Underrated: U2

I know how much some of you guys like U2 so I was pleased to run across this column in Entertainment Weekly that listed U2's most underrated songs. I don't actually have very many of them on my iPod (although I did put "In a Little While" on a mix CD) and I'm far from a U2 expert, but I thought some of you might enjoy arguing the merits of the list.

Go here or read it below:

• ''Rejoice'' (October, 1981) Like their debut, Boy, U2's second album, October, focused heavily on the young foursome's politics, but songs like ''Rejoice'' are the first to suggest some ambivalence and personality: ''I can't change the world/ But I can change the world in me.'' (This was apparently before Bono decided to change the world, like, for real.) Though U2 hadn't quite matured as a group, ''Rejoice's pounding guitar lines, tight drumming, and compelling lyrics foreshadowed more resonant songs like 1993's ''Sunday, Bloody Sunday.''
• ''40'' (War, 1983) An adaptation of the first lines of Psalm 40, the closing track on War is U2 at their most spiritual. Whether it's a plea for the end of violence in the name of religion or simply a pretty song about God, the short, simple ''40'' is a seamless blend of all four band members - even though Bono has said its recording was spontaneous and last-minute. Similar in style and theme to All That You Can't Leave Behind's closer, ''Grace,'' ''40'' has been used as a finale for many of U2's live shows.
• ''A Sort of Homecoming'' (The Unforgettable Fire, 1984) The first U2 album produced by Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, Fire saw the band move away from the mainstream and develop a unique, Edge-ier sound. In the moody opener, Bono's voice soars as he paints a hopeful yet pained portrait of an Ireland torn apart by conflict. His calling the landscape ''dislocated/ suffocated'' brings to mind the longer string of angst-wracked adjectives in the album's slower, more popular ballad ''Bad.''
• ''Exit'' (The Joshua Tree, 1987) All of the songs on the underappreciated latter half of U2's wildly successful Joshua Tree deserve a spot on this list, but ''Exit'' captures the album's themes of self-discovery and existential quandary perfectly. The song, about a man with a gun in his pocket, starts out as quiet and meditative but then, as if mirroring the man's conscience, suddenly spirals in and out of a climactic, hard-rock jam.
• ''Heartland'' (Rattle and Hum, 1988) This rolling tune was easily lost in the eclectic shuffle of Rattle and Hum, but Bono's soft vocals and the Edge's crisp guitar would have made a good addition to The Joshua Tree. As in ''A Sort of Homecoming,'' the land comes alive though poetic lyrics: ''Freeway like a river cuts through the land/ Into the side of love.''
• ''So Cruel'' (Achtung Baby, 1991) Not as daring in style as the rest of the album's songs, this love-hate tune shines because of its heart-wrenching lyrics. Man loves woman, hates that he can't help it, and will continue to love her even though she's bad for him: ''Then she makes you watch her from above/ And you need her like a drug,'' sings Bono yearningly, as his bandmates, sounding at times like a full orchestra, uplift him.
• ''Lady With the Spinning Head (extended dance remix)'' (Even Better Than the Real Thing single, 1992) Although the concept of an ''extended dance remix'' seemed very un-U2 at the time, this track hinted at the band's impending techno phase. And it worked: One listen to this fun, peppy tune and the "La la la la la Lady'' keeps spinning in your head all day long. A few bars of Achtung Baby's ''Fly'' even sneak in there at the end.
• ''Your Blue Room'' (Passengers, Original Soundtracks 1, 1995) U2 upped the artistic ante by collaborating with Eno to produce Original Soundtracks 1, a collection of compositions for imagined movies. The subtly beautiful ''Room'' has the dreamlike quality of 1993's Zooropa and the electronic vibe of 1997's Pop - you get the feeling you've somehow wandered into a strangely erotic underwater universe.
• ''Please'' (Pop, 1997) Much like ''Exit,'' ''Please'' starts out slow but builds up enough emotion to produce one of the greatest crescendos in U2's catalog. Even though it shares a techno flair with the rest of Pop, the song adds a more mature spin to the band's '80s concerns with Irish civil strife and the questioning of faith. At the end, Bono confesses, ''You know I've found it hard to receive/ 'Cause you, my love, I could never believe.''
• ''In a Little While'' (All That You Can't Leave Behind, 2000) A sweet, bluesy stroll of a song, it deserves mention if only because it's like nothing else U2 have ever done. When the accompaniment subsides and Bono belts out a long, whiny ''Turn it on/ Turn it on/ You turn me on, ooh-oooooh, yeah,'' you can't help but smile and think, "Right back at ya, baby.''

So that's it. I was think about underrated Beatles songs earlier today so maybe I'll try coming up with my own lists soon.