U2

This is going to be one hot mess.

I'm just gonna lay that out there. I'm tired.

But, I have also experienced a resurgence in my adoration of U2 of late, and I keep finding myself wanting to talk about it.  Hence, blog.  Not funny blog however, well funny in the sense that I can be laughed at for my gushing over 20 year old music.

It is now my opinion, that people, at least those who like music, have a point in their lives when they connect with some music.  (At least if they're lucky, it would really suck to be musically inclined and pass through the critical period hearing nothing but crap.)  I don't know if that time is always around junior high, but it probably is.  That's when you first reach out to the world to see what parts of it are like you, instead of just either doing what you're told or saying 'NO' for the fun of it.
Once you hit junior high school the 'NO' usually has a reason.

When I hit the age of 12, my brother introduced me to Achtung Baby.  Now, U2 did not turn out to be his music (he went through a couple stages and finally landed on techno when he was actually old enough to go to raves) but boy was it mine.

I was only 7 when Joshua Tree came out.  At that time I was cruelly deprived and was basically only allowed to listen to classical music, but had begun to sneak in a few others.  Car trips were tough because there aren't really classical stations outside cities, so my parents would go for country.  Occasionally though, when running through the dial, a song would come up that we would beg and plead my parents to leave on.  The big three from Joshua Tree always got that treatment.  The names are so bloody long that I shorten to 'Streets' and 'Looking For.'  'With or Without You' has no good short version though.

That's a long-winded way to say that I had a lack of access issue and was too young to get it when Joshua Tree came out.  Even though I am well aware that it is at least the best album in the last 30 years if not longer.

So, I fell in love with Achtung Baby.  And as is my approach to anything, if I find something I like, I immediately go out and find everything I can by the same person/people.  I bought EVERYTHING I could find.  In no time flat I had every studio album they'd done, a couple live ones and EPs.  Of course I have everything since as well.

So, I am a huge fan of U2.
I own cds, downloads, DVDs, books.
I do not, however, classify myself as an obsessive fan.  I've only seen them live twice.  I do not faint or cry.  Well, I almost fainted the last time but that's because my temp was 102 and the stairs were steep and I kept feeling like if I stood up I would keel over on to the people in front of me.  Also difficult to sing along when you have a raging sinus infection.

However, either obsessive or cunning was how I got there in the first place.  I bought the tickets.  Then I decided to move to Iceland.  My advisors were trying to determine an appropriate trial run for the Iceland thing.  I had it.  I would pack up all my stuff, put it in storage, move to Iceland, come back just in time for the concert and then talk to advisors (sell, move belongings, etc.) It worked out very well except for the whole raging sinus infection thing which happened due to the trans-atlantic plane flight.

I may be a bit delusional.  Perhaps my behavior qualifies as obsessive.  However, the definition of an obsessive fan has certainly changed over the years.  I've 'liked' them on Facebook obviously, so I get little updates.  I don't do Twitter though, (don't know if they do either, but sometimes it seems like everyone does) so no attempting to follow every move of their lives.

However, part of me, will always be in love with Bono from Joshua Tree to Rattle and Hum.  Even when Achtung Baby was out I watched the old videos and it was the earlier Bono who I adored in the adolescent crush way.

Now I'm old and I'm freakin intellectual about pretty much everything under the sun.  So I got to thinking.
 (Warning: massive tangent)

 F. Scott Fitzgerald is my favorite author.  I love all of his books, but I love The Beautiful and the Damned the most.  In consideration of why, I have realized that This Side of Paradise is a little too naive.  Gatsby is completely polished.  The Beautiful and the Damned still had the raw energy of these two people and their crazy lives, but it had enough polish on it because he was an established writer and I'm sure had gained much more real life confidence (as opposed to the simple arrogance that makes people believe they can do great things with no supportive evidence).

So, back on topic. First up, Bono and his image, let's face it, has a lot to do with how U2 is perceived. The other three just shut up and stay in the background except for that brief moment when Adam Clayton was going to marry Naomi Cambpell but that's a total digression

U2 is like that.  Boy, October - totally raw.  War - sparks of greatness.  Unforgettable Fire - beautiful full album.  Then Joshua Tree hits and its like, holy cow these guys are the most amazing thing.  I'm sure they knew, just look at the screaming fans and the photographers and everything that came with Joshua Tree.  Bono in those videos and concert footage from Joshua Tree and Rattle and Hum had achieved the outer validation of his own belief in his ability, and that changes a person.  However, it was still new, unprocessed.  By the time they got to Achtung Baby they had had to figure out how to deal with it (Otherwise their heads would probably have exploded.) And ever since they've been the greatest rock band of our generation.
But its that guy, just realizing his own stardom, understanding the world was his oyster.  He is absolutely adorable.

So why do I love U2 so much? Maybe its a cop-out, but there's just that connection.  You hear something and it really matters to you, it affects your perception of the world, it changes how you feel.  Once a band does that and gets into your soul, I think they'd have to do something terrible to get kicked out. When I listen to U2 memories of my life come flooding back with each song.  Certain ones in particular are inextricably linked with certain events.  To choose a very public one - Walk On, with 9/11.  I was living in Brooklyn at the time and needless to say it had a major impact.  There are other songs that have personal meanings to me.  In all the very worst times in my life a U2 album came out with at least one awesome song to see me through it.  I hear those songs now and it reminds of those times, but the pain is mostly erased.  Some of the songs make me laugh out loud for the memories I have of them.  Its such a strange thing to say or even think, but they have really given me so much.