Reminiscent of the Marvel's New Avengers Civil Warcomic book series, in which President George W. Bush's statement in November 2001 that "You are either with us or against us" in terms of the global war on terror was allegorically played out by fictional characters within the Marvel Universe...
...tonight (January 28, 2017), the Marvel Avengers: Ultron Revolution cartoon series concluded with a 4-part special entitled "Civil War" which arguably portrays the dangers surrounding President Trump's plans for a Muslim Registry.
In the cartoon event, a "race of altered human beings" called the Inhumans are legally forced to sign an Inhuman Registration Act which compromises their rights. Marvel's superheroes initially are torn into opposing factions as they determine whether or not to follow the demands of Truman Marsh, at key moments an apparent stand-in for Trump, who represents the state.
Spoiler Alert: in the end, Ultron, the villain ultimately responsible for the strategy, is sent to another dimension in order to stop the ploy. It's a fantasy which seems to be on the minds of many people these days.
Arguably the two best albums by U2 are The Joshua Tree (1987) and Achtung Baby (1992). Not only do these albums top lists by fans who love the band, but both top multiple lists as two of the best albums of all time. And of course there's a U2 Joshua Tree tour right around the corner, so these albums remain in the public eye. So...
which album is better?
This definitive, head to head, song by song comparison will put the debate to rest.
To make this entirely objective assessment, I base my conclusion on the following credentials and anecdotes:
My Ph.D. is in Chinese Film Studies which makes me an ideal candidate for this arduous task.
I thought of this while enjoying a paid beverage on an airplane flight, which subsequently put me into a deep sleep in which I saw a vision of The Edge who told me that my conclusion is truthful. The smile that contorted my face soon after was misunderstood by flight attendants who wanted me to stay seated during the descent into Los Angeles.
While listening to each album 1 zillion times I have on occasion interrupted my closest friends and family members--while they try to tell me important bits of wisdom, such as why I shouldn't do a Ph.D. in Chinese Film Studies--to be real quiet during the howl in "With or Without You" or the guitar solo in "Even Better Than The Real Thing." Then I look at them as if to say: "did you feel that?" "Yes," they nod. (At least that is what I imagine they do, because my eyes are usually blurred with tears like Rey's).
Like all forms of assessment these days, I use a rubric. The difference between my rubric and the rubrics typically forced upon educators by for-profit companies is that I designed my rubric without a profit motive. Taking money out of the equation allows me to retain my personal subjectivity and intellectual objectivity. However, feel free to click on any of the adds on this page--earnings on this blog over the last year have only totaled $2.81.
Here it is. Each song is awarded points from 1-20 in 5 categories so that, in total, each song is worth 100 points. 100s aren't passed out like candy. In fact, I only rate 2 songs out of U2's entire catalog as 100s. 20 points Lyrics (substance, quality) 20 points Bono/ Vocals (delivery, sound, passion) 20 points Edge/ Guitar (complexity, tone, expression) 20 points Adam & Larry/ Bass + Drums (energy, foundation) 20 points Intangibles (essence or Tao--that which can't be named)
OK, we're dealing with one of the best songs by U2, one of the best concert openers of all time: "Streets." And we're comparing that with a song that efficiently initiates an important change in direction in U2's career and sound. But like "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," "Zoo Station" does its job, but it's no "A Day in the Life." Winner: The Joshua Tree
This will probably be the most controversial decision in this entire comparison, but it's alright, it's alright, it's alright--"EBTTRT" moves in mysterious ways. One song is about something that has not yet been found (let's call it a "1" in an infinite series of combinations of "1's"), while the other song is about something even better than the best thing that can be found (let's call it the "Real," "0", the ex nihilo "out of nothing" from which creation emerges within Catholic theology). If you're upset by this rationale, just "give me one more chance and you'll be satisfied." Winner: Achtung Baby
It is fascinating to listen to U2 shows soon after both "With or Without You" was released in 1987, and "One" in 1992. In both cases, these songs were featured before the encore (in the first leg of the Joshua Tree tour), and "One" was early as song six on the Zoo TV: Live from Sydney DVD. Yet over time, these transcendent songs became encores, where they belong. I'd say there is only the slimmest of margins that separate the two--according to this "objective" model, and the criteria listed above, "With or Without You" is a perfect song. It can't be ruined by over-playing it. "One" is nearly a perfect song. We're talking a one point difference. Winner: The Joshua Tree
It would seem like these scores are low, but think about the songs they follow. After the unparalleled third tracks on both albums, these songs are clearly a dip in quality. Which is crazy: Bono's rant in "Bullet" and his characterization of himself as Judas in "UTEOTW," like Rembrant's self-portraits depicting himself nailing Christ to the cross, would seem seem like 100s on other albums, both by U2 and other artists. But these songs stand alongside perfection which reveals their shortcomings. Winner: The Joshua Tree
At this stage, here's how the albums stack up: The Joshua Tree (3-1) Achtung Baby (1-3)
Like the beginning of films with great opening acts--for example, the first 15 minutes of Wong Karwai's In the Mood for Love (2000)--we know we're in the presence of greatness, but there's still a long ways to go.
One of the most beautiful films of all time: In the Mood for Love
We've arrived at the lowest point total for both albums; namely, the 78 earned by "WGRYWH," a song that is ultimately redeemed by an awesome bridge, but not enough to make it into "superior score" territory. Meanwhile, "Running"'s 90 initiates a free fall on The Joshua Tree that requires exactly what was expected of Jek Porkins in Episode IV. Winner: The Joshua Tree
The Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby are remarkably similar in structure and presentation. This seems more evident today than when Achtung was released and seemed so different. Both begin with classic album openers, move to their most memorable tracks by track three, sustain the energy from the opening tracks through track four, then come down on track five. Here again we find another similarity at track six: narratives, about labor and love respectively. The way the chorus punctuates the poetry of love lost in "So Cruel" pushes it into the lead. Winner: Achtung Baby
Comparing the rifts of each songs is not always a sure-fire way to assess song quality, but in this case it's quite effective. The guitar strumming at the beginning of "In God's Country" matches U2's "Pride" so it retains a niche in the U2 pantheon, but "The Fly" bites as if from a different galaxy. Radical variations of "The Fly" like the one on the "Veritigo" tour ensure its timeless status. As far as this comparison goes, it's the first score on either album to achieve a 90+ since "Running" on The Joshua Tree. Winner: Achtung Baby
In a way, both albums come unhinged on track 8. Bono starts playing a harmonica in "TTYW" and sounds the way he looks in the video for "Mysterious." Coming unhinged isn't a criticism. Some of my favorite songs like Radiohead's "The National Anthem" are (insert synonym for "unhinged" here: demented, unglued). It's just what happens on these albums. Winner: Achtung Baby
Pretty mysterious, right?
After eight tracks, the albums are neck and neck: The Joshua Tree (4-4) Achtung Baby (4-4)
It's clear at this point that we're dealing with a mammoth set of narrative twist and turns, like Zhang Yimou's early films before he gave his heart to the CCP and directed the 2008 Olympics opening ceremony. His must-see 1994 film To Live remains a definitive account of inter-generational experience in 20th century China.
Zhang Yimou's use of sound in To Live is world class
"Is That All?"
The End: Tracks 9-12
OK, so there is a discrepancy here because The Joshua Tree has 11 tracks and Achtung Baby has 12. To manage this difference I've decided to place the last track of The Joshua Tree, "Mothers of the Disappeared" in a straight up head-to-head against the mean (average) score of Achtung's final two songs, "Acrobat" and "Love is Blindness." But first, track nine:
The Joshua Tree returns to its winning ways, after three straight defeats to the mighty Achtung Baby, with the moving "One Tree Hill," a song written in memory of a friend. In contrast, the perfectly delivered monologue in "TTTYAATW" which on its own terms might fit into a "best of genre" category for its particular presentation style, just doesn't have enough weight to compete with "One Tree Hill" once both songs are placed in the same ring. Winner: The Joshua Tree
Both albums ramp back into high gear as they race towards their respective grande finales. I've always wondered if "Exit' is the sound of a young writer attempting to sound mature beyond their years, which occurs when struggling writers try to achieve an aesthetic beyond their grasp, or if it is the sound of a writer fully in control of their element. In any case, it's the song I look forward to hearing the most in the upcoming The Joshua Tree tour 2017. But "Ultraviolet"'s combination of sound and lyrics ("there is a silence that comes to a house where no one can sleep") takes the cake. Look at what we have here: the albums are tied 5-5 heading into the final round. Winner: Achtung Baby
A variation on a theme, "Ultraviolet" performed in 2010, posted on YouTube
"Mothers of the Disappeared" begins with an ethereal drum machine soundscape that takes one to the place where the song will live, and probably outlive, all of the other songs on both albums. Stunningly, the appeal for justice which stretches horizontally over a vast geographical space in "Mothers" is somehow matched by the pathos which descends deep into the bottomless internal, psychological space represented in "Acrobat" and "Love is Blindness." The call to action in "Mothers" achieves an intangible quality equaled by a description of shared individual experience at the conclusion of Achtung. Winner: tie
In the final assessment, The Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby tie in terms of a song by song comparison.
The Joshua Tree (5-5-1) Achtung Baby (5-5-1)
However, The Joshua Tree wins in terms of total points.
The Joshua Tree: 1025 pts. Achtung Baby: 1002 pts.
Although there are a series of songs in the middle of Achtung Baby that are stronger, ultimately "Zoo Station" and "WGRYWH" work against its overall score.
The albums are either similar or different in quality depending on the vantage point. Maybe the only way to assess an album as "better" than another is to choose one particular vantage point and then stick to it alone. Yet once multiple frames of reference are used, a clear-cut resolution is tough to come by.
It reminds me of one of the best films by Taiwan director Hou Hsiao-hsien, the 2003 work Three Times. It covers nearly 100 years of history in three separate vignettes performed by the same two actors. The world changes all around them while the perspective stays the same, leading to an endless series of interpretive possibilities.
Sofia Coppola's 2003 film Lost in Translationis a portrait of Tokyo from the perspective of two foreigners who are at once confused and self-aware. Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson) contemplates life as an adrift intellectual post-college graduation, while actor Bob Harris (Bill Murray) reflects on marriage, children, and celebrity life back home in L.A. Writer-director Coppola's depiction of these intersections is complemented by a soundtrack that moves between silence and captivating pop. The images present objects in a way that render them both mundane and intelligible, but the meaning of the images is always elusive--just like the film's most memorable lines of dialogue, we hear sounds but we don't know what exactly is being said.
In this essay I argue that Bai Jingrui’s 1970 film Home Sweet Home’s central concern is the politics, both aesthetic and ideological, of depicting migration within a narrative film. More specifically, this film presents the official state position that the Chinese Nationalist Party held regarding students from Taiwan who studied abroad in the late 1960s and early 1970s, many of whom studied abroad and yet did not return. This claim is based on the film’s release by a state studio, CMPC, under state supervision and censorship, in order to further the state’s ideological project through visual media. A close reading of the film illuminate the ways that Bai Jingrui’s aesthetic choices work both in conjunction and disjunction with the intentions of the Taiwan government in 1970.
Also available in: “Projecting a State That Does Not Exist: Bai Jingrui’s Jia zai Taibei/ Home Sweet Home” In Journal of Chinese Cinemas 4 (2010): 15-26.
Tracing a Common Heritage in Early Films by Xie Jin and Li Xing
This essay proposes that the most important link between Mainland Chinese director Xie Jin and Taiwan director Li Xing’s films during the Cold War was the influence of Shanghai’s film tradition of realist aesthetics in the 1930s and 1940s. This Shanghai tradition was the root of a common cinematic language that flourished on both sides of the Strait after 1949, even though there were unique parameters inherent to each film culture after the Communist victory in the civil war. This seemingly counterintuitive conclusion shows that conceptions of film as a universal language, or conversely as the expression of a specific national film tradition, do not entirely account for the similarities of these two Mandarin-language filmmakers.
Also available in: “Two Stage Brothers: Tracing a Common Heritage in Early Films by Xie Jin and Li Xing.” In Modern Chinese Literature and Culture 21 (2009): 174-212.
