An cat dubh - U2

An cat dubh - U2

Last weekend the HMV branches of Hong Kong offered a bunch of sales on different categories of items, so I went to take a look (and of course bought [useless] things, among which one CD). U2's sophomore effort has been on my to-buy list for a while now and finally is no more. Probably related to that purchase, yesterday I woke up with their debut album on my mind, so I went on and listened to both of them during the day. I must confess that 'Boy' is among my favourite albums of them, most likely in the top 3, if not in the top 1! I always link the beautiful atmosphere of these songs to walking throughout lower Manhattan, as it was probably my soundtrack when I strolled there in 2011 during my second visit to New York. This song in particular always gives me that magical feeling in my guts that you only get when walking around Washington square park and Greenwich village. So I dedicate this post and what is probably my favourite U2 song to the magic of New York!

#sundayrevival I still haven't found what I'm looking for - U2

I still haven't found what I'm looking for - U2

You might remember that a little less than three months ago I posted one of my favourite U2 songs, 'One tree hill', just to celebrate the fact that I had just started watching the homonymous TV series. A TV series that I just finished watching tonight, and when you spend months with fictional characters in a fictional world, it's always extremely hard to cut your relationship with them and come back to reality, realising that they are not a part of your real world and real life. Or maybe they are, in the end this is the magic of movies and series and books, isn't it...? Anyway I found myself reading about the actors, their lives, what they are doing now and so on... I think it's my brain's way of slowly and gently detaching with the characters, and when strong music is linked to the show, listening to the songs is another great way of easing the end of it all. So I went back to listen to 'The Joshua Tree' and off that great album I am posting this one song today. Why? Because all the main characters have in some way found what they were looking for, while me... I still don't think I know what it is I am looking for, so I guess that this song is a great way for remembering that real life is real life and things don't work as "smoothly" (killings and accidents and kidnappings apart) as in the entertainment industry...!

#sundayrevival One tree hill - U2

One tree hill - U2

Lately I started watching a new (old) TV series, that is 'One tree hill'. Yeah, yeah, I know I am living my second teenage at almost-26 (or maybe it's the first one), but I am really enjoying the dose of teenage drama, feelings and experiences that my life is filled with (mostly on the screen I must say). I love TV series when they make you think about life, they teach you somethings, the remind you why you are who you are and what are the important things in life. Even if they're fake, there's always something good you can take and use in real life. I'm enjoying 'One tree hill' quite a bit for now, even if I practically just started. And watching this series, I couldn't help thinking at this beautiful, beautiful masterpiece by U2. I put 'The Joshua tree' on yesterday and well... many of these songs make me feel incredibly nostalgic. It might well be my favourite U2 album, and this is one of their best songs imho. Couldn't ask for anything better for this sundayrevival.

Raised by wolves - U2

Raised by wolves - U2

I have been listening to U2's latest album quite a lot last week, for different reasons (my Argentinean colleagues were playing it in the car, I got it out randomly in my own car and some other instances I don't remember), and it's weird because I realised it gives me a similar sensation to Imagine Dragons' 'Smoke + mirrors' that I posted yesterday, that is of a reassuring freshness! Like the songs were already in my heart but I'm listening to them for the first time, it's so weird I can't explain it better than this... and so here I am, with one of the songs I was SURE I had already posted, because it's been one of my first favourites off 'Son gs of innocence', but I just realised I didn't, so it's a perfect pick!! After a nice day meeting an old university friend in Udine, studying Japanese on the train and watching 'Frozen', I still have to clearly define my plans for tomorrow, even if I already have a couple ideas! I also know what I'm gonna post for this week's sundayrevival, so stay tuned!!

Red hill mining town - U2

Red hill mining town - U2

"I'm hangin' on."

"I'm still waiting."

In days like this, when nothing relevant happens (does it really?), you just spend your time relaxing and recharging your batteries (or not), taking a trip to the mall and buying things you don't need (do you?), when you're under the shower, listening to songs like this one, letting the hot water soak you and wash away you-don't-know-what (don't you?), songs that matter and that make you think about the big picture, about life, about things, about what you could do better, about what you don't have, about the person you are, about useless crap in the end (isn't it?), but they still make you feel important, alive, and somehow capable of altering your future, even slightly, with your actions and decisions (can we?), you feel that it matters. Stuff matters. It's your life in the end, what your senses perceive and what your mind grasps. It's days like this that...

"To let it go, and so to fade away..."

Gone - U2

Gone - U2

I have recently compiled a playlist with my favourite U2 songs and every time I play it with shuffle mode on, this song pops up. It did now and it somehow seems to make a lot of sense.

"I'll be up with the sun, I'm not coming down."

Pop is a weird U2 album for me: it is not at all among my favourites, but there is a triplet of songs (Staring at the sun + Last night on earth + Gone) that I really really like, and that I've been liking since I approached the album.

"You wanted to get somewhere so badly you had to lose yourself along the way."

Gone in particular has always meant something special to me, I probably didn't understand what and why until now. Or maybe I still don't! It's weird how your relationship with a song changes and evolves with time, whenever you have this "illumination" moments and it seems like you're understanding each other better than before... one of the reasons why I love music!

" 'Cause I'm already gone, felt that way all along.

Closer to you every day, I didn't want it that much anyway."

#sundayrevival Numb - U2

Numb - U2

Hello folks, I am finally on transfer near Venice, more exactly in Marghera, one of the two on-the-ground little towns just opposite of Venice! Tomorrow I'm gonna start my training and today, after a lunch at my grandparents', has been mainly devoted to getting there and setting up. I think I realised (rather, confirmed) that travelling is going to suck up a lot of time (and money) during my next few weekend, unless I decide not to go back home... well, we'll see what the least painful alternative will be! I am a bit excited to start the intensive training tomorrow, I'll meet new people, hope they're nice, and it's the beginning... of a new beginning! Even if I'm feeling a bit stranded, not having a kitchen, not knowing where I will stay in the next few weeks, not having a proof that I will get some kind of reimbursement (even if I strongly hope so, as this course is having me and my parents hemorrhage money worse tha university)... well, I'm trying to be positive! I've already paid a visit to a mall they recently built near here, and I really like it, I don't why but I always find malls comforting! Moreover, it's very close to where I will have lectures, so it's gonna be a favourite spot I guess!
Ok, sometimes I forget that this is a music blog and I get lost telling about other crap, so: today I've been listening to a U2 playlist I recently created with my favourite songs of them; Numb is one of the songs of theirs I absolutely love and I think greatly described my feelings while I was driving on the highway towards here... veeery boring! It feels a bit like cheating as I don't think I have been knowing this song for long, but it sounded familiar when I approached it and given that it's from the early 90s... it makes for a good sundayrevival!

Bad - U2

Bad - U2

Bad. Like the excursion we made today to Isla Saona, a most loved trip by people according to reviews on the internet, a most useless waste of time and money, if you want my side of the story. The water in the sea was dirty with seaweeds and not at all better than that in front of our hotel, same applies to the beach. The only good part was when I swam a little farther from the beach, but then people didn't want us to get too far. So ok, practically it's like "stay here in the dirty water".
Bad. Not like swimming in nice Caribbean water and having close encounters with starfish, first mediated by the guys and then in the "wild" sea!
Bad. Like wasting hours of transport to get to a place that was no better than the one we left and that offered no particular thing that was worth the trip.
Bad. Like the continuous effect that loud Latin music has on me. Can't stand it anymore is an euphemism.
Bad. Not like listening to music on the seaside, relaxing and always finding the right song for the moment.
Bad. Not at all like this song. One of my U2 favs!

Cedarwood road - U2

Cedarwood road - U2

This morning I woke up with this song on my mind... don't know why, I don't even remember if I even listened to it today! I was thinking about what to post now and I was just about to make up my mind about another band, which I'll probably post tomorrow... I also have another song to post, related to a TV series I'm watching, but I want to wait until I get to the end of the first season, which is probably gonna happen tomorrow or the day after... so I'm quite ready for the next couple of days! Focusing on today, this is a further confirmation of how much I liked U2's latest album, and it is also connected to me listening to War while taking a bath this afternoon... it's always amazing how that album reminds me immediately of the time I spent in Montréal...

Every breaking wave - U2

Every breaking wave - U2

Yay! It's "only" 2.25 and I am finished with working on my thesis for today plus I already brushed my teeth! Lucky me! Or not... today I had the (second?) last interview and it has been very nice and pleasing, the girl I've been speaking with has been good company! Moreover, I exchange a few mails with the Professor that's tutoring me for the thesis and he gave me a few suggestions on how to improve my work, saying that's it's a good and promising paper for now, with lots of material! Let's hope that's good, and I'm happy to get some advice on how to further improve it, as at this point I'd be very pleased and happy to make a good show with it! A good show like the one U2 have been doing with their latest album! I haven't had the time to watch their performance on Italian TV that was recorded last night, but I will for sure tomorrow! (I have watched Alt-J live on KEXP instead, I had a good excuse!)

Volcano - U2

Volcano - U2

I feel like posting is going to take place later and later in the next few weeks as the deadline for handing in my thesis gets closer... today I have been practically out all day until 22.30 and then I started working on my quantitative part, so bad, I didn't realise I don't remember almost anything about how to interpret a regression! That means I'm gonna have to go back and study it again (for the third o fourth time). Good is that I enjoy regressions and applied statistics, but I don't wanna read any more stuuuuuuuff!!!! Good night!

The miracle (of Joey Ramone) - U2

The miracle (of Joey Ramone) - U2

I realised just now that I haven't posted yesterday and, well, midnight has just past... anyway, it's been an intense couple of days, especially thanks to / because of F1. I went to bed early on friday night, before midnight, which is quite unusual for me (as you can tell from the usual time of posting!) and I slept badly, woke up at 5.38, couldn't sleep again until after the F1 qualifying session, anyway not well... Then last night I went to bed late to avoid making the same mistake, so I ended up sleeping some 5 hours or so... ok, I was very productive and I slept well during my sleeptime, but I've been feeling my eyes burn since this afternoon... I need sleeep! I was even more nervous/excited because I have been having the feeling that this GP would've made history... and it actually did make it, but not exactly in the way I supposed... besides a very good race of my JB (Jenson Button), the main news is the terrible accident that the other JB (Jules Bianchi) was involved in. So bad that they didn't even show any official pictures or video of the action... so we don't even have a very clear idea of what happened, anyway the young French pilot is undergoing surgeries for a trauma at the head, not nice... We can just hope in a miracle to avoid another Michael Schumacher case methinks...
I see F1 has been filling up my life so much as it has filled up this already-long post, so I'll tell you the rest tomorrow! For now I'll leave you with the miracle track out of U2's new album, which seems a good fit... hope you enjoy. Good night!

Crumbs from your table - U2

Crumbs from your table - U2

Here we are! Back to Italy, back home! I am practically done unpacking and I'm taking advantage of the whole moment and mood ti put some order in my wardrobe(s), to change clothes for the warm season, to give something away and to throw some stuff away! The feelings are weird and mixed still, it feels like I'm still in Exeter with my new friends, that I'm gonna see them in the next days, but it also feels like I've never felt Italy (even if none of my friends are around this weekend). Weird feelings that are actually all overwhelmed by my crises of abstinence of (piggy) food! It's really hard to stop when you're used to eat the whole day long...! I'll do my best to close the mouth of my stomach anyway! And I'll try to be happy with just the crumbs...! (And I really feel blessed for being so lucky to have all the food I want at hand).

Dirty day (junk day mix) - U2

Dirty day 

Hey everybody! My inspired week is going on (thanks goodness) and here we are today too! I've been listening to U2 kind of in parallel with R.E.M. but I am still a couple of albums away from the end of their discography. Nowadays I am focused on their b-sides and remixes of their 1990-2000 best and I must say I am quite enjoying it, especially the remixes. One of the songs I am liking the most is this remix of Dirty day, which has always been one of my liked but not super favourite tracks of theirs. The same actually applies to the album the original Dirty day is on (Zooropa), which I have always liked but never completely fallen in love with. I hope that these remixes are giving me the chance to develop my relationship with it once again, and then who knows? It might grow in me after all this time...!
Anyway not feeling very well today, a mix of flu, spring, general sickness, light headache... it really feels like a dirty day for me!

Electrical storm (William Orbit mix) - U2

Electrical storm - U2

These are hard days for posting music, today too I'm not very comfortable with posting as I'm not really sure about which song to pick, buuut I am confident it will be a good one anyway! I was undecided between two songs and, given that the other one will probably find room here in the (near) future, today I will go for U2! I have almost got to the end of their discography, now I'm busy listening to their best of 1990-2000 (b-sides disc). I found out the original version of this gem that sounded quite familiar to me and I actually just found out that this remix is probably the more famous version. I love artists who produce so much material that, even with the passing of time, you keep finding new awesome stuff!

Invisible - U2

U2 - Invisible

A few days ago U2 took part to the umpteenth social campaign, this time for AIDS prevention. U2 made available this song for free download on iTunes in collaboration with Bank of America, which donated 1$ for every download to Red, an organization co-founded by Bono to fight AIDS. I can't say how happy I am that people such as Bono and many others make such a good use of their fame to try and help others. I think that, besides U2's (many) music-related merits, this attachment to social causes and campaigning makes Bono & friends worthy of mention.
Coming to the song, it is quite good too and it also makes sense for the occasion: the lines "I’m more than you know, I’m more than you see here, More than you let me be", "You don’t see me but you will I am not invisible" and "There is no them, There’s only us" can be interpreted as a loud condemnation of discrimination of any kind. It just comes natural (to me) to apply them to gay people, the ones whose discrimination is most often linked to AIDS. And all of this happening during the olympic games in Sochi, with all the fuss that is taking place in Russia. Is it just a coincidence? I'd like to believe that it isn't. As it's never too early to dream of a world with no unjust, bad and unjustified discrimination and violence. And the sooner we dream of it, the sooner the dream will become reality.

New year's day - U2

Hey guys, I hope you all started this new year in the best way possible! It strikes me to think that two years ago I was on my way to Montréal, ready to start my exchange semester, waiting for everything to change. It didn't happen, yet everything changed in a way that I was not expecting! Anyway, this revival moment brings me back to the post of today. I know I promised you a story yesterday, I will keep my promise as soon as possible, hopefully tomorrow, but for today... well, enjoy a wonderful New Year's Day!