"Ordinary Love": Of U2, me and great times.

I'm an unreconstructed, unrepentant, unembarrassed fan of U2. I accept it as unimpeachably and undeniably axiomatic that the world is a better place when there is new music from U2. And The Edge ... well, The Edge remains bad ... as my friend Roz Tate would say.

This song has grown on me considerably. Maybe not a classic, but very encouraging nonetheless, with the long-awaited new album hopefully dropping in April. The guitar and vocals in the bridge give me shivers, perhaps not for what they are, but for what they conjure. That's enough for me.

I sometimes forget the extent to which U2's music has been accompanying me for more than a quarter-century. It has defined so many milestones, European trips, love affairs, business endeavors ... and as I've always pointed out, I'm the same age as the band's members. Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen are my lads, and my chronological contemporaries.

Three past mentions of U2 here at the blog:

Achtung Baby and the greatest rock reinvention.

Travel Music 4: In the open air with Genesis and U2, 1987.

Ruminations just for the hell of it.