Mental Note: iTunes Anniversary; Am I The Only One Who Isn't Annoyed That U2 Gave Me Their Latest Album?

Had iTunes.  Had it uninstalled because it wasn't updating correctly.  Tried to reinstall it using directions I saw online, but it didn't work.  So I just, uh, adapted.  I went without.  It would be better if I could listen to my music whenever I wanted, but hey, it wasn't enough of a priority for me to fix it once this initial shot didn't pan out.  I'm passive like that.  I'm Pisces.

Last week I reinstalled it when ... uh, I forget.  Guess I was prompted to do it when I wanted to look at or listen to something.  And, well, it worked.  So I'm listening right now, as we speak.

And for the record, according to the latest "Last Played" listing -- "Why Should I Cry For You?" by Sting (hey, don't judge, he ain't that bad) -- I last used iTunes, either on this laptop of my iPod, December 6, 2013 at 12:20 a.m.  So, discounting time, it has been a day short of 13 months since I last listened to iTunes through either of those two devices.  I totally skipped 2014.  Think that's kind of neat, for some reason.  Was able to live without it for that long.

Caveat: I have an iPhone, and I have used iTunes on that device when Apple and U2 downloaded the latter's latest album, Songs of Innocence.  Wonder if I can transfer or copy my entire library on this lap onto my smartphone.  That'd be cool.

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Oh, speaking of U2's latest album ... I had been meaning to blog about it, but it kept slipping my mind.  But now that I thought of noting the resumption of my use of iTunes, I might as well spend time talking about the album.  I don't think Songs of Innocence is their best record, not by a longshot.  (In my opinion it goes Achtung Baby, then How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, the latter seeming to lose support as the years go on; it's a damn good record.)  But I can see reviewers liking its blast-from-the-past aesthetic.  The first five songs are kind of slow, but once you flip the vinyl to Side 2 with "Volcano," they whip up enough energy and lyrical dexterity to show that those old farts have still got it.  The righteous "Raised By Wolves" is the best song, probably followed by "Sleep Like a Baby Tonight," where the band is being atypically sarcastic.

I don't mind getting it for free, and I don't plan on deleting it from my iPhone.  I haven't played it in some weeks, but I think I'll do it again when I'm bored and want to listen to something in a pinch.  Besides, like I said, I'm passive; if it's there, I might play it, otherwise I won't touch it.  Who's it gonna hurt either way, you know?