Close, The Alarm, And U2: The Words I've Been Holding In For Too Long

The song “Close” was released for review in the UK in mid-December 2004.   It’s little late in the album cycle for “In The Poppy Fields”, and without a single to sell in the stores, it’s kind of a wasted effort.   Still though, it’s nice to see The Alarm MMIV get some press, even though it’s not really the kind that does the much good.  Why? Because reading through most of the reviews of the single (Google '"The Alarm Close" review' to read what I mean) you might think it was 1986 all over again.  With a new U2 album out (the satisfyingly but light mega-hit  "How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb") the same year as a new Alarm album (the unsung adventurous comeback "In The Poppy Fields"),  comparisons have arisen again.    Almost every review, good or bad, says "Close" sounds like U2.     It’s funny though, because if you asked any one of those people to tell you the specific U2 song “Close” sounds like, they probably could not.   Why? Because, really, it doesn’t sound like U2 at all.  It sounds like an idealized burst of rock and roll , ardent in its obvious love for the medium, while gripping with simple lyrics of yearning and hope.  It’s what people think U2 “should” sound like, but have not for many years now (sorry, not even on their new album).  Furthermore, “Close” has none of the signature guitar sound of U2 or even much of Bono’s vox style.  It sounds more like a cross between Icicle Works and Echo And the Bunnymen, shouted from the roof-top of decaying building somewhere in the dystopia of cold-war Europe. Funny though, that "Close" was written in 2001, long before the current U2 album was even being considered…but then that's not really the point.   The point is, The Alarm and U2 have never really much sounded the same.  They were friends and confidants with similar ideals who played guitar rock at time when it was patently unfashionable to do so.  They might have affected each other in various ways, but that the influence was definitely not a one-way street.  

E3 Embraces The Classics

E3 Embraces The Classics
E3 2004
By Steve Fulton
Originally published on Gamerdad.com


E3 2003 was a huge disappointment for me.  It was my first time attending, and I my hope was to see all the cool new games, but at the same time, view some of the vast array of classic compilations that were starting to pop-up with amazing frequency.  As well, the newly formed Atari (Infogrames) would be there, showcasing why they had changed their name to that of world’s first great video game pioneers.  It looked like a bonanza for a classic gaming fan like myself.  However, it was not to be.  Besides a few trading-card based classic games for the  GBA, there were almost no golden-age games at the show.  Atari's booth (as this year) was closed to the public, and I could not find a way to worm my way in.  E3 it seemed was simply a show-case of tired, me-too 3D games with little room for innovation or reverence for the truly amazing game of the past. It was waste of my time, and a missed opportunity. I wasn't even sure I would ever attend the show again.