Jamie decided to get a totally unnecessary and much appreciated gift for yours truly — the new U2 album.
It’s screaming with a new energy and yet a recognizable passion familiar to U2 nuts like me. I’ve been a fan of theirs since I saw concert footage of them on MTV back in January 1981. Yeah, it was that memorable. Seeing Bono on stage was a shock. I got the same emotional response, amazement and awe, that I got when I first saw the Beatles. He was like a mix of Patti Smith and John Lennon.
Here’s the beauty of what they do and Bono’s writing in particular. Their new single, “Vertigo,” is obviously about a certain kind of confusion. But the context, the cause, is left open to interpretation.
Hello hello (hola!)
I’m at a place called Vertigo (sorpresa!)
It’s everything I wish I didn’t know
Except you
give me something
I can feel
FEEL
Is it about personal change? A whirlwind romance? Political upheaval? Spiritual crisis?
Or how about a chorus from another song, full of poignancy and self-recrimination:
And it’s you when I look in the mirror
And it’s you when I don’t pick up the phone
Sometimes you can’t make it on your own
All I know for certain is that the emotions are genuine, the music is honest, and that the boys are at the top of their game.
And I miss you when you’re not around
I’m getting ready to leave the ground