U2start.com | General Chat 16

RattleandHum1988

Originally posted by iTim:I do recall you mentioning your Zoo TV assignment actually. I couldn't think of many better subjects for an assignment. I've always had boring technical essays to write

Really though, being in music means writing fun essays but probably not having much to do with the degree!

RattleandHum1988

12 years

Just finished playing my first ever vinyl on my first ever turntable, had to be The Joshua Tree, sounded great

My parents were like "Why? I mean it's what we grew up with" and I said "there's something extremely satisfying about taking a record out of a big arty sleeve, putting it on the turntable and dropping that needle, and just sitting there watching it spin and listening to the music" and to that they went "yeah that's OUR world"

My story is done

LikeASong

12 years

I think I've told my story before, but anyway.

A huge part of the English I can speak now was learnt by listening, reading and singing along to Achtung Baby. My parents had (and still have) a great vinyl edition, and in the booklet there's the usual lyrics, but on the other side of the booklet it's the translated lyrics.

I have spent COUNTLESS hours learning these lyrics, getting used to the pronunciation, studying the grammar differences between my language and this new language. When I was 6-7 and the kids in my class were having the first English lessons (one, two, three, blue, red, t-shirt, trousers), I could already recit a good bunch of perfectly worded song lyrics

When I was 9 I sung a U2 song a capella in my English class, it was Stay (Faraway, So Close!) and I got quite a bit of recognition by my classmates and my teacher.

One of the earliest memories I have in my life was asking my mum to put on the "Melon album" (Zooropa), I was 3, Zooropa had just been released and I was hooked to songs like Lemon, Daddy's Gonna Pay and Numb. And another memory that's burnt into my brain is my parents going out shopping, me (something like 9 years old) playing the War album on our turntable at a defeaning volume and being absolutely fascinated by AND unable to sing the "She tried to be a good girl and a good wife, raise a good family, lead a good life, it's not good enough... She got herself up on the 48th floor, she's gotta find out, find out what she's living for" part of Surrender - and rewinding it once and again and again until I could perfectly sing that part.

That's why I say I've actually learnt my English with U2, specially with three albums I listened several times a week during years (Achtung, Zooropa, War).

Good night

RattleandHum1988

12 years

What an awesome story Sergio! I had no idea. I'm always astounded by the English of many people around here who I assume learned it as a second language, not because I don't think they can learn it but because I've had so much trouble trying to pick up French all my life (gave up a few years ago

)

So cool that you learned it through U2

Genaro92U2

12 years