Irish Breakfast

I've been listening to the new U2 album (yeah, I still call them albums) and it has put me in a mind to have a nice cup of Irish Breakfast tea. And to fight poverty and hunger. Of course I don't have any Irish Breakfast-style tea on hand so I'm going to have to walk over to Teaism and buy a little baggy. I'm not sure they carry an Irish-style blend but since it would just be a couple Assams tossed together I'm sure I can make do with a couple different types of Assam and me doing the tossing. In fact, I might even make a little label for it on green paper with a Celtic rune or two just for authenticity. Teaism has a decidedly non-western theme so most likely that's what I'll have to do.

Buying a U2 album feels a little like watching the Superbowl or the Oscars - almost a required activity unless you lead a purely alternative lifestyle and have no link to the mainstream. I itemize the expense along with new David Bowie albums and tickets to see the Star Wars prequels. Amazingly enough there are four, maybe five good songs on there. That's saying a lot when you consider the accomplishments of other rockers at this point in their careers: The Rolling Stones' Dirty Work, Paul McCartney's every release since Band on the Run (OK, I actually think a lot of his solo stuff is pretty good but I recognize that it's not a commonly held view), and Cheap Trick's latest album (they have a latest album). That's not to say there aren't a lot of older rockers who have put out good things late in the game but other than Bob Dylan and Motorhead there are no bands besides U2 that I can think of that have consistently not sucked for this long. Maybe Neil Young but he established early on that at least two songs on every album will stink so he kind of lowered the bar for himself.

When I open my Tea Shop I'm going to offer an Irish Blend with celebrity backing. I figure Bono is a long shot but perhaps it's time for Larry Mullen Jr. to step into the spotlight. I've got him pegged as a tea advocate. I'm not sure the phone number I have for him is still current so I'll probably have to streak onto the stage at the Grammy Awards again so we can catch up and work out some sort of deal.