Advantage: Metallica

Tonight, I’m listening to a lot of music. I’m in the office doing paperwork, and I have my mp3 player on shuffle. It’s keeping me awake, and 1600 to 0230 is a pretty long night. Of course, one needs to take a break from paperwork every once in a while, too.

So over the past thirty minutes or so, I heard two songs with the same title that are about a zillion miles apart, content-wise.

“One,” by Metallica

And “One,” by U2

It’s interesting when you look at the two bands, and the two songs. I have to admit I approach both from a rock perspective, and this is what I came up with.

Both bands have great frontmen, in James Hetfield for Metallica, and Bono for U2. James Hetfield looks like he could snap off Bono’s pretentious head and use it for a soccer ball. Advantage: Metallica.

Both bands have good guitarists, Kirk Hammett for Metallica, and “The Edge,” for U2. The edge of what? Sucking? Knit cap wearing? Anyway, Hammett is a beast, and his tone and technical ability caused a generation of up-and-coming guitarists to “facepalm” in despair. Advantage: Metallica.

Well written song referencing a heartbreaking decades-old anti-war film?

Please. Advantage: Metallica.

I guess the best thing I could tell you is that Metallica is much better at inspiring wakefulness.
My mp3 player is demented, though. In addition to those two songs, in those same thirty minutes I also heard “Build Your Kingdom” by Rend Collective Experiment, and “Wizards of Winter,” by Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

I need to find some more caffeine. There’s gotta be some around here somewhere…