WordPress – a new home

OK, I’ve just been catapulted into a brave new world, having been shoved over here by the seemingly now defunct Windows Live Spaces site. It’s pretty good though, since I basically came across that other site by accident and this seems more like a real blog site. I’m still finding my way around, trying out different looks etc, so the look might change frequently in the next little while. Not sure that I like this look particularly, but time will tell if I can be bothered changing it. Not sure why the spacing between lines is bigger now, but I can’t say I care about it enough to bother investigating. Not yet anyway.

Not accepting defeat.

It’s been a while since I was hit with something hard enough to come here and say something about it. OK, this is a bit old in the media now and I it’s taken until now for me to notice it, since I really wasn’t interested until I saw the real story. I can relate to this guy in A LOT of ways, though not every way. What I can say is his sky diving is my hang gliding, which I have still not completed my training for due to many set backs but never mind, I will. The thing he most wanted, which made him do what he did, is not and likely will not be the same for me. But his attitude deserves to be studied, and copied. Don’t accept being less than you can be and being treated less than you deserve. Get up and do something about it.

Return of the obsession

I’ve been flying again 🙂

 

Hopefully much more to come. See the story here.

Afghanistan unfiltered

Here is a video of the thoughts of a soldier returned from Afghanistan, word for word, direct to a journalist, without the filtering of the Australian Defence Force media management. Food for thought. Make your own judgements. WARNING – it contains a bit of bad language.

The Sydney dust storm – from my place

There are a million pictures out there now of the dust storm that swept across most central and eastern Australia a couple of months ago, but for what it’s worth, here is what it looked like from my place. There is quite a nearby hill that can normally be seen in the background, and further away, I usually have a good view of the city centre. Not so that day!

Bring back the Mo!

It’s a measure of the success of Movember that you’ve probably heard about it already! But if not, go here to find out about it. Everyone’s getting on board including legendary band Powderfinger and the 4 Nations winning Aussie Kangaroos Rugby League team.

 

There’s a rumour going round (mostly in my own head at this point) that the Mo might just survive some way into December this year as well…

No Line – what the blogosphere says

I deliberately wrote the review below without looking extensively at what others have said. It was largely just my first impressions. Inevitably there are many others who have gone into great depths and pointed out some obvious (in hindsight) things that I missed. There is a large and comprehensive collection of reviews referenced by Beth Maynard’s blog – you’ll need to scroll down a long way to find all the ones I’ve since read. I will link to just a couple in this post. She must get hundreds of emails a day but was nice enough to find time to reply to mine.

 

First of all, I didn’t know Fez was a place in Morocco, I plead ignorance. If I had read some stuff before plunging into my review I would have got it but that is one of the hazards of my deliberate strategy. Now it makes more sense.

 

Several allusions have been made to the title No Line on the Horizon and the juxtapositon between heaven and earth, as a metaphor for the eschatological themes people have found in the album, and it’s pretty hard to argue with this. Beth explains the word "eschatological" well in one of her posts so I won’t try here. These comments make a lot of sense when these people’s interpretations of lyrics are pointed out. There does indeed seem to be a theme running through the album of yearning for a better future, even a perfect future when all things will be made new. The paradoxical lyric "Infinity’s a great place to start" is a key one to analyse with this theme. An analysis of the cover artwork with all this in mind, along with a lot of other review material that resonates with me, can be found here.

 

The "Let me in the sound" refrain has far more significance than I’d imagined, especially considered with the line "I’ve found grace inside a sound" from Breathe, making sound/music/singing one of the major themes, and even sound as a source of knowledge. Someone linked it to the idea that sound is preferable to sight, in that once someone said "Blessed are those who have not seen, and yet believed". We walk by faith, not by sight and faith comes from hearing and believing a message. A more simple and prosaic interpretation is that Bono is just celebrating the greatness of music and sound as a source of pleasure, not the least of which is in making lots of it!

 

It seems to be commonly accepted that White as Snow is about a soldier dying in Afghanistan, the band have probably said so themselves. So there is a bit more war in this album than I thought, but I’ve since read Bono say they tried to largely keep it out – I was right about that. Some of the things the soldier is contemplating are ones I picked up, and not surprising thoughts for a dying man.

 

One of the most insightful reviews from a musical style point of view is Neil McCormick’s, in which he concludes that surrender is the main theme, and he’s not the only one to form the opinion that Moment of Surrender is the album’s central/pivotal track. Yes Neil, but to what, or whom? He quite misses the point in places, especially his comment on Magnificent, calling it "a love song with the flag waving pop drive of ‘New Year’s Day’". Really? I just don’t see it at all. Maybe "love song" at a stretch, but it’s reasonably clear to me that Bono’s not talking about the misuse of the word that drives most pop songs nowadays. I’d call it rock drive rather than pop drive but each to their own, and I don’t hear any flags being waved at all. Like I said, he’s really missed the point of this one, if he’d read Psalm 33 he probably would have got it. But I have much in his review with which to agree, including that this album is one to speak of in the same breath as their best.

 

Well, there are a few more thoughts out there that I’ve found time to comment on. The bottom line is that this is a great album. "One of their best" is how I’d describe it. Definitely better than How to Dismantle. As good as, and maybe even better than All That You Can’t Leave Behind. I usually find it too hard to rank a band’s albums in order of greatness at the best of times, especially when one of them is so new. I do once again however recommend that you get this CD, and listen to it a lot.

No Line on the Horizon

A few weeks ago I eagerly picked up my first issue of Q magazine from a newsagent. Overpriced, but worth a one-off to get the in-depth interviews with all 4 members of U2 regarding their upcoming album release, No Line on the Horizon. A new U2 release, when it comes around every few years, is just about my most anticipated occasion in the world of music. In the past decade, the 2 releases – All That You Can’t Leave Behind and How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb – have enhanced the band’s reputation as they largely went back to their classic sound that made them great while retaining in an understated way the best bits of their decade of tangential experimentation in the 1990s. A new era of experimentation was rumoured. As much as I love the classic U2 sound, it probably can be said that if a band doesn’t reinvent itself every once in a while, it doesn’t last as long as U2. I guess the exception is the Rolling Stones, but when did they last put out an album? Decades of constant touring trotting out old hits does not in my opinion constitute true longevity. OK, I guess there is another exception in AC/DC. In response to an interviewer’s question that they could be seen to have 12 albums that all sound the same, Angus Young was once heard to remark something like “That’s not fair at all, we’ve got thirteen albums that all sound the same.” AC/DC have a loyal following, but not one as large and diverse as U2. If they had to do something very different again, I was confident that this is that good a band that they would probably not go a second time down as reckless a path as Achtung Baby, Zooropa and Pop, not my favourite stuff they’ve made (though there still is some great material in there). The quote I remember most from the Q interview is one by The Edge – “It could be our best album”. Big call. After the years during which iconic status has been attained by at least The Joshua Tree, All That You Can’t Leave Behind, and even Achtung Baby (which I include here because a lot of people have a higher opinion of it than me), it is darned difficult now to make the best U2 album ever, and perhaps impossible to have it recognized as such. Maybe that quote was just meant to get the attention needed to boost sales. Well, this wouldn’t have made a difference to me. A new U2 album is now an automatic purchase, preferably as soon as possible after it’s released.

 

Well, now I have the CD, and have played it a few times. I have deliberately avoided reading the Q interviews again before writing this. It will be interesting to compare, with the caveat that when they were done this album was by no means “finished”. Deep breath. Drum roll.

 

This is not really much of a revolution, but sounds more like a stage of an evolution. I am happy to say, it is well worth listening to, again and again and again! It has a style all of its own, and within that style plenty of diversity, yet is easily recognizable as U2. Plenty of groovy guitar riffs, melodic keyboard fills and tasteful electronic effects (with U2 it’s possible to make that not an oxymoron) and a wide variety of drumming speeds and rhythms. Edge’s screaming signature lead riffs shine like a beacon through this album like every other. That’s a given of course, but something precious enough not to be taken for granted. Another noticeable feature is the frequent appearance of older style organ-like keyboard sounds, as well as what seem to be some brand new synthesized sounds mixed with ones the band has used before. Bono shows his versatile singing skills, bringing out the best in songs fast and slow, low and high. There are probably not enough hard rock songs on this album to please the rock purist and I admit I prefer the faster songs rather than the slower. But there are no really bad tracks, it’s a matter of deciding what’s truly great, rather than just good. There are a few songs that will rightly be looked back on in years to come as some of the band’s finest work and will sit comfortably alongside the singles from The Joshua Tree, Achtung Baby and All That You Can’t Leave Behind.

 

Most of the lyrics defy an easy, one-dimensional interpretation. This band now, more than ever, likes to write in an obscure, multi-layered way, and have already said in the past that some of their material has many valid interpretations and you can legitimately choose your own. Refreshingly, this album largely takes a break from the political preaching of some past releases. These ragings against the injustices of the world typified by Sunday Bloody Sunday and Bullet the Blue Sky have their place and are indeed more worthy material than the empty shallow stuff that much of modern music makes its theme, one of the reasons that U2 is a band I can relate to more than most. But there is something to be said for just celebrating the music, and this album does that. These lyrics are by no means devoid of meaning though. I have recently read the book Walk On: The Spiritual Journey of U2 by Steve Stockman. The band’s spiritual dimension has long been known if not well defined (they refuse to let it be), but this book gives tremendous insight into the subtle, subversive, subliminal element of much of their work which is recognized most by people who share their strong beliefs and convictions. On the other hand, sometimes lyrics leave the listener in little doubt as to the message. Stockman’s book has influenced my listening to the latest album to the extent that I can easily find a theme running through many of the songs – if one is free to choose one’s own interpretation, which may be, dare I say, even an intended one. After listening a few times and reading through the words carefully, one even might say that this album shouts out the best news in human history, though in an esoteric way. OK, I have not stated it explicitly but you will probably know where I am going here. By the end of my comments on each song and my selection of quoted words, there will be little left to the imagination.

 

Song by song

 

No Line on the Horizon: This a rare but not unique case of a U2 album with a title track. The Unforgettable Fire and Zooropa are other examples that come to mind. It’s a bold opening, a full sound with lots of strong guitar and keyboard sounds and big rhythm section. They repeat it at the end with a track called No Line on the Horizon 2 – just a different mix really with a more funky beat and arrangement, compared to the relatively conventional opening version. It looks like they couldn’t decide which version to put out, so they added both. I remember from the Q interview there were lots of dilemmas the band faced, with lots of tracks, about which recorded version to include – to the point of “Will we go with the hard rock one or the slow, quiet ballad one?” It would have been fascinating to hear them all. I didn’t really warm to the opening track on the first listen but the tune was growing on me already when version 2 came around on the first play of the CD. The lyrics are at first glance mostly about a girl someone knows, but are probably multi-layered and obscure in their true meaning, and seem to have no real connection to the chorus line (the same as the song and album title). I heard the original idea was from the view out the window of a band member’s home in the morning over the sea, when the mist often obscures the line between sea and sky. Who knows what it’s really about. Choose your own interpretation.

 

The songs in your head are now on my mind
You put me on pause 
I try to rewind, love, and replay

 

Magnificent: Wow! My bold assertion after a few plays of the CD: This is the best song on the album. It is just, well, magnificent. I heard it on Triple M before the release of the album, they took the liberty of giving Sydney a preview. The start of the intro sounds something like Black Betty, but quickly morphs into something a lot more tuneful and sophisticated. I was blown away. I wondered why it took so little time to grow on me as it played just once, and listening again I have concluded that when Edge composed the chorus chord sequence, he had probably recently been listening to Black Fingernails, Red Wine by Eskimo Joe. Worth a court challenge? I hope not. It’s not always, even usually, the case, but there is such a thing as the recycling of a tune being a great improvement. Not surprising if it’s done by these guys. An electric organ sound permeates the verses with some nice chords and gets overlaid in the chorus by Edge doing what he does best. Will be a huge single if they have the good sense to release it as one, and has the potential to become a classic U2 anthem like Pride, Angel of Harlem and Beautiful Day in years to come. This is one song in which the lyrics don’t really try to hide the meaning, especially if you’re familiar with the book Walk On and with the world’s all time best seller, although some people might find them strange. This is not a song about some concept, or some thing, but someone. And not some girl known to a member of the band, they would not be so shallow to do that to such a sublime tune. No – it’s about the one, the only, The Magnificent. It’s a pity my old mate Gavin Wilcox is no longer around, he would have liked this one. See the lyrics in full at the bottom of this post.

 

Moment of Surrender: This is the sort of song that recalls some of the experiments of Zooropa. One of the many moderate or slower tracks on the album, and one of the reasons fans hoping for a full-blown high-energy rock experience like the early days might be disappointed with this release. Big on the electronic rhythms and synthesizer sounds. An underwhelming tune on the first listen but I’m getting to like it. Again, Steve Stockman’s book gives me a clue about the lyrics, helped along by the song title. A strong sense of the fundamental lack of control we have over the course of life and the wisdom of trusting it to someone who does.

 

I was speeding on the subway
Through the stations of the cross
Every eye looking every other way
Counting down ’til the pain will stop…

 

At the moment of surrender
I folded to my knees
I did not notice the passers-by
And they did not notice me

 

Unknown Caller: The intro with the word “sunshine” strangely repeated 4 times leads one to think this is going to follow on with the same feel of the previous track, but it is deceptive. A bit like Magnificent, the intro gives way to the true character of the song. The chords with the “Oh, oh” overlaid with Edges lead arpeggios announce this as another driving U2 anthem. A sublime experience of listening pleasure, and complemented lyrically with what appears to be a call to make the most of one’s potential – with probably a little help from someone (is this the unknown caller the title of the song refers to? – see Magnificent J ).

 

Escape yourself and gravity
Hear me, cease to speak that I may speak…

 

Restart and re-boot yourself
You’re free to go
Oh, oh
Shout for joy if you get the chance
Password, you, enter here, right now

Oh, oh
You know your name so punch it in

 

I’ll Go Crazy if I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight: Another track with the potential to be a big single. A melting pot of big ideas set to a great tune and arrangement with as much melodic optimism as Unknown Caller, and it rocks harder to top it off. The yielding near the end to the temptation to put in the meaningless babble “Baby, baby, baby” was quite frankly unnecessary, but nearly all bands seem to do it and hey, no-one’s perfect.

 

Every generation gets a chance to change the world
Pity the nation that won’t listen to your boys and girls
‘Cos the sweetest melody is the one we haven’t heard
Is it true that perfect love drives out all fear

 

Get On Your Boots: The first I heard of this album, played on number 1 Sydney music radio station Triple M, while in the car on the way to a Sydney Festival event. The fastest, most upbeat song on the album, in a similar vein to Vertigo on How to Dismantle. Hard to judge how an album will be from the first single, but I was left thinking “I like it” even if it seemed somewhat limited in the tune department similar to Numb, the first I heard of Zooropa. This was much better than Numb. Ever since, it’s been played to death by Triple M. It’s dominated by heavy bass distortion, another unconventional feature compared to the band’s early straight 4 piece rock material. It’s the most “rappy/techno-like” song on the release, and shows how inoffensively U2 can bring in these usually trash elements, damp them down and mix them in a song that still has a tune to add variety to the listening experience. The lyrics don’t seem too serious – “Dumb fun” is how Bernard Zuel described them – and seem to be a bit of a mish-mash of thought-provoking ideas mixed with random “just for the heck of it” elements.

 

Night is falling everywhere
Rockets at the fun fair
Satan loves a bomb scare
But he won’t scare you…

 

I got a submarine
You got gasoline
I don’t want to talk about wars between nations…

 

Let me in the sound
Let me in the sound, now
God, I’m going down
I don’t wanna drown now
Meet me in the sound

 

Stand Up Comedy: It took a couple of listens to grow but wow, this is a good un! A very close second (at this early stage of listening for me) for best on album. It’s dominated from start to finish by a huge kick-a*** Edge rock-riff, and the short chorus goes to places you might not expect with the chord sequence before returning satisfyingly to that riff. The repeated "Stand up” refrain could easily be a platform for one of those classic political rage songs from the band’s past – along the lines of “Stand up, for ending poverty / Stand up, make it history” but as the light-hearted title suggests it goes nowhere near being that blatant, and to be honest the fans who primarily love the music need a rest from all that. I get the feeling there is a very serious undertone to the lyrics but primarily it’s most obviously about standing up for love – a very positive concept indeed. Even this can be interpreted in a number of ways, naturally I prefer the one that makes most sense of the song as a whole which is the most profound way, in keeping with what does again appear to be a theme running through the album.

 

I can stand up for hope, faith, love
But while I’m getting over certainty
Stop helping God across the road like a little old lady…

I gotta stand up to ego but my ego’s not really the enemy
It’s like a small child crossing an eight lane highway
On a voyage of discovery…

God is love
And love is evolution’s very best day

 

FEZ- Being Born: This seems like a bit of a random fill-in song. The variety of keyboard sounds and electronic effects make this sound like something off Zooropa or maybe Achtung Baby, but with a spiced-up melody. Another one of the slow ones. The intro with a subdued reprise of the “Let me in the sound” refrain of Get on your Boots yields abruptly to a contrast with the song itself. A lyrics website suggests it’s all about Morocco – otherwise I wouldn’t have had much of a clue as to its meaning. With the next track, it forms part of a mellow interlude in the 2^nd half off the album.

 

Burning rubber, burning chrome
Bay of Cadiz and ferry home
Atlantic sea, cut glass
African sun at last

 

White As Snow: Another quiet one, perhaps the quietest on the album. Most of the tune is a cannot-be-more-obvious rip-off of the Christmas carol “O come, O come, Emmanuel” serenaded by soft guitar arpeggios. Most Christmas carols are public domain though so it probably doesn’t matter, and in any case it may well be an old Irish folk tune. I’m reminded of a similar instance on a U2 record – Van Diemen’s Land from Rattle and Hum sounds very much like one of the classics in church, When I Survey the Wonderous Cross. White As Snow starts by recalling experiences of the writer’s youth, before morphing into a variety of themes, one of which, appropriately for the tune, is an echo of the original true story and purpose of Christmas. Some of Edge’s guitar work towards the end is even the same as the style on an old, old brass band Christmas record I’ve been listening to in the appropriate season since before I can remember. Freaky!

 

Once I knew there was a love divine
Then came a time I thought it knew me not
Who can forgive forgiveness where forgiveness is not
Only the lamb as white as snow

 

Breathe: They really like intros that contrast with the songs on this album. This one builds anticipation with a strong drumbeat and guitar accompaniment rising in volume before the beat abruptly changes, but to something just as strong, and at the same time full guitar chords scream that this one is gonna rock. The words of the verses cascade out-of-time over the instrumentation in rambling, almost shouting fashion, then give way to sublime melodies and harmonies in the chorus, with some more characteristic atmospheric riffs from The Edge. I think one of them called it maybe their best ever song in that Q interview. I wouldn’t go all that way but it’s one of the best on the album. Lyrically, here’s how I see it: A fascinating contrast of the triviality of a door-to-door salesman with the fear of a deadly disease sets the backdrop for a theme of the wonder of life confronting the inevitability of death, and what lies beyond. The whole song has a joyous, unafraid sound. If you know what one author described as “The world’s best kept secret”, then you have nothing to fear!

 

The roar that lies on the other side of silence
The forest fire that is fear so deny it…

Walk out, into the sunburst street 
Sing your heart out, sing my heart out
I’ve found grace inside a sound
I found grace, it’s all that I found
And I can breathe

Cedars of Lebanon: Some reviewers have loved this one, but for now at least I see it as a bit of a weak closing of the album. Probably because I’m biased towards high energy rock and this is a quiet, reflective number with a soft drum beat and understated guitar parts. Not that I don’t like it though, it’s simply one of the good songs, not one of the great ones. The words are probably the most overtly war-related ones of all the tracks. There is a question left hanging over the future of the middle-east region, one the bloodthirsty warmongers there would do well to ponder.

 

Now I’ve got a head like a lit cigarette
Unholy clouds reflecting in a minaret
You’re so high above me, higher than everyone
Where are you in the cedars of Lebanon

 

 

Well, we have come to the end. A word of warning: Don’t discard this album after the first listen. If you do you’re throwing out a bagful of precious gems because you didn’t look long enough and thought they were common pebbles. U2 have delivered another work of quality. It’s by no means perfect and like any good album it has its high and not so high points. And inevitably some peoples’ favourite tracks on it will be different to mine. But have a listen, not just once but 3 or 4 times, and you too (ha ha, bad pun!) will begin to appreciate this fine album. Now, bring on the tour, I want to hear this stuff live!

 

Magnificent
Oh, magnificent

I was born
I was born to be with you
In this space and time
After that and ever after 
I haven’t had a clue

Only to break rhyme
This foolishness can leave a heart
Black and blue

Only love
Only love can leave such a mark
But only love
Only love can heal such a scar

I was born
I was born to sing for you
I didn’t have a choice 
But to lift you up 
And sing whatever song you wanted me to
I give you back my voice 
From the womb my first cry
It was a joyful noise
Oh, oh

Only love
Only love can leave such a mark
But only love
Only love can heal such a scar

Justified till we die
You and I will magnify
Oh, the magnificent
Magnificent

Only love
Only love can leave such a mark
But only love
Only love unites our hearts

Justified till we die
You and I will magnify
Oh, the magnificent
Magnificent
Magnificent

 

 

Will international cricket ever be played in Pakistan again?

Someone in a newspaper column wrote a few days ago of how cricket has stood proud and retained its dignity and hallowed status among all its afflictions and scandals over a century, from the Bodyline series to World Series Cricket, rebel tours to South Africa when it was in isolation for Apartheid, to betting and match fixing scandals – but never before was the game stained by blood as it was in the recent repugnant attack on the Sri Lankan team touring Pakistan as well as umpires and match officials. On hearing the sad news my thoughts and prayers turned to the guys who were injured and traumatised, and the families of the police officers and driver who died trying to protect them. Never has a Test match been abandoned with such drama.

 

The newspaper column mentioned above made me think of times in the backyard, or mostly in the front yard actually, as a kid first learning what the game is all about, through my playing days at the Macgregor, St David’s and Ashfield clubs before shift work put an end to it all, and a life of staunch support of the Australian team to the point of touring India to see them win a Test series there in 2004 after a long drought. Back then I could walk through the wide open gates of Braebourne Stadium onto the field in the days before a warm-up tour match and watch the Australian team train, chat to Simon Katich after he’d done a media interview, then follow a crowd of autograph hunters chasing Sachin Tendulkar across the ground, all with a video camera rolling. That was in Mumbai. After events there last year and Lahore a few days ago it will never happen again. The last image my mind dreamed up was a tragic metaphorical scene in a field somewhere, of a set of stumps, a bat and a ball, splintered and battered and stained with blood. In the first attack on sport by terrorists since the Munich Olympics before I existed, the scums actually dared to attack the game I love, and that is followed with fanatical passion throughout Pakistan among other countries. Now it’s doubtful whether many Pakistan fans will get to see their team play at home again in their lifetime.

 

I needed something to lift my spirits and it came last night in the Test match in Durban. Australia and South Africa gave the Islamic extremists the most effective one finger salute possible – they played cricket, albeit surrounded by machine-gun-toting security guards and every one of them wearing a black armband. The result of the game almost (but not quite) seems not to matter. It is enough that the 2 teams are playing. On a brighter note, it was tremendous to see the Australian team turn around its poor summer form and beat the South Africans in the 1st Test in Johannesburg. Last night the young Philip Hughes announced himself to the cricket world with a spectacular and joyous century. This is cricket as it should be. As Sri Lankan Muttiah Muralitharan said today, they must keep playing cricket or they have all been defeated.

 

Long live cricket.

 

I’ve smashed my right elbow

The very day after my round of golf described below. Needless to say I won’t be swinging a golf club for a while, or completing my hang gliding training any time soon, after I didn’t pay enough attention attention to a hang glider landing, breaking my right humerus bone at the end of the steel plate used to repair it last time. The fracture also extended into my elbow joint, leaving the end of the bone in several pieces. Good thing I was able to find a surgeon who could put it back together, to the extent that the joint will be almost as good as new. So many people extended to me the ministry of prayer, including some I’ve never met, and the outcome as assessed by the surgeon so far could not have been better. Thanks everyone!

 

This episode unfortunately leaves me with a serious question about whether I can/should continue to learn the purest from of flying. There are a number of things to do, and assess the outcome of, before I can make any decision about this. I describe it all in more detail here.

 

For the next few weeks, there is some serious healing and rehab to be done. Despite this I am still able to work one-handed so won’t have to have too much time off. My Dad has come to Sydney to help me with his extra pair of hands which I am most thankful for, and in a couple of hours I will also see Mum who is coming today (they had both planned to come next week before all this anyway). There is still plenty to enjoy about life right now.