On a serious note--FYI, my introduction to SOI was watching EBW acoustic at the Bambi's on YouTube. I was one of the people who stuck to nostalgia and wanted to first hear the album in a physical capacity, not from a phone. And then when the tix went onsale I made a vow not to listen to any of it until I knew I'd be going to at least 1 show...I still have not heard most of the album, I'm saving that for some quiet time after the holidays.
And let me tell you...coming from a complete SOI newbie....I may as well have been a casual fan. Hadn't heard any versions previous from 360 or online, even though I knew they were floating out there. I came to it stone cold.
I watched the band perform this glorious piece of music on a mere computer screen, and it gave me chills and utterly broke my heart. Right on the very first listen, it struck me with amazing force. Haven't felt this way about any U2 music in years. Imagine discovering it that way. I know a lot of you have been following the evolution of this song as it has developed since the early 360 live incarnations, but try to appreciate it from someone new. Just. Freaking. Broke. My. Heart. I still can't even properly describe what this song continues to do to me weeks later, and I remember what I felt hearing WOWY for the first time in 87....floating down from a 2nd-story dorm window.
If you go?
If you go your way and I go mine
Are we so?
Are we so helpless against the tide?
God in heaven, I just...can't..friggin'...get that *out of my head*, and I don't care about the Adele comparisons (I'm a big Adele fan too, BTW)....a great song is a great song, and this, like Springsteen's "Land of Hope and Dreams" (another recent live masterpeice) is timeless, classic, universal. All Bono would have to do is stand there and nail that last chorus over the string section, and mission accomplished...
I'd like to get my hopes up, but am playing it cautious and thinking it prob won't happen. Who knows.
And let me tell you...coming from a complete SOI newbie....I may as well have been a casual fan. Hadn't heard any versions previous from 360 or online, even though I knew they were floating out there. I came to it stone cold.
I watched the band perform this glorious piece of music on a mere computer screen, and it gave me chills and utterly broke my heart. Right on the very first listen, it struck me with amazing force. Haven't felt this way about any U2 music in years. Imagine discovering it that way. I know a lot of you have been following the evolution of this song as it has developed since the early 360 live incarnations, but try to appreciate it from someone new. Just. Freaking. Broke. My. Heart. I still can't even properly describe what this song continues to do to me weeks later, and I remember what I felt hearing WOWY for the first time in 87....floating down from a 2nd-story dorm window.
If you go?
If you go your way and I go mine
Are we so?
Are we so helpless against the tide?
God in heaven, I just...can't..friggin'...get that *out of my head*, and I don't care about the Adele comparisons (I'm a big Adele fan too, BTW)....a great song is a great song, and this, like Springsteen's "Land of Hope and Dreams" (another recent live masterpeice) is timeless, classic, universal. All Bono would have to do is stand there and nail that last chorus over the string section, and mission accomplished...
I'd like to get my hopes up, but am playing it cautious and thinking it prob won't happen. Who knows.