60 Songs That Saved My Life- By Bono

Bono, an Irish singer-songwriter turned 60 recently and to mark the occasion, the  lead vocalist and primary lyricist of rock band U2. shared a playlist called “60 Songs That Saved My Life.”

It includes songs by David Bowie, The Beatles, Patti Smith, Bob Dylan, Kanye West, Daft Punk, Nirvana, Kraftwerk, Public Enemy, Lou Reed, Kendrick Lamar, Massive Attack, Iggy Pop, Arcade Fire, JAY-Z, Billie Eilish, Pixies, and more.

“These are some of the songs that saved my life… the ones I couldn’t have lived without… the ones that got me from there to here, zero to 60… through all the scrapes, all manner of nuisance,” he wrote.

“From the serious to the silly… and the joy, mostly joy,” the rocker shared in an open letter posted to the band’s website. “I wanted to thank the artists and everyone who helped make them … They were doing the same for me.”

  
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 'These are some of the songs that saved my life…. the ones I couldn’t have lived without… the ones that got me from there to here, zero to 60… through all the scrapes, all manner of nuisance, from the serious to the silly… and the joy, mostly joy… I wanted to thank the artists and everyone who helped make them… They were doing the same for me… I am writing a fan letter to accompany each song to try and explain my fascination… I’ll be sharing some here and on U2.com... Bono - link in bio.’
 
A post shared by  U2 Official (@u2) on May 10, 2020 at 3:56am PDT
 

Bono writes letter to the artistes

In addition to the playlist, the 22 time Grammy Awards winner added that he is writing a letter to the artistes behind the music to explain what the music means to him. The first letters are written to Billie Eilish, Massive Attack, Daft Punk, and Kraftwerk. Including Pharrell, Nile Rodgers, and the families of David Bowie and Luciano Pavarotti. The first six letters from the project are available to read below. Here’s one he wrote to Billie Eilish and FINNEAS:

My ears long for such empty spaces to wander… to sneak away from the density of digital surfaces with too much information… I step inside your song and it’s a black beauty, achingly awesomely vulnerable and terrifying, fearless and worrisome… but you are not worried by all that. You express it so you can own the feeling that nags.

I think of Carole King. I think of Roy Orbison.

But just like them, this never existed before you did.

Your fan,

Bono

The artist will be revealing the rest of the letters this week on U2.com.

Listen to the full playlist on YouTube and Spotify below.