Originally posted by CMIPalaeo:For me, "40" is in its own category anyway. It's not like the other closers, it's "40." It's THE show closer. Personally, I'd rather hear LIB or MOS as a show closer, but I'm also completely certain that if I was at a show and they played "40" to close, nothing would be better. It's sort of its own thing - its own sort of spiritual category, not just because of its religious basis, the song itself is its own entity in the U2 world. I don't think "40" could be compared to the other songs that they use to close, not because it's just incalculably better -- there are barely any songs (by U2 or any other artist) that are better than some of the songs in the poll (LIB, MOS, One) and "40" certainly isn't a better song than those. But it's a different song. It's a new song. "40" is just a touch unlike everything else in U2's catalogue. One of my favourite performances of it (at the Dortmund Unforgettable Fire show) has Bono preface it by saying 'this song is yours, this song is "40".' And that is a really powerful thing to say, it's always stuck with me. "40" is our song. It's not the band's song, it's the crowd's. There's just something about it.
So just my thoughts at the moment. I'm really glad this wasn't a poll that asked 'what's your favourite show closer?' and included "40". Because I'd be torn in answering. Sure I LIKE Love Is Blindness and Moment of Surrender much much better - heck, they ARE better - than "40," but like I said... "40" is "40" and it means so much to us, the U2 fan family, that I always think it will occupy I special place all its own.