[Ed. note: This is the 80th in a series of personal essays by the @U2 staff about songs and/or albums that have had great meaning or impact in our lives.]

For the past three years — and the past 18 months in particular — my life has been a whirlwind. Just crazy. Here’s the short version: I am a college music theory professor who was lucky to land a tenure-track job right out of graduate school.