Far from having found what they're looking for...

I heard on the radio for about a week that the new U2 album (Robbery without Daylight) was being released at midnight in HMV Grafton Street.
I thought it would be a good opportunity to catch up with some colourful characters.
I wasn't quite prepared for the sadness that I felt when I got there and saw about 200 people in search of something that visibly wasn't in sight.
They reminded me a bit of the thousands of homeless people on the streets of San Francisco, many whom had arrived there on their last dollars following a dream and ended up badly stranded, beyond the more sinister end of SoMa.
Rarely either had I met a crowd not only willing to be photographed but desperately eager to get some sort of attention.
My heart goes to this guy who bought a dining suit for the occasion and queued since Monday for the privilege of being the first to contribute to the weak revival of a fledgling U2 empire.
Or for the granny on her camping chair who also seemed to be craving something more than what can be burnt onto a 12 track CD.

I will download my illegal torrent in the coming weeks*

I have never forgiven Bono for the fact that 20 years later I am still stuck sporting a mullet on my driving licence.

* Music piracy is a crime

** Unless you have spent the equivalent of the GDP of Lesotho on U2 singles, LPs, picture discs, CDs, DVDs, badges, calendars, posters, bed sheets and pillow cases, limited edition Ipods and other exorbitant concert tickets (when Bono really looks like he is an eighth of an inch tall at the other end of the stadium) over the last 2.5 decades.
In which case it is called divine retribution.