U2 and Time

Red Hill Mining Town (U2, The Joshua Tree, 1987) just crossed through on Spotify and I was immediately taken back over 20 years.

Living in SW Washington state at that time, I graduated college in the early 2000’s and was on a massive U2 kick on that point in my life. Red Hill Mining Town was on repeat for a chunk of time – a time when I really (really!) wondered what the future held. The Internet is where I knew I wanted to work, but honestly had no idea what that was going to look like (but nobody did, did they?) or even what that really meant. I loved the idea of “making websites” and working with companies to “get them online”… but yeah. No vision of what that might even look like.

25 years later I’m now on the other side of the country, working with a group of people scattered around the continent, and – wouldn’t you know it – “making websites”.

I’m fascinated by nostalgia, especially with regard to music, and the moment hit me like a truck. Such a cool feeling. A little bit of Bono and Edge’s flailing guitar while I’m working on a website for a client brought back all those feelings of uncertainty and confusion – but somehow it all worked out.

Was it planning? Luck? Time and place? Passion?

Hard to say.