mine's a...
Yeah, I already know yours.
Sorry.
This is where...
Okay, so we're four for five.
Okay.
My worst pick...
Well, I did last.
You go first.
Mothers of the Disappeared.
Yeah.
Why is that?
It's a sad, but it's a beautiful sad song.
I could never pick this.
But what's your argument?
What's your argument?
My argument is what I love about U2 isn't in the song.
Okay.
Very Brian Eno.
It's not a bad song.
No, it's just the worst.
It's just the worst.
I know.
I just love the haunting.
It's so haunting to me.
And Bono's...
I'm surprised.
It was actually a hidden gem of mine.
When I listened to this on tape, I flipped it around, and I knew the song was coming at
the end of the side, too, and I just loved it.
So it's a haunting finish.
What's yours, then?
Well, mine, Ribbon, is a bowl of the blue sky.
Yes, I...
I know.
No, no, no, no.
I'm saying I...
Yeah, I'm going to change.
I'm going to change.
Sorry, we're going to go five for five.
This is Bono being Bono.
This is the total...
I know, I know.
I know.
One hundred.
Two hundred.
I see the little kind of things.
I see the little kind of things.
This is...
Okay.
Outside is America.
Yeah, see that?
Outside is America.
So this song is Bono at his Bono list, which I don't mind Bono being Bono.
Like, politics aside, that's their gist.
That's the name of their game.
But it's...
Like, this is one thing that I would say this is something you should have done on a live show.
Stopping it down.
One hundred.
Two hundred.
But it's not a studio song.
His injection of this whole dialogue and everything, it's like, yes, Bono.
We got it.
You're Bono.
And so this is the very Bono song.
I don't know if that makes sense.
I'm not slagging the guy because...
I hear you.
He's done a lot of good for a lot of things.
Here's a little trivia for you.
But this is actually true.
You can Google it yourself.
I believe you.
He's done more for Africa than any single human being on the Earth's planet.
That's amazing.
That's amazing.
That's what he's ever done.
That's amazing.
It is amazing.
Even more than the We Are the World.
Yeah.
Well, I think we're all supposed to hurt him because they realized it did nothing.
Yeah.
I like Bono.
I know a lot of people slag him for being Bono.
As a fan, I love the glasses.
He's got guacamole eyes.
I know that.
But all that being said, yeah, Bolt the Blue Sky.
I don't like it on Rattle and Hum.
I don't like it on Joshua Tree.
And it looks like you're going with me on this.
Yeah, we're going 5 for 5 on this.
5 for 5?
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
This is the worst of the best first.
I don't think Ruben and I have ever agreed.
No.
But I think two or three of them...
You were on the fence.
I was on the fence or switch sides, but I'm in agreeance.
That's why we played the song a little bit to kind of jog the...
Oh, is this really worse than the other song?
Mazel Tov, brother.
Is this my glass of water?
Yeah, this is mine.
So to U2, to successful 2018, U2 is now on tour or going to be on tour with their...
It might seem like it.
Songs of Experience.
Is that the...
Yeah, it's a good album.
Yeah.
I've never listened to the Songs of Innocence.
Songs of Experience is a good album.
Songs of Experience, you have to download on your own.
It will not force it on you.
Thank you, Chris, for the excellent show comment.
And peace out.
Thank you.