The 500 - #223 - War - U2

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by Los Angeles-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone Magazine's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

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Album: #223
Album Title: War
Artist: U2
Genre: Post Punk, Rock
Recorded: Windmill Lane Studios, Dublin, Ireland

Released: February, 1983
My age at release: 17
How familiar was I with it before this week: Very

Is it on the 2020 list? No
Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist: Sunday Bloody Sunday

Album cover for War, featuring Peter Rowan, the brother
of U2 singer Bono's friend Guggi.

Last week, I booked two plane tickets to England. My wife and I will arrive in Manchester and, after visiting my family, travel by train through Scotland. It will be my wife’s debut venture to her ancestral homeland, her mother being a Scot. Decades have passed since I was there, and we are looking forward to the trip with excited anticipation.

When I visited at age 12, I stayed for more than a month, touring plenty of locations throughout Britain. The adults in my world were generous with their time, energy and resources to make sure I saw the now-refurbished industrial centre of Manchester, the ancient city of York, the pastoral county of Kent, the seaside mecca of Blackpool in the northwest of England and, of course, London. The moorlands of the northern counties of Lancashire and Yorkshire offer locals and visitors alike with dramatic, ever-changing vistas as clouds billow above, casting shadows across the hills and dales below.

While visiting Manchester, I had my first encounter with "The Troubles" -- what has been described as an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland – that started in the 1960s. Tension was high in large English cities because of the unpredictable threat of guerrilla terrorism by the Irish Republican Army (IRA), a paramilitary group that sought the end of British control over Ulster (Northern Ireland) and unification with the independent Irish Republic to the south.

My mom and I were in a department store in downtown Manchester when shoppers were ordered to evacuate the building after a telephone bomb threat. It was all new to me and I didn't understand the urgency and alarm in my mother's tone as she hurried me out to the streets. My regret was having been hauled from the record department where I had been flipping through album covers.

Manchester in 1977.

Over the next few years, I became more politically aware. By the time I was 13, I had started watching the nightly news. My parents played CBC Radio religiously, including the evening news program As It Happens. Crucially, it was a time when I realized that music – classic and contemporary – held valuable lessons in history through protest songs. I didn't always understand the message behind some of those songs, but the passion and emotion were undeniable.

Journalists Barbara Frum and Alan Maitland, hosts of
As It Happens in the late 70s.

War, the third record from Irish post-punk rock band U2, was released in February, 1983. The lead single, New Year's Day, was issued a month earlier and was getting some airplay on London, Ontario, radio stations, mainly CHRW broadcasting from what is now known as Western University. I was a late convert to the band even though U2 concert shirts were popular at my high school and albums clearly displayed at local music shops. Frankly, I wasn’t convinced the Irish band was worth spending my hard-earned dollars on.

Album cover for the single release of New Year's Day.

That summer, in 1983, U2 released their first live album, the soundtrack to a  film taken of their 1983 American concert tour. Shot at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado, Under A Blood Red Sky elevated the band significantly in North America. Furthermore, the video of the protest song, Sunday Bloody Sunday, was clipped from the concert film. When it aired on television, I recorded it on the family VCR along with other rock videos. Ostensibly, I was crafting a mixed video cassette of songs, Saturday Night Live episodes and comedy bits. That summer, I probably watched that cassette 50 times.

The song, Sunday Bloody Sunday, relates to two events of sectarian violence between Catholics and Protestants that occurred in Ireland. The first was on Sunday, November 21, 1920, in Dublin during The Irish War of Independence. The tragedy began with an IRA assassination operation led by Michael Collins that killed 15 members and associates of the "Cairo Gang",  a group of undercover British Intelligence officers. In response, British forces raided a Gaelic football match, opening fire on spectators and players, killing or critically injuring an additional 15.

News Article about Bloody Sunday and Michael Collins.

The second event occurred on Sunday, January 30, 1972. Sometimes called The Bogside Massacre, British military forces shot 26 unarmed citizens during a protest march in the Bogside area of Derry, Ireland. The march, organized by the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association,  protested the imprisonment without trial for Irish dissidents. Later, two British tribunals cleared the soldiers of any wrongdoing, a contentious decision that is still considered a whitewashing of these tragic events.

Irish Times article following the events of Bloody Sunday, 1972.

In the early 1980s, before information on the internet was at my fingertips, it was the music of protest artists who helped me better understand history and my place in the world. In addition to U2, others were The Clash, Bruce Springsteen, Pink Floyd, Peter Gabriel, John Lennon and Elvis Costello. They sparked important conversations with my friends. We didn't get everything right. It was tough to fact check opinion in 1983. However, it is not surprising that so many of those artists occupy spots on The 500 list. War is one of five U2 records on the 2012 list and, even though "The Troubles" came to a shaky peace agreement in 1998, the themes on that record still resonate today -- particularly in light of the horrific events currently unfolding in Gaza and the still-fragile Irish pact. I thought about The Troubles a lot as I reflected on the impactful lyrics from Sunday Bloody Sunday.

"The trenches dug within our hearts,

And mothers, children, brothers sisters torn apart.

How long, how long must we sing this song?

How long?

How long?"

The 500 - #280 - All That You Can't Leave Behind - U2

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by Los Angeles-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone Magazine's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

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Album: #280

Album Title: All That You Can't Leave Behind

Artist: U2

Genre: Rock, Pop

Recorded: Four Dublin Studios, 1 in France

Released: October, 2000

My age at release: 35

How familiar was I with it before this week: Fairly

Is it on the 2020 list? No

Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist: Beautiful Day

I've always been a fan of professional wrestling. I was just quiet about it for most of my life. Understandably so. The idea of watching barely covered, gigantic men grapple, pummel, hurl and bloody each other in a fight, with a predetermined outcome, is leaving you open to derision from your chums.

In my defence, at the age of 10 I had no idea it was scripted. When I perused the racks of variety and department stores, the combatants shown in the glossy wrestling magazines seemed authentically bloodied.

Pro-wrestling exploded into the mainstream in the early 80s with the arrival of "Rock 'n Wrestling" and a cast of larger-than-life stars, including Hulk Hogan, Rowdy Roddy Piper, The Macho Man Randy Savage, and Andre The Giant. However, these manufactured heroes were paired with established musicians, athletes and actors, such as Cyndi Lauper, Mr. T., Muhammed Ali, Liberace, and Alice Cooper. By this time, I was a teenager and I'd "closeted" any interest in the "squared-circle" by cracking  jokes and pretending to be above the absurdity of this, so-called, "sport". Quietly, I was still watching, especially the annual Wrestlemania events.

Rock 'n Wrestling Era (l-r) Lauper, Ali, Liberace, Hogan
& Wendi Richter

As it did in the 1960s, following pro-wrestling's first golden age, the fighting spectacle’s popularity waned in the late 1980s. It continued to make money from a loyal fanbase, but the digitally-savvy and cynical audiences of the next decade were not amenable to steroid-fueled, cartoonish characters wearing ridiculous make-up and claiming implausible backstories.

The mid-90s grunge-crowd was unwilling to accept the premise that green-tongued, turnbuckle-biting George "The Animal" Steele was an unhinged wild-man. Internet technology provided legitimate information about these gladiators.  They knew that "George" (William James Myers) was a devout Christian, a former educator and amateur wrestler with a Master’s degree, who had found success in Vince McMahon's make-believe world. And the green tongue? A full pack of Clorets breath mints before the match.

George "The Animal" Steele

Forever adaptable, pro-wrestling changed once more just before the millennium and hit mainstream popularity again. This time, the gimmicks were gone -- or embraced, ironically. The World Wrestling Federation (WWF) had begun its "Attitude Era" and stars like Stone Cold Steve Austin, Mick Foley, Triple H and The Rock emerged as anti-heroes. In this new, bawdy incarnation, the wrestlers played amplified versions of their own personalities. Stone Cold Steve Austin (born Steven Anderson) played a brash, plain-spoken, beer-drinking Texan roughneck who suffered fools poorly. The Rock (Dwayne Johnson) was a fast-talking, charismatic egotist who referred to himself in the third person. These two personas were so engaging and loved by fans they could effortlessly move from hero (babyface) to villain (heel) without losing popularity or massive merchandise sales.

The Rock (l) and Stone Cold Steve Austin battle in one of
their many high profile matches.

It was around this time that I opened up about my life-long interest in wrestling. Raw is War, the weekly television program from the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), (soon to be renamed World Wrestling Entertainment - WWE) was wildly popular with my students. Furthermore, several of my friends, including Steve "Lumpy" Sullivan, Oscar "Porchee" Macedo and Claudio Sossi who have all guest blogged here, were openly celebrating their love too. In March, 2002, Lumpy secured front row tickets to the 18th incarnation of Wrestlemania, which was held at Toronto's Skydome and he generously invited me to attend. As a bonus, we even got to keep the folding chairs we sat in.

Pro-wrestling was now billed as "sports entertainment". Any illusion that the outcomes of matchups or that combatants were legitimately competing was gone. Many of the verbal exchanges were scripted, often being clever, funny and provocative. The scripts were penned  for mature audiences and the two-hour program was an envelope-pushing bawdy circus of  over-the-top pageantry, strongmen, comedy, beautiful girls, clowns and acrobats. Though the outcomes were still pre-determined, risks taken by the muscled fighters were genuine and, often, extraordinarily dangerous.

A Tables, Ladders and Chairs match at a WWF event

So, if you've made it this far, you are likely wondering what U2's tenth release, All That You Can't Leave Behind, has to do with the world of sweaty ring titans. Once again, the WWE partnered with contemporary musicians who gave permission for their songs to be paired with promotional segments. Popular bands, including Motorhead, Drowning Pool, Creed, and even my favourite group, Rush, had songs featured in segments on WWE programming.

Lemmy, of Motorhead, performing at a WWE event with
Triple H

In January, 2002, wrestler Triple H (Paul Levesque) was recovering from a devastating injury. Eight months earlier during a match, he had torn a quadricep muscle. It was the kind of physical trauma that could have easily been career-ending for the 32-year-old six foot, four -inch, 260-pound athlete.

Triple H being helped from the ring following his quadricep tear.

Instead, the headlining superstar went through an intense physical therapy program and, as Wrestlemania 18 approached, his return to the ring was heavily promoted. The real-world reality of a comeback triumph was blended into the scripted version. Hence, Triple H's honest battle to return to the ring gave a semblance of truth to the hero storyline that followed. The ensuing uplifting, promotional video available here, included the song, Beautiful Day, from this week's U2 record. Since that time, the expression “the Beautiful Day treatment” has become shorthand between Lumpy and me for any situation when a returning injured wrestler gets (or doesn’t get) a promotional push.

And so it happened, the eventual title match between Triple H and Canadian Chris Jericho took place in Toronto with Lumpy and I in the first row. From our seats we witnessed Jericho being thrown out of the ring and landing at our feet. If you pause the DVD at just the right moment, you can see us enjoying the bout.

This week’s feature song, Beautiful Day, didn't really need the promotional push from pro-wrestling. It had been released as a single 18 months before the championship bout and topped the charts in many countries. It marked a return for U2 to their original sounds which made them one of the most popular bands in the world during the late 80s and early 90s. 

Prior to the release of All That You Can't Leave Behind, U2 had released several records which experimented with different genres, including electronic dance, alternative rock and industrial music. For ATYCLB, the group returned to its roots, reuniting with producers Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, to make a record far more akin to their biggest releases, Achtung Baby and The Joshua Tree, which we will get to at #63 and #27...and I won't talk about wrestling.

The 500 - #417 - Boy - U2

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by Los Angeles-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

Album # 417

Album Title: Boy
Artist: U2
Genre: Post-Punk
Recorded: Windmill Lanes Studios - Dublin
Released: October, 1980
My age at release: 15
How familiar was I with it before this week: Fairly 
Song I am putting on my Spotify Mix: I Will Follow

This week, I am relinquishing the reins of my blog to my dear friend Steve "Lumpy" Sullivan. I've known "Lump" for over 25 years. I met him when he hired me as a bartender at Kelsey's Restaurant. However, it turns out that we had socialized in similar circles since high school and knew many of the same people -- so many people that it was surprising we hadn't already met. He has been a loyal reader of my blog posts and when I reached out to him to be a guest writer, he leapt at the opportunity to share his experiences with this record from U2. Lumpy is a generous, funny and loyal friend. And, despite his sometimes blustery exterior, there is a sweetness to him that isn't always accessible to strangers. However, I think you'll recognize it as you read his post...Enjoy.

Boy - Album Cover - by U2

When I was a teen in the early 80s, I started a job at Spooners Restaurant in London, Ontario. At that age, your music acumen is limited to songs played on popular radio and those played for you by friends. I was working with people older than I, and they were listening to music that was NOT on conventional radio stations. It was "underground music", much of it from a radio station I had not discovered, CHRW (now Radio Western), which broadcast from our local university.

The kitchen staff at Spooners were diverse and so were their tastes in music. Consequently, I was introduced to many genres of music including works by Peter Tosh, Judas Priest, Gang of Four, Joy Division, King Crimson and Big Country. I was also introduced to a band from Ireland named U2. The band's third record, War, was the first album I'd heard by the band. War was a cassette tape with which I was obsessed. I could play it all day, every day. In fact, I was finally banned from playing it in the Spooners' kitchen.

War cover - U2 #223 on The 500

A cook, Alex, and I were hanging out one night when he asked if I’d heard anything else by U2. I didn’t know there was anything else, but was excited by the prospect. He played the song An Cat Dubh/Into the Heart and I was blown away. These were two separate songs but, as I would learn, they are ALWAYS played together during rare live performances. Alex didn’t play the anthemic I Will Follow or the poppy The Electric Co. from this debut record. Instead, he wanted to see if I would listen to deeper cuts. I was hooked!

The Album

There is probably a reason this album, and the band, appealed to me at that time. The songs focused on developing from boyhood to manhood. I would later learn that darker themes and reasons were behind some. For example, I Will Follow was written about lead singer Bono’s Mother, who died when he was a teen. In fact, she died of an aneurysm four days after collapsing at her own father's funeral. The song is written from her perspective and centres on a mother’s unconditional love for her son.

An Cat Dubh/Into the Heart is two tales. The first An Cat Dubh (Gaelic for The Black Cat) is about a brief relationship Bono had while estranged from his girlfriend, now wife, of 38 years, Ali Hewson. The second, Into the Heart, is about the loss of innocence.

The Electric Co. is an abbreviation for “electric convulsion therapy", a controversial psychiatric treatment in which seizures are intentionally induced in patients to provide temporary relief from mental disorders. The band wrote this as a protest song in support of a friend who had received the treatment following a suicide attempt.

The Ocean is a one and half minute long song, attributed to Oscar Wilde’s novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, However, the band has said it also serves as a metaphor for the spirit of freewill and travel. In many ways it is a celebration of the lengthy, picturesque coastline that encircles their homeland.

A Day Without Me deals with the removal of someone from their habitual social circle. It also marks the first time the band worked with famed producer Steve Lillywhite, who would collaborate with them on the next two records War and October.

As I look back now, so many themes perfectly ‘hit home’ for a young man, especially losing innocence and growing into manhood.

Fast forward to 2020, Marc asked if I would guest post on his blog celebrating The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. He offered up the next four or five entries on the list, but it was this record, Boy, that immediately sparked my passion and evoked so many memories. I have listened to the music of U2 for decades and have been fortunate to see them live in concert on several occasions. I have even become disenchanted with them...only to be called back to their sound.

I put a lot of thought into choosing a song from this album for Marc's "The 500 Spotify Playlist". I'll admit, the choice was easy but, for personal reasons, emotionally challenging.

A Cat Dubh/Into the Heart opened my mind to this wonderful band, but I've always been my Mother's boy.

"A boy tries hard to be a man

His mother takes him by his hand

If he stops to think he starts to cry

Oh why..."

I Will Follow it is.

Steve "Lumpy" Sullivan & Marc at his Wedding
in Iqaluit, Nunavut (2012)

Next Up: Tom Waits Mule Variations

Influential Album Day 7

Day 7

This is the seventh post in a series of ten documenting the albums I consider influential. My first post, found here, provides some insight into the rationale behind this journey. The first album I selected was the Soundtrack to Oliver, which I discovered in 1973 at about age 8. My second choice can be found here and was The Cars Debut album. The third selection was All the World's A Stage from Canadian band Rush (found here). The fourth, Duran Duran's Rio is (here) and the firth, Pink Floyd's Wish you were Here is (here).

So far, I have been moving chronologically through my top 10 albums. I left off in 1985, with the release of Peter Gabriel’s So. 1985 is also important because it marks the arrival of Compact Discs into the mainstream market. Sure, they were officially available for purchase in 1982, but it wasn’t until 1985 that they became reasonably affordable. I spent $500 on my first player (which was portable and had a rechargeable case - with a 1 hour battery life).

I was an early adopter to this technology, so there were not many CD choices available. Many artists did not release their catalogue because they still had to figure out the financial implications. Few artists predicted this technological evolution - David Bowie did - his whole catalogue was released almost immediately. Go figure, the Starman was a forward thinker!

Between 1986 and 1991, I began collecting CD’s. I was attending university on a part-time basis, working nearly full-time and, for most of the time, living at home. Consequently, I had plenty of disposable income. This was also a time when the Columbia House Record Club began offering 10 CD’s for a penny (with the commitment to buy 4 more at regular prices).

Additionally, CD rental outlets at the University of Western Ontario and the Software Library began to make collections available. I would rent discs and make copies on tape. It was like Netflix for music to me. I was also buying discs - probably two a week. I immersed myself in music and had headphones on all the time. I went through phases - deep dives into the catalogues of so many artists - The Beatles, Queen, Dire Straits, or genres - blues, jazz, big band swing, southern rock...I even tried to explore opera.

I was tempted to put the compact disc logo up as my choice for pick #7. Then, I remembered Achtung Baby! - which I played almost daily for a whole year. It was when I lived in Brampton. I was working at East Side Mario’s in Oakville, and my girlfriend (now wife) was attending Sheridan College. It was the first time we had lived together. The lyrics were incredibly dark because they were written during a time when the guitar player, Edge, was going through a painful divorce. It was the perfect angsty stuff for a brooding twenty-something who was feeling out of step with the world. I had an English degree that was expensive and seemingly useless. In fact, I hung it on the wall of the bathroom as a sign of disdain. I was still a server/bartender at a terrible restaurant and, foolishly in retrospect, felt that I was old.

The drive from Brampton to Oakville was about 45 minutes and perfect for cranking that disc --- what a murderer's row of songs for that journey...

Zoo Station
Even Better than the Real Thing
One
Until the End of the World
Whose going to Ride your Wild Horses
So Cruel
The Fly
Mysterious Ways
Tryin' to throw your arms around the World
Ultraviolet
Acrobat
Love is Blindness

There are some who believe that The Joshua Tree was the best U2 record...but they are mistaken. Song for Song - I'll put Achtung Baby! up against it any day.

At first I thought my love for it was due to the awful funk I was in - the record spoke to me. I've revisited it and, I still think it is one of the great records of that decade.

Things got better for me soon after- A return to school and Teacher's College were around the corner for me - but, I didn't see that coming at the time, and I needed this bitter soundtrack.