Pardon me while I squeeeeeeeee!

Did U2 really just pull a Beyonce? Oh yes they did! And they gave away the album…it’s freeeee!

For months U2 have been toying with us. Will they or won’t they? 2014 or 2015? Just please tell us when you’re releasing the album! There’s actually a Twitter account whose sole purpose is to answer the question:

 

And then I wake up to this? How sweet and generous of Apple to give me this gift!

So of course the second thing I did yesterday (after downloading the album, of course) was to check out the account:

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Huzzah!

Now, I know there are so many U2 haters out there. And Bono haters. So, so many. And let’s face it, Bono kinda brings it upon himself most of the time. I totally get it. I mean, he regularly calls himself a Rock Star, without any sense of irony or sarcasm at all. He even does it in a song (“the last of the rock stars…” from Kite). He preaches, oh Lawd, how he preaches. I have reached a point where I’m so afraid to meet him, because I haven’t taken a graduate course in Africa, or World Economics, or AIDS. And that scripted exchange with Tim Cook at the Apple event was just plain cringe-worthy. Bono! Not again! You just gave your haters more ammunition!

And so many haters of the band’s music. The internet is on fire with debates about when they last released a really good album. Some say Achtung Baby was the last. I wouldn’t go as far as that, because I loved How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb. And All That You Can’t Leave Behind. But… *smallvoice* I did not like No Line On The Horizon. Please don’t tell anyone. I tried really really hard to get into that album. Listened to it so many times, determined to love it. But I just couldn’t.

I can say all this because I love them. I love Bono and all his unaware grandiose ways. I love their songs. Even the ones I don’t like, I still love. Because it’s U2. When I’m feeling blue or downright depressed, when nothing else can pull me back up, U2 can do it. It’s true love.

So to finally get a new album after No Line… is like getting a fresh start. Like, “Woohoo! Okay, that last one wasn’t so good, let’s try that again, shall we?” I was literally shaking when I woke up and was greeted by the news of the release. And I can say, after just a couple of listens, that Songs Of Innocence is pretty darn good. I already have favorites, like Every Breaking Wave and Song For Someone. It’s true that the album cover is very White Album-esque, buuuut, what’s wrong with trying to be like The Beatles anyway? All I’m saying is, it’s okay, we can let it go. The whole album has a more personal, intimate feel to it. There are no big Vertigos or Beautiful Days here.

And while I was panicking about how to download the songs from the damn iCloud because apparently I didn’t set my iTunes up for automatic cloud syncing, a huge chunk of the world was mad – MAD, I tell you! – that U2 was “foisted” upon them. Seriously, the humor in the tweets – and I think most of it was unintentional – kept me entertained. I wish I could be as funny and smart when I hate on someone. And again, I get it. I would feel the same way if I suddenly found a Beyonce or Taylor Swift album on my iTunes. (Please don’t kill me, Beygency.) Just take a look:

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But that’s another thing, see. As I said, I did not set up my iTunes to automatically download everything off the cloud. I spent the same amount of effort trying to get the album onto my iPod as the haters who wanted to delete all traces of it. Because why? Why would you ever set up your phone or iPod to automatically download anything? That’s just laziness. Anyway, while the haters were hating I was skipping for joy and celebrating U2 Day.

Huzzah!