Saturday, October 02, 2010

In the Crisp Autumn Air

To paraphrase Donna Summer, "I [HAVE] survived"... SEPTEMBER! "I'll remember" that month of surprise illnesses, car crashes, and sinus infections with crushing (but strangely painless) head pressure brought on by torrential downpours. The last one...to quote Foreigner ..."THAT was yesterday". Or as Simon and Garfunkel almost sang, "A [month] once new ha[d] now grown [REALLY] OLD" . Good riddance.

Welcome OCTOBER!!!


My favorite month!


"And [while] the trees are stripped bare Of all they wear"
around here in November (a close second favorite), I still love to listen to that U2 song this time of year. In fact October is my favorite pre-Achtung Baby U2 album with Boy (another) close second. I know War is generally considered a superior work over the first two outings, but I think it's a little too smooth. Unforgettable Fire is similar. Although I loved seeing that tour live at the Hampton Coliseum back in 1985 (on the floor no less), despite getting doused with beer from a can thrown against the door frame as I was entering the building amongst the crushing mob of fans.

It was probably my poor concert experience at RFK back in 1987 during the Joshua Tree tour that makes that album rank lower for me. Who wants to be on the opposite end of the stadium and watch the concert on a screen, when I was up close and personal the last time. Don't even get me started on Rattle and Hum. Now Achtung Baby is a masterpiece. I love most of the songs, especially "Ultraviolet (Light My Way)" and "Until the End of the World". The latter was used in a movie of the same name -- ever seen it? I have, but I don't remember it well other than it was weird. I seem to recall the song playing while an airplane was flying. This reminds me of the excellent Voodoo Child (Slight Return) Jimi Hendrix sequence in the movie Withnail and I. That's probably the ONLY thing I liked about THAT film.

Now, the last three u2 albums have also been stellar. We'll just skip anything released between Achtung Baby and All That We Can't Leave Behind. Lots of great songs on ATWCLB too, especially "Beautiful Day" and "New York". The first time I listened to How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, I really didn't appreciate it other than the familiar "Vertigo", but it really grew on me and it's now my favorite of the last three offerings. "The City of Blinding Lights" is the BEST u2 song thus far IMO. It even kept me from falling asleep at the wheel while driving my family back from North Carolina a few Octobers ago. I can remember listening to it over and over and over again on I-66. No Line on the Horizon was another one that I didn't respond favorably too at first. "Put on Your Boots" was just too over the top initially. However, "Magnificent" is just that -- a perfect song and probably my second favorite from the band.

What's all this have to do with comics? Well...not much actually. In fact I was going to write about some Thor back issues, but while I was strolling my son in the crisp autumn air this evening I just was enjoying the new month so much and my mind drifted to other topics...

Given how awful I felt yesterday, by comparison I feel like Peter Parker did after his arm healed in Amazing Spider-man #176 (following his encounters with the Molten Man and the Hitman) . I'll let the awesome Ross Andru art speak for itself.













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