Archive for Rattle and Hum

A to Z Blogging Challenge Recap

Posted in 'On the Road with U2', 360 (2009), 360 (2011), A to Z April Challenge, Albums, Bono, Concerts, Elevation, Larry Mullen, Popmart, Songs, Tours, U2, Vertigo, Videos, ZooTv with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 1, 2013 by DeenasDays

I love blogging the A to Z Blog Challenge - blogging everyday in April, except Sundays, on a specific theme. I loved doing it last year, and I enjoyed it even more this year. I think I enjoy the challenge so much because I am one who likes to to lists things, rank my favorites. This year’s theme, in case you missed it was ‘My U2 from A to Z’ – about what aspects of U2 that has influenced me. It was fun, and it seemed I may have introduced a few new U2 topics. Just in case you were away from the internet in April, the following is what I wrote about: Achtung Baby, Bono, Can’t Help Falling in Love, Drums, Elevation Tour, First U2 Show, Get on Your Boots, Hallelujah Here She Comes and all B Sides from R & H and JT, I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For, Joshua Tree, Kentucky Lexington Elevation 5.4.01, Larry Mullen Jr, Memphis Mullen, No Line on the Horizon, October, Popmart, Quest Field Seattle 360, Rattle and Hum, Storm Electrical, Three-Sixty (360) Tour, Unforgettable Fire, Vertigo Tour, War, X-Factor Fake U2 Audition, Yahwey, and ZooTv.

Larry hugging me

Larry hugging me

I also blogged the A to Z Challenge on my other blog Deena’s Days about ‘My Music’ – music I love from A to Z. I am not sure what I am going to write about U2 now since the new album and tour won’t be for several months, so if you have any suggestions please let me know.

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Rattle and Hum – my U2 A to Z

Posted in A to Z April Challenge, Albums, U2 with tags , , , on April 20, 2013 by DeenasDays

Almost 25 years ago, on November 4, 1988, exactly one month after my 16th birthday, I piled a bunch of my friends into my GMC Jimmy and drove to the movie theater to see the premiere of Rattle and Hum. People were dancing in the aisles. It was almost like being at a concert, not that I knew what a concert was actually like. Unfortunately, I was not allowed to go to concerts in high school, so I missed The Joshua Tree tour. Rattle and Hum the movie was my Joshua Tree tour. As if seeing U2 perform in concert wasn’t exciting enough, Rattle and Hum also showed me U2 recording in Sun Studio and touring Elvis Presley’s Graceland. Talk about my worlds colliding.

Rattle and Hum
Nov 4, 1988

I loved Rattle and Hum the album almost as much as The Joshua Tree. To me it was just an extension of it, sort of a Joshua Tree part 2. My favorites off of Rattle and Hum were and still are Heartland, Love Rescue Me, Angel of Harlem, and b-sides Hallelujah Here She Comes and A Room at the Heartbreak Hotel. I have never heard Heartland performed live, but I asked Bono about it once on the ZooTv tour. He agreed it was a great song, but skirted the question of ever playing it live. I was lucky enough to hear Love Rescue Me, or at least part of it, last summer at the 360 show in Salt Lake City in honor of Bob Dylan’s birthday.

I don’t think I can truly express how special Rattle and Hum is to me, and how crucial it was in growing my love for U2 – in my musical journey.

This blog post is part of my A to Z April Challenge about ‘My U2′ – what I love about U2 from A to Z. Thanks for stopping by. I am also blogging the A to Z Challenge on my other blog Deena’s Days about ‘My Music’ – music I love from A to Z.

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Hallelujah Here She Comes and all b-sides from R&H and JT – my U2 A to Z

Posted in A to Z April Challenge, Songs, U2 with tags , , , , on April 9, 2013 by DeenasDays

bsides

Some of my favorite U2 songs are the ones that didn’t make it onto their albums – the B Sides, especially the B-Sides from The Joshua Tree and Rattle and Hum. My favorites are Luminous Times, Walk to the Water, Spanish Eyes, Deep in the Heart, Sweetest Thing, A Room at the Heartbreak Hotel, and Hallelujah Here She Comes. Luminous Times is actually my second favorite U2 song ever. This song gives me chills every time I hear it, even though I have listened to it over and over again the past 26 years. The lyrics are so passionate and the way Bono sings them is so heart wrenching. I absolutely love it! My favorite part of Luminous Times, the part that really gets to me is, “I love you ‘cause I need to, not because I need you. I love you ‘cause I understand that God has given me your hand. He holds me in a tiny fist, and still I need your kiss. Hold on to love.” U2 has never played Luminous Times in concert. When I met Bono in 1992 on the ZooTv tour, I told him how much I loved Luminous Times and asked if they would ever play it in concert. Bono answered me by saying they were thinking of putting out a b-sides album. (Huh? That’s not what I asked.) Then before the 360 tour began in2009, Edge mentioned that they were thinking of playing some b-sides that they had never played before like Luminous Times - but unfortunately that did not happen.

 

This blog post is part of my A to Z April Challenge about ‘My U2′ – what I love about U2 from A to Z. Thanks for stopping by. I am also blogging the A to Z Challenge on my other blog Deena’s Days about ‘My Music’ – music I love from A to Z.

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Happy 24th Anniversary Rattle and Hum – Nov 4, 1988

Posted in Albums, U2 with tags , , on November 4, 2012 by DeenasDays

Twenty-four years ago today on November 4, 1988, exactly one month after my 16th birthday, I piled a bunch of my friends into my GMC Jimmy and drove to the movie theater to see the premiere of Rattle and Hum. People were dancing in the aisles. It was almost like being at a concert, not that I knew what a concert was actually like. Unfortunately, I was not allowed to go to concerts in high school, so I missed The Joshua Tree tour. Rattle and Hum was my Joshua Tree tour. As if seeing U2 perform in concert wasn’t exciting enough, Rattle and Hum also showed me U2 recording in Sun Studio and touring Elvis Presley’s Graceland. Talk about my worlds colliding.

Rattle and Hum
Nov 4, 1988

I loved Rattle and Hum almost as much as The Joshua Tree. To me it was just an extension of it, sort of a Joshua Tree part 2. My favorites off of Rattle and Hum were and still are Heartland, Love Rescue Me, Angel of Harlem, and b-sides Hallelujah Here She Comes and A Room at the Heartbreak Hotel. I have never heard Heartland performed live, but I asked Bono about it once on the ZooTv tour. He agreed it was a great song, but skirted the question of ever playing it live. I was lucky enough to hear Love Rescue Me, or at least part of it, last summer at the 360 show in Salt Lake City in honor of Bob Dylan’s birthday.

I don’t think I can truly express how special Rattle and Hum is to me, and how crucial it was in growing my love for U2 – in my musical journey.

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Heartland – my spiritual journey with U2

Posted in my spiritual journey with U2, Songs, U2 with tags , , , , , on June 3, 2012 by DeenasDays

My fifth favorite U2 song is Heartland. To me this song is about Memphis, my favorite city. I always think about the scene from Rattle and Hum when Edge and Bono are on the hill overlooking the Mississippi River and then U2 tour Graceland while Heartland is playing in the background.

 

The chorus of Heartland is spiritual – “In this heartland heaven knows. This is a heartland. Heartland, our heartland.” This place is so beautiful, it must be what heaven is like. Memphis is beautiful, not necessarily physically beautiful all the time, but the feel of the city and its music history is heavenly to me. The lyric in Heartland “Through the ghostranch hills” refers to a spiritual place in New Mexico where many religious conferences take place.

See the sunrise over her skin
Don’t change it.
See the sunrise over her skin
Dawn changes everything, everything.
And the delta sun
Burns bright and violent.
Mississippi and the cotton wool heat
Sixty-six – a highway speaks
Of deserts dry
Of cool green valleys
Gold and silver veins
All the shining cities
In this heartland
Heaven knows
This is a heartland.
Heartland, our heartland.
See the sunrise over her skin
She feels like water in my hand
Freeway, like a river
Cuts through this land
Into the side of love
Like a burning spear
And the poison rain
Like dirty tears
Through the ghostranch hills
Death Valley waters
In the towers of steel
Belief goes on and on
In this heartland
Heaven knows
This is a heartland.

 

 

Now that I’ve written about my five favorite U2 songs in relation to theology, next I will go through each U2 album chronologically backwards starting with No Line on the Horizon and discuss U2′s most religious songs.

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V is for Van Diemen’s Land

Posted in A to Z April Challenge, Songs with tags , , , , , on April 25, 2012 by DeenasDays

My favorite U2 song that begins with V is Van Diemen’s Land. Not that Van Diemen’s Land is a favorite of mine, but I like it better than Vertigo – and they are the only two U2 songs that begin with V. But Van Diemen’s Land is off of my second favorite U2 album Rattle and Hum, which I really consider The Joshua Tree part 2 so it is kind of also my favorite album. It reminds me of the beginning of Rattle and Hum the band is walking along the docks. Van Diemen’s Land also holds a special place in my heart because I heard Edge sing it in celebration of his birthday at the rehearsal concert for the Zoo Tv tour at Hershey Park in 1992.

Hold me now, oh hold me now
Till this hour has gone around
And I gone, on the rising tide
For to face Van Diemen’s land.
It’s a bitter pill I swallow here
To be rent from one so dear.
We fought for justice and not for gain
But the magistrate sent me away.
Now kings will rule and the poor will toil
And tear their hands as they tear the soil
But a day will come in this dawning age
When an honest man sees an honest wage.
Hold me now, oh hold me now
Till this hour has gone around
And I’m gone on the rising tide
For to face Van Diemen’s Land.

 

What is your favorite U2 song that begins with V?

This blog post is part of my A to Z April Challenge – my 26 favorite U2 songs. Thanks for stopping by. I am also blogging the A to Z Challenge on my other blog DeenasDays.

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H is for Heartland

Posted in A to Z April Challenge, Songs with tags , , , on April 9, 2012 by DeenasDays

My favorite U2 song that begins with H is Heartland. In fact, Heartland is one of my top five favorite U2 songs. I love it because it’s about Memphis. My worlds colliding – my favorite group singing about my favorite city. Heartland is also a favorite because it brings me back to Rattle and Hum when Larry is talking about Elvis and U2 are touring Graceland – Heartland is playing. And I think about that every time I hear Heartland.

See the sunrise over her skin
Don’t change it.
See the sunrise over her skin
Dawn changes everything, everything.
And the delta sun
Burns bright and violent.
Mississippi and the cotton wool heat
Sixty-six – a highway speaks
Of deserts dry
Of cool green valleys
Gold and silver veins
All the shining cities
In this heartland
In this heartland
In this heartland.
Heaven knows
This is a heartland.
Heartland, our heartland.
See the sunrise over her skin
She feels like water in my hand
Freeway, like a river
Cuts through this land
Into the side of love
Like a burning spear
And the poison rain
Like dirty tears
Through the ghostranch hills
Death Valley waters
In the towers of steel
Belief goes on and on
In this heartland
In this heartland
In this heartland
Heaven knows
This is a heartland.

What is your favorite U2 song that begins with H?

This blog post is part of my A to Z April Challenge – my 26 favorite U2 songs. Thanks for stopping by. I am also blogging the A to Z Challenge on my other blog DeenasDays.

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My passion for U2 started 24 years ago

Posted in 'On the Road with U2', Albums, U2, Videos with tags , , , , , on December 6, 2010 by DeenasDays

my first U2 poster

I have been an avid U2 fan for 24 years. Some say obsessed, but I like to say passionate. I have seen U2 59 times in concert and met each member at least once. I have every album, most of the singles and videos and many bootlegs. My favorite U2 songs are I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For, Luminous Times, Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses, Gone, and Heartland. My favorite U2 albums are The Joshua Tree, Rattle and Hum, Achtung Baby, All That You Can’t Leave Behind, and Pop. My favorite U2 videos are I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For, Electrical Storm, Numb, Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses and Walk On (international version).

I discovered U2 in March 1987 with the release of The Joshua Tree. I heard With or Without You and liked it and realized U2 was the same group that sang that song Pride I had heard. It was my freshman year of high school, and I noticed a picture of U2 that a classmate had. Larry stood out right away as the attractive one and someone whose pictures would soon decorate my locker. I immediately bought The Joshua Tree. That summer, I remember walking along the beach in Ocean City, Maryland with my big boom box blaring I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For. Other favorites of mine off The Joshua Tree were and still are Red Hill Mining Town, Running to Stand Still, In God’s Country, Trip Through Your Wires and b-sides Luminous Times and Walk to the Water.

By the time Rattle and Hum came out, I had all of U2’s albums and recorded all of their appearances on television. I loved Rattle and Hum almost as much as The Joshua Tree. To me it was just an extension of it, sort of a Joshua Tree part 2. My favorites off of Rattle and Hum were and still are Heartland, Love Rescue Me, Angel of Harlem, and b-sides Hallelujah Here She Comes and A Room at the Heartbreak Hotel. But more than a great album, Rattle and Hum was also a movie about U2’s travels across America on their Joshua Tree tour.

On November 4, 1988, exactly one month after my 16th birthday, I piled a bunch of my friends into my GMC Jimmy and went to the movie theatre to see the premiere of Rattle and Hum. People were dancing in the aisles. It was almost like being at a concert, not that I would know. Unfortunately, I was not allowed to go to concerts in high school, so I missed The Joshua Tree tour. I had to wait a five long years to see U2 in concert.

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Preview U2011

Posted in 'On the Road with U2', 360 (2011), U2 with tags , , , , , on December 5, 2010 by DeenasDays

I have started a new blog to coincide with U2′s Us tour next summer and with writing my memoir tentatively called ‘On the Road With U2.’ I still have my Deena’s Days blog and will continue to write about my non-U2 related activities there. I just wanted to put out a preview of what my new u2 blog will consist of.

Starting in January, I will be writing about past tours I have attended and my adventures while on the road with u2. In January, I will write about the 8 shows I attended on the ZooTv tour and the 8 shows I attended on Popmart. In February, I will write about the 27 shows I attended on the Elevation tour. In March, I will write about the 8 shows I attended on the Vertigo tour and the 8 shows I attended on the 360 tour in 2009. In April, I will preview my 2 1/2 month cross country roadtrip with my dogs Elvis and Cilla this summer to every US U2 show – and whatever other U2 topics come up.

Beginning May 16, I will be blogging and video-ing from the road. Telling all the stories of our adventures along the way – all the sites we visit and all 16 US U2 shows. I will also be reporting on the U2 shows for u2tourfans.com

For now, some of my U2 favorites:

Band Member – Larry Mullen Jr

Song – I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For

Album – The Joshua Tree

Tour – Elevation

Concert – Elevation Providence October 31, 2001 (Larry’s 40th birthday)

 

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