from the NLotH "Collector's Magazine", which came with my album in pdf form:

Bono: So, here we have "Magnificent". I was born to be with you / In this space and time / After that and ever after I haven't had a clue. While writing this song, I was thinking about the kind of lyric Cole Porter would sing, but I was also thinking about the Magnificat. Bach does a good one...(sings the tune and laughs). This one is about two lovers holding on to each other and trying to turn their life into worship. Not of each other, but of being alive, of God... of spirit.


Interviewer: Going back to "Magnificent", these is a transcendent quality that follows the narrative in each of the songs. Do you aim to capture this transcendent feeling in the music also?
Adam: I think that is what we look for in our music, we are much more interested in finding that transcendent thin than in, say, finding just a good song. We don't always hit it, but by looking for it we do abandon a certain kind of methodical approach that, in a funny way, serves us well.
Interviewer: I can see how 'methodical' may not always work for U2.
Adam: Well, what you end up with is craft, and craft isn't exciting at the end of the day, because it is not an idea. Whereas what I tend to think is that we pursue ideas.


Bono: "Here is another character, a war veteran. In my head he was part of the Somali Adventure that went so wrong. We think about him as someone who has not been able to reintegrate or re-enter earth's atmosphere yet. He hasn't managed to return to himself. I believe insanity is the sane response of sane individuals to insane situations. In "Moment of Surrender", he has dragged his wife into drugs and booze, he can't live with what he has done to her and so he breaks down beside an ATM machine and begs God to deliver them. He ends up in a motel room at the end of his rope. He picks up his cell to call someone either for help or drugs, we don't know, but he can't get a signal. Then something mad happens. The phone starts to text him instructions. He doesn't know where the messages are coming from, he is not sure whether they are from someone he knows or has met... Are they from his conscience, is it a crank, or is it God? This altered state is the driving force in "Unknown Caller".

^ I can't even tell you what that concept, paired with the song and its lyrics, does to my artistic guts.

 
No Line on the Horizon.

...seriously, U2s, I've been thinking about this for DAYS and I still can't come up with a nice abbreviation on that one. HTDAAB, I can at least invent a pronounciation for (I still mentally call it "hotdab"). NLotH? No. "No Line" is probably going to stick for me, but we'll see. Title aside:

I am a VERY, very happy lil U2fan.

I actually refrained from listening to the album when it leaked a few weeks ago. Tom actually downloaded it, in case I decided I wanted it (and to listen to it himself - still not his cup of tea, but he's tolerant of it at least). I was a good little fangirl and pre-ordered on iTunes.

-//venting rant ahead//-

iTunes. I am angry at.
I bought the "Get On Your Boots" single on Tom's computer, which I'd authorized to download from my iTunes account. Put it on my iPod. Went onto my own computer later, aaaaand iTunes told me I had no new songs to download. Pulled up the song again, to see what would happen if I tried to re-purchase, and iTunes told me I already had the song. But iTunes wouldn't give it to my computer! No error message, just insisted there was nothing in my account it didn't already have.
...I emailed customer service, and they did give me a song credit. Which didn't show up, even after a day. I emailed AGAIN. They sent along a second song credit, which, after a day, showed up right along with the first one. So I was pacified.

I pre-ordered the Deluxe version of NLotH, because I like extra songs. iTunes told me they wouldn't charge me until the album came out, and they'd email me a reminder to come snag it that day.

March 3rd rolled around, and I had no email. Next morning, I pulled up my iTunes, and OH LOOK there is NO record of the album being purchased. No charge to my credit card.

...so I bought the Deluxe version, and then scoured the interwebs today for the one bonus song I missed out on, and I do not feel guilty. (It's a pretty wimpy little remix, anyway.)


ONTO THE ALBUM!!!1!, I am done venting all my drama now.

-//Album review!//-

I, as mentioned, am a very happy little thing. It's a lot like Achtung Baby, except less suicidal, and with bits of newer-Bowie and Coldplay thrown in. (And a few brief moments where I could very nearly make myself believe I'm listening to Sigur Ros.) Not only were Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois brought in this time around, but they were brought into the fold on the actual song-writing, which I can definitely hear. There's a few bits that I could swear they snagged from the Unfire sessions, and then others that sound straight out of the Achtung Baby outtakes. There are a nice little handful of the huge, vast, expansive songs that make your heart go soaring out into a burst of sunlight - "Magnificent" is one of these, and is my new favorite song. The third track is "Stuck in a Moment"y, inasmuch as I listened to fifteen seconds of it and then moved on my first time through, knowing it would have to grow on me. (It is - about halfway through the song, the instrumental parts get very pretty, and the lyrics are fantastic.) Actually, come to think of it, the album really is a nice blend of ATYCLB and HTDAAB, but with more texture than the former, and depth than the latter.

"Unknown Caller" is running a close second for me - and yes I am a sucker for computer-references. (Once again, they make clear that they are Apple-people.) My download came with a nice hefty pdf booklet with pretty pictures and interview-bits, one of which has Bono explaining the stories behind several of the songs on the album. He swears that THIS album is *not* autobiographical, he is writing other characters - and good god are his backstories intricate! he seriously needs to write books - and somehow, this has lead to muuuch more story-driven lyrics than he usually manages. It's still worlds away from "boy meets girl in kindergarten she breaks his heart they get married", all his characters are at a crisis point that doesn't always get resolved, but there's a very strong sense of place and time to these songs. The lyrics are really, really strong - just reading through some, I was positively beaming, and I got shivers. ("Shouting to the darkness, squeeze out sparks of light" "We are people borne of sound, The songs are in our eyes")

There are copious amounts of classic Edgeguitar (which is going to make concerts AMAZING omfg), though there's still plenty of Achtung-style exploration of other styles. My speakers are craaaaap so I don't yet feel qualified to talk about the bass, but the parts I've picked up so far, are yummy. In an interview, Larry talked about having come up with drum parts, sending them off to Edge to play with... "and after Edge has done his thing to it, well you can end up with these amazing sounding pieces, but they can be impossible to recreate. To actually play some of Edge's tempos can be very difficult, and we sometimes end up in these very funny Spinal Tap moments discussing what Edge did to my drum parts... bastard." hee. <3 It is not possible for me to be impartial about Larry's playing, but, uh, I'm pretty much in awe in places on this one.

"Fez: Being Born". I was scared of the title, but I will tell you not to be, it is stunningly gorgeous. Very atmospheric, which I think U2 are far better at than they realize. "Cedars of Lebanon" sounds like it fell off the "Million Dollar Hotel" soundtrack, which is fine by me, and Bono's voice is stunning on it.

The only lyric that is making me angry is "atm machine". WHERE WAS EDGE WHEN THAT LINE HAPPENED??!?!

The cover art is a wonderfully evocative photo, and I have to admit I love the imagery of the title. The rest of the main photos were taken by Anton, and there is a bonus movie also by Anton that came with my album. I am psyched.


-//U2 on Good Morning America//-

I dragged myself out of bed at 7am this morning to sit through two hours of Good Morning America in order to watch for U2s...and was not disappointed. (I managed to somehow miss the fact that they spent a WEEK on Letterman, so I wasn't going to miss this one.) Despite it being tv, and a somewhat static-y channel for me, and wimpy sound...I was still crying a bit, and I'm pretty sure it wasn't all due to the early hour. "Get On Your Boots" was as expected, tons of energy. "Magnificent" is what made me cry, even through the tiny tv speakers I could hear the way that guitar part was ringing charged through the air... "I'll Go Crazy if I Don't Go Crazy Tonight" was a good one for the college venue, and I think came across well live. Poor Bono was obviously feeling confined by the tiny stage, there was one tiiiiny little square that stuck out a whole five feet into the crowd, and he clung to it desperately, constantly leaning out.

The Good Morning America people didn't seem to have grasped just what they were getting into, the anchors were pretty much yelling and could still barely be heard over the crowd. ("Secret location" of a college in the Bronx, but college kids are not any quieter for having stayed up the night before, and U2 crowds are always, uh, energetic. <3) After the three new songs, one anchor sat on the stage with the band... and after the first question, Bono asked if they could do the interview with the stage mics, gesturing to people off-stage before getting an answer. At first I thought it was just because the GMA sound equipment wasn't designed for a concert environment, but the anchor realized what Bono wanted - with the stage mics, the crowd there at the college would be able to hear the interview, which only the first couple rows would have heard otherwise. Bono. <333

Bono answered a question or two, then passed the mic on to Edge, who answered a question, then passed it on to Adam. The anchor commented on how long they've stayed together, unlike most rock bands, but lightly said she was sure there'd been some arguments. Adam: "There's been about thirty-three years of arguments, but we learned to play our instruments somewhere in there." Anchor: "Who gets the last word?" Adam (sounding more Irish than usual): "Who d'you think?" Which led to everyone looking at Bono and laughing, and Bono nodding in only slightly-chagrined agreement. Adam tried to pass the mic to Larry, who handed it back. Bono started to share the anchor's mic (because, really, how long can you keep B from talking?), and Adam tried giving Edge the mic, but Edge didn't seem to notice, so poor Adam sat there slightly awkwardly, holding the mic and leaning toward Edge. Another question came up, and Adam tried passing the mic along - but Bono and Edge refused it, gesturing back down the line, and Bono said Larry's name, and that poor drummer had to actually speak.

He stumbled a little bit at first, but soon found his feet, with something along the lines of: "I'm really very happy to be here and all... and I know that, at some time, my father is going to see this. And he's going to say, after all these years, my son made it to college!" Everyone laughed, and Larry held up a fist. "This is for Lawrence Mullen Senior..."

I don't think I need to describe my reaction. He is too freaking cute, he deadpans too perfectly and then that GRIN and I die every freaking time. <333

They played "Beautiful Day" after that, and I knew that was supposed to close the show. Buuuut, Bono being Bono, he turned to everyone else and said "should we play another song? Let's play another song!"---

Which is when the station went to commercial. I hoped against hope that they'd come back, but no such luck, I got the craptastic Buffalo news crew (and saw a weather segment WITH sound, unlike when it had aired, possibly accidentally, fifteen minutes earlier in silence), more commercials, and then the next show.


I think Tom was starting to think I'd outgrown my fangirling. Then "Boots" happened and I was literally bouncing all over the apartment. He wasn't dating me yet when the last album happened, so he hadn't seen the New U2 Music SpazzFits before. Luckily, he (mostly) slept through this morning, when I had my nose six inches from the tv screen, and was clutching at the tv stand, and squealed, and giggled at EVERYTHING, and yelled at commercial breaks, and staaaaared blissfully, etc etc etc. I am actually not actively angry at Bono's hair, nor was there a silly hat. Edge had sparklies on his shirt. I have never seen anyone make white hair look half so stunning as Adam does. Larry IS Dorian Grey, I swear he's lost five years since the last album. (Plus, his shirt was unbuttoned.)

-//-

I've spent most of this week with a cold that's sapped all the life from me, I barely stayed awake through work yesterday. Felt better today, but after a bit of grocery shopping and some cooking this afternoon, I'm feeling tired again. At least there'll be food in the kitchen now... well, Tom-food, that is, there were plenty of things to make, just nothing simple enough for his instant gratification. My goulash really should've gotten a second can of tomatoes, but the mess of baked beans etc is pretty yummy. Tom wrinkled his nose at the black rice Mom bought me, but I thought it was good, and a nice twist on the flavor and texture.

On another unrelated note, I've suddenly heard from what feels like a whole swarm of old friends in the last week or so. My best friend Ashley from elementary school, out in Perry, found me on Facebook - she's married now (which's why I couldn't find her when I looked before), to one of the farmer's sons up the street, and has two absolutely adorable little girls. I'd wondered what she was up to, it sounds like her life is pretty quiet and cozy, very family-based.
Tom missed a call from Graham, one of our Media Arts buddies, and I found a message from him on Facebook the following day. He's working on a grad school project, mapping out physical locations of people on social networking sites, and doing things like recording heart rates and seeing what correlations turn up. (Apparently fireflies glow brighter when there are more of them together in one area, to try to draw the attention of more...) Tom talked to him for awhile the other night, and it turns out he's actually swinging through Fredonia this weekend, looking for peoples' heart rates to measure. So Tom and I are in on that, I'm curious to see the end product, Graham was always finding interesting social aspects of technology to poke into.
Same day as the message from Graham, I heard from one of my few fellow female Media Arts kids, Dana, who I hadn't heard from since graduating. She's down in Florida now, mostly in a money-making job, but recently started doing her own business on the side, which she sounds really ambitious for and happy about. She always had a really clear viewpoint in her projects, and a very strong style that I admire...

I'm always so intrigued to hear what other people are up to, I've known so many incredibly talented people. And even if, like me, that talent doesn't get to be the forefront of their time anymore, I'm finding that peoples' viewpoints are maturing, their ideas are settling in and finding deeper soil to root into. There's still some outlet or another for creative expression, for... I guess realization of personality, of the spirit, of the individual and the world they see.

...which, actually, brings me back to U2. With this new album, I'm realizing all over again how much they inspire me. Not only does the music pick me up and throw my spirit into the freaking stratosphere, but... I can look and see where they started, back in high school, when only one of them could really play an instrument, when Bono's lyrics were the sheer desperation of a soul trying to find words to express in inexpressible... and now, in a thirty-second soundbite, Bono relates an absolute world of experience and understanding, he's talking about how the character in his song is looking out from southern Spain and seeing Africa just thirteen miles away, and that genetically we're all from Africa, so there's this strong sense of yearning for an unknown home, and--- *laughs* And I'm just so much in awe of the amount of wisdom he's found, and, honestly, it makes me eager for the years to come and wash over me, seeing that he's kept that sense of curiosity and wonder all these years, and knowing I can do the same... that age will only bring a deeper understanding of everything that makes my heart reach out into the world and beyond.

"Go, shout it out, rise up... Escape yourself, and gravity..."