U2 is the first band that I remember following as a young child. I was only four when Boy came out in 1980, five when October came out in 1981, but I distinctly remember stealing my mom’s War tape back in 1983 and playing it until it broke. I bought The Joshua Tree with my own money, which made my mother happy. Life since then has been one big anticipation after another as the albums have been released.

There’s no doubt that my interest peaked around Achtung Baby, as most of my favorites come from that album, through I’ve found enough great songs on each album to justify the purchase. In today’s single-song based world, we might be tempted to download just the songs that get radio, XM or Sirius airplay when we find them on iTunes. Not with U2. This band in particular demands the purchase of a cd in jewel case with the nicely printed liner notes. Their music deserves a listen from start to finish in order to fully embrace the labor of love produced by one of the best bands in (pop?) rock history.

You’ll find an iTunes iMix for my favorite U2 songs below. What’s missing? iTunes didn’t connect these tracks for the iMix, which is a shame since they share equal play time in my list:

• Sweetest Thing - The Best of 1980-1990
• Electrical Storm (William Orbit Remix) - The Best of 1990-2000
• Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me - The Best of 1990-2000
• The Ground Beneath Her Feet - The Million Dollar Hotel

By the way, it appears that the iMix code doesn’t always work as Apple expects (surprise!), so you may not be able to click on the individual songs and be taken to iTunes. If you click on the artwork image it will open up the iMix within iTunes.

What are your favorite U2 songs?

Many thanks go out to Adam McIntyre for posting what is probably the funniest video I’ve seen in a long time.  My chest hurt, my face hurt, I snotted all over myself, I was crying from laughing so hard:

[ht: TheEpicBeat]

About ten years ago, I was honored to be part of the worship team for a Vineyard church plant in Brunswick, GA.  The church didn’t last but the relationships did.  What was most significant to me was the vast amount of talent that the Vineyard Music group had, putting out album after album that spoke to my heart.  My favorite songs from that period are still in my repertoire:  Come Now is the Time to Worship, Hungry, Surrender, All Who Are Thirsty, Light the Fire Again, Breathe, Draw Me Close, Let the River Flow, Holy and Anointed One, You Are My King (Amazing Love), If You Say Go, In The Secret, Jesus Lead On, Lord Reign In Me, plus more if I could just remember them.

If I hadn’t been part of that church plant, I might still have been influence by the music but I would not have been exposed to the Vineyard DNA that is so central to my understanding of relevant ministry.  If you have the time, the following video might give you a glimpse into this DNA and help you understand how this movement came about:

Vineyard USA 25th Anniversary from Vineyard USA on Vimeo.
Do you have a favorite Vineyard song or have an experience with the Vineyard Movement that you would like to share?

Tonight, I jumped into the live chat at Are We Still Cool? super late but right in time to catch the conversation about the new Hillsong album.  Every so often a song comes along that moves me to my knees.  That song for me right now is Healer, which appeared early this year on PlanetShakers “Saviour of the World” cd/dvd and will also appear on the new Hillsong album “This Is Our God” coming out in July.  Please check out the intro video. It is available for preorder, which I’m going to do because it seems that our Wal-Mart NEVER carries the version of the album with the DVD included.

Anyway, I absolutely love this song and hope to be able to pull it off with a full band and hit all the right stops on the bridge.   I played it at Elevate with Ben on keys and myself on acoustic a few weeks back and I almost didn’t make it all the way through the song without breaking out in tears.  My hope is that folks in our community that have been healed or need healing in their lives will find themselves reaching up to God in surrender to receive the healing that He offers and reach out to others that have no idea what God has in store for them.

Have you heard this song yet?  What song is messing you up these days?

Have you ever been so sucked in by the music in a film that you lost the plot?

Here, in no particular order at all, are some of my favorite movie soundtracks:

• Once
• Walk the Line
• Rattle & Hum
• Pink Floyd’s The Wall
• City of Angels (Uninvited!)
• The Beatles Help!
• Blues Brothers
• The Science of Sleep
• The Commitments
• Highlander (Queen!)
• The Doors
• Forrest Gump

Do you have a favorite movie soundtrack?