New article in the Spectator!

In which I detail the assault on ROTC and student freedom by anti-military faculty and staff.

Happy Birthday, Vladimir Illych Lenin!

Well, since today is Earth Day, I think that it's fitting to recognize the efforts that Lenin made to reduce the carbon footprint in Russia in the early part of the last century, which is really something because they didn't even know what a carbon footprint was. From what I can figure, the death toll of his regime was 6-8 million Russians (this is based on a cursory Google search). Man, Lenin really knew how to get rid of those pesky peasants who weren't properly utilizing Russia's bountiful natural resources! They probably reduced Mother Russia's carbon footprint by at least a few winter boots' worth.

World Malaria Day...?

While perusing a friend's Facebook, I came across the above advertisement. Having read Michael Crichton's State of Fear, I'm not sure that providing someone with a mosquito net is going to stop the spread of malaria all that much... maybe if we lifted the ban on DDT (which almost eradicated malaria worldwide), we wouldn't have to buy T-shirts to raise awareness about malaria. Just a thought.

No Line on the Horizon

How does one describe No Line On The Horizon? Judging from reviews on iTunes and Amazon.com, some people love it and others hate it. The people who love it praise its sonic landscapes, production value, and thoughtful lyrics. Those who hate it decry the obvious hand that Brian Eno had in production, the fact that it doesn't rank with truly great albums like Achtung Baby and The Joshua Tree, and the album cover (yes, people really did give the album one-star reviews because they hated the artwork). What is the best way to look at U2's latest?

The biggest thing to keep in mind is that the band will never, ever make another Achtung. That was arguably one of their peaks, musically and creatively, and it can't be outdone. But when it comes to a band like U2 that have constantly experimented with different genres (remember Pop?), pushed themselves in terms of artistic maturity, and never sat still in either place for too long, it's unfair to them to characterize their music in terms of "this album isn't as good as Achtung Baby" or "they'll never be as good as x album." They're constantly evolving and maturing, and fans should know by now that they never really know what to expect.

However, I think that if you're going to compare this album to a past one, the best one to compare it to would be The Unforgettable Fire. That was when Brian Eno first came aboard and many regard the album today as being the transformative element in their sound. It wasn't too well received at the time, way back in 1984: Bono would later talk of people asking him, "what are you doing with this doggone hippie Eno album?" The atmospheric elements and synth-stylings, coupled with Eno's production style, unlocked what Bono called U2's "lyrical soul in abundance," which was something that the band felt had been repressed on their previous efforts (1). Granted that a lot of things are different for No Line: there hasn't been too much loss of their lyrical soul and this album isn't experimental like Unforgettable Fire was, but I think that No Line is the modern counterpart to Fire. Enough argument, time for the music...

The album starts off with an energetic punch, "No Line On The Horizon." Listening to this track makes it easy to see what U2 meant when they said that they were reapplying for the position of "best band in the world," with Bono's soaring vocals against a backdrop of pure rock guitars and stomping rhythm. Then we head into "Magnificent," which I would say is one of the band's most unabashedly worshipful songs, right up there with "Gloria" off of their sophomore album, October. "I'll give you back my voice from the womb, my first cry it was a joyful noise... you and I will magnify, the Magnificent!"
"Moment of Surrender" tones down the energy for a more subdued musing on love and the story of life. The guitar takes a backseat while keyboards come into the front of the mix alongside Bono's characteristic wailing. It's also one of their longest studio tracks ever, timing in at 7:24. But the pent up energy builds up in the intro on the next track as voices echo "sunshine, sunshine..." and then U2 enters with a shout to confront the "Unknown Caller." According to Bono, this song is a story about a strung-out junkie who starts receiving technology-inspired phrases via text message.. okay, it sounds weird, but this song will make you tap your toes and thrust your fists into the air. If you're me, anyway. Also, there's an organ refrain that's straight out of "My Saviour's Love," which you're most likely to find in an old hymnal.
The next song throws me for a loop. "I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight" is typical U2: rock, Bono's poetic lyrics, and the standard U2 sound. It's a good song, but I have a sneaking suspicion that it's an Obama anthem in disguise ("every generation gets a chance to change the world, pity the nation that will listen to your boys and girls, cos the sweetest melody is the one we haven't heard... but change of heart comes slow"). The fact that will.i.am aided in production reinforces my hunch, but knowing U2, their lyrics can be interpreted a hundred different ways.
The first single off the album, "Get On Your Boots," caused me to nearly despair about the future of my favorite band. Is there some kind of unwritten rule that says that U2 has to issue a single with seemingly nonsensical lyrics ("Sexy boots, get on your boots, bossy boots") and annoyingly catchy hooks with every album post-2000? I heard a snippet of this on Amazon about a month before the album actually came out, and my first feeling was that the whole album was going to sound like this song, and that the effort as a whole would be a huge hit or miss for U2, and that if it were a miss, then we could pretty much kiss the lads goodbye... luckily, the style in this song isn't representative of the whole project.
"Stand Up Comedy" is also typical U2. I'd place it in the same category as "Elevation," "All Because Of You," etc.
Then suddenly we're introduced to the two-part song "FEZ-Being Born," which starts off with ambient noise, a weird guitar-sounding rhythm, and Bono's echoing voice, then transitions into a repeat of the above, along with a very spy movie-sounding bass and drum line, then it's as if the tape jumps ahead a few tracks into "Being Born," a piece that gives you the idea that the musicians are rushed, trying to convey some important message before they have to leave, but trying to kill time paradoxically.
When I first listened to "White As Snow," I was absolutely elated. Did this decade's U2 really write a song about war that wasn't sappy-sounding and peacenik-y ("Peace On Earth") or arrogant and naive ("Love And Peace Or Else")? Rumor has it that Bono wrote the song through the eyes of a soldier in Afghanistan who has been mortally wounded by an IED, whose last thoughts comprise the lyrics... the end result is a very plaintive, realistic, and ultimately divinely hopeful song that captures the brutal actuality of America's war on terror ("the wolves are every passing stranger, every face we cannot know") while finding solace in "a Lamb as white as snow."
"Breathe" is another energetic, joyful song that lays out the beauty in the fact that we are alive, as Bono shouts: "Every day I die again, and again I'm reborn, every day I have to find the courage to walk out into the street, with arms out, got a love that you can't defeat..." Definitely one of their more uplifting songs.
The album closes with "Cedars of Lebanon," a haunting piece that has made my eyes moist on more than one occasion. It's definitely a dark song, with Bono's character reflecting on love and loss: "This shitty world sometimes produces a rose, the scent of it lingers and then it just goes..."

In terms of presentation, I bought the special edition that comes with the expanded booklet, poster, and link to online video, and I was fairly impressed. Anton Corbijn's photographs are stellar as always, the case is of decent construction, and it's even got a cool plastic slipcover! The only serious complaint that I have is that the poster is glued to the inside of the box, forcing you to carefully rip it off of the box. When I did that, some of the backside of the poster peeled off, leaving me with a poster that's got some pretty obviously thin spots. Why couldn't they have just cut a flap in the box and slid the poster into it? Oh well, it could be worse, there could be a flap in the box where the CD slides out of, which will scratch it up quicker than you can say "disc doctor" (please note Kanye West's "Graduation," and Ben Kenney's "Distance and Comfort").

All in all, I'd give this album a solid 9 out of 10, and definitely one to listen to if you're a fan. I listen to it at least once a day at work and love every minute of it. This is not an experimental album like Zooropa or a pop album like All That You Can't Leave Behind (which until recently was one of the only albums in my iTunes library to only get a three star rating). U2 is back in business with a rock album, reapplying to be the best band in the world.

1: "The Complete Guide to the Music of U2" by Bill Graham, pages 35-37