Many, silent moons ago, when I was naught but a docile, wee lassie of nineteen, I spent many a day (and evening) with older childhood friends from youth group whom my Papa once derisively described as, "The Hunky Boys." After recovering from what could only have been very delicate, ladylike laughter, I asked him to repeat and explain himself. The lads were big, Ba said, and athletic. They also played that junky rock music and were terrifically lacking in class and grooming (this was near the tail-end of the grunge era), so they were therefore, "hunky."
"Ewwww!" I gagged aloud. "They aren't 'hunky,' Ba... they're gross! They're just... guys. Or do you mean, 'honky'? But wouldn't 'honky' imply 'white' in a really rude way, which they're not? And surely you can't mean "hunky," because that would mean they're hot, which they also are not. Wait a second... who are you talking about, specifically?" As he listed them off, I started giggling again, and couldn't help but regale the newly-christened "Hunky Boys" with the ridiculous tale at our next hangout. Thus, based in order of my father's naming, we ended up with Hunky Boys #1-5, with an honourary #6 (my sister's boyfriend who was to become an "ex" during that period). Much to Ba's chagrin, whenever they telephoned (which happened to be multiple times a day), they would ~ instead of using first names ~ refer to themselves by title and number. People at church began hysterically following the new tradition, and favourites unerringly tended to be, of course, Hunky Boy #1 and Hunky Boy #2.
All this to say that, aside from Hunky Boys #1, 2, 3, and 5, I don't know anyone else who loves The Unforgettable Fire as much as I. (#2, 3, and 5 were, at the time, in a surprisingly popular local band who found great inspiration in REM, U2, the Smashing Pumpkins, the Tragically Hip, Alice in Chains, Stone Temple Pilots, and Radiohead.) The day I brought the album home from A&B Sound after a post-church sushi lunch with the Boys, I found myself helplessly and permanently wooed. My frigid, calloused heart proved no match for the brilliant fireworks within and without: the songs virtually sparked incandescent with the Fourth of July, the life of MLK, homecomings, American icons, live wires, and exuberant pride. With crystalline glimmers from the guitars to provide shimmering backdrops for the stark, vulnerable rawness in the vocals, this masterwork glowed luminescently in a realm lush with dark, dreamy moodiness. And with lyrics like, "Red wine that punctures the skin," "Bruised silken sky and burning flag, colors crash, collide in blood-shot eyes," "You give yourself to this, the longest day..." how can one not be hopelessly beguiled and spirited away?
This album saw countless spins during my "Hunky Boy" days, for years sporadically after them, and has recently been resurrected mightily in my mind. One favourite track, in particular, has been pulsing softly in my fingertips. If Bono's achingly tender coaxing doesn't already do you in, there are always the sparks of Roman candles to mercilessly fillet your knees out from under you.
U2 ~ "Promenade" (1984)
Any mention of the classic, timeless album can not possibly exclude its superbly sublime eponymous track.
Float on.
"Unforgettable Fire"
(photo credit: The Roman candle above came from this unbelievably cool site. I can't wait to spend more time delving into its deepest reaches in ardent hopes of gleaning precious insight into the inner sanctum of the sometimes bewildering XY set. Case in point? One already entrancing article from this world, from the "Manly Skills" section: "22 Manly Ways to Reuse an Altoids Tin)."
Postscript I: The title literally translates into fire flowers, the Chinese way of saying "fireworks," and is pronounced, yàn huǒ ("yahn hwah" in Mandarin, or "yun fah" in Cantonese.) And Ba is short for Baba (巴巴), the colloquial name for "Father," like the French Papa.
Postscript II: While looking up videos for this post, I came across the following comment: "Bono is half Patrick Swayze and half Robin Williams."
Ow. That's mean, but... tee hee hee.
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