Wild Honey

U2 - Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me 1995

"Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me" is a song by Irish rockband U2. It was released in 1995 as a single from the soundtrack album for the film Batman Forever, starring Val Kilmer, Tommy Lee Jones, Jim Carrey, and Nicole Kidman. The soundtrack itself, featuring additional songs by Seal ("Kiss from a Rose"), the Flaming Lips, Brandy, the Offspring, Method Man, Nick Cave, Michael Hutchence (of INXS), PJ Harvey, and Massive Attack, was an attempt to (in producer Peter MacGregor-Scott's words) make the film more "pop".

A number-one single in their home country of Ireland, as well as in seven other countries, "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me" reached number two on the UK Singles Chart, number 16 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and number one on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks and Modern Rock Tracks charts. It was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song, and Grammy Award nominations for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal and Best Rock Song. "Weird Al" Yankovic recorded a parody titled "Cavity Search". The animated music video to the song (interspersed with clips from the film) was directed by Kevin Godley and Maurice Linnane. It features the band performing in Gotham City, with Bono battling between two of his alter-egos from the Zoo TV Tour: "The Fly" and "MacPhisto".

"Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me" received a total of 67,7% yes votes!

U2 - Elevation (Tomb Raider Mix) 2001

"Elevation" is a song by Irish rockband U2 from their tenth studio album, All That You Can't Leave Behind (2000). It was released as the album's third single on 25 June 2001. The song became the band's 16th number-one single in their native Ireland. It also topped the charts in Canada and the Netherlands, and reached the top 10 in Australia, Denmark, Finland, Italy, Norway, Scotland, Spain, and the UK. A different mix of the song, entitled the "Tomb Raider Mix", was included on the soundtrack of the 2001 film Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. In 2002, "Elevation" won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal at the 44th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony.

"Elevation" was inspired by a sound that guitarist the Edge achieved from a vintage effects unit when playing his Gibson SG guitar through a Fender Bassman amplifier. He likened the pedal to "some mad funkadelic thing". Within ten minutes, the Edge developed the riff that inspired the rest of the song. He then programmed a rhythm on a drum machine to which the band started playing and lead singer Bono improvised vocals. For the heavily distorted sound of the song's main guitar riff, the Edge played his instrument through a 1970s Hiwatt amplifier. The wah-wah guitar effect at the end of the song was achieved by filtering the tone through an Electrix Filter Factory sound module. The version of the song released as a single was entitled the "Tomb Raider Mix", differing significantly from the album version, in that it features guitars with a more "hard rock" sound than the electronic-inspired feel of the album version. The drums in the single version are also harder, with additional tambourine included.

The music video for "Elevation" was directed by Joseph Kahn, with the Edge inserted into footage from the 2001 film Lara Croft: Tomb Raider to partner up with Lara (Angelina Jolie). The video was featured on the film's DVD as a special feature.

"Elevation" received a total of 73,5% yes votes! Previous U2 polls: #531 "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me", writers of #195 "GoldenEye".

U2 | Numb

Bono spray paints the Vaillancourt Fountain

Justin Herman Plaza / Embarcadero

San Francisco, CA (11/11/87)

Trouser Press July 1983/U2