By the way...
Happy New Year
And to all the Dog year people, this is our year
I've decided after basically a 20 year boycott of the band, that I am back in the fold as a ... dareIsayit, a U2 fan
It sounds almost silly and ridiculous ... I know how the people who jump off bands after they "sell out" feel. MTV really introduced me to U2, and I was a pretty big fan of theirs all the way through Unforgettable Fire. Although many consider Joshua Tree to be the masterpiece, quite frankly I didn't ... I began to waver in my enjoyment of the band, and as years went on, all the experimentation and political stances really drove me far far away as a fan
Sure I would dabble with a few songs, but I felt that the best days were long behind, the energy, the soul ... a funny thing happened over the past two days ... ironically, upon hearing "Bad" while watching Alias. Much like the Grinch's heart grew three sizes larger, suddenly my boycott of the band began to thaw ... and actually I found that Dismantle (which I had been dabbling on the edges of for a year), to be almost a return to form for all us irrelevant nostie old peeps
I will still always cling to everything pre-JTree as very precious and enjoyable music, much like I cling to pre-Black album Met or pre-Sam Halen ... or even Perry era Jrny for that matter. I would love to see an old school tunes U2 show, but I guess that's what Under a Blood Red Sky is for
For the first time since hooo ... maybe the late 80s I actually wanted to see the band play live. In fact, I hope they can iron it out for shows here, because I think I would actually go ... even if it is at the Homage to Rust -- with Elvis Costello playing here the week prior, it would really be a great beginning concert-wise to the YOTD