Book - Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story by Bono

Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story by Bono
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Growing up as a teenager in the late '70s and early '80s it was hard to not hear U2 on the radio. They hit their peak of popularity in the mid to later part of the decade. I did manage to see them live one time while they toured for their Joshua Tree album. In the subsequent decades since they’ve still enjoyed success and have been one of the longest-running rock bands that have stayed intact with original members, although I believe drummer Larry Mullen Jr has taken a break from live performances due to health reasons.

The following are notes I made while reading.


Page 127-128

U2 was on tour in Buffalo, New York when John Lennon was shot. Describes John Lennon as the group's musical conscience. He also felt like they had lost their navigation system. Describes him as a lighthouse in a stormy sea. They’d written a song called “The Dream is Over” inspired by a John Lennon lyric(unpublished as far as I know). He describes it as the Beatles dream is over but their(U2) dream was just at the beginning.

Page 321

Bono talks about being a band in the late 70’s that seems to be formed in the image of the Beatles or The Rolling Stones. He said they(U2) wanted to be in the image of The Beatles who seemed to change their sound from one album to another. They were not locked in their roles either as far as vocals, instruments, or just one sound, at least that was the goal.

The Rolling Stones by contrast over the years do have a particular sound that works for them and they do it particularly well. It’s not a dig at them, it's just what works for them and they are extremely successful. Many artists or bands find a sound or genre that works for them. A few that come to mind are ZZ Top, AC/DC, and the Eagles. One could pick almost any album in their discography and it’ll probably have their sound. It’s not that they won’t try different things occasionally but their sound will be their home base.

Page 327

“We haven’t got the big songs. Just interesting ones.” Bono laments while working on U2’s “Pop” album. It seems that he was pushing the group into a different sound but they were having creative pains. It seems he realized they didn’t have the “big” songs but ones that were just “interesting”. At the time he was also worried about the group’s relevance around that time (The Pop album was released in 1997).

This part is what many challenges long-term recording artists face which is staying fresh and the and to be relevant. U2 enjoyed enormous success in the 1980s but the popular music landscape changed in the 1990’s with the growth of grunge and hip-hop music. Many popular artists from the 80’s were struggling in this era.

Page 472

Again Bono recalls another Beatles experience with Sir Paul McCartney. Paul was giving him a personal tour through Liverpool(who wouldn’t love that chance). Paul tells the story of when he and John Lennon were teens. It was a time they didn’t have much money. John had bought some Cadbury chocolate which was relatively expensive for poor teenagers. John split his candy bar 50/50, this told Paul a lot about John as most boys would probably just give a small square. Bono muses that one of the most successful songwriting collaborations was born from a fair split of a chocolate bar.

I did enjoy the book. In my recent reading of memoirs of other rock musicians, I started noticing patterns. One is lead vocalists cite their lyrics a lot also they almost speak in a spiritual sense about their craft. I’ve read some guitarist’s memoirs and they tend to speak about the love of their instrument to the point of obsession. Their spirituality or voice is transmitted through their instrument of choice.

I did enjoy this book. Bono is different from other rock star books in that there were no stories of excess partying or drug abuse though they weren’t adverse to having a few pints on occasion, they are Irish after all. Bassist Adam Clayton did do rehab apparently at one point but wasn’t a major interruption to the group. I sometimes hear a lot of criticism of Bono’s preaching. I think ev. en he acknowledges it at times. He’s passionate about his causes. He just believes in speaking out, I can’t blame him for that. If you’re a fan of Bono and U2 I’d certainly recommend this.


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Review: The Martian Chronicles

The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Ray's writing is captivating in its simplicity. The chronicles tell of Earth explorers of the early exploration and eventual colonization of Mars. The early landings on the red planet are unsuccessful and are met by resistance from Martians. The Earthlings are persistent and eventually stay and colonize the planet fairly quickly. Most of the Martians perish apparently because of Chicken Pox.

Bradbury doesn't spend a lot of time explaining the technology behind space travel. It seems everyone in a relatively short time has rockets for space travel. Cities on Mars seem to prop up overnight. Also, they are capable of making life-like human robots. That perhaps is a part of the magic of Ray's writing, he focuses on the story and doesn't get hung up on technical details.

All the while this colonization is happening tensions are rising on Earth which are no doubt a mirror of the Cold War tensions and the threat of WW3 in the real world at the time of writing of these stories.

My early encounter with this story was the TV mini-series in the late 70's. For those that weren't there, pop culture seemed be to enjoying a resurgence of science fiction stories in movies and on TV no doubt spurred on by the success of Star Wars. These were different from Star Wars as they were closer to home and happened shortly in the future and not long ago or in a galaxy far far away. The stories also hit closer to home and not fantastical battles with heroes and villains.

The book is a compilation of separate stories each with its own story. Even though these take place on another planet these stories still have a very human element. I think part of what works for me with Bradbury is that he tells his story efficiently without feeling something is being left out. Ray cuts to essential parts of the story without going overboard with extemporaneous or long-winded details that can lose a reader. His stories are no less worthy because of it in my eyes.

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Cormac McCarthy 1933-2023

 

 

 

His book “The Road”is remarkable and unforgettable. Still the one and only book I read per Oprah’s book club recommendation. A post apocalyptic father-son story sounded intriguing to me at the time. I’m still a slow reader but I utterly devoured this book in roughly a 24 hour period. I literally could not put it down. His writing was as stark, barren and to the point as the world he described in the book. In retrospect it seems this, along with a return to college, helped remind me how much I enjoyed reading and how powerful it can be. For this I am thankful to Cormac McCarthy.

 

 

 "All his reverence and all his fondness and all the leanings of his life were for ardenthearted and they would always be so and never be otherwise. "

Cormac McCarthy (All The Pretty Horses)

 

 

Book: The Library Book by Susan Orleans

The Library Book by Susan Orlean
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

If you love books and libraries you'll love this one. You may not walk into library and quite look at it the same way again. The book centers around around the Los Angeles City Library which had a huge fire in the mid 1980's. Not only does it tell that story the author also intertwines the recovery efforts but also the history of the library in the city that exploded in popularity around it. We also learn the inner workings of the modern day library and the people who keep it going from the librarians to those behind the scenes who struggling to keep up with growth and new technologies.

I've always been attached to. It's been a place I could get lost in but never be worried about being alone. The books authors were each reaching out to wishing to share themselves through the word and pictures. Never being judgemental or pushy. Freshman year of high school I volunteered my study period to be an aide. Re-shelving books, checking people out and sometimes just checking out the books out of curiosity. It was that part of me that connected with this book. After reading this made me wish I pursued that as a profession perhaps. I feel like I missed an opportunity in my youth not seeing something that was right in front of me for whatever reason. I moved to a new school the next year that didn't have the same opportunity, though I still liked visiting the library.

If you're a reader, book lover or get lost in a library easily I highly recommend this book. It's now one of my favorites.

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Book Bans Are Fascist

John Lennon 1980: The Last Days in the Life by Kenneth Womack
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Audible Audio-book :  10 hours 32 minutes

Narrator: Paul Woodson

Sometimes it takes the steam out of a book or story when you already know how it ends. With this book, I would say Ken Womack did an excellent job of making what was the last year of Lennon's life interesting and a compelling story. It could be broken down into different parts. Early on we see John starting to feel the creative juices that have been quiet for some time awaken. Partly inspired by his old partner Paul McCartney's new song "Coming Up" (Paul's career was also changing gears too.) coupled with a sailing trip. The latter half of the book is primarily John & Yoko making what would be his final album Double Fantasy(and posthumously released Milk and Honey). This is where John comes alive and is the strongest, making music again. He becomes very focused and is a musician on a mission to make his long-awaited comeback album. It's the first time I've read of an in depth look into making his final album. I recommend this to anyone who is a fan of John Lennon and The Beatles and want learn more of his final days.

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Review: Old Records Never Die: One Man's Quest for His Vinyl and His Past

View all my reviews Old Records Never Die: One Man's Quest for His Vinyl and His Past by Eric Spitznagel
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I found out about this book through a vinyl Facebook group and the premise sounded interesting. A vinyl enthusiast attempts to recover and rebuild the record collection he sold decades ago to pay his bills. Now hitting middle age with a new child, an understanding but worried wife, a job offer that will mean consistent income and a major move, and then to top it off a heartbreaking phone call from his mother informing him his father died. Enter one mid-life crisis.

In his journey through his mid-life crisis, his quest is to recover the 2000+ vinyl collection he sold away to pay the bills in the late 90s. Not just any copy will do. His quest is for his exact copies. The same covers with his ex-girlfriend's phone numbers written on them and scratches in just the right spot, and all.

It's a quest that takes him to a muddy reunion concert, a closed record shop turned kids karate studio, vinyl conventions, stealing a record from a college radio station, and smoking bad weed in an old record shop owner's basement. All the while reminiscing about past loves and most of all the music he loved along the way. He's missing his life as it was and worried about a new job and family that's pushing him to be more responsible.

I could identify with some of the mid-life crisis anxiety having gone through(and still on tail end of) it myself. His music tastes were mixed(Sorry Eric. when I hear an album titled "Let it Be" I think of The Beatles and not The Replacements.) but that's understandable cause everyone's music preference is different.

I did like his focus on the music and how it intertwines with life. It's as if the albums were snapshots of his life. I"d describe it as life having its own soundtrack and each of ours is unique. Also that even the imperfections like ex-girlfriend's phone number on an album, mud/blood splattered cover from a punk rock concert, or scratches & pops on the vinyl. This was a bit refreshing as I see in vinyl enthusiasts groups on Facebook who obsesses over slight scratches, grading quality, and spend a couple of thousand dollars on record cleaning gadgets. It's one thing to take care of something but when the cleaning obsession takes over I think you're losing the point of the records which is the experience of playing them. This I believe Eric gets. Life is full of imperfections.

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The Real Danger Of ChatGPT

"Writing is how we understand uniquely. Not to write is to live according to the language of others."

- Evan Puschak(Nerdwriter1)