1. Every month we put an U2 fan in the spotlights, the fan of the month October 2011 is user Mr_Trek.


    Tell us something about yourself, who are you and what do you do for a living?
    My name is Olof, I'm fifteen years old and I live in the great city of Gothenburg, Sweden. I'm about to bore you out with a long interview.

    I'm right now in ninth grade, the final year of primary, mandatory school here in Sweden. This means I have some tough choices coming up, choosing a path in education and life in general. I think I'm gonna end up in science, since I really like physics. The great things about physics is understanding, understanding of how the world works and why the things we take for granted like gravity really exists. I'm also pretty into the other side of the coin, politics. I watch the news way too much when something is happening in the world. This year, I've found the Arab Spring extremely fascinating and inspiring. I think it's incredible what's happened and is happening down there.

    I'm also the U2start maniac at the moment.

    How did you become a fan of U2, tell us how it happened?
    August or September 2009. It was at the first music class of that school year. Our teaching was showing us all these Youtube clips of different kinds of music. I saw the list he had, first there was something that I don't quite remember since I didn't like it very much. I was waiting for what I think was the second clip, because I had seen "U2" by it.

    I knew one U2 song at the time, Beautiful Day. I had heard BD in a golf clip of Padraig Harrington winning the Open in 2007 and fell in love with the song. I didn't explore that "U2" band any further though, since when U2 played in Gothenburg in 2005, my dad had told me they were a bunch of old guys just milking a cow like the Stones.

    Back to the music class. I was hoping for BD. The clip started and it wasn't BD, there was a guy howling out to the sky, "Youaaaaa-aaaaaaaa-ohhhhhh-oo-ohhh-ohhh...", it sounded amazing. Then this epic guitar started, it sounded like nothing I had ever heard before. The guy ran around this heart, there was a huuuuuuuuge crowd jumping like crazy. It was just so fascinating. The epicness just went on and on and never really quieted down.

    I had just watched 'Where the Streets Have No Name' live from Slane Castle. The thing that was the most fascinating for me was the crowd. This sea of people jumping to the rhythm of the song. When I came home I found it on Youtube and listened to it all afternoon. It was just so fascinating and the howling at the beginning of the song was so amazing.

    I bought U218 singles on iTunes a few days after, then HTDAAB and Achtung Baby. At that point U2 had become my drug.

    If you could go back in time, which U2-era would you like to be in, and why?
    ZooTV or 360 (I never saw a show due to bad timing in becoming a fan and everything). But I'll go with ZooTV since Achtung Baby is my favorite album of all time and what I've heard from ZooTV is just incredible. It also sounds like it was just this amazing spectacle since it was the first time video was really used in a show. I'd like to see with my own eyes just how amazing it was.

    How did you hear about U2start?
    I first discovered it when I found out there were non-officially released U2 concerts of excellent quality, bootlegs. I googled around and downloaded a few of blogs. There was this really annoying site that I always ended up at. U2start. This site had tons of concert, but you had to register to get to download them, something I didn't want to do. I almost hated this lovely site!

    I then continued my U2 fandom without the bootleg word for a while, but I eventually started feeling the need for more U2 again. I registered at that annoying site and downloaded a few more boots. Last autumn, I heard about the excellent Frankfurt multicam, it led me to this forum. I downloaded the multicam and loved it, it was the thing that hooked me on bootlegs. I started downloading everything I saw that was interesting, thus a LOT.

    On the 7th of January this year I said hello to this extremely addicting forum.

    You seem to be into Sci-Fi, what brought you to Sci-Fi?
    I am. I had my first glimpse of the amazing, vast world of science fiction an afternoon when coming home from school about four, or maybe five years ago. I turned the TV on and when channel surfing I saw some people in strange uniforms, one with a visor over his eyes. They were panicking and there were these two places communicating with each other. It was a bit confusing, and very fascinating. I couldn't stop watching. It all ended with a climax and a cool explosion. I had just watched "The Best of Both Worlds, Part II" one of the best Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes.

    I really love the world of science fiction. It can be such a platform for matters that aren't allowed on a normal TV show. The original Star Trek series (aired 1966-1969) featured the first ever interracial kiss on television, pretty damn cool if you ask me. I've even made my mum to love it, before, she couldn't see "past the sci-fi". Science fiction can be very, very deep. I love it.

    Which U2 song do you feel the most "attached" to, or means the most for you?
    Easy question. There just isn't any song that can hit me in the way Bad does. When I was listening to the Popmart Santiago show yesterday, I wasn't expecting Bad when it came, I thought it was played later in the show.

    When I'm unprepared for Bad like I was yesterday, when I hear the opening synthesizers I'm just washed over with emotions and feel like crying. It's so beautiful, so raw and emotional and features the most amazing singing by the most amazing singer ever.

    In your opinion, what has been U2's defining moment and why?
    Hard question for someone who hasn't been a U2 fan for that long, and not lived for that long.

    There is one show in the large bootleg archive here on U2start that's emotional like nothing else. The band is playing for a wounded city, scarred from a horrible war. Bono's voice is fading away, but he gives absolutely everything. The crowd gives the same thing back. The emotions in this show are stronger than in any show. I cannot describe it with words.

    This is 110% U2 for me, I think you'll all understand what I mean and know that this concert took place in Sarajevo in the year of 1997.

    Where do you most prefer to listen to U2?
    In an armchair right in front of the stereo in my family's living room sitting down with closed eyes and doing nothing but listening to the music. No other sounds from the outside world disturbing me, nothing but the music. This is something I don't do anywhere near often enough. I may have done it no more than three times. But there is nothing like listening to the best band ever's amazingly beautiful music in this way. I hope all of you have tried it, if not, do so.

    Which member of the band would you most like to share a pint with?
    I'll have to be a bit boring and choose Bono. We would talk about everything, this amazing persons views on anything. Bono is just such a fascinating, and I'm sure beautiful man. We would end up discussing songwriting and write an amazing song.

    What are your hobbies and interests away from U2, musical or otherwise?
    When I became a fan of U2, a giant love for music in general awoke in me. I love singing, playing the guitar, the piano, songwriting, anything that's related to music.

    I also love playing golf when the weather and time allows me too. It's a great sport. Me being 6"4 and pretty athletic is an advantage, but the game is largely played in the space between ones two ears. It's a very frustrating sport that I often have a love-hate relationship to. When the ball's not doing what you want it to, it makes you want to practice so much because the feeling when you're actually controlling the game is an amazing feeling.

    I also like everyone else very much like to spend time with my great friends

    I'd like to end this interview by saying that I'm extremely honored to be the "Fan of the Month" on the best site on the web. Also, than you for the opportunity of this interview. I've enjoyed answering all the questions and I hope that if you've read this far, you've enjoyed my answers. Thank you for your time!

    Olof


    Thanks for this interview Mr_Trek!

    Note: Our crew members randomly pick fans of the month, you can't sign up for it.
  2. What you're only 15 years old? Now thatz quite surprising to me :-D. You're quite far for your age (hope that is the right way of saying it in English).

    Happy I was part of your getting into bootlegs, at least in some way lol.
  3. Great and funny!

    PS. Physics


  4. I do like Chemistry as well

    Oh, and thanks!


    Originally posted by loftarasa:What you're only 15 years old? Now thatz quite surprising to me :-D. You're quite far for your age (hope that is the right way of saying it in English).

    Happy I was part of your getting into bootlegs, at least in some way lol.


    Without you, I'm not sure I'd be here. Danke schön!
  5. great read, Olof very well deserved FOTM you chat lunatic so good to have you around, you know. always enjoy talking to you. hopefully see you in Dub next year
  6. Well earned! Great read
  7. Congrats Olof. Couldn't think of someone else being FotM.

    Great read also, make sure your decisions are the right ones.
  8. Cool interview!!!
  9. Congratulations Olof; great interview and it's a pleasure to talk to you here on the forums, and on Facebook
  10. nice interview mate!!!!
    congrats!!!
  11. Congrats on fan of the month, Olof. Great interview.
  12. Congrats.