Of albums, iTunes, iPods, concerts and U2

In case you missed it, the new U2 album, No Line on the Horizon, came out this week. IT IS YAY!!! It only took 2 or 3 years...I've lost track. But, it was worth the wait. While I'm not sure it's quite as good as the prior album (How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb), I really like it's theme and the sound is vintage U2. I can't wait for the tour!

Buying this album got me thinking about the whole art of buying cds vs. downloading music. When it's U2, there's no question I'll buy the cd. I have every other album on actual cd (some on vinyl!)...I can't break the chain now, and I love to have the liner notes/booklet thing. When a friend asked if I was going to download it or buy a hard copy, it really wasn't a question for me.

There are a few other artists I feel this way about (Third Day, Switchfoot, Coldplay...I'm sure there are more, but those are the ones I am thinking of right now...). However, there are many others I have no problem downloading...not because I think any less of the album, but because I started collecting their music via iTunes, and now, it just seems like the right thing to do.

What about you? Are there some artists whose album you actually need to touch, to hold, to feel?

One great thing about the real cd is that when you play it, it plays in order...in the order the artist wished for it to be played in. In this day of digital music, we really lose that concept and many times we lose the theme an artist was going for with their whole album...not just a particular song.

The shuffle in iTunes and on iPods is great...I absolutely LOVE it! But whenever I download/load a new album, I have to turn it off and listen to the album in its delivered order. To me, it really makes a difference in what the songs say and how I feel about them. Once I've listened to the album in this way a number of times, I go back to the shuffle and let the songs show up however the Pod thinks they should. I usually don't think about it again...except this week, after I loaded the new U2 album, I actually listened to the last album in its delivered order too, and it was more awesome than I remembered. I may have to be unshuffled for a while and go old school with my music listening. Am I alone in this? Does anyone else out there feel the same way I do?

One more thing before I go...thinking about the possibility of U2 coming in concert got me thinking about concerts in general and how far I'd travel to see someone...since no one ever comes to play in San Jose - ANNOYING!!! What's the limit on how far you'd travel to see your favorite band? Are some bands worth a longer distance than others?

For me, the list is U2, Third Day and Matt Nathanson - I would drive multiple hours for all of them. I'd go see them on any night, no matter what was happening the next day. Some close seconds would be Switchfoot and Bon Jovi. As luck would have it, those of us in San Jose get to make these kinds of decsions on a regular basis since so few bands come to our land. If i haven't mentioned it before, I'll mention it now...ANNOYING!!!

Well, that's it for now. Happy listening!!

And one more thing: Happy Birthday Robyn-O!