How I became a fan and why my life is different because of U2

Chris Brown ([email protected])
Fri, 11 Dec 1998 17:20:46 -0600

Hmmmm....interesting thread....
    What does U2 mean to me? Well, U2 has been a major part of my life
since the fall of 1991, when I sat listening to the radio in my bedroom
while doing homework. It was then that I heard the now all-too-familiar
opening guitar riff to Mysterious Ways, the "new" U2 song on the radio. To
me that song was fascinating, I mean U2 had always been a band in my musical
vocabulary but like a lot of casual music fans you don't always equate the
group with the song. For me, Mysterious Ways was the first song I had heard
by U2, I mean really heard.
    And my ears continued to be captivated by the ingenious arrangements of
One, then Even Better Than the Real Thing as we progress to the summer of
1992. It was then that my parents gave me a CD player for my birthday. The
first CD I bought was Achtung Baby. I remember I listened to it like 10
times or so the first day I got it. To me, U2's music was cutting edge...to
me the sound combined rock and roll with industrial and alternative, but it
was a sound all its own. The lyrics were deep and meaningful...I could see
something about myself and my life in every line, every song. I was hooked.
    I bought The Joshua Tree a few weeks later and finally connected U2 with
the songs I had heard on the radio for several years like With or Without
You and I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For. I borrowed a tape of
Rattle and Hum from a friend, and continued to catch up on music which I had
subconsciously heard for a long time but never really connected with until
now. When my friend began pestering me to give the tape back to him, I went
out and bought my own Rattle and Hum CD.
    Every few weeks I would add another U2 CD to my collection...The
Unforgettable Fire...Live Under A Blood Red Sky...War...Wide Awake in
America...Boy...then October. While I was used to the 90's U2 sound I had
been introduced to the band with, a lot of U2's earlier songs began to grow
on me, and I found myself making mixed tapes of U2 songs for my short and
long drives in the car. Much to my passengers' dismay in some cases, I had
become a megafan of U2.
    My senior year I wrote a term paper for my English class on U2 and the
political and religious significance of their lyrics. To me this was an
extremely interesting undertaking. It gave me a whole new appreciation for
the lyrics and the music and showed me a side of U2 that wasn't entirely
apparent in occasional glances at the group on MTV showing clips of the Zoo
TV Tour.
    I graduated from high school in June of 1993 and two weeks later I was
attending a military academy...one of the biggest mistakes in my life. I
found myself out of place and missing home, but the day before I had entered
the academy I had bought a copy of Zooropa on tape...the day it came
out...and for the whole two months I stayed at the academy before
withdrawing to go on to bigger and better things those songs kept me going
at night when I thought of how wrong I had been in my decision. I left the
academy in August of 1993, and proceeded to work to save money to go back to
school on my own terms.
    I missed out on the Zoo TV Tour, the only show I saw was the Sydney
pay-per-view concert, but I remember inviting friends over to watch and they
were either amazed or annoyed with how much I knew about the band. I was in
college when Passengers came out (not to skip HMTMKMKM, great song, but I
don't have any vivid memories about that one) and had just gone through a
big breakup with a girl I really cared about and still do. Songs like Your
Blue Room, still a big fav of mine, just put the emotions I was feeling on a
musical canvas and indirectly comforted me through that very depressing
time.
    It was sometime between then and the release of Pop when I discovered
the Internet, and then subsequently the massive prescence of U2 related
sites and fans. The Internet then became and remains a necessary link to U2
for me...I found it exhilirating to know when new U2 stuff would be coming
out. I remember the anticipation for Pop...the constant changes in release
dates...so many rumors to sift through. I was soon growing interested in
other music groups at the time and found myself listening less and less to
U2.
    But when I heard a barely audible clip of Discotheque (think it was on
Henry Wagner's site...used to visit that quite a bit back in 1996)...I found
myself back to where I was...fanatically awaiting the release of Pop. I
bought the Discotheque single and annoyed my college roommate playing it
over and over again. To me Pop was great...just like every other U2 album I
have heard...and once again it helped me through personal hardships. In the
fall of 1997 my mother died suddenly and I reached to U2 for comfort. If
God Will Send His Angels, Please, Wake Up Dead Man...these all took on new
meaning for me after that.
    On a good note I finally saw the boys live...Foxboro Stadium, July 2nd,
1997...the last show of the first leg...I remember being so pumped to see
them live and equally pumped when I found out we were in the nosebleed
section. In the last year I have begun collecting bootleg concerts, the
singles with their b-side treasures, and of course I was out there early on
Nov. 3 to buy up my copy of Best of and the B-sides.
    So now, here I am, listening to a U2 CD writing this testimony to a life
that has certainly been changed by U2...it is hard for me to think of what
life would be like for me if I had never heard Mysterious Ways on the radio
that night back in 1991. Too scary to imagine. Listening to U2 inspired me
to learn to play the guitar...an art I'm still perfecting as I learn how to
play (of course) U2 songs. Bono's lyrics inspired me to start writing my
own poetry...poetry I'll someday hopefully set to my own music. So I guess
U2 to me is inspiration...I don't idolize them, though. To me the personal
relationship I have with U2's music is just that...a personal relationship.
It's a part of my life, a part of me...thanks for listening Wire...have a
good weekend

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