inaugural friday feature: U2

i'm trying something sort of different here.  each friday, i'm attempting to do a "friday feature" post.  i'll usually just pick something that's come to my attention (a book i'm reading, a newsworthy hollywood scandal that's gotten waaaay blown out of proportion, a movie that's so bad and so popular at the same time it defies logic, you get the picture) and go at it.  nothing spectacular, but something fairly new to change things up.

as my inaugural friday feature, i'm of course going to spotlight a band that is, in my humble opinion, one of the best bands ever: U2.

my first memory of U2 is more a memory of feeling that a moment of seeing or hearing.  i can't recall where i was, who i was with, or how old i was either.  i just remember very specifically the way i felt the first time i heard "with or without you".  it made me feel odd.  i know that sounds strange, but it's true.  i honestly don't think i'd ever had music make me feel something before, and it was so unfamiliar that it's hard to describe even now.  i think i thought it was making me sad, when it was actually just making me feel something.  i was honest to God uncomfortable listening to that song for a while afterward.  ever time it came on the radio i'd switch to a different station.

that's obviously changed now.

i was already a huge fan by the time U2 came out with "all that you can't leave behind."  when they did , i was getting ready to graduate from high school, leave home, leave hawaii, and head to college (taking only what i could leave behind.  winner!).  "walk on" was the soundtrack to my life at that point.

then, a year later, i found myself on a plane flying over the atlantic towards northern ireland, part of this fairy tale land i'd always dreamed of visiting.  i was going to be studying the not-so-fairy-tale-ish irish troubles, and so very appropriately put "sunday bloody sunday" on repeat the entire flight over.  when we got to derry, and i walked around the site looking at these huge political murals and trying to imagine that day, i had that song playing over and over in my head.

U2 stayed with me throughout the rest of college.  during my sophomore year, i started watch the tv show "one tree hill" because it's named after a U2 song.  then, during my junior year, i studied abroad in auckland, new zealand, and made a point to visit the actual one tree hill since that's what the song was named after.

more recently, i've been relying on "i still haven't found what i'm looking for" and "city of blinding lights' whenever i feel...stuck.  which has been a lot.  they make me think of paris, of new york, of big cities and possibilities.  they re-motivate me and re-excite me.

i've yet to see U2 in concert.  i've often told N. that if he ever wants to guarantee a "yes" when he proposes, he should buy me tickets to see them live and pop the question there, preferably during "all i want is you."  there would be no denying him.

then there's bono, who can't be ignored when you talk about U2 and your love (or hate) for them.  whatever you may think of him, of his arrogance, his foul language (not always used in the most diplomatic ways), or his talent, you can't ignore the fact that his philanthropic and humanitarian work count for something.  from amnesty benefit concerts, to the ONE campaign, to fashion lines, to product (red), he's done quite a bit and that's commendable.  i'm not saying he's Jesus or anything, and indeed, one of my favorite quotes about bono comes from B. over at Isn't She Pretty in Pink (who has an irrational animosity towards him ;)), who said something like, "if he wants to help africa so much, maybe he should stop buying himself dolce & gabbana sunglasses and put the money towards something useful!"  but i'm just saying that it's nice being a fan of a group who supports human rights as much as bono and U2 does.

i could go on forever.  i really could.  i love this band that much.

do you have a band/musician that you just feel like has been with you forever?  whose music you can trace big parts of your life to?  who seems to always have the right song for you to listen to at the right moment?  do you have a soundtrack to your life?

happy weekend!