1. Every month we put an U2 fan in the spotlights, the fan of the month September of 2012 is user RattleandHum1988. Read along for the interview we had this this U2 fan.


    Tell us something about yourself, who are you and what do you do for a living?
    My name is Alex, I live in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. I'm 21 years old going into my fourth year of university taking a bachelor of arts in music, which in so many words is studying the nature of music, the history of it and the cultures that surround it, and all that jazz (see what I did there?). That's the main thing going on in my life right now, other than that I work part-time at a supermarket just around the corner from my house pushing carts and helping customers find their groceries. I enjoy going out for a beer with friends (amongst other things), have no idea what I want to do with my life career-wise, and right now a friend and I are recording a music album that I'll share with you all once I'm done. That's me in a nutshell!

    How did you become a fan of U2, tell us how it happened?
    Get ready for a long story! I became a fan when I was 16 in my first year of high school. I was slowly phasing out of my "yeah I listen to classic rock because I'm too good for pop music" mentality and finding out what my actual taste in music was. The local classic rock station was doing a lot of advertising for a summer of big classic rock bands (a great deal were playing Ottawa that year), including U2 (this was 2005, so it was the vertigo tour). Prior to this I hadn’t really had much experience with U2, maybe I had heard Beautiful Day (probably watching Much Music - Canada's version of MTV), Vertigo, and possibly Elevation, but I can't really remember. Anyway while they were advertising for this big summer of classic rock they played a lot of U2 on the radio, but I didn't know the songs they were playing were U2 songs. Two songs I distinctly remember standing out were New Years Day and Sunday Bloody Sunday. I remember asking my parents "Who's the band that does this song?" when one would come on, and probably out of just lack of caring to think about it their usual response was "I dunno". Eventually I heard a commercial specifically for U2’s gig and those two songs played, so I realized that U2 was the band with these awesome songs that I had recently taken a liking to. That kind of rested for a while, until in my drama class in high school came to its final project of the year. One portion of it was to pick a song and play it in the background while acting out freeze frames along to it (the song would play and we would sort of do still-shots of different scenes, kind of like pictures or paintings). While we were discussing what song we should do I think I mentioned Sunday Bloody Sunday, because I was really digging it at the time, and a girl who I had somewhat of a crush on at the time (who I subsequently dated for a couple years) suggested I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For instead. Not knowing the song but wanting to look like I did in front of her, I said "that's an awesome song, we’re for sure we're using that one!" I offered to go out and buy the album that contained the song, and she told me to get the album called The Joshua Tree. I couldn't find it at the local music store, so I picked up the best of 80's-90's instead. I listened to that album until it melted. I fell in love with every song on the album, a few of which I had heard before but didn't know it was U2, and a few that I was discovering for the first time (like Bad, Streets, and UF). Another thing to mention was my brother noticed I had taken a recent liking to U2 so he went out and bought me the Slane DVD for Christmas that year, which definitely helped me along to becoming a U2 fan. ¬¬After that, the girl and I ended up dating, and she began suggesting albums by U2 for me to buy, so I went out and bought The Joshua Tree and War, and eventually that led me to buying all of their albums and listening to them non-stop until this day. DONE.

    In your opinion, what has been U2's defining moment and why?
    This is a difficult question because they've had so many moments that shout "U2". However, if I was to truly define U2 to someone who knew nothing about them or needed convincing that there is something special there, I'd have to say what sets them apart is that they've managed to experiment with their music and their image to the “nth” degree while still remaining in the mainstream, and while still remaining successful. That's why I think the release of Achtung Baby and everything that followed was their defining moment. They managed to throw away everyone's perception of them, presenting themselves as complete opposites of their old selves, not to mention their musical style was completely different, and they put on a tour that was much more than just a music show, but there's no need to get into that, you all already know about it!

    Where do you most prefer to listen to U2?
    With headphones, on a couch, in the dark, just myself and the music, no distractions.

    Which member of the band would you most like to share a pint with?
    As much as I'd like to share one with any of them, I think it'd have to be Bono. I've heard nothing but great stories about how kind he is, how much attention and care he puts into other people's lives when they talk to him, and how he shows interest at almost any subject. I think he'd be great to talk about U2 with, to talk about ANYTHING with. Plus, I think he probably has the biggest sense of humour within the group (basing this off of U2 interviews and literature) so after a few pints I think he’d just be hilariously awesome.

    When you're forced to leave to a deserted island and you can take only one U2 album with you, which would it be?
    In any other conversation I would say that Achtung Baby is U2's best album and quite possibly my favourite, but for some reason whenever I get a question like this my instinct is to go with The Joshua Tree. The themes on that album as well as just the music itself speaks directly to the soul, it's pure emotion and feeling being expressed through music. There are no set ideas, the entire album is just amazing imagery and it really takes you somewhere. I'm not entirely sure why, because the same thing I'm sure could be said for Achtung Baby. Perhaps there isn't any logic or reasoning behind it, but my instinct would be to choose The Joshua Tree.

    Which U2 song do you feel the most "attached" to, or means the most for you?
    Where The Streets Have No Name. It's been my favourite song since the first time I heard it on that greatest hits album, and it's always had a special place in my heart. It's incredibly uplifting, it's epic in all the ways possible, and it just makes me tear up almost every time I hear that intro guitar being played against that organ. It's an emotional journey in itself. It's a love song, a personal song, and it's a soul-searching song. Plus, speaking as a guitar player it's just a kick-ass song guitar-wise. It's the song that speaks loudest in terms of Edge's signature guitar tone, and furthermore I'd say it's the song that speaks loudest in terms of U2's signature sound as a band. I'd say it's their best song ever written.

    You play guitar and have extensively posted on our guitar thread. What are your favorite U2 songs to play on guitar?
    I think Streets is probably my favourite, along with Pride, Bad, Until The End Of The World, Still Haven't Found, and any of those big Edge-strong songs I guess. There was a time when I could play almost all of their songs (not all of them entirely well ) but I've kind of stepped away from being an Edge fanatic on the guitar and have tried to find my own niche on the instrument. Once in a while I go back and play some of them though, it's always fun playing The Edge

    How different is U2 compared to other artists that you like?
    It varies, I'd say U2 isn't SO different from bands like Coldplay, Muse, or even The Killers, but they're pretty distant from guys like Hendrix, John Mayer, SRV, or bands like The Clash (maybe not in the early early days) or Foster The People. I listen to a lot of jazz as well, some rap (not the mainstream garbage that most people think rap is all about) and even some electronic music, so I'd say they can go anywhere from kind of similar to completely different.

    What are your hobbies and interests away from U2, musical or otherwise?
    I think the only one really worth mentioning is my love for songwriting. Nothing gives me more pleasure than listening to or writing music, and I find writing it to be extremely rewarding creatively. It's the perfect avenue for letting your imagination run wild, and I'd say anybody could do it if they took the time to do it! I used to be in a band (fun fact: we covered Angel Of Harlem), but two of the guys left and what's remaining is my best friend and I, and we're currently recording an album of songs that we wrote outside the band and songs that were leftovers from the band. We're doing it for a few reasons, the main one being we just wanted to take on the task of recording an album and being able to hear our own songs played back to us, and there's the blind ambition of it maybe going somewhere and being able to actually do something with it one day, but that's just a dream, not a goal. We plan on performing a few songs acoustically in the near future, mainly because we want the feeling of performing again, and what better reason to do it than promoting an album you just recorded! It should be released sometime soon, probably in a month or two, and I'll be sure to put it up here so that if anyone actually wants to listen to it they can! Other than that, hanging out with friends, reading books, playing video games, and all of those other things that people my age love to do

    Alex


    Thanks for this interview RattleandHum1988!

    Note: Our crew members randomly pick fans of the month, you can't sign up for it.
  2. Legendary interview =D

    and a girl who I had somewhat of a crush on at the time (who I subsequently dated for a couple years) suggested I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For instead. Not knowing the song but wanting to look like I did in front of her, I said "that's an awesome song, we’re for sure we're using that one!"


    Legendarier
  3. Extremely well deserved and a good interview for a great member of this site Welcome to the club Alex!
  4. I was about to write the same as Risto. Great circumstances coming together finding your fave band, thatz cool
  5. Fantastic interview Alex

    The 1980-1990 Best Of also played a big part in myself becoming a fan
  6. Magnificent. Chris captured what I needed to say perfectly.
  7. That's because it happened to all of us
  8. This is a fantastic interview- so glad to see your name next to FOTM, Alex. Great read!
  9. Great interview Alex !!!

    I want to listen to your music !!!
    i have to wait one or tow months?

  10. It shouldn't actually be that long, probably more like within the next month!

    And thanks everyone! It's a privilege!
  11. Finally got the time to read your monster-interview... That I Still Haven't Found detail made me go hahaha

    Congrats, well deserved, Alex
  12. Originally posted by LikeASong:Finally got the time to read your monster-interview... That I Still Haven't Found detail made me go hahaha

    Congrats, well deserved, Alex

    Thanks Sergio!

    Listening to that song now is kind of like a trip down memory lane for me, it definitely holds a special place!