U2 Week - Tuesday Update

U2's 12th studio album, No Line on the Horizon, is officially out today. I picked up my copy at Newbury Comics (a store totally worth supporting if you're in the Metro Boston area) and have played it through once. I'll go over my impressions of it in more detail tomorrow but so far I'm liking what I'm hearing. A few of the tracks are immediate, but it strikes me as the type of album that will grow on the listener over time. It seems like a lot of time and care went into this CD.

You might ask, is it imperative to get a CD on the day it comes out? No, but if you don't know me, one rather odd habit of mine is treating CD release dates of my favorite artists like the opening night of certain movies. I want to get it as soon as possible. I usually even bypass amazon.com and get a copy in person instead so I can have it in my hands. If this makes me strange, I'm okay with it. I rarely buy DVDs, I might go to the movies three times in a calendar year, and I haven't bought a video game since junior high school, so I feel like my generally obsessive desire to have a bitchin' CD collection is somewhat justified. Yes, I actually pay money for music by artists I care about. Shocking, I know.

U2 was on Letterman last night, as they are every night this week, and after shoveling out the sidewalk in front of the Ed Sullivan Theater (it's always fun to see rich people do mundane things in public), they performed "Breathe" from the new CD. Call me biased, but it was one of the more exciting late night performances I've seen in a while. Then again, talk show TV gigs are generally pretty bland. Bono got that audience pretty worked up, though. The man can work a room. Video below!



I apologize to all non-U2 fans for my blog posts this week. But not really. Album review tomorrow! Goodnight, y'all.