Michael Pollan在兩年前出版了廣受好評的《雜食者的兩難》（The Omnivore's Dilemma）（《到底要吃什麼？》），問了一個很重要的問題：「我們吃的到底是什麼？」，我相信一定有不少人接著問他道：「那我們到底要吃什麼？」，所以他又在今年初出版新書《食物無罪》來回答這個問題。和《雜食者的兩難》有趣的偵探推理方式不同的，In Defense of Food是相當平鋪直述，讀起來的樂趣太不如前者。不過，就實用價值而言，後者勝過前者。
對於「我們到底要吃什麼？」這個問題，他的答案非常非常的簡單，相對許多營養學聖經等列舉出一堆該吃不該吃的東西，Michael Pollan僅說了一句：「Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.」，也就是「吃食物，別太多，蔬食為主。」。Michael Pollan很不屑那些所謂的營養學專家或書籍中強調該多吃何種東西，嚴禁吃什麼東西，還要為試圖為健康犧牲口福的方式。基本上，Michael Pollan主張，只要遵守那個「吃食物，別太多，蔬食為主。」的原則，你可以享用任何你想吃的美食。 Michael Pollan去年初在《紐約時報雜誌》發表了一篇文章，大力批評所謂的「營養主義」（nutritionism）（那篇文章「Unhappy Meals」不短，基本上算是In Defense of Food的濃縮精華版）。「Nutritionism」是個新詞，指的是「an ideology that assumes that it is the scientifically identified nutrients in foods that determine their value in the diet.」，也就是「認為食物的價值決定於其營養成份的意識形態」。在營養主義者的觀點下，如果一個食物含有有益的成份，那就是好食物；反之含有有害成份，則該被視作壞食物。例如，碳水化合物吃多了不好，那你就不該多吃米飯。如果Omega-3脂肪酸是好東西，你就該多吃鮭魚。如果飽合脂肪不好，那你就不該吃奶油。
Something is about to give I can feel it coming I think I know what it is I'm not afraid to die I'm not afraid to live And when I'm flat on my back I hope to feel like I did
And hardness, it sets in You need some protection The thinner the skin
I want you to know That you don't need me anymore I want you to know You don't need anyone Or anything at all
Who's to say where the wind will take you? Who's to say what it is will break you? I don't know, which way the wind will blow
Who's to know when the time has come around? Don't want to see you cry I know that this is not goodbye
It's summer, I can taste the salt of the sea There's a kite blowing out of control on the breeze I wonder what's gonna happen to you You wonder what has happened to me...
I'm a man, I'm not a child... A man who sees The shadow behind your eyes
Who's to say where the wind will take you? Who's to say what it is will break you? I don't know, where the wind will blow
Who's to know when the time has come around? I don't want to see you cry I know that this is not goodbye
Did I waste it? Not so much I couldn't taste it Life should be fragrant Rooftop to the basement
The last of the rock stars When hip hop drove the big cars In the time when new media Was the big idea
Vertigo是一首很強勁熱血的歌。 Vertigo收錄在2004年推出的專輯How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb。Vertigo拿下2005年葛萊美獎（Grammy Awards）三座大獎：Best Rock Song、Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal和Best Short Form Music Video。苹果電腦甚至還為Vertigo的宣傳而推出U2特別版iPod，iTune也同時推出特別精選輯The Complete U2，裡頭收錄了U2所有的歌。
How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb總共拿下八座葛萊美獎，所有被提名的項目都得獎，極為風光。How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb奪得2006年Album of the Year和Best Rock Album，Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own奪得Song of the Year和Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal，City of Blinding Lights奪得Best Rock Song。
How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb雖然叫好叫座，迄今在全球賣出超過一千萬張，可是評價卻兩極化。有樂評覺得How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb裡頭的歌雖然很好聽，可是卻沒有太大的特色，也有人覺得U2也開始太這商業化取向了。我本身相當喜歡How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb裡的好幾首歌，可是卻覺得整張專輯感覺上似乎少了什麼......
Vertigo也收錄在U218 Singles：
Vertigo的歌詞：
Unos, dos, tres, catorce [1,2,3,4]
Turn it up loud, captain!
Lights go down It's dark The jungle is your head Can't rule your heart I'm feeling so much stronger Than I thought Your eyes are wide And though your soul it can't be bought your mind can wander
Hello, Hello Hola! [Spanish for Hello] I'm at a place called vertigo [Where is it?] It's everything I wish I didn't know Except you give me something I can feel Feel The night is full of holes Those bullets rip the sky Of ink with gold They twinkle as the boys play rock and roll They know that they can't dance At least they know
I can't stand the beat I'm askin' for the cheque Girl with crimson nails Has Jesus 'round the neck Swinging to the music Swinging to the music Woooao
Hello, Hello Hola! I'm at a place called Vertigo [Where is it?] It's everything I wish I didn't know But you give me something I can feel Feel All this, all this can be yours All of this, all of this can be yours All this, all of this can be yours Just give me what I want And no one gets hurt
Hello, Hello Hola! I'm at a place called Vertigo Lights go down and all I know Is that you give me something I can feel You're teaching me ...aaahhh Your love is teaching me ...aaaah How to kneel Kneel
《雜食者的兩難》（The Omnivore's Dilemma）作者麥克．波倫（Michael Pollan）是《紐約時報雜誌》（The New York Times Magazine）長期撰稿人，目前在柏克萊加州大學教授媒體新聞學。他著有Second Nature、A Place of My Own，以及讓他成為《紐約時報》年度風雲暢銷作者的The Botany of Desire。
Joel Salatin經營的Polyface Farm裡養有牛羊雞兔，並種植多種作物，自成一個生態系，單陽光吸收產生能量，幾乎不必外加肥料等。Polyface Farm原處原本是個因過度放牧而了無生機的廢棄農地，經過Joel Salatin和他父親多年的努力整治，成為生機勃勃的永續有機農場。令人驚訝的是，就單位面積產生的熱量而言，Polyface Farm比那些大量施用化肥的普通農場還高許多。 Joel Salatin（Image from Groovy Green）
除了生產過程富含永續有機精神，Joel Salatin堅持不長途運送農產品，僅在地方的農夫市場或通路販售，同時也開放讓顧客到牧場親自選購。開放透明環保的生產過程，贏得許多消費者與廚師的支持。可惜在美國，大財團主宰了立法權，政府制訂的有機法規，只有大財團才能負擔，真正以永續有機精神默默耕耘的小農，反而被排除於「有機認證」之外，甚至連經營權都可能被剝奪，因為美國農業部官員可以以食品安檢等法規打壓地方小農。為此Joel Salatin還寫了一本書Everything I Want to Do Is Illegal: War Stories from the Local Food Front。
Michael Pollan認為在馴養活動出現之前，人類獵食活動只是大自然活動中的一面，人與獵物之間，其實存在一種共生的關係，掠食活動和大自然是密不可分的。不過，因為現代化社會中肉食需求的大量增加，不人道的工業化動物工廠開始登場。Michael Pollan認為若能確保食用動物不會遭受到折磨，那麼肉食、甚至是狩獵都是可以被接受的，甚至更「自然」。
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For的標題看似失意的，可是其實是非常光明的，因為心靈上的追尋本來就是無止休的。 「The journey is what brings us happiness not the destination.」
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For收錄在1987年專輯The Joshua Tree。I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For在美國Billboard Hot 100上僅次With or Without You。滾石雜誌列I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For為「史上五百大最佳歌曲」第93名。
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For也收錄在U218 Singles和The Best of 1980-1990：
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For的歌詞：
I have climbed highest mountains I have run through the fields Only to be with you Only to be with you I have run I have crawled I have scaled these city walls These city walls Only to be with you
But I still haven't found what I'm looking for But I still haven't found what I'm looking for
I have kissed honey lips Felt the healing fingertips It burned like a fire This burning desire
I have spoke with the tongues of angels I have held the hand of a devil It was warm in the night I was cold as a stone
But I still haven't found what I'm looking for But I still haven't found what I'm looking for
I believe in the Kingdom Come When all the colors will bleed into one Bleed into one Well, yes I'm still running
You broke the bonds And you loosened the chains Carried the cross Of all my shame all my shame You know I believe it
But I still haven't found what I'm looking for But I still haven't found what I'm looking for But I still haven't found what I'm looking for
Where The Streets Have No Name是我最愛的歌之一，給人有豪爽、無拘無束的奔騰澎湃感。 Where The Streets Have No Name收錄在1987年專輯The Joshua Tree。U2雖然崛起於80年代初期，直到推出四海交讚的專輯The Joshua Tree，方才成為世界性的搖滾樂團。The Joshua Tree在48小時內就創下白金銷售，打破英國唱片工業有史以來「銷售速度最快的專輯」紀錄。The Joshua Tree使U2奪得葛萊美獎（Grammy Awards）年度專輯（Album of the Year ）、最佳團體搖滾（Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal ）兩項大獎。
Where The Streets Have No Name的靈感來自許多人的宗教、社會地位多半可以從他們住在哪條街來決定。尤其在北愛爾蘭的貝爾法斯特（Belfast），天主教徒和新教徒往往住在不同街道。Where The Streets Have No Name同時也是Bono對一個城市心靈上的探索追尋，以下是他的自訴：
Where the Streets Have No Name is more like the U2 of old than any of the other songs on the LP, because it's a sketch - I was just trying to sketch a location, maybe a spiritual location, maybe a romantic location. I was trying to sketch a feeling. I often feel very claustrophobic in a city, a feeling of wanting to break out of that city and a feeling of wanting to go somewhere where the values of the city and the values of our society don't hold you down. An interesting story that someone told me once is that in Belfast, by what street someone lives on you can tell not only their religion but tell how much money they're making - literally by which side of the road they live on, because the further up the hill the more expensive the houses become. You can almost tell what the people are earning by the name of the street they live on and what side of that street they live on. That said something to me, and so I started writing about a place where the streets have no name.
Where The Streets Have No Name的MV是1987年3月27日在洛杉磯市區East 7th Street和South Main Street路口的Republic Liquor Store屋頂上拍的，影片中警察以阻礙交通的理由把他們強制驅離是真實事件。Where The Streets Have No Name的MV奪得1988年葛萊美獎（Grammy Awards）的Best Performance Music Video。
Where The Streets Have No Name也收錄在U218 Singles和The Best of 1980 -1990：
Where The Streets Have No Name的歌詞：
I want to run I want to hide I want to tear down the walls That hold me inside I want to reach out And touch the flame Where the streets have no name
I want to feel, sunlight on my face See that dust cloud disappear without a trace I want to take shelter from the poison rain Where the streets have no name
Where the streets have no name Where the streets have no name Were still building Then burning down love, burning down love And when I go there I go there with you... (its all I can do)
The cities a flood And our love turns to rust Were beaten and blown by the wind Trampled into dust Ill show you a place High on ta desert plain Where the streets have no name
Where the streets have no name Where the streets have no name Still building Then burning down love Burning down love And when I go there I go there with you (its all I can do)
Is it getting better? Or do you feel the same? Will it make it easier on you now? You got someone to blame You say
One love One life When it's one need In the night One love We get to share it Leaves you baby if you Don't care for it
Did I disappoint you? Or leave a bad taste in your mouth? You act like you never had love And you want me to go without Well it's
Too late Tonight To drag the past out into the light We're one, but we're not the same We get to Carry each other Carry each other One
Have you come here for forgiveness? Have you come to raise the dead? Have you come here to play Jesus? To the lepers in your head
Did I ask too much? More than a lot. You gave me nothing, Now it's all I got We're one But we're not the same Well we Hurt each other Then we do it again You say Love is a temple Love a higher law Love is a temple Love the higher law You ask me to enter But then you make me crawl And I can't be holding on To what you got When all you got is hurt
One love One blood One life You got to do what you should One life With each other Sisters Brothers One life But we're not the same We get to Carry each other Carry each other
Desire一本U2的搖滾本色，並加入了藍調風格。 Desire收錄在1988年的專輯Rattle and Hum中。
Desire也收錄在U218 Singles和The Best of 1980-1990：
Desire的歌詞：
Yeah... Lover, I'm on the street Gonna go where the bright lights And the big city meet With a red guitar...on fire Desire
She's a candle burning in my room Yeah I'm like the needle, needle and spoon Over the counter with a shotgun Pretty soon everybody got one And the fever when I'm beside her Desire Desire
And the fever, getting higher Desire Desire Burning... Burning...
She's the dollars She's my protection Yeah she's a promise In the year of election Oh sister, I can't let you go Like a preacher stealing hearts At a traveling show For love or money money money money money money money money money money money And the fever, getting higher Desire, desire, desire, desire
All I Want Is You是With or Without You的延伸，是一首相當浪漫甜美的歌。 All I Want Is You收錄在1988年的專輯Rattle and Hum中。
Rattle and Hum也是一部記錄片，記錄U2在北美的循迴演唱會，以及和一些美國音樂家如B. B. King等的互動。當時U2正因推出專輯The Joshua Tree而名聲大噪。All I Want Is You是記錄片的片尾曲。
All I Want Is You的MV是在義大利Ostia拍的，片中的故事是一個侏儒愛上一個雜技演員，可是她卻已心有所屬。該MV的結尾頗曖昧，引起一起爭議，有些樂迷覺得死去的是那演員，也有認為是她的愛人。不過The Edge指出，死去的的確是她。
All I Want Is You也收錄在The Best of 1980 - 1990：
All I Want Is You的歌詞：
You say you want Diamonds on a ring of gold You say you want Your story to remain untold
But all the promises we make From the cradle to the grave When all I want is you
You say you'll give me A highway with no one on it Treasure just to look upon it All the riches in the night
You say you'll give me Eyes in a moon of blindness A river in a time of dryness A harbour in the tempest But all the promises we make From the cradle to the grave When all I want is you
You say you want Your love to work out right To last with me through the night
You say you want Diamonds on a ring of gold Your story to remain untold Your love not to grow cold
All the promises we break From the cradle to the grave When all I want is you
You...all I want is... You...all I want is... You...all I want is... You...
With or Without You乍聽之下是首情歌，其實表達了U2對祖國愛爾蘭愛恨交織的情緒。 With or Without You收錄在1987年專輯The Joshua Tree。U2雖然崛起於80年代初期，直到推出四海交讚的專輯The Joshua Tree，方才成為世界性的搖滾樂團。The Joshua Tree在48小時內就創下白金銷售，打破英國唱片工業有史以來「銷售速度最快的專輯」紀錄。The Joshua Tree使U2奪得葛萊美獎（Grammy Awards）年度專輯（Album of the Year ）、最佳團體搖滾（Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal ）兩項大獎。
什麼是Joshua Tree呢？那是一種南加州沙漠特有的一種造型獨特的樹：
With or Without You拿下美國Billboard流行單曲及主流搖滾榜冠軍，蟬連三週之久，接著歐洲地區奪冠，英國金榜則拿下Top 4，這也是U2首次打進Billboard成人抒情榜（第23名）。Bono表示，這首歌靈感來自Scott Walker的Climate of Hunter專輯，有人說這是描寫男女情感間的折磨與苦痛，也有人認為這是他闡揚基督無私的愛，由於南北愛爾蘭政治理念不同，戰爭紛亂不斷，所以也出現U2對祖國愛恨交織情緒的解讀。
Miss Sarajevo原本收錄在1995年U2和製作人Brain Eno以Passengers為名發行的專輯Original Soundtrack 1。這張專輯雖名為原聲帶，但其實只有幾首是作為電影的配樂或主題曲。Miss Sarajevo是Bono應記錄片導演Bill Carter為他的名同紀錄片所作的曲子。Carter在波士尼亞六個月，從事人道救援的工作，其間遇到艱辛，促成他拍了那部記錄片。
以下影片是U2主唱Bono和帕華洛帝在1995年於義大利摩德纳（Modena）為波士尼亞戰火下孩童所舉辦的「Pavarotti and Friends」慈善演唱會中同台演唱：
U2藉Miss Sarajevo抗議各強權對發生在波土尼亞的內戰處理方式之無能。塞拉耶佛（Sarajevo）位於狄那裡克阿爾卑斯山脈塞拉耶佛山谷，是波士尼亞赫塞哥維納（Bosnia and Herzegovina）的首都和最大的城市，也是波赫聯邦的首都及塞族共和國的法理首都，同時還是塞拉耶佛州的行政中心。塞拉耶佛以宗教多樣性而著稱，伊斯蘭教、天主教、東正教和猶太教在此已共處了許多世紀。
Is there a time for keeping a distance A time to turn your eyes away Is there a time for keeping your head down For getting on with your day
Is there a time for kohl and lipstick A time for cutting hair Is there a time for high street shopping To find the right dress to wear
Here she comes Heads turn around Here she comes To take her crown
Is there a time to walk for cover A time for kiss and tell Is there a time for different colors Different names you find it hard to spell
Is there a time for first communion A time for east 17 Is there a time to turn the mecca Is there a time to be a beauty queen
Here she comes Beauty plays the crown Here she comes Surreal in her crown
[Pavarotti] Dici che il fiume trova la via al mare E come il fiume giungerai a me Oltre i confini e le terre assetate Dici che come fiume come fiume L'amore giunger L'amore E non so pi pregare E nell'amore non so pi sperare E quell'amore non so pi aspettare
[English translation:]
You say that the river finds the way to the sea And as the river you'll come to me Beyond the borders and the thirsty lands You say that as river As river Love will come Love And I cannot pray anymore And I cannot hope in love anymore And I cannot wait for love anymore
[Bono] Is there a time for tying ribbons A time for Christmas trees Is there a time for laying tables When the night is set to freeze
Beautiful Day帶給了許多面臨生活挫折不如意的人們希望。不以物喜，不以已悲，平常心是道。相由心生，美好的一天，是由美好的心創造的。應無所住而生其心，日日是好日。 Beautiful Day是U2在2000年推出的專輯All That You Can't Leave Behind中的第一首歌，也是該張專輯中最受歡迎的歌，還一舉拿下三座2001年葛萊美大獎（Grammy Awards）：Record of the Year、Song of the Year和Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal。All That You Can't Leave Behind在2002年拿下葛萊美獎Best Rock Album，專輯中的其他歌曲如Walk On、Elevation和Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get out Of分別拿下同年葛萊美獎的Record of the Year、Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal和Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal ！
All That You Can't Leave Behind本身就是一個從低潮走向高峰的經典。U2在90年代初推出超級成功的Achtung Baby，可是在90年代末推出的Pop卻慘遭滑鐵盧，讓許多樂迷大失所望，許多樂評也斷定U2江郎才盡了，沒想到All That You Can't Leave Behind讓樂評大跌眼鏡，也讓U2東山再起。
Beautiful Day也收錄在在精選輯U218 Singles和The Best of 1990 -2000中。
Beautiful Day的歌詞：
The heart is a bloom Shoots up through the stony ground There's no room No space to rent in this town
You're out of luck And the reason that you had to care The traffic is stuck And you're not moving anywhere
You thought you'd found a friend To take you out of this place Someone you could lend a hand In return for grace
It's a beautiful day Sky falls, you feel like It's a beautiful day Don't let it get away
You're on the road But you've got no destination You're in the mud In the maze of her imagination
You love this town Even if that doesn't ring true You've been all over And it's been all over you
It's a beautiful day Don't let it get away It's a beautiful day
Touch me Take me to that other place Teach me I know I'm not a hopeless case
See the world in green and blue See China right in front of you See the canyons broken by cloud See the tuna fleets clearing the sea out See the Bedouin fires at night See the oil fields at first light And see the bird with a leaf in her mouth After the flood all the colors came out
It was a beautiful day Don't let it get away Beautiful day
Touch me Take me to that other place Reach me I know I'm not a hopeless case
What you don't have you don't need it now What you don't know you can feel it somehow What you don't have you don't need it now Don't need it now Was a beautiful day
