What do you think?: December 2005 Archives
Oh my! What a disastrous choice Zurich made by getting rid of the old lights in exchange for the new ones that run along Bahnhofstrasse during the Christmas holidays. You can see them in the photo here, or at WiFi-Art.com, where there's a great shot of them in the dead of night. They are the white toothpick looking things lining the center of the street. Apparently the old lights were too old and too expensive to maintain, so they gathered all the smart minds of the city to devise a fancy, new decoration for Zurich's main shopping district. In a nod toward Swiss clocks, its supposed to be "The World's Largest Timepiece" - designed Fabio Gramazio and Matthias Kohler. Well the people of the city hate it; and I can see why. Its just plain ugly. And the lights are too white. It looks industrial, not festive.
There is still a section of Zurich where you can see the old-style lights - on Rennweg. They look warm and inviting, so I understand why the new lights are the talk of the town. Zurich is old, small and charming; and Bahnhofstrasse is like New York's Broadway. But they ruined it with white test tubes. However, from what I here, the talk is that the smart minds are being asked to reconvene early next year to "fix" the situation. What I'd like to know is, "Was making a poor choice cheaper than keeping the old ones?"
Click on either of the two photos and tell me what you think.
While considering this, I played: City of Blinding Lights from the album "The Complete U2 - How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb" by U2.
I lost my virginity to U2, I found solace when getting divorced with U2 and I learned to cry and still be a man with U2. So they must be important. And truth be told, I own every piece of music they ever made, as well as a couple pieces of art, t-shirts, vintage LP coverers, etc. They are "my" band. Or they were...
As sad as I am to say it - 100s of "great" U2 songs later - I have found a new band that speaks for me. Green Day has been lighting up my radio, my Mac and my car for 10+ years but the album "American Idiot" made the turn. It is without question the perfect album.
There are many bands and albums where you can expect to only like a minor selection of the tracks offered. Never all. And still, you consider it to be a "great" album. However, "American Idiot" is perfect. There isn't a beat missing. It's simply perfect. Every song. Every note. Perfect.
Maybe its timing. Maybe its luck. But they did it, nonetheless. Listen - all the way through and tell me I'm wrong. You can't. If you like one note, lyric or song; they all work.
Sorry Larry, Adam, Bono and the Edge, but while I considered this I played: Holiday / Boulevard of Broken Dreams from the album "American Idiot" by Green Day. Punk lives! Sorry to Green Day for taking so long to admit it, but I have been trying to find a U2 song or album that could compete.
