Music is good.

[trishkit]

As usual, fromward has got me thinking. This time it’s about music.

I grew up in a family that was really into music (listening, not playing). I wrote a bit about it here.

I’ve found that I’m just not as musically adventurous as I’ve gotten older. It’s not that I don’t like new bands, it’s that I am extremely lazy. It takes a lot of work to keep abreast of new musical stylings and, frankly, I’m too busy with my shows. I don’t really watch Much Music any more, and I rarely listen to the radio since I got rid of my car when I moved to the city (it was a truck, actually, in case anyone is keeping score).

Anyways, I find that I mainly listen to my old favourites these days. I’m always desperate for something new to listen to, but there is such comfort in listening to the music of your youth.

And what might that music be? Just about anything from the 70’s, 80’s and early 90’s with an especial warm gooey soft spot for the New Wave that I listened to when I was in high school.

I’m all bouncy right now because I actually bought two new cds today: Depeche Mode: Remixes 81-04 and U2: Go Home – Live from Slane Castle Ireland (okay, that one is a dvd, but you get the idea).

Listening to U2 brings back some serious first year university flashbacks for me. I had always been a huge U2 fan in high school (along with Duran Duran, OMD, Depeche Mode, The Cure, Bauhuas, etc, etc)and I remember impatiently waiting for the release of Rattle and Hum.


The year was 1988 and I was in my first year of university. I was recovering from knee surgery from an injury sustained during the initiation for my program (a long, strange story that I’ll save for another time) and U2’s latest album was about to be released. A friend was waiting for the store to open at 9 a.m. By 9:30 a.m. there were 7 or 8 of us crammed into my dorm room (my big-haired Madonna-loving roommate had fled the premises earlier). We put the tape in and cranked it and were blown away by the first chords of Helter Skelter.

I don’t know if I can truly convey how exciting U2 was in those days. Their music had such an energy and life that it really stood out amongst the synthetic music that was all the rage at the time. Don’t get me wrong, I loved that stuff, but there was something about U2 that just made you want to rip off your shirt and dance on the table. They had made a name for themselves originally with their live performances (no, I’ve never seen them), and had always tried to capture that same feeling in their recordings (check out “Where the streets have no name” from The Joshua Tree for an excellent example of this).

Listening to Rattle and Hum for the first time was an amazing experience. And not just because we skipped all of our classes and drank all day, either. U2 had been going so strong with album after amazing album that your anticipation just kept building every time you heard that there was a new one in the works. Luckily, Rattle and Hum did not disappoint.

I still am very fond of U2. I love that they have managed to stay fresh and exciting and together. Ditto for Depeche Mode.

I’m so excited after listening to the dvd. It has all of my most loved songs on it and kicks eleven kinds of ass.

So, to recap: I’m bouncy, I’m excited and I’ve had way too much Pepsi. Hell, I'm so tingly that I can barely feel my hands right now.

I’m so ready for Smallville tonight.

Comments

[fromward.livejournal.com]

I've been listening to that Depeche Mode album on my LaunchCast. Some of the remixes sound like completely different songs. It's awesome. *hugs* Thanks for sharing the memories. :)

[trishkit.livejournal.com]

Some of the remixes are very different from the originals, that's for sure. It's a good cd to listen to while walking though.