It’s that song that just hits you – gives you chills, makes you stop dead as you listen to every drum beat, every throb of the bass, every uptick in tempo. The words become all about you, each phrase plays as your personal anthem for days, weeks, or maybe even years. They’re the songs that made you fall in love with music.
Sunday Bloody Sunday & Bad –U2 (Live Aid 1985):
This was where it all really started. Before I saw a video of U2′s performance at Live Aid, I was a casual listener of the band. “Beautiful Day” and “One” were staples in my music collection, but I never paid much attention to the band that practically created the anthem of 2000. But when I saw this performance – with a mullet, leather pants-clad Bono marching across the stage – I was blown away. 
In 1985, U2 was just beginning to get really big. Their performance was pre-”Vertigo,” before ZooTv, even before Joshua Tree and “Where the Streets Have No Name.” They weren’t the biggest band at Live Aid that day: they were only about five years into their 30-year-plus career. But after 20 minutes and just two songs later, U2 was easily elevated to the ranks of Bowie, Queen, and The Who.
I had never before paid attention to a band that gave so much of themselves to the music. I watched in fascination as the band stomped their way through a fiery version of “Sunday Bloody Sunday” – the crowd screamed along with Bono’s “We are so sick of them!,” as The Edge launched into a simmering guitar solo, and Larry banged away on the drums. When the opening chords to “Bad” rung out across the stadium, U2 delved into 12-minute rendition of a song about their hometown, Dublin. The band is in fine form here, seamlessly transitioning between their original arrangement and Bono’s spontaneous ad-libs and soaring operatics.
It’s funny to watch these videos of the band from ’85, now that Bono no longer rocks the mullet, high-heeled boots, and leather pants, The Edge keeps his hair short and knit cap on, and the band currently tours with an extravagant “claw” and sells out stadiums with two-hour shows packed with hits and Africa-inspired speeches.
But when Bono jumped from the stage that day at Live Aid to meet a few fans waiting at the bottom, it was all over. I was in love.
