Nietzsche killed God because he loved God?

This is from a paper I wrote this past school year. I do not necessarily believe it is true, but it was a fascinating exercise to think through:

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Neither a proverb nor an extremely famous saying, but there is a world-wide known cult saying that has become an example of irony and wit to those who are able to recognize and understand it.

“Every artist is a cannibal, every poet is a thief / All kill their inspiration, and sing about their grief.”

This line is actually from the U2 song, “The Fly.” It has become a staple of their live shows since the song was recorded in 1991, and is known by millions the world over. The song itself is a collection of dark, confusing sayings from a persona, the Fly, created by the lead singer as the ultimate rock star who has sold his soul to the devil. Contradictory proverbs are espoused with the wisdom of youth and the brevity of a man bored. All this from an Irish rock star who grew up, left the Church, and had seen the underbelly of the music industry for over a decade.

The line basically says that nearly every creative person thrives off other’s work as well as the emotional reactions they can gleam from their own soul. Those who are truly desperate to create will steal and kill in order to produce. There is a torturing of self as well as others in order to gain something; art becomes a form of religious sacrifice. You write about what you know…or knew.

Whether or not this idea is true is up for debate. The line comes from a personality that is actively communing with the devil, so you can’t quite trust what this person is saying, even if it gives all appearance of true wisdom. The devil was first quoted as telling Eve the half-truth about the fruit in the Garden; he spoke no lie, but merely a perversion of what God had already said. This line therefore is probably a diabolic mirror of some truth that is known but unspoken in the heart of man.

Every artist probably does not kill their inspiration; if that was the case, the only reason God is dead is because Nietzsche was his biggest fan. This song lyric then would be the rational that drove Mark Chapman to kill John Lennon; he did it out of a perverted sense of love. This obviously is not how most of the rational world does not work. We create tributes to great men and women after they have died, not because we killed them in order to gain inspiration.
While a fantastically witty and deep saying, ultimately this proves to be false. Those who follow this will find themselves increasingly marginalized in society and will be open to all sorts of diabolic suggestions and views.

My Top 5 Favorite In-Studio U2 Songs

In anticipation of U2's new album, No Line on the Horizon, due out March 1, I've decided to do a list or two, try to nail down exactly which songs are my favorites and maybe a short explanation of why. I realize a blog of this post appeals to very few people who read me, but I feel led to do this.

Starting off this series is my Top 5 Favorite In-Studio U2 Songs. The big thing with U2 is that they go into the studio just to write songs they can play live. At heart, they are a live performance, some (Bono) would say worship, band. Because of this, their live performances are generally ten times better than any studio recording. However, there are the occasional songs that don't translate to a live medium. So two distinctive lists are needed, one for live material, one for in-studio.

These next 5 songs are my favorite in-studio performances, even if the song has been done live, or even if the better performance is live.

I've provided when I can a YouTube link to the song.

Also...this list is constantly changing. There are just too many songs I like...I've attempted to highlight a few, yet for every one I choose, another one is left off. It's painful, really.

1 - Mercy (2005, Unreleased - Atomic Bomb sessions)
This song is an oddity as it has never been officially released, has been talked about by the band, Bono loves it and wants it on every album they do, but no one knows how it was released. Since the band reportedly wrote 60 plus songs recently and are only using 13 or so for the upcoming album, they got the material for a quick album or two, this would be a great song to officially get out there so they can sing it live.

As for why I love it...I don't know, it's U2 being their most U2ish. The lyrics are straight up Biblical and spiritual, the emotion in the song is real, there is a breaking through into God's throne room that happens during the song...the song is pure joy, pure worship, pure Spirit. It's one of those songs I can just sing at the top of my lungs with reckless abandon. "Love is the end of history, the enemy of misery..."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJadJ_wNqAs

2 - In God's Country (1987, The Joshua Tree)
The Joshua Tree was one of the first U2 albums I was exposed to, and this is still the standout track to me. Edge's chiming guitar really stands out on this one, and Adam's bass provides a fun little counterpiece to play around with. Bono's lyrics are interesting, joyful, and heartfelt; the reference to a "desert rose" is clearly an allusion to Bono's wife Ali, who does look a little Spanish although I'm not sure if she has any in her ancestry. Also, Bono manages to incorporate a little irony intermingled with Biblical imagery in the lines "love, faith, her vanity/but the greatest gift is gold."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkbaRJuZ3A8

3 - Staring at the Sun (1997, Pop)
The band tried to play this live a few times, but they think it only really worked live on acoustic. I disagree. While this song was eventually re-recorded on the Best of 1990-2000 album, the original is by far superior. There is a great mellow vibe to this song, one that compels you to take a ride through the musical landscape. The lyrics are a little nonsensical, but not all music is about the lyrics. Edge's organ guitar is amazing here, an effect I wish he would use more often.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5A8-N_SUcUc

4 - Zooropa (1993, Zooropa)
This song is all about the guitars once again. The opening is trippy...the very first time I heard this album was while working janitorial at Fourth Baptist on a really rainy summer day, and this song just fit perfectly. Edge sounds like he is playing the guitar underwater...great effect. I love the way the sound bites just flow in and out, never quite there to grasp; it's like ZooTV meets a late night drive in the country during the summer with the windows down.

There was also a point in my life where the line "and I've got no religion" was a great comfort, especially after I had left the church but not walked away from God. While Bono isn't saying that HE himself has no religion, rather the character in the song has none (music is a form of acting, didn't you know?), it was still a great concept, the idea that while you have no worldview or boundaries holding you in, as you step outside the whole world just appears bright, clean and new.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbO4-3i0M50

5 - Another Time, Another Place (1980, Boy)
From U2's very first album, this song was probably around in one form or another from the beginning, way back in 1977. If anyone made a list of "darker" U2 songs, such as "Exit", this song deserves to be on it. The section with the guitar solo takes a decidedly darker turn, and when the backup guitar comes forward in the mix, you really get the feeling that these boys are rocking. Plus, that brief section right after the guitar solo, when Larry starts drumming really fast and Bono is growling something I've never quite understood...love that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1ggYTZaJVw

Songs that didn't make this list include Achtung Baby's "Acrobat", the Passenger's song "Your Blue Room", U2-18's "Window in the Skies", Boy's "Shadows and Tall Trees", Best of 90's new mix of "Discotheque" and "Numb", and Achtung Baby's "Ultraviolet."

The Rock Connection...from the Beatles, to U2, to...?

"There are many things I could be proud of, if I'd only invented them...such as the wheel."

Kaiser Chiefs are rapidly becoming the new U2 in my little world. While they might not be big enough to sell out stadiums (except Live 8), they very much remind me of a young U2.

There is a theory floating around the internet that rock and roll is coming to a close.

http://www.theetherealconnection.com/home.php

This theory is based almost primarily on the album art from The Beatles and U2. The guy argues that The Beatles set the ground work for rock and roll. Then U2 came along a few decades later and took what the Beatles did and expanded it.

The theory goes that the last band of the Big Three is already winding up. The author believes it's Coldplay, based on this whole album art conspiracy thing.

Me? It's the Kaiser Chiefs, definitely.

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One more shameless plug - U2:3D comes out to IMAX this summer. I'm going to arrange a showing, try to invite as many people as I can to go. It might not be the same as going to the concert...but on an IMAX screen, and with this new 3D technology, it's going to be nearly as good!

Would love it if you'd come.

New addiction...I mean, addition

See that new box on the bottom right hand side of the page? That's a LastFM box. Basically, it will show you the last ten songs I have listened to on my laptop, all courtesy of the amazing website LastFM.

My complete profile is right here.

While I'm still trying to figure out how to get that box to show completely in the corner...need to resize things somehow...I'm probably going to keep that design since I tend to like it the best out of all the pre-made ones they have. They DID have a U2 themed one, but the text was way too dark for the image they used.

Ah, but I haven't explained precisely what LastFM is. It's a free service that tracks the music you listen to via a plug-in that is available in a wide variety of players. It keeps track of which artists you listen to the most (U2), both weekly (U2) and overall (U2), as well as top tracks (Kaiser Chiefs??? Wahuuuh?).

Obviously since 1 out of every 3 songs I have on my computer is a U2 song of some form, that tends to dominate the charts. My only complaint is that the program does not differentiate between different albums. A song that was played at my Minneapolis concert, like Vertigo, will just show up as Vertigo from the How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb album. I could listen to 5 different versions of New Year's Day, remix, live, or single edits, and yet it will still show either War or The Best of 1980 albums. A handy plug-in that allows you to edit or supply albums and artwork would be nice.

One other nice feature of this program is the ability to choose which songs you "love", as well as tag songs. Tags can be pre-selected (rock, dance, country, whatever) or you can make up your own (all time favorite, great live, remix, spiritual - rock, etc). REALLY addictive.

I must admit, I have a little bit of apprehension putting this ticker on such a public place. I don't know if really everyone needs to see what I listen to. Most of this apprehension comes from past experiences, where someone would condemn me on the spot for listening to something with a drum beat, or was "secular" vs Christian. But you know what I figure now? I'm really not ashamed of the music I listen to. In fact, I'm rather proud of it, and desire to freely share it. U2 in particular has opened the door and allowed me to share Christ with people. I am definitely not ashamed of it. And yes, I listen to Metallica too. I have my reasons, which you can disagree with.

And besides...anything that is not of faith is sin, right? I think I have the faith to listen to rock and roll...

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Kudos to Granticus for All Because of You. We really need to get you and Dean a Memory Man unit.

Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses, Live from Target Center

Wow...has it really been almost a year and a half since this show? Amazing...



The song of course is Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses, from the Achtung Baby album. Just a little different arrangement from the original.

While the Minneapolis show was special because it was here in MN, obviously, as well as being the show where I officially "introduced" U2 to Joe and David...personally, I think my previous show in Chicago was better, May 12 (a few days after Bono's birthday). While the Chicago show was my very first U2 show, it was better for more reasons than that.

The one thing that bummed me about the Minneapolis show was the number of acoustic songs. Don't get me wrong; we got an awesome show, one that is always listed in the most downloaded Vertigo Tour shows online. "The First Time" was played, "Crumbs From Your Table" was played live for the first time, the above "Wild Horses" was also special...really, great song choices all around. But, in my mind, it was lacking.

What I really wanted, and especially wanted my friends to witness, was U2 overload. Specifically, the "ZooTV lite" segment on most Vertigo Tour shows: "Zoo Station," "The Fly," "Mysterious Ways," and "Until the End of the World" (especially this one). I got to experience this in Chicago...with the exception of "Zoo Station"... and it made my day. We in Minneapolis were treated to a variety of rare and acoustic songs; in Chicago, we got to see U2 rock out.

The more I look back on it, the more that Chicago show was the "perfect setlist" for me, or at least perfect for my first show. I got almost all the songs I've always wanted to see performed live. And I'm lucky enough to not only have audio cds of the show, but a really decent dvd of the show too (except for that annoying time delay in parts). For Minneapolis, I've only got a halfway decent (aka crap) audio copy. I know there are various cam shots from the show, which the above footage is from, but the only way I can get those is from a torrents site, and my internet connection doesn't have the horsepower to do that. One day...one day...

Still, I'm grateful for the shows that I got. Never mind that a friend of mine was literally on the edge of the ellipse during the tour opener, got to see them maybe 6 more times during that first leg, as well as getting to go see the last show of the tour in an open air stadium in Hawaii...

I'm still grateful.

Looking forward to the next tour!!

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You know, if people were to try to get to know me based solely on the strength and topics of this blog, they'd think I was obsessed with U2. I'm not. At least not entirely. I know that more people read this blog than I know of...I'm always hearing about someone else reading or at least knowing about my blog. And if they don't want to take the time to comment, that's ok. I'll do my best to keep you entertained.

"Your mama is so fat...on a scale of 1 to 10, she's a seven-forty-seven." -Sharpton to Obama

I really need to start to diversify my blog posts...

XM gospel and The Secret

Been hearing about The Secret a lot recently. Oprah seems to be on a big kick about it...as are others. Well, I think I figured out what the secret really is...

A few days ago, as I was walking back to the bakery to get to work in the morning, pushing my 3 or 4 shopping carts (we somehow use them all), I had a lot of things on my mind. This is typically normal for me; but this past week or two I've been in a different kind of funk. Not depressed, just lots on my mind. Most of it has to do with only getting the occasional day off, and not two days in a row or anything; so just a general feeling of being tired and weary (shovelling snow, 50 lb bags of cake mix, and moving pallets of food around can do that to you).

So...I was just walking back to the bakery, pushing my carts, lost in my own mind (but still alert for forklifts). Scene set. We have XM Radio or some other satellite service that pumps music throughout most of the store; our little corner gets nothing but our blown out boombox. Normally we tend to listen to a lot of 80's hair metal...yick...but they decided to put on some hit list station for that morning.

Two songs in particular stuck out to me. First, that one song that all the radio stations can't seem to stop playing...that one song that Jelani likes...goes something like:

"I keep on waiting, waiting/ Waiting for the world (song) to change."

Or something like that. Hideous song, equally stupid music video. Bad artist all around. Anyways, the song seems to be the current message that keeps being said around the world: everyone wants change. They don't know what they really want, but go ahead and change the status quo anyway. Anything is better than what we currently have, right? We got the war in Iraq going on, Bush is still in office, the Vikings suck, everything just seems to be going downhill, huh?

So as the song closes..."Keep on waiting, waiting...waiting for the world to change," the next song that the playlist (or DJ) decides to play is essentially the answer to that cry.

See the world in green and blue See China right in front of you See the canyons broken by clouds See the tuna fleets clearing the sea out See the Bedouin fires at night See the oil fields at first light and See the bird with a leaf in her mouth After the flood all the colors came out

And then later...

What you don't have you don't need it now What you don't know you can feel it somehow What you don't have you don't need it now Don't need it now It was a beautiful day

U2's Beautiful Day, if you haven't figured it out. And once again, Bono's lyrics speak volumes. A song of hopelessness followed by a song that practically shouts "HEY! It's already better! Things got better a long time ago! There is a way out, that you can take, right now! How can it not be a beautiful day?"

I don't know. Once again, I'm having trouble writing what I'm thinking, or remembering how I felt at the time. But it just struck me as important, you know? Yeah, this world sucks. It's pretty messed up. But things are going to better. Christ is coming, and in a sense, is already here. While we might still struggle in the dirt, sometimes even enjoying it, ultimately we are clean and will be clean. And the only way that is accomplished is through Christ.

You understand me?

No doubt in my mind

I mean, c'mon, how can anyone seriously argue that Bono and his fellow members of U2 are not Christian??

This alone should prove it.

If your heart is still hard, try this...

I realize to like 90% of the people who read my blog agree with me, but for those stubborn few...

Salt and Light in Blogger u2.0

And I've converted to Blogger 2.0. Why? Cause it wouldn't let me do otherwise. Sigh...I've "Made the Switch."

Two thoughts tonight. The first...I've noticed that it is getting easier and easier to not go to church. Part of it has to do with the schedule I'm on. Having been up for work since 3 am, unless I manage to grab a few hours nap in the afternoon, come 7, 7:30, I'm dragging. I'm sure I'd feel really good and coherent come the end of church around 9:30.

I know I need to be at church. I want to be at church; preferably on Saturday night so I can see my friends, but Wednesday works just as well. Pray that God will change my work schedule so that I can begin attending regularly again. There is a possibility I might get a part-time baker's position, with hours closer to 1-6 pm than my current 5am-10am. Pray that something works out.

Ok, the second thing for this evening. I was reading through One Step Closer: Why U2 Matters to Those Seeking God by Christian Scharen (actually a really, really terrible and poorly written book), but some scripture he used struck out to me. Specifically, Matt 5:13-4 (salt and light of the world).

(EDIT- Ok, the book is not horrible. It's by far not the worse book out there. I've just noticed some errors with it, both factual and textual, that I didn't like. I apologize if I came across as unduly critical. I guess it's the editor in me...)

What is meant here by "salt" and "light?" Since they are two different words, defining two different objects (one physical, one quasi-physical...lol), I'm gonna assume that they are referring to two seperate things. But the usage of both words is similar, and really kinda mean the same thing. So what is that thing (or things)?

What put this thought into my mind was the way the author of that U2 book, as well as Jesus, used these examples. Right now I'm lacking the words to explain what I was thinking, but these words sort of stuck with me and I can't seem to get rid of them. I'm just really curious what is being referred to specifically here. I've always heard these verses/words interchangeably, but I somehow doubt that is the case.

I'm wondering if a proper Biblical study will yield some answers.

Any thoughts?