No Line on the Horizon

So I got the new U2 album "No Line on the Horizon" today. Finally. I've been waiting for it to come out for 4 years now. My original plan was to buy it when I go to Ireland, because U2 is an Irish band. But last month, I was on iTunes, and I saw that if you buy the album on iTunes, you get a bonus song, and if you pre-order it, you get ANOTHER bonus song. So I did. I'll get other cool stuff in Ireland, don't you worry.

I listened to the whole thing tonight. I'm on my second run through it right now. My initial thoughts: it's good. It's not great, not yet. But so far it's been worth the wait. And like anything else, the more I listen to something, the more I like it, usually. And their last album, "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb", is my favorite U2 album so far, so it would be unfair for me to hold this CD to those standards. So yeah, I guess I'll go through the songs real quick.

No Line On The Horizon: This song felt weird when it started, but I loved it by the time it was over. It's VERY different from "Vertigo" and "Beautiful Day" in terms of opening-album-songs. It sounds sort of like "Ultra Violet (Baby Light My Way)", but it also reminds me of "Until the End of the World" and "Elevation". It's bit out there, but I like it. Bono sounds fantastic for almost all of it.

Magnificent: Adam Clayton started this song out so cool, but when the rest of the band came in, it just wasn't as good. I'd heard a lot of hype about this song, and I don't really get it. I mean, it's ok. It's not like it's bad, it was just a bit disappointing. Oh well. It sounded like U2's earlier stuff. It would've fit in perfectly on their "October" album.

Moment Of Surrender: Dude, this song is awesome. It's 7 and a half minutes long and there's an organ. But it's not like a typical U2 song- it's sort of funky. Kind of bluesy. The Edge has a pretty cool little solo, but my favorite part is the vocals. I'll be listening to this song a lot, methinks.

Unknown Caller: I didn't like this song much. It was boring at first, then it just got annoying. The vocals are obnoxious. It's like monotone chanting. And the lyrics are pretty geeky. "Restart and reboot yourself"..."Password, you, enter here, right now"...um, no. Sorry. Try again.

I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight: This is one of my least favorite song titles on the whole album. But the song itself is actually quite good. It's...fun. It sounds happy. I like it. I don't really know why. I like the melody. Some of the lyrics are cool, too: "The right to appear ridiculous is something I hold dear." Watch videos of Bono in the 1990's- you'll know what he's talking about. Jeez.

Get On Your Boots: This was the first single released prior to the CD. I got it when I pre-ordered the album, so I've been listening to it for about a month now. And it's cool. It's definately a different sound for U2. It has one of my favorite bass lines ever. Adam was a bear on this. And the lyrics are really good too. I think it's mostly about terrorism and war: "Night is falling everywhere/rockets at the fun fair/Satan loves a bomb scare/but he won't scare you." I like that. This song probably sounds epic live.

Stand Up Comedy: About 18 seconds into this song, I wanted to punch Bono in the face. Then I got used to it. I never liked it. But I got used to it. I bet I'll like it a bit more later. But for now, it's just dumb.

Fez - Being Born: This song makes no sense. The title doesn't make sense. The lyrics don't make sense. The melody doesn't make sense. But it's not bad. One cool thing is that they incorporate the "Let me in the sound" snippet from "Get On Your Boots" at the beginning. This is not a bad song. I like it. I just don't understand it at all. But that's ok.

White As Snow: For some reason, I pictured this song being similar to the Jon Foreman song of the same name. But it's not. I didn't pay too much attention to the lyrics the first time I listened to this, because I couldn't stop focusing on the guitar. The Edge was intoxicating on this one. They did the thing where they start with just vocals and guitar, and add the drums and bass later. I need to pay more attention to the rest of this song though. I'm sure it's not too bad.

Breathe: This song was one of the coolest songs U2 has ever done. Oh my God. I can't get over it. I'm sure a lot of people hate it, but I love it. Larry Mullen starts out with this sweet rolling drumline, then the Edge and Adam come in with these awesome descending riffs while there's a little piano part in the background. Bono is essentially rapping during the verses, but he pulls it off. Rapping isn't always bad, but in most cases the lyrics are ridiculously awful. I don't really have a problem with rap if it's done right, but I hate the whole hip-hop gangsta thing. Ew. But here they're awesome. And he does sing for the chorus. So that's fine. There is nothing wrong with this song in my eyes. Or ears. Well, wait. At the 3:20 mark, there's a distorted guitar or bass, I can't tell which, that sounds like a dentist is drilling my teeth. It's annoying and uncomfortable, but it works. Then the Edge comes in on his normal guitar, and it displaces it. So yeah. This is one of my favorite songs on the album. It might by my absolute favorite, now that I think about it. I'd kill to see it live.

Cedars Of Lebanon: "No Line On The Horizon" opened strangely, and it ended even stranger. At times, it felt like "Wake Up Dead Man". But the song is not addresse to God. And it's not as sad or mad. It seems...bored. Lazy, apathetic. I'm not sure. Bono's like talking during it. It's more like poetry. It's abstract and eerie. It doesn't seem to be about anything, but it makes you uneasy. The weirdest thing about it is how it ends: it just ends! Bono sings/says the last word, and the song is over like 2 seconds later. There is absolutely no resolution at all. I was shocked. I have no clue what to make of this song.

Man, this was long. But you guys should be used to that from me. I ramble. I write like I talk, and this blog was basically me getting my thoughts out for my benefit.

This is not a bad album. It's not as good as U2's "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb", "The Joshua Tree", or "All That You Can't Leave Behind", but I enjoyed it better than "Boy" or "Pop". Comparing it's sound and style to another U2 album is hard, but I'd have to say it is sort of like "Achtung Baby" or "Zooropa". That's my initial impression, at least.

I like this album because I don't understand it at all. That's rare. Usually when an album comes out, you love it or you hate it, and you can always tell people why. But this album confuses me, and I like that. It makes it interesting. There are songs that I love on this album, and there are songs that I can't stand on it, and there are songs that I just scratch my head at. But overall, this was a good album. I like it.

Don't do drugs.