bono_212
Blue Crack Distributor
Ok, here it goes.
When I was 14 (all of my U2 stories seem to begin this way), my U2 fandom was at its peak, and for Christmas, I was given The Best of 1990-2000. This was awesome for a few reasons, not the least of which was that it was one of the first times I had been given exactly what I asked for for Christmas, but also because it ended up being quite the "U2 Christmas". Lots of little things, plus the Direct TV special which I watched at my dad's house more times than I'd like to admit. As I said, it was definitely the height of my fandom.
Anyways, I was very eager to hear the best of, because I was quite unfamiliar with their 90s output, save Achtung. I would lay in my bed at night with my CD player and listen to that album again and again, loving every minute of it. It's refreshing to think back on the fact that I didn't already know any of the songs, so I wasn't disappointed by the lack of this song, or the wasteland of remixes I now know it to be. Then, it was just U2, it was new, and it was amazing. "Gone", "Stay", "Electrical Storm", it was all mind-blowing and it just absolutely took me away to another place, and now, if I listen to it, it takes me back to that time. The same way listening to Achtung Baby takes me back to 8th grade, but that's another story (that I've already shared a few times).
But, greater than all of those songs, there was "The First Time". I remember being so disappointed when I found out it wasn't the closer on Zooropa, mainly because I was so used to it closing the Best Of, and it was such an important closer to me. The way it made me feel at the end of an album full of a lot of songs of remorse, confusion and despair just topped things off in a way that impacted me in an emotional as well as religious sense. The last lines of that song left me with a lot of confusion about the singer of the song. Was it Bono who felt that way? What did he mean by throwing away the key? Is he lost? Will he be able to find his way back again? These thoughts would keep me awake at night, and in a way, I believe it's the U2 song I've spent the most time with, as far as thought process is concerned.
So, going into 2005, "The First Time" was my favorite U2 song (I had yet to hear The Unforgettable Fire, so TUF and ASOH had not surpassed it yet). For my 18th birthday, my father had purchased me tickets to my first U2 show, 9/20/2005. I was psyched, like the way I felt about the Best Of, I was new to this experience. I didn't follow set-lists, I didn't know what was normal behavior, I hadn't been to many concerts at all, so I expected greatest hits. That made what happened so much better. As many of you may already know, that was the night that U2 played "The First Time" in full for...the first time. I didn't expect it, hell, I'd come to realize it wasn't going to get played, because bands just don't play songs like that at shows, I thought. It moved me to tears, and then Bono did something unexpected. He changed the last line of the song. It gave me a lot more to think about, but it also gave me closure, it gave me peace.
So, there you are, the song still moves me in ways that are quite powerful to be able to say a song can move a person, and that has never changed. I may not feel that power come from every facet of U2's existence like I did in those glory years of 2001-2006, but they are still now and always be my favorite band. And that's because, I still choke up when I hear "The First Time", they still have that impact in my life. I'm still transported to 8th grade when I listen to Achtung Baby, I'm still reminded of all of my high school friends when I hear "Hawkmoon 269". They're just the literal soundtrack to my life. That can't change, can't ever change.
When I was 14 (all of my U2 stories seem to begin this way), my U2 fandom was at its peak, and for Christmas, I was given The Best of 1990-2000. This was awesome for a few reasons, not the least of which was that it was one of the first times I had been given exactly what I asked for for Christmas, but also because it ended up being quite the "U2 Christmas". Lots of little things, plus the Direct TV special which I watched at my dad's house more times than I'd like to admit. As I said, it was definitely the height of my fandom.
Anyways, I was very eager to hear the best of, because I was quite unfamiliar with their 90s output, save Achtung. I would lay in my bed at night with my CD player and listen to that album again and again, loving every minute of it. It's refreshing to think back on the fact that I didn't already know any of the songs, so I wasn't disappointed by the lack of this song, or the wasteland of remixes I now know it to be. Then, it was just U2, it was new, and it was amazing. "Gone", "Stay", "Electrical Storm", it was all mind-blowing and it just absolutely took me away to another place, and now, if I listen to it, it takes me back to that time. The same way listening to Achtung Baby takes me back to 8th grade, but that's another story (that I've already shared a few times).
But, greater than all of those songs, there was "The First Time". I remember being so disappointed when I found out it wasn't the closer on Zooropa, mainly because I was so used to it closing the Best Of, and it was such an important closer to me. The way it made me feel at the end of an album full of a lot of songs of remorse, confusion and despair just topped things off in a way that impacted me in an emotional as well as religious sense. The last lines of that song left me with a lot of confusion about the singer of the song. Was it Bono who felt that way? What did he mean by throwing away the key? Is he lost? Will he be able to find his way back again? These thoughts would keep me awake at night, and in a way, I believe it's the U2 song I've spent the most time with, as far as thought process is concerned.
So, going into 2005, "The First Time" was my favorite U2 song (I had yet to hear The Unforgettable Fire, so TUF and ASOH had not surpassed it yet). For my 18th birthday, my father had purchased me tickets to my first U2 show, 9/20/2005. I was psyched, like the way I felt about the Best Of, I was new to this experience. I didn't follow set-lists, I didn't know what was normal behavior, I hadn't been to many concerts at all, so I expected greatest hits. That made what happened so much better. As many of you may already know, that was the night that U2 played "The First Time" in full for...the first time. I didn't expect it, hell, I'd come to realize it wasn't going to get played, because bands just don't play songs like that at shows, I thought. It moved me to tears, and then Bono did something unexpected. He changed the last line of the song. It gave me a lot more to think about, but it also gave me closure, it gave me peace.
So, there you are, the song still moves me in ways that are quite powerful to be able to say a song can move a person, and that has never changed. I may not feel that power come from every facet of U2's existence like I did in those glory years of 2001-2006, but they are still now and always be my favorite band. And that's because, I still choke up when I hear "The First Time", they still have that impact in my life. I'm still transported to 8th grade when I listen to Achtung Baby, I'm still reminded of all of my high school friends when I hear "Hawkmoon 269". They're just the literal soundtrack to my life. That can't change, can't ever change.
. I'm seriously going to do it, for the record.
we agree on almost every level...
