April "25th" - Letter "U" = Ulrich Schnauss

Before I start the Letter "U", I will give a brief statement on why I suck so bad at this A-Z Challenge (as far as releasing my posts on time):

1. I have a big job as the lead for a major project at work where I am the Requirements Lead for a new tool.  This means it's up to me to ensure we don't miss anything for the tool or else lots and lots of people will be VERY unhappy with me.  There are tight deadlines for this project and I have an even tighter deadline to complete.
   
2. I am almost 6-Mo preggo now which means I have to have all my ducks in a row BEFORE this baby decides to make an entrance.  At that point I will be off from work 10-12 weeks and not available to work on the project discussed in #1.  Which means people better understand the requirements and go forth on my behalf as I would. Also when I return, we'll only be a month away from actually releasing the tool.  Another tight schedule.
   
3. My Mom is planning a baby shower in SoCal for me in May.  She needs addresses for invites and for us to create our baby registry.  Mr. O is finishing his semester so I had to start the registry online until he becomes available for many months next week (he's taking off summer and fall - yay!)

I know these are just excuses.  But, it doesn't mean I won't actually finish writing all 26 posts.  They just may be done late.


I was going to write about U2, but it seemed like such an obvious choice considering slim pickings for musicians I love starting with a "U".  But after some thought, I really only love U2 from their first album to about Zooropa.  Everything past that is okay, but not love anymore.  However, I will say my favorite U2 album is Unforgettable Fire.  I know...am I crazy when you compare that one against Joshua Tree or Rattle & Hum?  Maybe it's the song "Bad"...it's my favorite.  Plus, it's not like I could write anything about U2 that you didn't probably already know.  Like Bono isn't known by EVERYONE in the world.

So I'm going with an artist you may not know much about: Ulrich Schnauss (I wish there was an audio button for how my sister and I say his last name.  We sound like Squidward on Spongebob.  It's probably not nice, but makes this artist quite memorable).  Ulrich Schnauss is an electronic artist from Germany. But don't think crazy bass and DJ type music.  I'd say his taste is more refined and almost classical, except with electronic equipment.  It's "pretty" music. There are very sparse lyrics; his music is mostly instrumental.

I only own 12 songs by the artist.  I own an EP called ...Passing By, and a full length album called A Strangely Isolated Place.  Both evoke emotions when played.  I'd place his style in the same branch as Explosions in the Sky, Craig Armstrong with keyboards instead of a piano, or even at times, there are hints of Sigur Ros. 

Click to hear some of my favorite Ulrich Schnauss songs...
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