The Irreverent U2 Podcast: Kissing Lips and Breaking Hearts with the Garden Tarts

U2 turns 50! On September 25, 1976, four Dublin teenagers crammed into Larry Mullen Jr.'s kitchen, and nothing was ever the same. To celebrate U2's 50th anniversary, Jenny and Hillary (the Garden Tarts) give you two things:
50 Stories With No Context. One-liners from decades of chasing U2 around the world. Bono punched one of us. He sneezed on both of us. We've been to church with him twice (we're Jewish). Larry left wristbands. Adam told a secret. Every word is true. We won't explain any of them.
Our Top 50 U2 Songs. Two very different lists: from Boy and October through Achtung Baby, Pop, and All That You Can't Leave Behind, all the way to Songs of Experience and Atomic City. Who forgot Rattle and Hum? Who snuck in "I'm Not Your Baby"? And why didn't either of us pick "So Cruel"?
Tell us your top U2 songs, and which story you want the full version of.
More at thegardentarts.com. Support the show on Patreon for ad-free episodes, early access, and bonus deep dives.

U2's 50th birthday is Friday and the teasers have started — plus a broken foot, a fan club unboxing, and a deep dive into your comments on Playboy Mansion (Pop, 1997). Was Bono really invited to the Playboy Mansion? Is the song a secret metaphor for heaven? We get into it.

🎧 Also on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube & all major platforms
🔔 Subscribe for weekly U2 content — thegardentarts.com

U2 turns 50 this year, and we're celebrating with one pivotal moment from every decade of the band's career — from Larry's message board note to the Sphere. Then: a live report from a U2 tribute band show, a full "Zoo Station" deep-dive with your comments, and an EXCLUSIVE US first listen to "Alison Stewart," December's new charity remix single, before its official release.

🎧 Subscribe for weekly U2 deep-dives, live show recaps, and superfan chaos.
🌐 thegardentarts.com — sign up for the newsletter
💬 Leave a comment: what's YOUR pivotal U2 moment?

TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Welcome + housekeeping
01:05 What's in this episode
03:27 50 Years of U2: a pivotal moment per decade
14:36 Intermission: U2 tribute band show recap (Cleveland)
19:57 Side B: "Zoo Station" deep-dive + your comments
44:00 Exclusive: "Alison Stewart" (December remix) first US listen
46:00 Next episode's song pick + goodbyes

U2 have released a joyful new cover of the Pogues’ “Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah”—or, as we are now calling it, The Yays—and the Garden Tarts have thoughts.

In this episode, Hillary and Jenny talk about U2’s light, playful take on the Shane MacGowan song for the upcoming 20th Century Paddy: The Songs of Shane MacGowan tribute album. They discuss the connection to producer Steve Lillywhite, why the cover’s childlike keyboard sound works for them, and why not every U2 cover needs to be heavy or “important.”

They also take a friendly but firm detour into the importance of checking sources before sharing U2 rumors, tour dates, album art, and supposed announcements. If it is not coming from U2 directly—or from a dependable source clearly labeling speculation as speculation—proceed with caution.

At intermission, listeners share moving, joyful, nostalgic, and occasionally spicy feelings about last week’s Cigar Box selection: “Beautiful Day.” From weddings, first homes, fatherhood, recovery, and graduation to questions about singles, setlists, and “Vertigo,” this conversation proves once again that U2 songs become part of people’s life stories.

Then Hillary reports back from a weekend with U2topia and Coldplay tribute act Back to the Start. There were thoughtful setlists, “Do You Hear Me Coming, Lord?” in “One,” “Shine Like Stars” woven into “With or Without You,” a brilliant Back to the Future-inspired opening, and a joint finale of David Bowie’s “Heroes.”

And finally: the Cigar Box has spoken. Next week’s song is “Zoo Station.”
In this episode
U2’s cover of the Pogues’ “Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah”
The upcoming Shane MacGowan tribute album, 20th Century Paddy: The Songs of Shane MacGowan
Why the Garden Tarts find U2’s version “adorable,” light, and fun
Steve Lillywhite’s connection to the Pogues’ original recording
U2 covers we love, covers we do not, and why that is okay
How to separate confirmed U2 news from rumors and misinformation
Listener memories and reactions to “Beautiful Day”
Why All That You Can’t Leave Behind remains emotionally tied to the era around September 11 for many fans
A lively “Beautiful Day” versus “Vertigo” discussion
Jenny’s U2topia concert recap
Coldplay tribute band Back to the Start and their Back to the Future entrance
A shared performance of David Bowie’s “Heroes”
The next Cigar Box pick: “Zoo Station”
Listener voices
Thank you to everyone who shared a “Beautiful Day” memory or opinion.

Your stories—from weddings and parenthood to recovery, new homes, and hard-won graduation days—made this week’s conversation especially meaningful.
Links and calls to action
Follow the Garden Tarts on social media: @the_gardentarts
Visit: thegardentarts.com
Subscribe to the Garden Tarts YouTube channel
Sign up for the newsletter
Support the podcast on Patreon or Buy Me a Coffee
Share this episode with your U2 friends
Leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts

Kissing Lips and Breaking Hearts, a U2 podcast with the Garden Tarts, is created, produced, and edited by the Garden Tarts. Intro and outro music by December.

Side A brings the U2 news roundup, including reports of Bono’s involvement in the upcoming Free Nelson Mandela documentary, a Windmill Lane book in the works, U2’s participation in a Shane MacGowan tribute project, and Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno’s guest-producer roles on the next U2 album.

Then it’s show-and-tell time: a promo copy of War, a new U2.com hoodie, record-store dreams, and the challenge of finding Rattle and Hum on vinyl “organically.”

On Side B, the random-song cigar box delivers “God Part II.” We dig into why this compact, punchy, contradictory track may be less a Rattle and Hum outlier than an early signpost toward Achtung Baby. Plus, we share listener thoughts, from “brilliant song” to the gloriously concise “Belter,” and pick next week’s song: “Beautiful Day.”
In this episode
U2 news: tribute projects, producers, documentaries, Windmill Lane, and Bono’s message for Venezuela
Why Howie B., Jacknife Lee, Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno all belong in the same conversation
A gold-stamped promotional pressing of War
Why “God Part II” feels like a bridge to Achtung Baby
Listener takes on one of Rattle and Hum’s most overlooked tracks
Next week’s cigar-box selection: “Beautiful Day”

Follow the Garden Tarts on social media at @the_gardentarts, subscribe to the newsletter at thegardentarts.com, and support the show through Patreon or Buy Me a Coffee.