Moon*^#
Where * equals my oldest sister being born during
Where ^ equals favorite episode of Doctor Who referencing
Where # equals “It really happened. Deal with it.”
Me too
I’m listening to U2’s “Vertigo” Chicago DVD right now. I’ve been listening to Vertigo all day. In college I went through a “Boy,” “War,” “October” phase. Before that I only knew “Best Of 1980-1990″ and 2000’s “All That You Can’t Leave Behind,” of course. This last year, “Unforgettable Fire” has been my favorite.
I can’t say enough how inspired I am by this band its frontman. I am able to laugh at the caricature of him because he has exaggerated himself to achieve just that. We all can. We can all laugh at the bleeding heart, bespectacled, leather clad, cigar smoking, swaggering, hip thrusting, maniac because it’s his genius that created the image. U2 act like they do to accomplish so much more than they ever could have as the band that will save the world.
I’ve been a fan since I heard “With or Without You” when I was five and I’ve often been disillusioned with the band because I was so confused by their paradox: Christian ideals, dressing in drag, speaking out against apparthied, saying the f-word. I was 18 and finally said I am not going to bother with this confused bunch until I learn more about them. I was perplexed that a rock band could demand more of me about the world and of faith than I understood myself. Six months later my sister surprises me at the airport with U2 Slane, Ireland concert tickets. I thought we were going to Chicago. I couldn’t handle it. Bono was screaming, speaking to his native Dubliners, he proposed that a statue to Phil Lynot should be erected which later was (you can see it in Once). “This is a small island.” “Jesus, this is Judas!” I was lost. I didn’t know the names of everyone in the band. Inexcusable being that people miles away from Slane couldn’t get tickets to their “home-town” show, people who knew the life stories of Paul Hewson, David Evans, Adam Clayton, and founder Larry Mullen Jr. But that was then. It solidified me as a fan, but now I was nose to nose with my conflict. Who the hell are these guys? (click title to continue)
Quagmire
This new music section is a travesty. I’ve been non-stop-listening to Vampire Weekend, Ting Tings, and others while they remain pageless here. I’ve been obsessing over the Eno connection between U2’s Unforgettable Fire and Coldplay’s new Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends. More to come.
Yael Naim
Frustrated to find out, yet again my music preference has either preceded or more likely been subconsciously influenced by a commercial of the Steve Jobs franchise. I thought I heard this first on early morning MTV2 but realized when searching the singer on youtube that it was actually the commercial for Macbook Air. (cont…)
Piano Therapy
I spent a lot of time in basement practice rooms during my stint as music major. I found myself spending more time than I would’ve prefered in small rooms dominated by glossy, Korean, upright pianos repeating scales and arpeggios or desperately learning some new instrument. To escape the mind bending torture that is piano theory to me, I did what I’d done since I was three or four years old. For some reason you can be in a certain mood, set your hands down along the keyboard, get a reflection of that mood in sound and vibrations. Recent music discovery Kate Nash knows this. What is so enjoyable is that, like your closest friend who reads your thoughts before you can read theirs, you can sit down with either so much weight or exhilaration and know where you fingers will translate your unspoken, underlying feelings. Like an enzyme fits a protein or a prescription fits a symptom, the loud soothing chords wash around your head and reverberate through your arms and off of the walls of the small practice room. Treating better than any hypnotherapists or psychiatrists could aspire to: I II IV chords in the keys of C and F minor (for severe discontent play below Middle C) or I IV V chords in the keys of C and G major (adults or children over 70lbs may arpeggiate through all 88 keys)! click here for full story
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Emiliana Torrini
The album is so much better than I expected. These are my favorites from Fisherman’s Woman. Enjoy!
Post Millennial Work
I’m happy for Silverchair’s having a new single. It sounds much different than their pre-millennial work even if they did have an anthem for the year 2000.
