The Art of Rediscovery

Have you ever rediscovered something you’d previously loved but hadn’t appreciated for awhile?

You, too? Me, too! u2.

I had decided to watch Jimmy Fallon’s debut episode of The Tonight Show because, first of all, the man is a comic genius. Second of all, he isn’t Jay Leno. I’ve never cared for Leno. Johnny Carson was da bomb. I love Letterman. Conan O’Brien is the funniest redhead I know (sorry, Carrot Top). But Leno? I always found him off putting, and worse, not very humorous. Fallon is a breath of fresh air. I can’t say I’ll stay up past midnight every night to catch the show, but episodes are available On Demand, so if there are a good crop of guests, then I’ll try to catch it.

Anyway. One of the highlights of the show was U2’s rooftop performance 70 stories above Rockefeller Center. Didn’t catch it? Here you go…

That performance blew me away! And then they did an acoustic version of their Oscar-nominated song “Ordinary Love” on the couch inside the studio, which was like a soft bookend to their enthusiastic rendition of “Invisible” high in the sky. Suddenly I was like, “Say, these lads from Ireland aren’t too shabby,” a ridiculous statement given the fact that one of the oldest records in my collection is “Under A Blood Red Sky” and I’ve got more than 30 of their songs on my iPod. It’s not like I’d never heard U2 before. When Tara and I were driving past a landscape littered with joshua trees in the Nevada desert on our way to Vegas in 2012, our soundtrack was “The Joshua Tree” – about as literal as you can get (save for Springsteen’s “Badlands” which I played while driving through the Badlands. I’m funny that way. Guess which song I’m playing if I ever spend one night in Bangkok. Go ahead, guess).

Anyway. It’s funny how you can suddenly rediscover old favorites and see them in a new light. This Bono guy rocks. He might have a few social or political messages up his sleeve, too. Who knows?

A similar thing happened once with “The King Of Queens.” When it was a regular show on CBS’s schedule, I never paid it much attention. I’d tune in on occasion, but wasn’t a huge fan. And then a couple of years later I started watching reruns in syndication and realized just how damn funny the show was. So I started stockpiling episodes. At one point I had more than 30 episodes of “The King Of Queens” on my DVR. You might think that’s way too much Kevin James for any sane individual to digest, but I beg to differ. Kevin James is a superstar.

Rediscovery is different than discovery. It implies you once had at least a passing knowledge of something, and it was a part of your routine once in awhile, if not on a regular basis, before falling off your radar for some reason. Recent rediscoveries of mine include Tom Petty, Whiskey Sours, “The Godfather” and beef jerky. Meanwhile, discoveries are fun, too. Lately I’ve learned that “The Wire” was a brilliant drama, pistachios are a delicious nut, and Vern Fonk is the Saul Goodman of Puget Sound.

By the way, I’ve always had a thing for obscure references.

On The Next Episode of CSI…

Had a bit of excitement last night. Tara was in bed and I was watching TV when I heard loud voices coming from outside. Very loud. Like, through a bullhorn.

WhatTheHell…?

So I opened my door at the same time as my neighbor. We walked to the front of our garages, only to find a police car blocking the road and a couple of cops in a protective stance, guns drawn. They were aimed at the neighbor’s condo across the way, who they were urging to “come out with your hands up” just like you’d hear on TV. “We have you surrounded. There is nowhere you can go. Come out peacefully.”

Let me tell you, that’s a pretty scary thing. We were told in no uncertain terms to get back inside our houses, so we complied. Winding up with bullet holes in the torso would have been a real shitty way to end the day.

This went on for some time before he eventually surrendered. Tara did wake up to witness the melee, and afterwards, I told her, “I hope he killed somebody.” This prompted a look, so I went on to explain that I didn’t wish harm on anybody, of course not, but that if he had committed a crime I hoped it was a big one simply because I’d have a helluva story to tell later. You see, I don’t like this guy they arrested. He’s been bad news from the start. I left a nasty note on his car once because he was parked where he didn’t belong, and another time I yelled at him in the middle of the night to “shut the f$%k up” because he was making all kinds of racket. How cool would it be if you could tell people at a party “I once harassed a serial killer…and lived to tell about it?”

Yes, my mind works in weird ways. I know.

Oh, and by the way? Glad we’re moving out of this complex in a little over two weeks!

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21 thoughts on “The Art of Rediscovery”

  1. Well, I bet that WAS an exciting experience. Interesting that you mention rediscovery, as what I posted today was a family story about an FBI raid that I saw in a new light while reading my father’s FBI file. It’s a long read, but I suspect it will interest you.

    Hugs from Ecuador,
    Kathy

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  2. Love this post! Rediscovering is such a great way to revisit the past that you were so fond of. I wasn’t quite sure what to think of that band from Ireland when they first hit the scene. Sunday, Bloody Sunday, was not a big hit with me as it was with the masses but then they started playing and SHOWING videos (when MTV was all about music) and watching them perform on the rooftop in LA, well, that is all it took and I was a fan after that.

    Pretty darn scary about what happened at your place. I’m curious as to what the guy did to warrant such attention. *Shivers*

    Your mind and the way it works is just awesome!! ’nuff said!!

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    1. We’re scouring the news for info about what happened, since we now know his last name. The guy’s a real prick, so it could be anything.

      I loved “Sunday, Bloody Sunday.” And you’re right, I think it was the video that made me a convert. Their live performance at Red Rocks was just so damn good, it made me an instant fan.

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  3. Whoa on the condo drama!!! I hope you report back to us what he did!

    I’m a huge U2 fan, so I caught their performances the day after online. The acoustic song blew me away. I’ve seen them twice and their Elevation tour was the best concert I’ve ever been to. I’d call it a religious experience. A friend of mine since Kindergarten actually met Bono outside a bar in Ireland about 1998. He was so kind and held her two yr old daughter, Grace, for a photo. In 2000, U2 put out an album with the song, ‘Grace’ on it. Coincidence? LOL!

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    1. Wow! Grace is famous!! What a great story. And I get what you mean by calling it a religious experience. The way you feel about U2 is how I feel about Bruce Springsteen. Seeing him live for the first time ever, in 2012, felt kinda the same way. Long live The Boss! And long live U2.

      I will keep y’all posted if/when I find out what the neighbor did.

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  4. “Johnny Carson was da bomb.”

    Mark….I soooooooooo agree! There was NO ONE like Johnny! And I also agree with you about Fallon versus Leno. I never cared for Leno.

    And video clip you shared on U2? AWESOME!!!! And love how they shot the video atop of Rockefeller Center with the view of Manhattan in the background!

    And wow…what a scary experience that must have been for you and Tara last night YIKES! Glad they got the guy and he’s gone.

    “Oh, and by the way? Glad we’re moving out of this complex in a little over two weeks!”

    Yahoooo!!!!!

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    1. The thing that always struck me about Carson was, how completely he faded from the spotlight once his reign on “The Tonight Show” ended. And then a few years later, he was gone. In a sense, you could say he lived for his job, huh?

      That performance was perfect thanks to the sunset, too. No wonder they showed it early in the show, instead of at the end. Couldn’t have asked for better weather/scenery (though I heard it was pretty damn cold out).

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  8. We just got rid of our super noisy, pot smoking, party till 5:30 a.m. 3 nights a week neighbors too! They were evicted for not paying rent & for being trouble makers! Yes! It’s been quiet & less stinky! Woo hoo!

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  9. But I forgot to add – we have new neighbors upstairs who must have a 10 year old because every day about 3:30 p.m. we start getting regaled with stomping feet, slamming cupboards/doors which usually carries on till at least 10 p.m. every night & longer on weekends. See what you have to look forward to?

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  10. Ok, I’m a bad blog friend. I clearly haven’t been here for a bit, so I’m playing catch up today. Would it help to let you know that I am making headway on my book…and that I’ve seen U2 in concert? And that I am also a funny redhead?

    Ok, groveling aside. Did you watch the Oscars? Because I was underwhelmed by U2’s performance there. It was good. But Idina Menzel (AKA Adele Dazeem?) just blew everyone away with her performance and I say good for her! Still love me some Bono though. I’ve been to Ireland and we saw the U2 wall which is actually like a whole block of fan graffiti. That’s pretty cool.

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    1. It’s okay, Jess. I know you’re busy and you’ll ready if/when you get a chance. No big deal! (And the fact that you have seen U2 live makes me more than a little jealous, btw).

      I watched the Oscars for the first time in years, and thought Ellen did a pretty good hosting job. I agree with your U2 assessment. The acoustic version of that song they did on Fallon was far superior.

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