It was 1981, and I was almost 9 years old when Music Television (MTV) debuted on cable television. We were the test house in our neighborhood for cable tv, so I was one of the lucky ones who got to watch MTV from the beginning. Before MTV, there was just Friday Night Videos. But when MTV debuted its first apply named video Video Killed the RadioStar by the Buggles, my music life along with everyone else’s changed forever. We were now able to see all of our favorite bands sing and dance – and see how cute they were. Again to a pre-teen, what a band looked like was VERY important. You really got to know the bands. Videos were great, like watching mini movies. A great example of this was Madonna’s Papa Don’t Preach. This video had an entire storyline in just a few minutes. I wish MTV today was the MTV of the 1980s and actually played music videos.
This blog post is part of my A to Z April Challenge about ‘My Music’ – music I love from A to Z. Thanks for stopping by. I am also blogging the A to Z Challenge on my other blog On the Road with U2 about ‘My U2′ – what I love about U2 from A to Z.
I have been an avid U2 fan for 26 years. Some say obsessed, but I like to say passionate. I discovered U2 in March 1987 with the release of The Joshua Tree. I heard With or Without You and liked it. I realized U2 was the same group that sang that song Pride I had heard a few years prior. 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 boom box blaring I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For. By the time Rattle and Hum was released a year later, I had all of U2’s albums and had recorded all of their performances on television.
I have seen U2 75 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 have already written about my love for U2 drummer Larry Mullen and my favorite tours Elevation and 360.
A few years ago, I gathered all my journals since mid 1997 and began writing about my adventures on the U2 tours I have been on from ZooTv to 360. It is more than just the U2 concerts. It is about the people I meet, the places I see, and the experiences we share along the way. I have met so many amazing people by going on U2 tours. We still keep touch and meet up every few years on tour. My love for U2 has brought me to many great places. The best was Dublin, Ireland. I spent a summer in Dublin studying at Trinity College in 1998. U2 wasn’t playing a concert in Dublin, but I became interested in Ireland because U2 are from there. I went to Las Vegas, my second favorite city, two times because U2 played there on the Vertigo and 360 tours. I have been to Vegas three other times, but U2 playing there gave me a reason to go two more times. I had always wanted to go to Chicago and see a Cubs game at Wrigley Field, and U2 gave me the excuse to go. U2 opened their 360 North American tour with two shows at Soldier Field in Chicago. I went to both shows, and I finally got to Wrigley. And obviously my three month road trip on the 2011 US leg of the 360 tour brought me to many, many great American cities in 31 states (over 18,000 miles driven). Because of U2 I became a writer, met many great friends, traveled to many great cities, and have had more great experiences than I can count. It is safe to say that U2 has changed my life.
This blog post is part of my A to Z April Challenge about ‘My Music’ – music I love from A to Z. Thanks for stopping by. I am also blogging the A to Z Challenge on my other blog On the Road with U2 about ‘My U2′ – what I love about U2 from A to Z.
Toad the Wet Sprocket was my second favorite band in the 90s. They actually reminded me a lot of U2. They had that same passion and the guitar reminded me of Edge. I saw Toad several times in concert back then and then once a few years ago. I was a bit disappointed with that show a few years ago at Rams Head in Baltimore because they played all sorts of new songs that I didn’t know, leaving out most of the songs I love from their first three albums. But last year at Rams Head in Annapolis, Toad the Wet Sprocket played a fantastic show. They did play some new stuff, but they played my old favorites as well.
I went to Annapolis early and had dinner at Rams Head before the show, then sat in the lobby waiting for the 9pm show to start hoping the band would walk out – and they did. First the drummer came out and signed and took a picture with a fan, even though he said they weren’t supposed to until after the second show. Then Glen Phillips came out and spoke with friends, who were really fans I think, but they knew him. I took pictures, but didn’t feel it was the right setting to approach him. We were seated at 8:15pm. My seat was right on the stage, but on the side. It’s such an intimate venue. The tables are right up against the stage. The audience didn’t look like your typical concert-going crowd, but they were really into Toad and knew the songs – well the newer songs anyway.
Toad the Wet Sprocket took the stage around 9:15 and played for an hour and a half. They sounded even better than they did in the 90s. Glenn’s voice is just beautiful – and he still performs barefoot! I can’t give a complete set list because I don’t really know the songs after the first four albums, but they did play three of my favorite songs. So here is the set list according to the songs I knew: Fly From Heaven, Something’s Always Wrong, Good Intentions, Torn, I Will Not Take These Things For Granted, Come Back Down, Nightingale Song, All I Want, Fall Down, Come Down, Walk on the Ocean.
This blog post is part of my A to Z April Challenge about ‘My Music’ – music I love from A to Z. Thanks for stopping by. I am also blogging the A to Z Challenge on my other blog On the Road with U2 about ‘My U2′ – what I love about U2 from A to Z.
I first saw Soundgarden back in the early 90s at the Baltimore Arena when Superunknown was popular. Then I saw Chris Cornell solo at Rams Head in 2008. In 2010 at Lollapalooza, I saw Soundgarden in their first big show together over a decade. I went it as soon as the gates opened and got a spot on the front rail, but all the way to the left. I stood there in the hot Chicago sun all day watching a few other bands until Soundgarden finally took the stage. They played all their hits including my favorites ‘Fell On Black Days,’ ‘Black Hole Sun,’ and ‘Spoon Man.’ Chris Cornell was beautiful as ever. He walked through the crowd pleasing many fans!
A year later while in Philadelphia for the U2 360 Tour, I saw Soundgarden at Festival Pier (it was the day before the U2 show). I bought a fanclub GA, so we were let into the venue before the regular GA. We got to the front rail on the left, but closer than I was at Lollapalooza the year before because this was a smaller venue. Soundgarden took the stage at 8:45. They played my favorites Spoonman, My Wave, Fell on Black Days, Rusty Cage, and Black Hole Sun. They were great and seemed really excited that the Philly audience was so enthusiastic. Chris even said something like, ‘Finally a real crowd.’
Soundgarden Philly 7.13.11
This blog post is part of my A to Z April Challenge about ‘My Music’ – music I love from A to Z. Thanks for stopping by. I am also blogging the A to Z Challenge on my other blog On the Road with U2 about ‘My U2′ – what I love about U2 from A to Z.
I love Rockabilly! I think I have always loved it, but didn’t really learn about it until I moved to Memphis. I lived only a couple of miles from Sun Studio, where Rockabilly (and Rock n Roll) was born. Other than Elvis Presley, my favorite Rockabilly artists are Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Ray Smith, Charlie Rich, Billy Lee Riley, Sonny Burgess, Carl Perkins, Warren Smith, Buddy Holly, and Bill Haley. You haven’t heard of some of these folks, google them – you won’t be sorry. And if you haven’t heard of Sun Studio in Memphis, google that too. Sun is where Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and many others all got their start. In fact, on a cold December night back in 1956 all four of those soon to be big names gather together for an impromtu jam session that was later dubbed ‘The Million Dollar Quartet.’ Luckily the owner, Sam Phillips, had the good sense to record it, and it is available today on cd. If you are ever in Memphis, a visit to Sun Studio is a must! And if you like rockabilly as much as I do, then stop in the Rockabilly Hall of Fame in Jackson, TN – about an hour from Memphis. I’ve been fortunate to have seen Billy Lee Riley, Sonny Burgess and Jerry Lee Lewis perform live. Billy performed up until he died a couple of years ago and even in their 70s Jerry Lee Lewis and Sonny Burgess are still rocking.
This blog post is part of my A to Z April Challenge about ‘My Music’ – music I love from A to Z. Thanks for stopping by. I am also blogging the A to Z Challenge on my other blog On the Road with U2 about ‘My U2′ – what I love about U2 from A to Z.
I am not a subscriber of Q magazine or even a regular reader, but what else am I going to write about for a Q topic for this A to Z Challenge. I do buy Q when someone I like is featured – and that’s usually U2. It is quite a good music magazine. Over the years, they have had some great pictures of U2 on their cover. Here are just a few…
my favorite!
This blog post is part of my A to Z April Challenge about ‘My Music’ – music I love from A to Z. Thanks for stopping by. I am also blogging the A to Z Challenge on my other blog On the Road with U2 about ‘My U2′ – what I love about U2 from A to Z.
No I didn’t forget my theme for the A to Z challenge was music and not television. But Happy Days, my all-time favorite television show, has everything to do with my favorite music. I was watching Happy Days from as early as I can remember – four years old, maybe even three. It was where I first heard Splish Splash by Bobby Darin – of course Potsie was singing it. It was also where I first heard Elvis Presley – on the jukebox at Arnold’s. Although Potsie did sing All Shook Up, and Fonzie sang Heartbreak Hotel. Hmmm, I wonder if that’s why it is my favorite Elvis song? And one of my favorite episodes is when Joanie has a crush on Potsie after he sings Put Your Head on My Shoulder to her.I think when I was little, I wanted to be Joanie – and had a bit of a crush on Potsie. Because of Happy Days, I love 1950s music and Elvis and Bobby are two of my favorites.
This blog post is part of my A to Z April Challenge about ‘My Music’ – music I love from A to Z. Thanks for stopping by. I am also blogging the A to Z Challenge on my other blog On the Road with U2 about ‘My U2′ – what I love about U2 from A to Z.
