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Kissing Lips and Breaking Hearts: “Yours Eternally,” War Songs, and the Magic of Propaganda: Season 8, Episode 9

  • Writer: The Garden Tarts
    The Garden Tarts
  • Mar 4
  • 4 min read

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Season 8, Episode 9 of Kissing Lips and Breaking Hearts is overflowing with everything we love most about U2: protest songs, fan‑club deep cuts, and the way this band keeps teaching us how the world works.


Side A: “Yours Eternally” and Joy in the Middle of War


In this episode, we start on Side A with the brand‑new short film for “Yours Eternally,” from U2’s Days of Ash EP. The 4½‑minute documentary follows Ukrainian soldiers from the Khartiya Corps as they laugh, cuddle pets, scroll their phones, and try to carve out slivers of normal life just a few miles from the front lines.


What struck us most is the tension between that visible joy and the brutal reality they’re living through. There’s a very Ukrainian idea that if you don’t laugh, you’ll cry, and the film leans into that—pairing an uplifting, almost pop‑bright track with images of people who had to drop everything, pick up weapons, and fight for their homes.


We also dig into the collaboration with Ukrainian musician‑turned‑soldier Taras Topolia and how this project grew out of conversations between Bono and members of Pussy Riot, eventually becoming part of a much larger documentary that’s still in the works. It’s classic U2: art, activism, and fandom all colliding in one small but powerful package.


Intermission: Seconds, the Cold War, and Edge Being Edge


For our intermission, we dive into listener mail on “Seconds,” our Random Song of the Week from two episodes back. You all had a lot to say about this War deep cut: the pounding Larry intro, the children’s voices, Adam’s bass line, and, of course, the thrill of hearing Edge on lead vocals.


“Seconds” has always felt like one of U2’s earliest global‑scale protest songs -- a Cold War panic attack wrapped in four minutes of music, zeroing in on nuclear proliferation and that terrifying idea that “it takes a second to say goodbye.” We talk about how eerily relevant it still sounds today and why the “puppets pulling the strings” line suddenly feels a little too on‑the‑nose in 2026.


And because this is us, we of course veer off into the joy of Edge‑centric songs in general: “Van Diemen’s Land,” “Numb,” “Seconds”—all those moments where he steps into the spotlight and the whole texture of the record changes.


Side B: The History and Magic of Propaganda


Side B is pure fan‑nerd heaven: a trip through U2’s official fan club magazine, Propaganda. Before U2.com, before social media, before online presales, Propaganda was how you got close to the band -- scruffy stapled fanzine at first, then a full‑color magazine landing in your mailbox a few times a year like the best surprise package ever.


We flip through old issues on‑air and talk about:

  • The thrill of getting your first issue (for us, issue 16 and 17 in the early ’90s) and reading exclusive interviews and behind‑the‑scenes stories you literally couldn’t get anywhere else.​

  • The legendary fan‑club gifts, especially Melon, the remix CD that may as well have been hand‑delivered by the band.

  • The completely analog merch and ticket system: filling out order forms, mailing checks, and just…waiting to see if tickets or that $150 baseball jacket (in 1993 money!) would show up.


We also geek out over the pre‑internet fan network: fanzine listings, mailing addresses printed in the Grapevine, and finding other U2 obsessives through pen‑pal ads instead of message boards. For Jenny, there’s even the surreal moment of spotting her own fanzine mentioned in Propaganda, a reminder that what we’re doing with this podcast is really just a 21st‑century extension of that same DIY fan culture.


From Paper to Pixels: U2, Tech, and Today’s Fan Gifts


Looking back at Propaganda also shows just how quickly everything changed. By the early 2000s, the magazine shrank, morphed into a more square format, and eventually folded as the fan club moved online and U2.com took over that role.


Now, instead of order forms with commas in the email address (truly a thing that existed), fans get digital magazines, streaming exclusives, and big‑ticket physical gifts like coffee‑table books and the latest beloved U2.com subscriber sweatshirt. We talk about why that sweatshirt might be the most useful fan‑club gift ever -- you can’t wear a book, but you can definitely live in a hoodie -- and how different it feels to have merch that slides seamlessly into your everyday life.


We wrap it all up with a couple of Questions to ask Bono over Whiskey and Cake™️: what merch does he actually keep and wear around the house, and what are his real feelings about “Seconds” beyond the standard “I love when Edge sings” answer.


Listen, Share, and Tell Us Your War Songs


If you haven’t yet, take 5 minutes to watch the “Yours Eternally” short film and then queue up this episode of Kissing Lips and Breaking Hearts wherever you get your podcasts.


Then come tell us:

  • Your thoughts on "Sunday Bloody Sunday."

  • Your first U2 fan‑club memory—Propaganda, U2.com, or otherwise.

  • The piece of U2 merch you’d save if someone broke in mid‑karaoke and you had to choose between singing and fighting for your stuff.


Drop a comment, send us an email, or come scream about it with us on social.


If you’ve ever wanted an excuse to overthink U2 with people who absolutely understand the assignment, this episode is your invitation.


Stream the episode, smash subscribe, and help these two snarky U2 fans build this into a real‑life business.


Catch Season 8, Episode 8 of “Kissing Lips and Breaking Hearts with the Garden Tarts” on your favorite platform:





 
 
 

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