My Gen X Playlist: One – U2 & Mary J Blige

Here were a few things I think I was good at as a kid. Keep in mind, sometimes reminiscing unintentionally allows you to take creative license on the past.

We used to play a game with our baseball, football and basketball card collections. We’d each lean ten cards against the wall that were up for grabs. We’d take turns flicking a card (from a distance) and any cards that got knocked over were yours to keep. I was a good flicker.

I was a decent basketball player in high school. I surprisingly made varsity my sophomore year. For perspective, our team never went on to achieve any mild form of greatness. You can read between the lines on that one. I also never did learn how to dribble with my left hand. That seemed to get me in a little bit of trouble.

I got pretty good grades as a kid. Did that mean I was a good student? I’m not so sure about that. I didn’t study an exorbitant amount. If I didn’t know the material, I’d study and get the good grade but I’m not sure how much I retained. My knowledge base isn’t as deep as some of my friends.

I was a good eater when I was a kid. I could eat my weight in burgers, pizza and mom’s cooking and not gain a single pound. It was crazy. When I got to college, I had a crash course on the ins and outs of matabolism and learned the hard way. Maybe those taco and burger runs at 2 am were not the healthiest ideas. But boy, did they taste good.

I also thought I was a well rounded kid back then, even extending through college. This was mostly because my parents exposed us to a bunch of stuff, whether we liked it or not. Unfortunately after college, all my effort and time was buried in career and I woke up one morning to realize I’d become one dimensional. Although I’m a bit older now, at least I was able to recognize it and begin making incremental change. It’s never too late to teach an old dog new tricks.

That last one reminded me of a conversation I had with a friend at work. She once pulled me aside and recommended I watch a movie called The Family Man, starring Nicholas Cage and Tea Leoni. It’s a movie about a guy who spent all his time working, letting the meaningful things in life go by the wayside. Pretty big hint. But hint taken. I remember thinking about that conversation when I left that job in search of balance. While I’m still searching for that elusive goal, I’m far better off now having tipped the scales a fair amount.

I honestly don’t remember the soundtrack, but I looked it up and was surprised to find One by U2. I’ve always loved this song. Instead of the single from the album, here is a collaboration between U2 and Mary J. Blige instead.

Mary J. Blige sang “One” with U2 in 2005 at a benefit for victims of hurricane Katrina. Her voice added a powerful new dimension to the song and, the following year, she recorded it with the band for her album Reminisce. This version charted at # 86 in America.

Songfacts

I love it when rock stars do cool shit like this. She killed it.

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For a complete playlist, please click here.

For the Spotify playlist, please click here.

Is it getting better
Or do you feel the same?
Will it make it easier on you now?
You got someone to blame

You say one love, one life (One life)
It's one need in the night
One love (one love), get to share it
Leaves you darling, if you don't care for it

Did I disappoint you?
Or leave a bad taste in your mouth?
You act like you never had love
And you want me to go without

Well it's too late, tonight
To drag the past out into the light
We're one, but we're not the same
We get to carry each other
Carry each other

One, one
One, one
One, one
One, one

Have you come here for forgiveness?
Have you come to raise the dead?
Have you come here to play Jesus?
To the lepers in your head
Well, did I ask too much, more than a lot?
You gave me nothing, now it's all I got
We're one, but we're not the same
See we hurt each other, then we do it again
You say love is a temple, love is a higher law
Love is a temple, love is a higher law
You ask me of me to enter, but then you make me crawl
And I can't keep holding on to what you got, 'cause all you got is hurt

One love
One blood
One life
You got to do what you should
One life
With each other
Sisters and my brothers
One life
But we're not the same
We get to carry each other, carry each other

One, one
One, one

One