No Line on the Horizon

I had so much fun blogging through my first listen to the Counting Crows' latest album, I thought I would start a tradition. In fact, given the amount of time I have for blogging lately, I might only blog when new albums come out.

So here are my thoughts during my first listen to U2's new release, No Line on the Horizon. I am reading through the lyrics in the CD booklet as I go.

On to the music:

"No Line on the Horizon"

From the very first song, this already feels more like Pop and less like All That You Can't Leave Behind. In my opinion, it would be a good thing if this trend continues. Bono's vocals sound very raw, which is a quality I enjoy in his voice. I like when it has that "roughed-up" quality, like he just got done traveling the world speaking about the plight of the world's underprivileged.

I like the chord progression of this song, as well - not obvious in any way.

"Magnificent"

"From the womb my first cry, it was a joyful noise...Only love, only love can leave such a mark"

Not much else to say about this song....not that it's bad. Just nothing to say. By the way, will.i.am played keys on this song.

"Moment of Surrender"

I love how much space they are leaving for instrumental sections on this album so far....great bass riff by Adam Clayton. Bono's entrance in this song is fantastic...the yearning in his voice harkens back to early U2. I'm reminded of "In the name of love, what more in the name of love?"

Another great instrumental section. The Edge's guitar solo has the same yearning as Bono's voice...just beautiful. This might already be my favorite song on the album.

"I was speeding on the subway through the stations of the cross"

7 minutes long and it could have been longer.

"Unknown Caller"

The opening to this song follows "Moment of Surrender" perfectly...like a space created to reflect on what was just expressed. Love when the drums first enter.

It's fascinating to hear the difference between the Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois produced sound of "Moment" contrasted with the Steve Lillywhite produced sound of this song. Lillywhite's songs always have a raw tone to them (in a good way), while Eno and Lanois give their music a more etherial sound. Both styles are great...just noticeably different.

Not sure I love the horns in this song, but I'm still loving all the instrumental sections in these songs. With all due respect to Bono's vocals, of course.

"I'll Go Crazy if I Don't Go Crazy Tonight"

The album is slowly sounding more like All That You Can't Leave Behind with every song. I'm not totally digging this song right now. It's catchy, though. Good radio song, I guess.

Again, will.i.am on keys? Why? Is he that good at playing keyboard or did he just come to visit U2 at the right time?

"The right to appear ridiculous is something I hold dear." Yes, Bono, we know.

There's a great little note amongst the keyboard sounds near the end. It's almost got a middle eastern sound to it. Not sure why it caught my ear.

"Get On Your Boots"

Okay, saw them perform this song on the Grammys. I loved it - back to sounding more like Pop, or maybe "Vertigo." In the same way I love all the instrumental parts on this album, I also love when Bono gets a chance to go off. So many lyrics packed in here:

"Here's where we gotta be/Love and community/Laughter is eternity/If joy is real/You don't know how beautiful you are"

The "let me in the sound part" caught me off guard, which was nice. Loved the Edge's guitar part in this song.

"Stand Up Comedy"

This song will be great live. Not my favorite song on the album so far, but I might just generally be against songs with the phrase "stand up" in them after DMB's last studio album.

"FEZ - Being Born"

Vintage Eno and Lanois here. Depending on what happens after this, this might be a perfect interlude in the middle of the album.

I've also noticed that they are doing a lot more with harmonizing voices in this album. I'm not convinced that I like it. In a way, it hides Bono's voice a little too much for me.

"White as Snow"

Love the piano at the beginning.

Are they ripping off a Christmas carol here? The melody to "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" is definitely in there. That had to be intentional...it's so obvious. But why? It's kind of distracting.

"Breathe"

More great drums - kudos to Larry Mullen Jr. for his work on this album. And again, you can tell it's Lillywhite.

Saw this on David Letterman last night and really enjoyed it. Just a great rock song. Love the melody in the chorus. Could be a good radio song...

Fantastic lyrics:

"16th of June, Chinese stocks are going up/ And I'm coming down with some new Asian virus/Ju Ju man, Ju Ju man/Doc says you're fine, or dying/Please"

"I found grace inside a sound/I found grace, it's all that I found"

"Cedars of Lebanon"

Best lyric on the album...by far. Can't pick one individual lyric out to quote, because they truly need to be read together.

I just loved this song. Couldn't blog while it was playing, because I just had to listen to it. This might have just beat out "Moment of Surrender" for my favorite song so far. I'm going to have to listen to this one again.

21st Amendment

Today is the 75th Anniversary of the ratification of the 21st Amendment. Although not always as celebrated as other important amendments, such as the 1st (freedom of speech, religion, etc.) or the 7th (right to trial by jury) or the 19th (women's suffrage), the 21st Amendment was an extremely important turning point in our nation's history.

The 21st Amendment was the first and only Amendment to repeal a former Amendment, stripping the Constitution of the 18th Amendment, which read as follows:

"the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited."

So today I raise a glass to celebrate the 21st Amendment, which restored to all of America the right to enjoy intoxicating beverages.

Belmont Debate '08

Just a quick note to mention that tonight's presidential debate will take place at my alma mater, Belmont University. The University has a website designated to the debate here. I must say that I always enjoy the "town-hall" style debate a little more than the others, so I'm excited that Belmont was chosen for this debate.

It's also great to see Belmont getting some national recognition for something other than churning out country music stars (Brad Paisley, Trisha Yearwood, and others attended Belmont) and hosting the Country Music Awards ceremony. The ties with country music bring a lot of money into the university, and there's certainly nothing wrong with that. At the same time, though, it can distract from other great aspects of the university - first rate educational programs, high-quality symposiums and guest speakers (e.g. David McCullough is coming in March), and great faculty who know that teaching is more than just giving lectures.

Anyway, enough reminiscing. Watch the debate, people...McCain is going to "take the gloves off." Oooo, I bet Obama is scared.

Person who ought to be fired...

Howard Bryant.

This guy is the only guy at ESPN to pick the Brewers over the Phillies. That's one thing. He then goes on to pick the Brewers over the Cubs in the NLCS and predicts that the Brewers will take the Red Sox to 6 games in the World Series!!?!?

I have hopes for the Brewers, too, but come on...

"we're with AIG"

Don't know why, but I remembered this commercial last night and could not get over the irony. I would say the worry this child expressed was justified...

Massachusetts - Day 8 or Mayflowers bring Pilgrims

On our way back to Boston, we stopped at Plimoth Plantation, which contains re-creations of the 17th-century English village of Plimoth (early spelling of Plymouth), a typical Wampanoag village from the time when the English first settled in Massachusetts, and the Mayflower. At each location, there were role-players who answered questions while staying in character and demonstrated typical tasks and games from the time period.

In the same way that Day 3's visit to Freedom Trail made me feel patriotic, the visit to Plimoth Plantation was a stark reminder of the darker side of our nation's history. As we celebrate freedom on July 4, it's worth keeping in mind that European settlers and, at times, the U.S. government, took freedom from many Native Americans in order to secure their own.

Well, this is basically the end of our journey. It was a very relaxing and beautiful vacation and obviously, we wish it didn't have to end. Enjoy the last set of pics!

Massachusetts - Day 7 or Moby Dick

Whale Watching was, in a word, awesome. We saw several species of whale, including the Humpback Whale and the Finback Whale - the tour guide estimated that we saw more than 30 individual whales. The tour guide was incredibly informative and the tour itself is very ecologically friendly - the boat does not use propellers to avoid hurting the animals and when we found a whale that was tangled in some netting, they contacted a local group that detangles whales (which is very dangerous work).

I've posted a few videos of some of the action we caught (videos made from our camera), but these videos don't even begin to do it justice. It was very hard to capture the whales' activity, because they would rise to the surface so quickly and then disappear back into the water. In addition, the camera fails to capture the enormous size of these creatures. We ordered a DVD of our trip that was filmed by professionals, so perhaps I'll post some pieces of the DVD when we get it.





After the whale watch, we hurried back to enjoy the beach for a while. It was cloudy, so it wasn't perfect beach weather, but at least it wasn't raining.

We ended our day at one of the best restaurants we have ever experienced. Peddler's Cafe & Grill (a.k.a. Peddler's Bistro) is a French restaurant tucked away off the main road, so the only way I found it was through TripAdvisor.com (which will be a crucial part of every trip we plan from here on out). It is a quaint little house that was decorated for the romantic in everyone (roses and candles). We shared a great bottle of Merlot, some delicious seafood (scallops and Paella), and Peach Melba for dessert. Not sure why this place wasn't packed, but by the end of the night, Leah and I were the only people in the restaurant. It was a very romantic way to spend our last night on the Cape.

Today we head back to Boston and hope to use the passes from Day 4 to see Plimoth Plantation. We might make some other stops along the way.

Enjoy the pics!