Forward Thinking: You, too, should hear my mix tape

The legendary band, U2, has been pumping out hit after hit ever since their first album Boy came out in 1980. Photo / Supplied

We've gone U2 crazy in TimOut - and it's only fitting, given they are the biggest band in the world. However, while they will be playing all the hits and their best-loved songs tonight - one of which, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, I can't stand, by the way - there are many U2 songs that go unheralded and are far better than that dreary piece of rock 'n' roll.

So here's my ultimate U2 mix tape, with not a hit single in earshot. I have to say, I'm not a U2 expert, and don't know my B-sides from my non-album singles, so it's mostly made up of album tracks. It's also unashamedly biased towards the great band's early career because, if you ask me, that's when they were at their raw and revolutionary best.

Wire (off The Unforgettable Fire, 1984): Not my favourite song from my favourite U2 album (that would be the beautiful Bad), but it's a hell of a way to start a mix tape (or a concert for that matter). With its bristling guitar, heavy, low-slung bass, relentless drums and Bono's harsh, pleading holler, it builds a riotous tension.

The Refugee (off War, 1983): With the "woah, woah, she's the refugee" singalong chant it's U2 (and Bono) at their pent-up best. And crikey, for two white boys, Larry Mullen jnr and Adam Clayton sure are funky - especially for 1983.

I Threw A Brick Through A Window (off October, 1981): Continuing the riot theme, even if the song is about the riot within yourself, it's an unsettling song that morphs and twists from anthemic post-punk to primal ambient.

Indian Summer Sky (off The Unforgettable Fire): The often-overlooked anthem of the album with the fade-in at the beginning giving way to the steely shimmering guitar and a thrumming bottom end by the Irish riddim twins driving it along.

Red Hill Mining Town (off The Joshua Tree, 1987): It's about the impact of the 1984 British coal miners' strike, but oddly enough it's on a par with Running To Stand Still as the most beautiful U2 song to date.

Exit (off The Joshua Tree): Dark, stirring and at times jarring, as it builds from brittle and quiet to blazing and menacing.

An Cat Dubh (off Boy, 1980): Nothing like a mid-mix tape mellow-out and it starts here with An Cat Dubh, the best - if most understated - song from U2's debut album. Although it is menacingly mellow with its eerie opening guitar, the spooky tinkle of bells and its relentless lurch.

Fez-Being Born (off No Line On The Horizon, 2009): A nod to the band's time in Morocco during the recording of No Line, it's world music U2-style, but also another of those all-consuming epics with long-time collaborators Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois.

Miami (off Pop, 1997): A weird little song co-produced by a weird chap by the name of Howie B, who brought his noodly, loping and fidgety experimental trip-hop touch to a handful of songs on Pop.

Kite (off All That You Can't Leave Behind, 2000): This aching epic shows Bono not only has the biggest mouth in rock, he's got one of the best voices too. But it's pretty soppy, so feel free to skip it in favour of Party Girl.

Party Girl (B-side to 1982 non-album single A Celebration, and off live album Under A Blood Red Sky, 1983): I knew this catchy song from the live version and I still find myself singing it every now and then. "I know she wants more than a party, Party Girl."

Seconds (off War): War had a gritty spareness to it that lent the songs an eerie and visceral intensity - and it was no better realised than on the clattery primal groove of Seconds.

Out Of Control (off Boy): It's a better chest-beating, jump-around anthem than I Will Follow. And the best bit? Well, the interlude's quiet harmonics and whispering delay might sound cheesy these days but when it kicks back in, it's more than out of control, it's off the hook.

40 (off War): A big live favourite throughout the band's career and to quote Bono: "Sing this with me. This is 40."

- TimeOut