1. Every month we put an U2 fan in the spotlights, the fan of the month May of 2013 is user U2_CR. 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?
    Hi everyone! My name is Cory Ross, I am 16 years old and I live in Ohio. I am a straight A student at my high school, so I guess you could say thats my job

    How did you become a fan of U2, tell us how it happened?
    Well me becoming a U2 fan started about 3 or 4 years ago, when I started listening to Nirvana. I got very into them, and eventually the whole grunge scene (PJ, SG, AIC etc.). A few months after this, I went into my house, and found my Uncle's CD collection. He had everything I liked! Nirvana, PJ, R.E.M., and this band I didn't know, called U2. The cover of "Rattle and Hum" intrigued me enough to the point where I took it and added it to my CD's (But never listened to it). Anyway, about two years later, I was in my first period English class, when our teacher introduced a project. It was a big research paper, and we could write it on anything we wanted. My teacher then showed us examples from her previous students. One was made by a friend of mine, Zayn, who wrote his on U2. One the cover, lay the artwork for "The Unforgettable Fire" and "The Joshua Tree". At this point I knew of U2, but thought they were a 60s "Beatles" style band (When I actually first found out about ZOOTV, I thought it was something along the lines of a "BBC Session" from a TV show... boy was I wrong ). Eventually I ended up writing my paper on you guessed it... Kurt Cobain. Anyway, later that very day, I was in my history class with my still favorite teacher, Mrs. Schaedler. For some reason, she mentioned a song by U2, called Sunday Bloody Sunday, and talked about how much she loved them. She then played SBS for the class, and I thought it was... ok. Intrigued by having had all this U2 in one day, I went home, and did nothing. Until a few days later, when I was in my CD collection, and saw it. U2: Rattle and Hum. I thought to myself "Eh, might as well check it out". I popped it in the CD player and looked on the back, looking for a track to listen to. I passed some great songs. What would be my first? Van Diemen's Land? Nope. All Along the Watchtower? Nope. Not even Pride! I then hit track 16. "Bullet The Blue Sky". The name intrigued me. "Wow, thats a cool name for a song!" I thought to myself. So, I turned it to track 16, turned up the volume and hit play. BAM. It hit me like a ton of bricks. Those drums. The bass. Bono's voice. The solo. WOAH I ended up listening to just that song, for the rest of the night. It is still my favorite U2 song. The next morning, I listened to All Along the Watchtower, then Pride, and after about 2 weeks, I became the "super" U2 fan I am today.

    Which member of the band would you most like to share a pint with?
    Well, i'm not allowed to drink But if I were, it would definitely be The Edge. He is by far my favorite member of the band... He seems like such a cool guy! I feel like we would have tons of fun together On another note, I really hope they give him a song where he sings sometime soon! After that I would pick Larry, then Bono and then Adam.

    In your opinion, what has been U2's defining moment and why?
    I'm not going to be like a lot of other people and say the Sarajevo concert, but mine will have to do with Sarajevo. In my opinion, U2's defining moment(s) would have to be the Satellite link-ups to Sarajevo and Bill Carter. Furthermore, U2's defining period of time would be the "Zooropa" leg of the ZOOTV tour. I feel this is when the band is at its highest point, and everything about this leg sums up the band.

    What does your U2 collection look like? What kind of stuff do you have and how is it organised?
    My U2 collection is pretty small right now, even though it is growing bigger and bigger by the months. Right now I have all of their albums on CD, and a few on Vinyl and Cassette. Furthermore, I have a few posters. I am saving up to make it bigger! All of this is part of my music collection, which I will talk about later.

    When you're forced to leave to a deserted island and you can take only one U2 album with you, which would it be?
    If we are talking studio albums, it would be Rattle and Hum (Yes I count it as a studio album). If we are talking about albums with ONLY studio tracks on them, it would be "The Joshua Tree". If we are talking bootlegs, it would be the Point Depot NYE show, or ZOOTV Dublin, depending on when I leave.

    Does anyone in your family or one of your friends like U2? If so, did they introduce you to U2, or did you "convert" them?
    Sadly, no one in my family likes U2. I do however have a few friends who do. My bestfriend likes them a lot. I actually didn't know this about her until I was driving in her car and "Elevation" came on her radio, and we both screamed "YES!". This has made us even better of friends. Furthermore, I am starting to get my girlfriend to like them... She liked Pride!

    What is your favorite U2 videoclip, and why?
    If we are talking music videos, it would probably be "The Fly"... I've always loved that one! Just everything about it is really cool to me, from Bono's "The Fly" suit, to when the ZOOTV screens. If we are talking concert films, it would be Rattle and Hum (Why does everyone hate it, I love it!!), with ZOOTV Sydney coming in a close second.

    How different is U2 compared to other artists that you like?
    In reality, they really aren't that different, but they are so different at the same time. It's really weird Other artists I like include everything from INXS to Pearl Jam to Led Zeppelin. I like pretty much anything rock. Furthermore, I like a lot of 80s stuff that isn't really "rock", like Blancmange (IM UP THE BLOODY TREE), Models, Kids in the Kitchen, etc. which are more pop. Comparatively, U2, while still being close to what these other bands do, is so unique in it's own, special way.

    What are your hobbies and interests away from U2, musical or otherwise?
    Some of my hobbies non-music include Baseball (Starting Catcher for my high school), football (Go Browns!), politics (When I get out of college I want to go into politics), history and more! Musically, I like many other bands and artists. Pretty much anything 80s, which isn't too poppy, I will like. I also like 60s, 70s and 90s Rock.




    Thanks for this interview U2_CR!

    Note: Our crew members randomly pick fans of the month, you can't sign up for it.
  2. Nice read, Cory

    With a music taste like that, you were never going to find it difficult to fit in here Our Pearl Jam topic might as well be split into it's own separate sub-forum. Interesting that Rattle and Hum was the album to get you into U2, it is such a good album though. Bullet the Blue Sky is one of my favourites too
  3. Congrats Cory !

    I am with you about Rattle and Hum
  4. Congrats for the FOTM "award", Cory Nice to know a bit more about yourself!


    Sadly, no one in my family likes U2. I do however have a few friends who do. My bestfriend likes them a lot. I actually didn't know this about her until I was driving in her car and "Elevation" came on her radio, and we both screamed "YES!". This has made us even better of friends. Furthermore, I am starting to get my girlfriend to like them... She liked Pride!

    Don't wanna sound like interfering in your love/friend life and I'm just kidding, but I would DEFINITELY choose a true U2 fan over a casual listener hahaha Just joking. Nice read!!
  5. As an older U2start member (and a fan of those Seattle bands), I feel much better about the future after reading your interview.

    Well done - and written!
  6. Fantastic interview Cory. great to know more about you, and its always a pleasure to read about U2 fans' origin stories
    I dont think many people hate R&H here...its mostly the band themselves and the people at the time....it was all I listened to and watched in the beginning.
  7. Great read Cory ...
  8. I loved reading how you got into U2 with Bullet!
    I'll listen to the song later today and TRY to imagine the impact it might have had on you.

    I'd be curious to know how it went on, and how Pop or Zooropa appealed to you, or not, after this first hit with Bullet.
  9. with those musical roots i cannot help but congratulate hehehe
    seriously congrats both for the designation and for the very nice interview
  10. Hey guys sorry that I haven't been able to respond to this... been very busy this week! Anyway thank you everyone Finally some people understand RH! All I hear about is how bad it was!
  11. Since I submitted the interview she has listened, and liked, RTSS, WOWY, SBS and 40... Almost there! hahahaha
  12. Originally posted by loftarasa:I loved reading how you got into U2 with Bullet!
    I'll listen to the song later today and TRY to imagine the impact it might have had on you.

    I'd be curious to know how it went on, and how Pop or Zooropa appealed to you, or not, after this first hit with Bullet.

    Well for me my way into U2 was weird. At first I only liked their 80s stuff and convinced myself that the rest of their periods sucked, like I seem to do for some reason with every band (It took me five months to get to listening and liking 360). About three weeks after my first U2 experience, I got into ZOOTV w/ Zoo Station and BTBS Live from Sydney. Now ZOOTV is my favorite tour of theirs. Anyway, because of this, I really liked Zooropa after my first listen, and its a very good album... Love the tracks live! Furthermore, I think because of Zooropa, AB, and Pop, I have started to like the music I like today. Anyway, I got into Pop after listening to the live version of Please from Popmart Rotterdam. Still love PopMart and Please (Live is great). Pop isn't my favorite album of theirs, but I still like the album a lot.