U2 & You

I often get into moods and try and figure out exactly what song would I call my favourite.  That, as many of you can imagine, is not the easiest thing to figure out on any given day.  Mood dictates musical need so it can change by the day, by the hour or by the minute.

U2 - Unforgettable Fire live at the Rose Bowl (HD)Retail DvD released on 04-06-2010 © owned by www.u2.com Lyrics; Ice Your only rivers run cold These city lights They shine as silver and gold Dug from the night Your eyes as black as coal Walk on by Walk on through

So this fine day, I was thinking that there is often a song that defines your fandom.  A song that you instantly associate with yourself.​  It doesn't have to be your all-time favourite.  It may or may not be that first U2 song that grabbed you and made you say 'YEAH!!!'.  But it should be a song that meant the most at a tough time.  Or a joyful time.  Or just an important point in life.  Do you know what I am asking for?

​For me, that moment came not during War, where I became a true fan of the band.  Rather it was the direction came with the next album.  UF.  And for me that title track to this day defines U2 for me.  There's that restraint in the song.  Like you are waiting for it to explode but it never really does.  And yet it leaves you satisfied in so many ways.

UF was released in late 1984 and I spent most of the next year worshipping it.  And that title track was played over and over and over.  That was the year leading up to my wedding in late 1985.  I had already fallen in love at that point.  I would lose my job 3 months before our wedding.  So it was a mix of love, joy, turmoil in my life.​

At the end of the day, love is the unforgettable fire.  And for me that is U2 and me.​

Do You Feel It?

There's a sense of drama approaching.  A static in the air.  It happens every few years.  Almost feels like the apocalypse but opposite.  Breath short.  Feeling the anticipation.

You know what I'm talking about.  You know what I'm feeling.  It's the weeks and months when we finally KNOW the abum is coming.  It may not have a release date.  We may know nothing about it.  But you can feel it coming.  And I can feel it coming now.  Can you?

We have all been tracking the news since the end of 360.  And the tidbits and comments all point to us being about 7 or 8 months away.  Whether that means a summer single (and if this is the so-called 'dance' release, that might make sense) or a fall single and album in November, we'll see.  All I know is that I can feel it coming now. 

We'll know more soon and the hype machine will start to roll in a serious way later this year.  My blood is starting to flow with the anticipation.  Do you feel it yet? 

War Is 30. War Getting Old. So Am I.

Larry Lootsteen, Conestogo, Ontario, Canada

I guess I'm feeling my years this morning.  I turned 50 last April.  And now that I see that my first favourite U2 album is 30, should I?

I don't really feel 50.  But I don' t feel 19 any more either.  I felt 19 until I hit 40.  Then I felt 23 for a few years.  Now it seems to be catching up a bit more.  Today I feel 38.

I'm sure the band is feeling it more these days too.  No lack of energy and drive but I'm sure they notice how things have changed.  And with War, I can look back and realize what that album really started.

I was listening to U2 some back before that release in 1983.  But I became a real fan with that one.  It was a turning point for the band.  And it was for me as well.  Out of college, starting my career.  I was just starting to hang out with a group of people who included the woman who would become my wife.  And 27 years later, she still is.

War started a run of indestructibility, undeniability and near perfection for me as a fan that lasted until 1997's Pop.  It wasn't that I didn't love that album too.  It was when I realized every band has a shelf life.  And suddenly they had one too.

They fought through that and still continue to fight.  This fall should give a good indication of where they stand.  For them.  For us.  For me.  And as the wars they fought against and so many since continue to end and begin again, the war of hearts,  two hearts really, yours and mine, begins again.  I can't stop the dance, honey, maybe this is their last chance.

And whether this is the beginning of the end or end of the beginning, our two hearts still beat as one.