Gravity Always Wins

I remember the first time I beat my father in chess. Not to sound too dramatic, but...the world changed.

There are certain people who live above our heads. Idols, gods, icons - call them what you will. These are the people that we strive to be. They usually define facets of who we are and what we will become. And it's often terrifying to realize - without arrogance or boast - that, "I can do that better than they can."

The first time I beat my father in chess I went up to my room, sat on my bed and stared at my Star Wars wallpaper. I didn't know what to do. This was a man who was better than I was at everything: at hockey, at running, at math, at speaking, at cooking and certainly at chess. In my mind, I had thrown a stone and a giant had fallen.

Well, it's happened again. The greatest musical influence of my life has finally touched the ground and it's doubtful their wings will ever work again. I am speaking of U2 and their new record, "No Line on the Horizon."

It is not a great record.

Anyone who knows me will realize that me writing that down is akin to killing my firstborn child with my own hands. It's an ok record. There are moments (echoes?) of greatness and moments of interest and moments of discovery but they seem unable to sustain that size like they used to. I feel a bit pedantic listening and judging but after four and half years, you'd expect the biggest band in the world (with no limit to their resources) to dazzle, to soar, to break new ground.) But they don't. Thom Yorke is right. "Gravity always wins.' Now, it's a wonder that they managed to stay in orbit so long. This is a band that found worldwide success almost 25 years ago and have bounced between soaring and flapping madly to stay in the air since then. Their toes have touched the ground on occasion (see the majority of 'Pop') but they've always managed to catch an updraft at the last second and keep the sky. As such, it's hard to be angry at them because they've built all these expectations on their own shoulders. But it's hard not to be disappointed. It's hard not to be afraid. Who reigns when the king dies and there's no heir to the throne?