Music: U2 - The Joshua Tree

If you know me at all you know that U2 runs deep for me. I'm an unabashed superfan. I love their music so much that I often don't talk about it for fear I'll come off overzealous and reveal that I'm really just an awkward, raving fan. The love is based in the music, but is supported by the whole story of U2 and who they are as a group. Together now for over 35 years, their membership has never changed since becoming U2. And while its difficult for me to make any claim at best-ness, U2's album The Joshua Tree is the most significant in the story of my devotion to the music of this gang of Irish fellows. And it is the greatest album of all time.

You might say my deeply abiding love for the music of U2 is almost a fluke, induced by a desire to be like cooler, older kids. But I submit that the circumstances that lead to my possession of this album display an innate inclination within myself to U2's music, a practically uncontrollable force. The first time I remember hearing U2 was thanks to MTV's airing of the 500 top music videos of all time (circa 1996). There was a small period where I was a latchkey kid and would come home after school in 5th grade, grab a bowl of cereal and pull up a stool  to the counter and watch TV in the kitchen until my parents came home. This was back when MTV actually played music. Somewhere in the top 100 "With or Without You" came up and I was mesmerized - something clicked. I faintly remembered the little white lettering on the bottom left of the screen identifying the artist, album and song.

The next encounter came during a church youth trip. I was maybe 12. As a caravan of cars we moved from east to west across Montana. Somehow I wound up in a car full of "cool older guys", 16-18 year olds. Why they allowed me join them I didn't know but I was ecstatic and glad to not be in my parent's maroon, boxy Ford Aerostar. I was in the middle in the back seat, too intimidated to do anything other than just sit and listen. They had their portable CD player hooked into the car system and their carefully-organized CD cases. At one point someone asked, "What do you guys want to listen to?" Someone else volunteered, "Let's listen to some U2. Put in The Joshua Tree." My ears perked slightly. I faintly remembered these names from that white text on the tv in my kitchen. Quickly my ears confirmed to me not only that this was the same U2 from the video, but that their music was amazing - this album was amazing. It's name was now ingrained in my long-term memory, even though I wasn't really sure what an album was.

This all came to a culmination when my parents decided to join one of those CD clubs that used to be popular like Columbia House and were offering each of us, their children, an opportunity to pick an album from among the 10 or 12 you get from signing up. Without hesitation I knew: U2's The Joshua Tree. The CD came, and even though I had to borrow my sister's discman and headphones to listen to it, I played it nonstop and, with only the passion that young boys have, I became an undying fan of U2. I'm sure that if I hadn't been watching MTV or hadn't ended up in that car I would've recognized the brilliance of U2's music but my introduction first through The Joshua Tree I find very fitting as it is the seminal work in defining their identity as musicians. They were young, but experienced after having completed four albums and breaking into the US music landscape. They were popular, but without quite yet needing to reflect fully on the monstrous status of celebrity within pop culture(see Achtung Baby through Pop).

Growing up in Eastern Montana I spent a lot of time on long car trips. Whenever on these cross-country journeys I would always pack my trusty discman and my thick  CD case - a very important expression of yourself was your cd collection. Frequently beginning early in the morning, I always knew The Joshua Tree would be my first pick for these trips. With the steady crescendo opening and the energy-inducing, rhythmically-arpeggiated guitar line from The Edge leading up to Bono's opening lines, the rising sun is the most appropriate visual accompaniment to album-opener "Where the Streets Have No Name". Next, the quickly familiar "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" is only off-putting to those that flatly deny humanity and the mortal experience. The song is yearning for divinity. Then "With or Without You" hits with that alternating ringing track and Adam Clayton's simple, commanding baseline and your face gets serious as you try to adequately express how amazing and serious this music is making you feel without letting anyone else know, but then you let loose, inhibitions aside, as you reel with the exuding lift of the chorus and you feel you kind of know what he means when he says "you give yourself away." At this point my mother turn back towards me with a scolding look saying my music was too loud and everyone else did not want to listen to what I was listening to. No sound-canceling headphones back then.

The Joshua Tree introduced me to the concept of an album as a singular work - a whole piece of art with a structure and parts that are meant to go together. Sure most of the tracks can be enjoyed on their own, but they all share a similar aura that becomes clearer in a complete listen. Originally it was going to be titled "Two Americas", reflecting two conflicting ideas U2 had, and especially Bono, about this new land they'd gotten to know. One was the America as a frontier of hope, receiver of the down-trodden, and distiller of dreams. The other was America as the insistent war machine. Neither perspective was partisan or directly political and when viewed as a whole you get the feeling its told with love. "Bullet the Blue Sky" and "Exit" are most reflective of the "other side" of America with heavy guitars and harsh lyrics.

Somewhere in the transition from "Two Americas" to "Joshua Tree," the American Southwest entered as another influence. It's heard most plainly through the pleading blue-collar village in "Red Hill Milling Town," the quick nymphal desert of "In God's Country," and the dirty bar-room blues of "Twist Through Your Wires." And although a place where the streets have no names may feel like a peaceful utopia, it just as easily invokes the desert. This region, along with the frequent religious references, reveal why the hopeful, outstretched arms of the joshua tree is a fitting symbol for the music.

Every track is golden but "Running To Stand Still" will be the favorite U2 song you've never heard if you don't know this album. There's a story behind some of the imagery in the song, but never mind, you don't need to know it. Starting and ending with the searching plucking that makes you think of a cowboy leaned back on the boardwalk picking at an acoustic guitar, you follow the rise of the piano and tumbling of the low-tom to the pounding peak, and then back down to the closing jailhouse harmonica. I guess all I'm doing is describing the actual music, but doesn't it sound like you just want to listen to it? Rounding out the track listing is the uplifting but painful "One Tree Hill" - written in honor of a friend of the band that passed away - and "Mothers of the Disappeared" - in honor of stolen children and their families in Latin America. Both tell the story of those left behind when the innocent are taken too soon. "Mothers" plays the important role of being the strong, solid closing track. The final song of an album is like the music playing over a movie's credits. It puts the final touch on the work, defining the last impression as something complete and meaningful. If you get up and walk out once the screen goes black you have cut short your experience. Don't make the mistake of cutting short any part of your experience with U2's The Joshua Tree.

Film: Howl's Moving Castle

Hayao Miyazaki’s groundbreaking animated films, like Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away, can be described as sweeping, fantastical, and heart-wrenchingly joyful. Equally epic, Miyazaki’s 2004 film Howl’s Moving Castle, adapted from Diana Wynne Jones’ book of the same name, renders the viewer immobilized through the experience of a young girl on a journey of discovery. The film reaffirmed Miyazaki's role as the global ambassador of Japanese animation. He is a visionary man who understands that discovering an alternative side of life can be a revitalizing experience, and in that sense sends his audience right along with his characters.

The film begins in a world at war, with soldiers marching the streets of a vaguely European-feeling town and strange planes flying overhead. Young Sophie works in a hat shop and bumps into Howl, a known wizard and local heartthrob  She quickly falls into a world of magic and finds trouble when the Witch of the Waste binds her with a spell of old age. In her newly geriatric state she goes in search of Howl. His house, a walking, magic fortress serves as his headquarters and main point of departure for his war-related missions. Now known as Grandma Sophie, she enlists herself as his maid and finds a place among the other housemates: a young apprentice, a cute but paranormally complex and load-bearing fire demon, a silent scarecrow, and later, a humbled Witch of the Waste. While adjusting to her newly-aged body, Sophie's youthful heart deals with identity and love. Howl, a tenacious wizard full of defiance and destructive power, is caught in his own difficulties. Dealing with pacifism in wartime, he has become a political casualty of the raging conflict. The struggles crescendo and combine - as they are often wont to do - and the characters face difficult, life-changing choices. The whole things comes together in classic Miyazaki style.

Just your average mobile home

Is this starting to sound a little too "magical" for you? Maybe you think its just for kids? Well grow up and accept that some children's movies are even better for adults. This film was released on the tailwind of Miyazaki’s most globally recognized film, Spirited Away, which had just become the first anime film to win the Academy Award for Best Animation. The two films, along with most of his movies, communicate many of the same themes. Howl, which set box office records in its own right, was highly influenced both by the previous success of Spirited Away - still the highest grossing Japanese film of all time - and by Miyazaki’s own reactions to the beginning of the Iraq War. He has been classified as a pacifist, feminist, and traditionalist - all perspectives that inform his characters and their struggles. But the moralistic view of his stories is more universal than partisan. In this film Howl's struggles are treated more as personal than political.

While there are lessons to be learned from Howl’s demons, Sophie’s character growth is equally poignant as she decides to optimistically accept the challenge of old age. Her quick transformation from young adult to elderly is one most youth would not accept lightly, and Miyazaki helps the viewer to reflect on age and identity as he explores how Sophie deals with instant maturity and physical limitation. She finds she's able to gradually shed the years by embracing life and its challenges rather than complaining about them. Love, energy, and wisdom come as she is forced to accept things she cannot change and address those she can. Life in Howl's mystical mobile home is lived a few steps away from normality. Time and space have no constancy. The resulting mobility, while exciting, has kept Howl and his housemates from facing reality. Sophie breathes some fresh air into the place as she takes responsibility and learns to value the moment and the relationships that surround her. 

If you've never seen a Miyazaki film before you might initially be resistant to the style of animation, the story, or the fantasy elements. If so, I urge you to let go and soak it all in. I prefer watching in Japanese with English subtitles. When coupled with the beautiful, melancholy score it completes the cultural journey and give you a truly foreign experience. If you just can't handle reading while watching, or you are enjoying it with kids, turn on the translation. John Lasseter - Miyazaki's championing superfan in the US - and his team at Disney went to significant lengths to make a quality English translation including revisiting the dialogue and recording voiceover work by critically acclaimed actors. Most notable is Christian Bale, who gives Howl's voice that dark, raspy Batman quality which we American's just seem to love.

This film is a gem during which I always sit in constant amazement. The beguiling blend of music, love, magic, and visuals creates an orchestral experience. Sometimes a film's ability to take you somewhere completely different is more valuable than the message it communicates. Howl's Moving Castle does both with ease. Walking away from the film you'll have a heightened sense of wonder at the richness of the world around you. Just as Miyazaki's characters rarely finish a film in the same form they began it, you'll be closer to internalizing the fact that life is always changing. And maybe you'll see the young person inside the next old face you see.

Film: Lincoln

I finally took the opportunity to see Steven Spielberg's epic historical drama Lincoln. And I'm so glad I did. It's a film deserving of the many accolades it's received. It gracefully guides us through President Abraham Lincoln's most far-reaching political victory: the passing of the 13th amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America. Equally remarkable, it connects us to the giant historical figure of Lincoln on a personal level. This movie is the realization of an effort by a truly great team of filmmakers, led by Spielberg, but brought to cohesive fruition by a team of producers, writers, cast, and crew that are as dedicated to telling a meaningful story as they are to making it universal. Its a masterclass of film for the industry and a lesson in subtle, dextrous storytelling for the rest of us. Plus it makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

To be more specific on how the story is framed, the film deals primarily with the struggle to rally enough supporters to gain a 2/3 majority vote for the bill proposing the amendment in the US House of Representatives. While the Senate had more easily passed the bill earlier, and afterwards it would be ratified among the states, the film takes the stance that the battle in the House was the lynchpin to the process - not only because of the close voting numbers in that governing body, but because of how its passing fit within the political context of the war and the popular opinion across the county. That I can explain this to you is a testament to the clarity with which the story is told - and political dramas can be tough to follow. To be fair, I've read Doris Kearns Goodwin's book Team of Rivals which was Spielberg's main source material for the film. But while true political dramas are more about delivering intrigue, the real summation of the story is an emotional catharsis realized when a set of circumstances and people find success in bringing to pass an historically groundbreaking and life-affirming event.

Spielberg opens with a war scene, set in a muddy riverbed, of hand-to-hand combat from a time before modern military training and hollywood action, where men clumsily, intimately face the reality of giving and receiving death. Awkward hands push faces, men wrestle and reel in the water, bayonets hit and miss their marks. It's a chilling context, necessary to remind us from the start that the ensuing story takes place in a land where Americans have engaged in and felt the effects of such combat for four long years. Politicians and citizens alike are anxious for this unnatural predicament - brother fighting brother - to come to an end. This is just the first of many evidences that this is Spielberg at his best. His quest for historical accuracy is another. Lincoln's study was carefully constructed to match the original down to the wallpaper. The ticking from Lincoln's actual watch was recorded. Spielberg is noted for having now famously come to set in a suit and addressing the lead cast members as Mr. President and Mrs. Lincoln.

Lincoln shows the career arc of a master craftsman for both Steven Spielberg and John Williams. Both gained meteoric success through their collaboration on Jaws (1974) and have been a famous working pair ever since. Their distinct style set the modern standard for high-quality, entertaining, thematic, blockbuster filmmaking and scoring. This film portrays the skill of aged and experienced craftsmen willing to risk taking their art to the next level. As a follower of both their bodies of work I feel Lincoln is a culmination of their skill, thoughtfully matured with a touch that is subtle, slight, refined, and exquisite in its deliberate application that is lastingly powerful. And yes, I did look up "subtle" on thesaurus.com. I've said it before and I'll probably repeat again that artists' best work comes later in their career when they remain dedicated and persistent in the pursuit of the art.

Here's a list of names of people associated with the film, all acclaimed participants in the filmmaking process: Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy, Janusz Kaminski, John Williams, Ben Burt, Daniel Day Lewis, Sally Field, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tommy Lee Jones, James Spader, John Hawkes, David Strathairn, Tim Blake Nelson. Those are just the names that I recognize. More familiar cinephiles, studied hollywood experts, and industry insiders would recognize even more notable members of the cast and crew. I should also mention screenwriter Tony Kushner. His script delivers truthful dialogue that adroitly walks the line of accessibility and accuracy while never making us think we are listening to historical dialogue. I'm excited to see what his next project will be. Drawing from almost an infinite wealth of material on Lincoln, Kushner and Spielberg focus on a time and struggle that help us get to know Lincoln as a man, not just a figure.

Daniel Day Lewis is fully deserving of his recent Best Actor Oscar win for this performance (and he gave one of the most charming acceptance speeches for it). He captures Lincoln's spirit without basing his performance on our standard modern perception of the man (i.e. the voice, the walking gait). Historians will notice Sally Field is almost a full two decades beyond the age of her character but unless you are categorically unable to withstand such inaccuracies, you will be convinced by her portrayal of the tortured Mary Todd Lincoln. Even after reading all of Goodwin's book, it was only Sally Field's performance that opened me to empathize with her character. Tommy Lee Jones is perfectly cast as well. His normal crotchety and closed-in attitude - occasionally a liability for him in that he seems to always play the same character - is an asset here as he plays radical abolitionist Thaddeus Stevens. In fact, it's his character that gives the summation of the film as he comments on the messy, imprecise, precarious process of getting a bill through the House. He calls it "The greatest measure of the Nineteenth Century. Passed by corruption, aided and abetted by the purest man in America."