My favourite album came in first: Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon”. I first heard the album at high school in 1975. The music teacher was into jazz rock fusion and progressive rock. I was part of a team integrating classical, jazz and rock music with synthesized sounds and light shows. It wasn’t long before I knew every song from “Dark Side to the Moon” back to front. At the age of 16 I decided to ditch the album - I was becoming prone to depression and Pink Floyd’s cynical take on life wasn’t helping. I made up for that choice a few years later, when I was more emotionally stable, by purchasing the album in vinyl and again on CD. “Wish You Were Here” came in at number 11, “The Wall” at 14.
The second from the top in Australia was Jeff Buckley’s “Grace” album, which my kids bought me for Christmas last year. Buckley certainly has an amazing vocal range which makes his cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” a masterpiece. Dicko, (Ian Dickson) as a member of ABC commentary panel, suggested that it was only Buckley’s covers that were attractive. His own music was fairly ordinary, Dicko said. Perhaps it was Buckley’s concert appearances in Australia (which I missed) that made him so popular here. Having listened to the album a few times I think I agree.
Radiohead’s “OK Computer” album was third from the top. Obviously the competition was pushed on Triple J Radio, leading to a high percentage of alternative music listeners in the poll. The album is a divisive force in this household. One member of the family is right into it. I enjoy the music in occasional doses. Others are becoming irritated by whining tone of the music. We won’t mention anything about Poms. “The Bends” came in at 15, “Kid A” at 35.
The Beatles two albums, “Abbey Road” and “Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” made it to number four and five. I have to admit I’ve never owned “Abbey Road”, despite being in a Beatles cover band as a teenager. Listening to the album for the first time last week was a great experience. “White Album” came in at 12, “Revolver” at 13, “Rubber Soul” at 36.
U2’s “The Joshua Tree” came in at number 10. I bought the album on vinyl in 1987 while living in Katikati. It’s the album that introduced “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”, a song used by critics as evidence that U2 had left Christianity behind. At a conference in the early 1990s I used the song with a Biblical passage, Romans 8:22, in which it is clear that we live in anticipation of our potential as God’s world. We haven’t made it yet. We don’t have the full picture, even if some Christians think they’ve got truth cornered. U2 also came in with “Achtung Baby” at 33, “Rattle and Hum” at 79. I was surprised that “War” didn’t make it in the top 100.
Coexistence was one of the highlights of the U2 Vertigo concert I attended in Brisbane. Bono wore a headband with the word “Coexist”, and the word “Coexist” appeared in the light show, during songs such as “Sunday Bloody Sunday”.
The “Coexist” symbol incorporates the crescent of Islam as the C, the cross of Christianity as the T, and the Jewish Star of David as the X in the middle. Bono referred to this symbol as he sang, “Jesus, Jew, Muhammad, it’s true…All sons of Abraham. Father Abraham, speak to your sons. Tell them, No more!”
Bono first saw the “Coexist” symbol painted as grafitti on a wall in Chicago. The origins of the icon come from Poland in 2001 where graphic designer Piotr Mlodozeniec entered it in an international art competion run by the Museum on the Seam, Jerusalem. The symbol was registered as a trademark by an Indiana-based t-shirt company in 2005, unaware of its origins. See the lifestyle brand at coexistonline.com
Apparently U2 still have the challenge of working out an agreement that will acknowledge Mlodozeniec as the artist and Museum on the Seam as the copyright holder. I wonder if Coexist still believe they have a strong foothold on the financial gains associated with the symbol.
[eminimall products="coexist"]
The Project Abraham forum on peacemaking on the Gold Coast back on the 12th of November. It became a powerful carrier of meaning for the Jews, Muslims and Christians searching together for a way to live out a life of positive engagement in life, together.
We’ve just heard that the U2 Vertigo tour has finished up early because of the illness of a family member of one of the band members. What a blow! For U2 and their family, for the fans, for the promoters, for the people who have booked airline tickets and accommodation. Hopefully U2 will be able to reschedule for later in the year. Michael Coppel Presents, the Australian promoter for the tour, will no doubt have more information to come for people like me who have tickets but no concert to go to.
Here’s the official announcement from this afternoon…
It is with great regret that tour promoter The Next Adventure announces the postponement of the final ten dates of U2’s Vertigo ‘06 tour. This action is unavoidable due to the illness of an immediate family member of one of the band. The effected dates are listed below.
‘Any fan of U2 will realise that this decision has not been taken lightly’, said TNA President Arthur Fogel. ‘We will announce further details as soon as we have them.’
The effected shows, which are all sold out, are:
March 17th & 18th, Ericcson Stadium AUCKLAND;
21st, Queensland Sports & Athletics Centre BRISBANE
24TH & 25TH, Telstra Dome, MELBOURNE
28th, AAMI Stadium ADELAIDE
31st & 1st April, Telstra Stadium, SYDNEY
4th, Nissan Stadium YOKOHAMA
8th Aloha Stadium, HONOLULU.
The president of U2’s international promoter, Canada-based The Next Adventure, said: “Any fan of U2 will realise that this decision has not been taken lightly. We will announce further details as soon as we have them.”
