No Line On The Horizon

Hearing new songs from your favorite-favorite band is like meeting a half-sibling you didn't know you had: weird, exciting, and, for better or worse, forever a part of the rest of your life. Such it is with the eleven new songs on No Line On The Horizon, U2's twelfth album and the third released during my time as a fan (fandom achieved December 1998). U2 songs take a while to grow on me and they never really reach their potential until they're played live. (I would not have suspected "Love And Peace Or Else" to be one of the best songs on the previous album until I saw Bono pounding away its finale on Larry's drum, pieces of the sticks sailing into the audience.) Thus I'm not ready to comment on the songs.

But I will wax nostalgic about the hype that used to surround an album release, back in the olden days, pre-Internet. It used to be, the only taste you had of an album was its first single -- the other songs remained a mystery. There was a desperation to hear them as the release date crept closer. This is why Josh and I would stand in the rain outside Newbury Comics in October 2000, waiting for midnight and the release of All That You Can't Leave Behind. I remember hiding under the covers that night, listening on my headphones.

I don't actually even own No Line On The Horizon yet but I've heard all the songs. First like a year ago there were clips some fan had recorded on his cell phone outside U2's studio -- muffled sounds of rehearsals within; it was pretty clear from that what the new album would sound like. Then last month Walmart.com briefly posted 30-second clips of all the songs, way before they were supposed to. And since yesterday U2.com has been streaming the entire album for your listening pleasure. It's a little sad that the magical moment of pressing play for the first time has been diluted by all these teases. But, like I said above, none of these songs really come alive until they're played live. And when they do I'm sure they won't disappoint.

(Photo: Adam Clayton calls me to ask how I like the new album.)