Catanzarite - U2s Achtung Baby: Meditations on Love in the Shadow of the Fall

Achtung Baby

Praise for the series:

It was only a matter of time before a clever publisher realized that there is an audience for whom Exile on Main Street or Electric Ladyland are as significant and worthy of study as The Catcher in the Rye or Middlemarch. The series, which now comprises 29 titles with more in the works, is freewheeling and eclectic, ranging from minute rock-geek analysis to idiosyncratic personal celebrationThe New York Times Book Review

Ideal for the rock geek who thinks liner notes just arent enough Rolling Stone

One of the coolest publishing imprints on the planetBookslut

These are for the insane collectors out there who appreciate fantastic design, well-executed thinking, and things that make your house look cool. Each volume in this series takes a seminal album and breaks it down in startling minutiae. We love these. We are huge nerdsVice

A brilliant serieseach one a work of real love NME (UK)

Passionate, obsessive, and smartNylon

Religious tracts for the rock n roll faithfulBoldtype

[A] consistendy excellent series Uncut (UK)

We arent naive enough to think that were your only source for reading about music (but if we had our way watch out). For those of you who really like to know everything there is to know about an album, youd do well to check out Continuums 33 1/3 series of books.Pitchfork

For reviews of individual titles in the series, please visit our website at www.continuumbooks.com and 33third.blogspot.com

Also available in this series:

Dusty in Memphis by Warren Zanes

Forever Changes by Andrew Hultkrans

Harvest by Sam Inglis

The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society by Andy Miller

Meat Is Murder by Joe Pernice

The Piper at the Gates of Dawn by John Cavanagh

Abba Gold by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Electric Ladyland by John Perry

Unknown Pleasures by Chris Ott

Sign O the Times by Michaelangelo Matos

The Velvet Underground and Nico by Joe Harvard

Let It Be by Steve Matteo

Live at the Apollo by Douglas Wolk

Aqualung by Allan Moore

OK Computer by Dai Griffiths

Let It Be by Colin Meloy

Led Zeppelin IV by Erik Davis

Armed Forces by Franklin Bruno

Exile on Main Street by Bill Janovitz

Grace by Daphne Brooks

Murmur by J. Niimi

Pet Sounds by Jim Fusilli

Ramones by Nicholas Rombes

Endtroducing by Eliot Wilder

Kick Out the Jams by Don McLeese

Low by Hugo Wilcken

In the Aeroplane Over the Sea by Kim Cooper

Munc from Big Pink by John Niven

Pauls Boutique by Dan LeRoy

Doolittle by Ben Sisario

Theres a Riot Goin On by Miles Marshall Lewis

Stone Roses by Alex Green

Bee Thousand by Marc Woodworth

The Who Sell Out by John Dougan

Highway 61 Revisited by Mark Polizzotti

Loveless by Mike McGonigal

The Notorious Byrd Brothers by Ric Menck

Court and Spark by Sean Nelson

69 Love Songs by LD Beghtol

Songs in the Key of Life by Zeth Lundy

Use Your Illusion I and II by Eric Weisbard

Daydream Nation by Matthew Stearns

Trout Mask Replica by Kevin Courrier

Double Nickels on the Dime by Michael T. Fournier

Peoples Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm by Shawn Taylor

Aja by Don Breithaupt

Rid of Me by Kate Schatz

If Youre Feeling Sinister by Scott Plagenhoef

Forthcoming in this series:
Pretty Hate Machine by Daphne Carr
Lets Talk About Love by Carl Wilson
and many more

Meditations on Love in the Shadow of the Fall

Stephen Catanzarite

2007

The Continuum International Publishing Group Inc
80 Maiden Lane, New York, NY 10038

The Continuum International Publishing Group Ltd
The Tower Building, 11 York Road, London SE1 7NX

www.continuumbooks.com

Copyright 2007 by Stephen Catanzarite

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the
written permission of the publishers or their agents.

Printed in Canada on 100% postconsumer waste recycled paper

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Catanzarite, Stephen.
Achtung baby : meditations on love in the shadow of the Fall / Stephen
Catanzarite.
p. cm. (33 1/3)
Includes bibliographical references.
eISBN-13: 978-1-4411-5145-2
1. U2 (Musical group)
Achtung baby. 2. Fall of man in music. I. Tide. II. Series.

ML421.U2C37 2007
782.421660922-dc22

2007031318

For Rachel
We get to carry each other.

Though the writing of a book is undoubtedly one of lifes most solitary of experiences, the creation of a book depends upon the imagination, talent, hard work, and generosity of countless souls. I express my sincere appreciation to the following people, all of who were companions on this journey.

Dan LeRoy is a gifted writer, musician, teacher, and friend without whom this book simply would not have been written. I also thank Kiena, Carys, Greer, and Grant who so unselfishly share him with me.

My sincere gratitude goes out to all everyone at Continuum, especially David Barker, who is truly a scholar and a gentleman. Publishing books is always a risky proposition and I reckon a book like this one is riskier than most. Thanks for your courage and support.

For setting me straight early in the writing process, a special word of appreciation is due to Candida Botacci at Principle Management, Dublin.

I thank all of my colleagues and friends at the Lincoln Park Performing Arts Center and Charter School in Midland, Pennsylvania, especially Dr. Nick Trombetta, Laura Humbert, Gavan Pamer, Mike and Loretta Conti, Dr. Michael Cerveris, Sean Tanner, Mimi Wilson, Ron Young, Maestro Bruce Lauffer, Carla Bianco, Maria Torrence, Rick Wolfe, Holly Castelli, Rebecca Manning, Todd Goodman, Melissa Holman, Leanne Bloor, Caroline Mills, and David Vuckovich, along with the administration, faculty, and staff of the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School and the National Network of Digital Schools Management Foundation. I am truly honored to be working with and learning from so dedicated a team of educators. I also thank my extended work family, including Patty Neeper and Ray Rotuna at Steinway & Sons, Michael Bielski at the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, and Joe Augustine.

I am deeply in debt to so many great teachers and friends, among them Marta Karwoski (who provided feedback and grammatical direction on this book), Phil Inman, the late Alta Mercer, Jim Duncan, Jim Daniels, Hilary Masters, Ed Lilly, Tom Gaydos, Father Ward Stakem, Gene Edge, Mike Deelo, Kevin and Carrie Kennedy, John Vresilovic, Mike Spagnolo, Aaron Moroney, Bruce Irvin, John Goberish, Sam Pasco, Evan Christon, and Darryl Blackwell.