An entertaining read

I just finished reading Bono: In Conversation with Michka Assayas, which is a series of interviews that Assayas conducted with Bono over the course of two years. Assayas is a French journalist who has known Bono since 1980, so the conversations come across as friends talking rather than fawning journalist interviews rock star. Assayas even questions Bono on where his commitment to Africa stems from, as Bono did not go to that country until 1998. This is a fascinating book that any U2 fan would enjoy. Bono offers insight into his family, as well as the relationships with the other members of U2 that are thoughtful and interesting, not the usual patronizing words typically found in celebrity based features. This book is a sharp contrast to the one I mentioned a short time ago. Read this one, and avoid the previous one.

Sonically Splendiferous

I had a very eventful weekend, musically speaking. Friday night I bought the just released Jennifer Knapp live album, and promptly listened to it twice. I highly recommend it if you like her music. The weird thing about her is that she dropped off the face of the earth 3 years ago. I've heard unsubstantiated rumors of what happened, but no facts or interviews have appeared anywhere on the subject. I've always enjoyed her music, and this album clearly shows what we're missing.

Then a friend of mine sent one of the best wedding gifts I received: a gift certificate to itunes. When I sent him an email to thank him he said that my wife should have received one too! It was like Christmas morning and your birthday rolled into one. So armed with my bounty I downloaded the following albums:

Rebecca St James - If I Had One Thing To Tell You
The album isn't bad, but it's not quite up to par with her album "Pray," released in 1998

Delirious - The Mission Bell
I hadn't bought an album by these guys in quite some time, and haven't listened to it all the way through, but what I've heard so far is quite good.

Kelly Clarkson - Breakaway
A guilty pleasure. Plus when combined with gift certificates, a no brainer. Good pop music.

The Killers - Hot Fuss
My sister loves this band, so I'd thought I'd check it out. Haven't had time to listen all the way through yet.

Then on Sunday night, I saw Derek Webb, Sara Groves and Jars of Clay in concert. Derek Webb was phenomenal. I have two of his albums and enjoy him immensely. He writes songs that really challenge Christians, and it ways that aren't always easy to hear. Sara Groves was ok. I hadn't ever heard her before, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I really dug a couple of her songs, but the rest were pretty bland. I would probably consider Jars of Clay to be one of my favorite bands, so I was really disappointed by this show because they played so much off their first album which I think is far inferior to the rest of their work. The music and lyrics are blah (although Worlds Apart is ok), and not as interesting as any of their other albums. If I hear "Flood" one more time I will scream. Still, there were some really good numbers, and they played two tracks off the album they are currently putting together which sounded excellent. I did really enjoy the show closer "I'll Fly Away," but I may think I may skip their next visit to town.

Inside the Zoo.....

Books written to strictly cash in on associations are rarely any good, and this book is no exception. Turns out the lady who wrote it was just sued by U2 last year to get back items she allegedly stole from them, which would have been during the Joshua Tree tour close to 20 years ago. So the title should be "my few months with U2." But the phrasing got suckers like me to read the thing. In fact, the author's association with the band begins and ends with this tour, yet the cover of the book has a picture of Bono taken around 2000. Not a lot of new information is given about the band, although it was interesting to note that she portrays her relationship with Bono as close-knit. It makes the reader wonder if she's pulling a James Frey here because when Bono testified in the trial against her he said not many people cared for her, and that she was hard to deal with. Not exactly the words of a close friend. I wouldn't recommend this book to even the biggest U2 fan.

Taxing, indeed

I just finished this book last night. It was an interesting look at the life of an IRS Revenue Officer (tax collector), and the kinds of things they face while collecting from people who owe the IRS money. I would have enjoyed this book more if the author dealt more with his job than his personal life. In fact, the personal parts commandeer the book in the last few pages which is too bad, because his personal life isn't all that interesting. I sure wasn't reading the book to find out how much he loved his supervisor, or to find out how hitting a dog changed his outlook on life. The book goes from semi-interesting in the first half to downright strange in the last half. I'd only recommend this book to people who love memoirs.