The Million Dollar Hotel (soundtrack)
U2 · 2000
55 min · 16 tracks · alternative rock
Hushed rock songs drift through a dreamlike film score, where intimate voices and guitars give way to suspended instrumental passages.
Top tracks — play these first
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The Ground Beneath Her Feet Start here — Salman Rushdie’s words meet a sweeping U2 arrangement, turning the soundtrack’s opening into a portrait of love and loss on a mythic scale.
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Stateless — Bono’s restrained delivery and the song’s suspended atmosphere show how the soundtrack favors uncertainty over a conventional rock climax.
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Falling at Your Feet — This collaboration between Bono and Daniel Lanois pairs an intimate vocal with a spacious arrangement, bridging the soundtrack’s songs and its more meditative score.
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The First Time — Originally released on Zooropa, its quiet devotional tone fits the film’s atmosphere while connecting the soundtrack to U2’s early-1990s work.
Elevation
Our rating, out of 100 — and why.
AI-generated from five scored dimensions. An opinion, not a measurement.
The album blends original compositions with reinterpretations, creating a varied yet cohesive soundscape.
What we noticed
- The first three tracks establish a slow, atmospheric build, with 'The Ground Beneath Her Feet' serving as a strong emotional anchor.
- The inclusion of covers like 'Satellite of Love' adds a layer of reinterpretation, blending U2's style with existing material.
- Composition 25% of the score
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6/10
- Craft 20% of the score
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7/10
- Durability 25% of the score
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5/10
- Distinctiveness 18% of the score
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6/10
- Sequencing 12% of the score
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4/10
the writing — melody, harmony, structure, lyrics
production, performance, arrangement
whether it rewards returning to it
whether it sounds like itself
running order, pacing, length
Known within its scene. Reported but not counted — how far a record travelled describes its reception rather than the record, and a newer release has had less time to travel than an older one.
Is this for you?
Good fit if you like
- haunting atmosphere for introspection
- dynamic flow with interludes
- immersive experience for film lovers
- wave-like pacing for deep listening
Maybe skip if you
- prefer upbeat, fast-paced music
- seek standalone hit singles
Where this album fits
- In the catalog
- Deep Cut — Soundtrack showcases U2's atmospheric style, but isn't a primary entry point or major milestone.
- Themes
- surreal urban landscapes· love and loss· experimental soundscapes
- Career context
- Released in 2000, the soundtrack arrived between U2’s electronically adventurous Pop and their return to a more guitar-centered sound on All That You Can’t Leave Behind. Bono co-wrote the story for Wim Wenders’s film, and the soundtrack brings new U2 material together with score pieces, covers and a song from 1993’s Zooropa.
- Stylistic neighbors
- Coldplay· Radiohead· The Killers
Tracklist
- 1 The Ground Beneath Her Feet Start here 3:45
- 2 Never Let Me Go 5:36
- 3 Stateless 4:05
- 4 Satellite of Love 4:12
- 5 Falling at Your Feet 4:54
- 6 Tom Tom's Dream 1:52
- 7 The First Time 3:42
- 8 Bathtub 1:06
- 9 The First Time (reprise) 2:05
- 10 Tom Tom's Room 2:24
- 11 Funny Face 0:33
- 12 Dancin' Shoes 2:06
- 13 Amsterdam Blue (Cortège) 9:19
- 14 Satellite of Love (reprise) 1:06
- 15 Satellite of Love (Danny Saber remix) 5:14
- 16 Anarchy in the USA 3:37
If this landed
Records by other artists that run on the same instinct.
Outside
David Bowie
Explores surreal urban themes with experimental soundscapes and a haunting narrative depth.
Kid A
Radiohead
Shares a similar atmospheric approach, blending rock with electronic experimentation and emotional introspection.
Boxer
The National
Captures themes of love and loss through atmospheric instrumentation and introspective lyrics.
Reference: Wikipedia · MusicBrainz · Wikidata
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