Under a blood-red sky [009]

Stuck in my head: "New Year's Day"
U2
War

~^v*v^~
I will fight anyone about U2, but not necessarily on the same front.

I think Achtung Baby was U2's co-magnum opus, alongside The Joshua Tree. I have a soft spot in my heart for bands that make something brilliant, redefine themseves, and make something brilliant again (Pink Floyd falls into this category twice with Wish You Were Here and The Final Cut, though the latter is often referred to as a sort-of Roger Waters solo record rather than a Pink Floyd record). Many would argue that U2's "good" period ends with The Joshua Tree, and there is something to be said about how the piss-and-vinegar, fire and pain of youth leads to an act's best work; however, the collective point of Achtung Baby, Zooropa, and Pop, is for the band to make fun of their younger selves as they were aging.

I can't speak for any record past 2000, though - Boner lost me at "Uno, dos, tres, catorce".

Still... maybe I've been too hard on Boner. As I get older, I like to hope I still have some pretty good songwriting in front of me rather than behind me.

~^v*v^~
I still haven't managed to get studio time in with B-Man. The timing just hasn't worked out. We're still trying to get things down on tape, but as it stands, we're still waiting through holidays and omicron and any other number of happenings. Bummer.

I've definitely been feeling the itch, lately, though mostly for a sense of community. It's no secret that I pressed the group a long time because I knew all the things a young band could achieve were eminently possible - an old girlfriend of mine used to say that I could move a mountain if I really wanted to. Underneath the push was the desire to believe that everyone else around me felt the same, that moving heaven and earth was possible if we wanted it... but sometimes, that just wasn't the case. B-Man once told me that every band operates that way: "Nobody wants to do anything until it comes time to sign the deals, then all of a sudden everyone wants credit for an equal share of the work."

Really, I should have moved to L.A. a long time ago. At least the food would have been better down there.

When I started playing, it was because I loved music, and I wanted to do something that would allow me to be with my friends. Maybe some former bandmates would disagree, but I really did want to get to know everyone, to be their friend, but I suppose not everyone is wont to like you. That fact bums me out... really.

My doctor says I have trouble setting boundaries... I'm working on it. Ms. Clarke (no, that isn't her real name) would be happy to hear me say that out loud.

When lockdowns began, I was more than willing to shut it down and take a badly needed break. I'm not going to get into specifics about the last handful of folks I played with, but I will give credit to Mr. Eye, with whom I only managed two jams before covid forced the world inside. The guy is super cool and over the last two years, he's proven to be a really good friend. I really look forward to resuming playing some form of music or another with him.

What's more is right before 2021 ended, I had an exchange with an old friend, The Doctor, and it sounds like she might also be interested in joining me and Mr. Eye in figuring out some creative endeavor. This was pretty exciting for me as I've always liked The Doctor - she was always super nice to us, and it's a real pleasure to see what can come of this.

It feels good to have a little something on the horizon. I don't know what will or can come of it, but for now, in the moment, the promise of it is good enough for me.

What came after the plague? The Renaissance.

-CST.