May Dreams Be Realized

“Sleep, sleep tonight, and may your dreams be realized –
If the thundercloud passes rain, so let it rain, let it rain.”
- U2, “MLK” (video after post)


Actual conversation between my 7-year-old daughter and me this past Saturday morning …

Daughter: We had do some journal writing in my class this week, and this is what I wrote: “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

Me: Um … wow. That’s pretty good. How’d you come up with that?

Daughter: I memorized it from a book about Martin Luther King and copied it. We’ve been learning about him in class.

Me: Right … I thought it sounded kind of familiar.

Daughter: I picked that part because I really liked it.

Me: I like it too - it's cool that you memorized it. I hope your dream comes true.

*

I’ll pretty much leave it at that for today, aside from a musical snapshot that also ties into this weekend’s holiday: a wonderful gem that often gets overlooked in the U2 repertoire - partially because of its simplicity and brevity, and partially because there was a far more popular song that also paid tribute to Dr King on the same Unforgettable Fire album where it first appeared.

The beauty of this one has never been lost on me, though ... maybe because I also found it to be a sweet little lullaby to sing to my kids when they were babies.

U2, “MLK”, live from Dortmund (click to play):

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Yahweh

"Take this soul, stranded in some skin and bones -
Take this soul and make it sing."
-U2, "Yahweh" (video below):

It's no secret that U2 is one of the most outwardly Christian bands around - so on the most uplifting holiday of the Christian year, it seems appropriate to spotlight one of the most uplifting and beautiful songs in U2's repertoire.

"Yahweh" is, in essence, a simple prayer: a humble plea to take this broken world we occupy, and make it right. Coincidentally, that also happens to be the message of Christmas.

Here's wishing a wonderful one to all of us.

-U2, "Yahweh" (click to play):

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U2 Stops the Traffic

(Admin note: this is the follow-up post to the trivia question I asked in this post about a certain landmark in San Francisco. The story itself has nothing to do with running, but if you’ve hung around here for any length of time, you know that's never stopped me before.)

*
In November of 1987, U2 hadn’t comfortably settled into their newfound status as the Biggest Band in the World.

Earlier in the year, they released The Joshua Tree, the album that launched them straight into the rock music stratosphere, and were drawing tens of thousands of fans at every sold-out tour stop of the summer. They couldn’t walk down the street anymore without a flash mob and hundreds of photographers stalking their every move. Yet they still loved the youthful spontaneity of their early years, and felt like they were losing touch with fans who couldn’t afford concert tickets.

The documentary film Rattle and Hum was conceived as an effort to share the tour experience with that base, and one day on San Francisco’s Embarcadero, the band gave its fans the ultimate gift of spontaneity: a free lunchtime concert in Justin Herman Plaza.

Photo from U2tour.de

The concert was announced on short notice (less than 24 hours by most reports), but still drew 20,000 people to the foot of Vaillancourt Fountain to hear a nine-song playlist. The crowd spilled into the surrounding streets and brought traffic to a standstill in all directions.

Near the end of the show, Bono (a future Time Magazine Person of the Year, mind you) climbed the lower portion of Armand Vaillancourt’s Quebec Libre! sculpture and spray painted the phrase Rock & Roll Stops The Traffic above the impromptu stage.

Photo from U2tour.de

Afterward, San Francisco’s mayor was outraged, threatening fines and jail time as punishment for such a public display of vandalism. The argument escalated until Vaillancourt himself was contacted to learn if he supported the act.

The sculptor defended Bono's gesture, declaring that from a societal standpoint, graffiti is sometimes a necessary evil for young people who lack the same access to mainstream media that people of higher power and influence enjoy. San Francisco’s mayor knew better than to pick a battle with one of the city’s most popular artists – to say nothing of the Biggest Band in the World – and let the issue rest without further consequence.

Vaillancourt then supported the band in the coolest way possible: the following night, he personally attended U2's Oakland concert, and climbed on stage to write "Stop the madness" in front of 70 000 people.

The scene at Herman Plaza is forever captured in their 1989 movie Rattle and Hum (click to play):


Which is why the song "All Along the Watchtower" was playing in my head throughout last weekend's run.

(So I guess the story is a LITTLE bit about running ... )

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Big Sur Marathon Race Report

“It’s a beautiful day – don’t let it get away …”
-U2, “Beautiful Day”

For me, the 2009 Big Sur Marathon wasn’t supposed to happen. I had prepared to sit out this year’s event in favor of my ultramarathon schedule for the spring – but then I became the beneficiary of good connections and good luck, and a race entry basically fell into my lap.

Given my history with this race, this was an offer that was pretty much impossible to decline, but I didn’t want to disrupt my overall training buildup by doing a taper or having an extended recovery period afterwards. I also knew there wasn’t a chance that my long, slow trail mileage (or last week's 50-miler, for that matter) would enable me to run Big Sur at nearly the pace I’ve kept in the past. In other words, I had to take things pretty easy.

So my goals for this race – and for this report – were pretty straightforward: run in a way that wouldn’t destroy me, and try to capture some of the sights (and sounds!) that make this one of the most wonderful events in running. Remember how I said that John Steinbeck often referred to the epic East of Eden as his love letter to the Salinas Valley? Think of this as my love letter to the Big Sur Marathon – except with about 1000 times less writing talent.

However, what I lack in literary merit, I’ll try to make up for in photographs. On that note, we may as well jump in. As usual, click any of these to enlarge:

Probably the worst aspect of running Big Sur happens right off the bat: the long wait at the start area in the pre-dawn darkness. The logistics of getting hundreds of schoolbuses up and down a 2-lane coastal road dictate that runners are dropped off in Big Sur as much as 2 hours before the 6:45AM start time. If you’re looking to have a good race, you have to find a place to huddle from the cold and conserve your energy as much as possible while killing time before the race begins.

On the other hand, if you’re an ultrarunner who’s just looking for a high-volume training day …


You take off running. I estimated how much time I had to burn, then ran from the start area in my warm-ups, eventually making it about a half-mile past this marker before turning around.

One huge benefit of running three miles down the road before the marathon is that there aren’t any lines for the porta-potties.

When I returned to the start area, there were signs of life, but I still had about 20 minutes to kill, so I did another mile before stripping off my sweats and hopping into the start corral.

8 miles down, 26.2 to go. Life is good.

This girl inspired my favorite comment from the first mile, courtesy of my friend Bill: “Whoa – I almost wore that exact same outfit today!”

The first miles are gently rolling, but generally downhill through the redwood forests of Big Sur. If you didn’t know what lies ahead, you’d be tempted to push the pace and knock out some fast split times. Some folks do that anyway … they’re usually the same folks you see walking during the last 10K.


I like this shot: runners exiting the shade of the redwoods, heading to the wide open, sunny pastures that lie ahead. Of course, at Big Sur, “wide open” also means “this is where the headwinds start slamming you,” but it sounds much more enticing the first way I said it.



Emerging from the trees, runners see the first of an endless series of ocean vistas. They need all the serenity they can get, because …


… this is where the race becomes very challenging. Most of miles 7 and 8 are a long, gradual climb into the wind. On the plus side, the historic Point Sur Lighthouse remains in sight on the left throughout most of this section. And on the right …


… cows! I’ll just go ahead and make a rule: if I see cows during a race, they make it into the race report. I’ve mentioned before that I like cows, haven’t I?


By mile 9, you crest a hill and get your best vantage point of Point Sur – but if you look farther down the road …


… you get your first glimpse of the climb up to Hurricane Point. The good news is that you’ve got a mile of downhill to rest up and build your courage for the challenge ahead.

You’ve also got the taiko drummers – and this is the first of a few video clips I’m including to provide a better sense of the race day energy:



I absolutely love these drummers. I’ve written a whole article about them. In my mind, they’re the defining feature of the Big Sur Marathon - even more than the Bixby Bridge or Hurricane Point. Here’s what I wonder, though: do you think any of these songs have names, or sheet music? It seems like every song could be called “The One Where We All Drum Quickly in Rhythm”.

The drummers sit at the base of the climb, so their drumbeats help motivate you while pushing up the first portion of the hill. Before long, though, you realize how lengthy this 2-mile climb really is.

What’s worse is that the road bends around so many curves that you always think you’re getting near the top, only to find that the hill just continues around the corner. If you’re not expecting it, this stretch can be quite discouraging.

Approaching Hurricane Point, the road barely hugs the slope of the hill – in many ways, it’s amazing that they can build and maintain a road along this kind of topography. Above is a shot looking up the hillside …

… and here's one looking down. Not much margin for error if you’re a reckless driver or meandering cyclist.

At the summit, headwinds were sustained at about 20mph – which is about average by Big Sur standards. Occasionally, the wind up here is so bad that it knocks people sideways. The winds and the exposure also make this section very cold …

… as these two poor volunteers will tell you. If you ever think calling out split times is an easy gig, come volunteer at Big Sur someday.


It’s from the top of Hurricane Point that you get your first glimpse of the Bixby Bridge, and the long downhill plunge you’ll take to get there. Heading down the hill, you’ll start to hear notes from the grand piano across the bridge drifting closer in the breeze.

Bixby is the Big Sur Marathon’s most famous landmark, as well as its halfway point. Once you cross the other side, you’re on your way home. But if you’re not in a huge hurry …

… you can have your picture taken with the piano player. They actually have a team of volunteers assigned to do this for you. And if you’re REALLY not in a hurry …




… you can stop and listen to the music for a while. As my luck would have it, “Chariots of Fire” – one of my favorites – was playing right as my batteries went dead. By the time I changed them, he was on to Simon and Garfunkel. Kind of disappointing - but that’s just me being picky.

Leaving the bridge, there’s another long downhill stretch ahead, but you can also see the road climbing again in the distance. Although you’ve gone up and over the biggest hill, the roller coaster has just begun.

At least you’ll have great views to keep you company the whole way.


You know how some people like to leave presents for Santa Claus? Sometimes I like to send photos to the Marathon Foto people. I e-mail them a very small, grainy version of a shot like this, and tell them that I’ll send the full-size picture if they send me 30 bucks. So far they haven’t bit, but maybe one of these days I’ll get lucky.

Usually by the time you cross the Garrapata Creek bridge at mile 17, one of two things have started happening: you’re either running strong and trying to plot out your strategy for attacking the final 10K, or you’re starting to feel the effects of the miles and the hills – the first wobbles of wheels that are coming loose and threatening to fall off a few miles down the road. Or perhaps, a combination of both.

Fortunately you've still got musical accompaniment along the way:



This is a group of middle schoolers playing some pretty tight classical tunes. (That’s what the kids say, right? Tight means good, doesn’t it? I’m pretty sure that’s it.)

Here’s where the real challenge begins: Carmel Highlands, where the hills get steeper and the miles get longer. Logically, only one of those things is true, but it sure doesn’t seem that way when you’re out there.

The views are still pretty through the Highlands – but by this time you’d gladly trade them for a glimpse of the home stretch.

The houses are fairly nice, too – although a lot of the neighbors aren’t home today …

… because they’re all at the neighborhood party, hosted by the local convenience store. You know why they pick this spot for the party?

Because it’s across the street from the strawberry aid station! The owners of the gas station and residents of the Highlands all pitch in to buy the strawberries and staff this heavenly waypoint on the toughest section of the course. It’s independently owned and operated; during my few minute visit there, I tried to talk these kind folks into franchising out to serve some nearby ultras – sadly, I’m not sure that I convinced them.


Eventually you leave the Highlands – and when you start seeing Carmel Beach in the distance to the left, you know you’re finally getting close.

This lady is at Big Sur every year, and I’ve tried to describe her before, but words never seem to do her justice. That’s why I was glad I brought my camera:



I look forward to seeing her every time I run Big Sur – because aside from the obvious reason, it’s also an indication that you’re almost home …

… but you still have one good hill left to climb. That’s the mile 25 marker, with “D Minor Hill at D Major Time” in the background. I’ve walked up that hill far too many times than I care to admit; this year, it felt great to cruise to the top of it with a spring in my legs and a smile on my face.

Just a little farther along, and you’re there! The finish chute is always a huge celebration – but at Big Sur, it seems all the more dramatic because of the noticeable lack of spectators during the previous 25 and a half miles. But all of a sudden the road is packed with fans, you can see the finish line, and you feel like an absolute rock star.

In fact, the only thing that could make you feel better is …


A massage! Remember last year, when I was denied admittance to the massage tent because I had only run 23 miles as part of a relay team, instead of being an official marathoner? Well, after 34 miles of (mostly) official marathoning under my belt for the day, this massage felt amazing.


Perhaps the feeling was mutual – was I accidentally giving off some kind of vibe? - because my massage therapist told me I had “well-trained legs”, with very nice muscle tone. Then she gave me her card and told me to call her sometime. I’m pretty sure she meant for a massage.

Regardless, I had exactly the kind of morning I hoped for: a big mileage day, and a memorable run on one of the most beautiful roads in the world during one of the greatest endurance events in the country, in a manner that didn’t leave me completely debilitated. This week it’s back to training as usual, and my attention turns fully back to preparations for Western States at the end of June.

I’ve been fortunate enough to run this course more than a dozen times – and each time, I’m completely inspired by what a wonderful event we have right here in my backyard, and grateful for all the experiences I’ve enjoyed here over the years. I don’t think that Big Sur will ever be on my “must do” list again, but it will always have a special place in my heart.

Whether I’m racing or just cruising along, whether I’m gunning for a PR or just shooting a lot of pictures, any day that I can spend at the Big Sur Marathon is a beautiful day indeed.

**

U2, “Beautiful Day” (click to play)

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Let Us In the Sound (or, Synchronicity II)

"Here’s where we gotta be - love and community -
Laughter is eternity if joy is real."
- U2, "Get On Your Boots" (following post)

**
One of the first albums I purchased with my own money was Synchronicity by The Police.

I remember all of the hype that preceded the newest release from the biggest band in the world, and the glowing reviews from my friends who quickly purchased their copies as soon as the album came out. And the day that I gathered my lawnmowing money and rode my bike 10 miles to the shopping mall to buy the cassette tape still ranks among my fondest memories of childhood. It was the summer of 1983, and I was 12 years old.

Almost immediately, I fell in love with the album. It was imaginative and melodic and seemed to stretch the boundaries of traditional rock music. The songs were stories whose topics ranged from the mundane to the bizarre, with enough literary and pop culture references to keep me scrambling for my encyclopedia (to this day, the only reason I can identify Scylla and Charybdis is thanks to the lyrics to “Wrapped Around Your Finger”). It also featured one of the greatest ultrarunning theme songs ever written (classic concert clip - trust me), a full twenty years before ultrarunning became popular – talk about being ahead of your time.

The music from that album stays with me to this day; the lyrics still bounce around my head from time to time, the melodies are easily retrieved from the recesses of my brain, and recalling how much I loved the music brings back good memories from a sometimes awkward period of my life. In other words, it did everything that first favorite albums are supposed to do.

A lot of this came back to me yesterday, shortly after my 10-year-old son initiated the following exchange:

Son: They said on the radio that this is going to be a good week for U2 fans.

Me: Yes, it is. Do you know why they said that?

Son: Yeah – they said the new U2 album comes out on Tuesday.

Me: Right.

Son: I want to get it.

Me: Don’t worry - we’re getting it.


Of course we are. I’ve written about our father/son bonding over U2 in the past, so it’s hard to say which of us is more excited about picking up the new release from the biggest band in the world. This is a turning point of sorts for the two of us; usually, I’m the one who introduces him to new songs – but my son’s the one initiating the interest this time around. I know that shouldn’t make me feel like a proud father - but in a corny way, it kind of does.

Having been around long enough to endure some shaky U2 offerings (Zooropa, anyone?), I’m just hopeful that the thing doesn’t stink (in that regard, some initial reviews are somewhat promising). Being naïve enough to not know any better, my son believes it’s going to be awesome.

For his sake, I hope he’s right. I’d love for this to become a first favorite album, affecting him just like the one I had a few decades ago – but I realize that’s a tall order for any band, especially one that’s been around for nearly thirty years. Then again, you never know.

From my standpoint, if the new CD gives my son and me a little bit of laughter and joy together, I’ll happily accept it.

**

Before the music segment, a training update: If anyone needs to get his boots on lately, it’s me. The miles are starting to add up, but not nearly as many or as easily as I’d like them to. For each of the past few weeks, I’ve finished with about 10-15 fewer miles than I originally planned. And I’ve got seven weeks until my first 50-miler of the season. So in addition to being the first single from the U2 album, this track seems rather appropriate to my training regimen nowadays.

Also ... the official video is copy protected, but can be seen at this YouTube page. For an audio-only version (with the new album cover as wallpaper), click to play below.

U2, "Get On Your Boots":

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Pride

"Free at last! They took your life -

They could not take your pride."

- U2, "Pride (In the Name of Love)"

Two years ago, I described (in this post) how two of my kids, then-aged 8 and 5, sat and watched a YouTube video of Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in August of 1963. I marveled at the beauty of the information age, and the way my children could become so easily familiar with a historic moment that I didn’t see in its entirety until I was in college.

(That’s the way it should be, really – in fact, the speech should be required viewing for all Americans. I’d embed it here – but I really like one website I found that features the text along with the video. So your civic duty for today is to click there and contemplate Dr King’s words – I’ll link to the site when we’re done.)

What I never imagined, however, was how my kids would see the hope and idealism of Dr King’s words come to fruition so quickly in their young lifetimes.

Over the next 48 hours, our children will witness what could perhaps be the most historic confluence of occasions this country has ever seen: the national holiday recognizing a man who gave his life for peace and equality, and the inauguration of a President who is the embodiment of that long-elusive dream.

Honestly, I have no idea what kind of leader President Obama will become. What’s indisputable, though, is this: as he stands at the podium delivering his inaugural address, after taking the oath of office on Lincoln’s Bible, with the memorial where Reverend King inspired millions gleaming across the National Mall in the distance, it will represent a watershed moment in the history of this country. Echoes of the past will meet the promise of the future head on, and a new era of hope and possibility – one that many of us never imagined we’d see - will have finally dawned.

So how do you explain all of these ramifications to grade school kids? In all likelihood, you can’t. I guess you just make sure they make note of the occasions, then explain the long, treacherous journey that brought us to this point in small doses as they grow old enough to appreciate them.

For those of us who are old enough to understand, though, the meaning of these two days is undeniable. If MLK were here to see it, one imagines that his heart would soar with pride.

And since we’re on the subject of pride, and Dr King – and since I seem to be featuring a certain band (who happened to play at this weekend's inauguration party) on this blog quite a bit lately - there’s one inevitable choice for today’s video selection: it’s my favorite version of U2’s “Pride (In the Name of Love)”, recorded live for the 1988 film Rattle and Hum:



Afterwards, go watch Martin Luther King’s speech for yourself, and remember to appreciate the times we're living in today. We still have some work to do, but we're closer now than we've ever been before.

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State of the Blog 2009

“I want to run – I want to hide –
I want to tear down the walls that hold me inside … ”
- U2, “Where the Streets Have No Name”

**

I’ve had some time to settle into the new page design, so it’s only hospitable to give you a tour of my humble cyber-abode.

It also seems like a good time to talk about potential substantive changes to this blog in addition to the cosmetic ones in the upcoming year – but I’m getting a bit ahead of myself. Let’s just start the tour:

1. Three (or four) is the magic number

Like just about everybody else who uses Blogger, I was long frustrated with the vertical page layout of most templates – more specifically, with the difficulty in expanding the width of the page to keep more information “above the fold,” in newspaper speak. In fact, that’s the most common remark I’ve received about the current layout – how it uses the width of the page much more effectively.

As much as I’d like to, I can’t take credit for the makeover. If you scroll all the way down to the bottom of this page, you’ll see acknowledgement to Our Blogger Templates, who have several 3- or 4-column templates compatible with Blogger. Best of all, they’re free. So if you’re shopping for a new template, go check them out – especially since the link I just included saves you the trouble of scrolling down my page.

(The transition hasn’t been flawless, though. More on that in a minute.)

2. Where’s Weezer?

One keepsake that didn’t make the move with me is the sidebar video I updated on a regular basis. That section, most recently occupied by Weezer’s “Troublemaker”, held a place of high regard - both in my heart and on the webpage.

However, I realized that videos tend to be popping up more and more frequently in my regular posts lately. It’s a direction I’d like to keep traveling, especially since 1) multimedia becomes more easily accessible every day, and 2) it’s much more effective for me to just show you a video that I’m referring to rather than take 1,000 words to explain it. Trust me - the less I write, the better off we’ll all be.

(And just to make sure you believe me, there’s a new video at the end of this post. Think of it as your reward for making it to the end.)

One more thing on this subject: about three months ago, I started adding labels to each of my posts, which are listed in a sidebar at right. As you can see, the most prevalent label is “music” – even more than running, swimming, or the Western States 100. (I mean ... it's kind of too late for me to change the blog title, right?) I guess what I’m saying is - music’s just a huge part of me, so I’ve decided to embrace it.

3. Dancing with the devil

Yes, there are ads here. Yes, it’s an awkward situation to put myself in.

If it’s any consolation, my mind isn’t completely made up on this subject. I wouldn’t say that my marriage with advertisers is a happy one; I don’t feel satisfied, and I’m often frustrated, and most days I wonder if I’d just be better off without them. On other days, I think that maybe things will work out nicely if I just hang in there a while longer.

Basically, I can’t make up my stinking mind. Have I mentioned before that I'm an idiot?

4. This space for rent

While hosting ads is a moral dilemma of sorts, I have no qualms whatsoever about doing product reviews, which remain on the right sidebar. It’s good for me to test out gear that I wouldn’t otherwise try, good for you to learn whether they’re worth spending money on, and good for the companies who get promoted (assuming, that is, that their products don’t suck). It’s a win-win-win for everybody involved.

Of course, in order for the reviews to be helpful, I have to actually, you know … write them. On that note, I have three different products that I’ll be telling you about in the weeks ahead. Stay tuned for details.

5. Look both ways

See those cool sidebars on either side of the blog? This was where I ran into some trouble installing the new template. Many of the link lists were lost in transition - and what’s more, my blogroll wouldn’t import from Google reader properly.

I ended up putting in the links by hand, which means it’s probably rife with error. If you’re normally on my list, take a look to the left and see if you’re still there, and if the link actually works. If not, let me know.

Heck, as long as we’re at it – let’s go ahead and open this up to anyone who asks. Want a link? Just contact me.

One final sidebar note that’s always worth a reminder: subscription information (e-mail or reader) is at upper right. And if you act within the next five minutes, I’ll even throw in free shipping.

(That’s enough administrative notes for one post, don’t you think? Let’s get on with the fun stuff …)

6. Where the blog has no name

We’ve reached the video portion of the post, which actually ties in rather nicely with the new blog theme. It’s also a continuation of my recent adulation of the greatest band of our (or possibly any – that’s up for debate) generation.

There’s an old saying in Northern Ireland that it’s possible to determine someone’s religion based on the street in Belfast he lives on. You can also guess the person’s salary from his address on that same street (the higher income homes are further up the hill).

Bono took this notion and crafted a song envisioning an area where people aren’t judged by the part of town they inhabit, or the house that they live in, or their chosen manner of worship. A place where nobody is confined to other people’s values or expectations; where anyone can move and act in any way the spirit leads him.

And this is kind of a stretch, but … that’s kind of how I’m feeling about this blog nowadays. It’s always been ostensibly about running – but I often want to spread my wings a bit and try some other topics without having to relate them to my training regime. I enjoy writing about music, my family, my hometown, my favorite books and authors, or whatever current events happen to inspire me in some unexpected way.

For the next six months, there’s no question that my thoughts and writings will focus on the Western States 100 – honestly, there’s really no way they couldn’t. Beyond that, however, I’m reserving the right to tear down the walls of this blog a bit, and explore some new avenues that I haven’t journeyed down before.

Certainly, when I do, you’ll all be welcome to come along with me. In the meantime, here’s “Where the Streets Have No Name”, U2’s opening anthem from The Joshua Tree. The song's idealistic yearning, soaring passion, and infectious rhythm make it one of my favorites that they've ever made:



(I've actually got one more cool story about this video ... but I've held you long enough already. It will have to wait for another day.)

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Even Better Than the Real Thing

Admin note: I’m still tinkering with the new template, so you’re getting a random quickie today for your viewing pleasure. Keep sending feedback as you see fit.

**

I’m reaching pretty far back into the video vault again today – but it’s a clip that represents one of my favorite developments from 2008.

Last summer, my son accompanied me to a showing of U2 3D at our local IMAX theater. It was his first taste of the rock concert experience (actually … in many ways, it was better than a real concert – but that’s a separate discussion), and a baptism of sorts into the vast community of U2 fandom.

He completely loved the movie, and I burned him a CD of the playlist from the concert. His favorite song was “Vertigo”, which he played in a repetitive loop for hours on end during the next several weeks (needless to say, my wife wasn’t thrilled about this development).

In my true audiophile (not to mention obsessive-compulsive) fashion, I made sure that several of the songs I included on his CD were live versions, as a reminder of the energy he saw on the big screen. Which led to the following exchange one day while we listened to the CD together:

Me: Hear all those people cheering? I’m one of them.

Son: What do you mean?

Me: This song was recorded at a concert a long time ago, when I lived in Colorado for a while. I was at the show that they recorded.

Him: Really?

Me: Yeah. It was awesome. They even made a movie out of it.

Him: Cool.

Later, I showed him a couple of clips on YouTube - and just like that, my rock star cred with my son jumped about ten notches.

Since then, he has continued listening to his concert CD, and asked me to burn other U2 songs for him. He’s well on his way to becoming a full-fledged fan – and as silly as it sounds, I’m kind of proud of him for it. I know there are far more important parenting responsibilities to worry about in life – but if I can instill a bit of music appreciation in my kids, I’ll consider my job at least a partial success.

So here’s one of the songs that started it all for him, just as it started it all for me more than twenty-five years ago: U2’s "Sunday Bloody Sunday”, live at Red Rocks, under a blood red sky: (click to play)

And, in honor of the day, and to see how far the band has evolved in a quarter-century, here's another one: "New Year's Day", from the Vertigo Tour:



Happy New Year to all.

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