Introduction

Welcome to my Inspirational Landscapes project, a website dedicated to exploring how the landscapes which served as an inspiration for the lyrics of U2 songs on their (arguably) most famous album The Joshua Tree. Celebrating its 30th 'birthday' this year, The Joshua Tree, the band's 5th album, is there bestselling and most critically acclaimed to date.

This website is (itself a digital landscape) has been created to explore the lyrics from the songs on The Joshua Tree album, and the different landscapes which the band were inspired by to write the lyrics they did. As you read, watch and listen to the content on this website, the hope is that not only will you be transported into the heart of the songs of the album, but that you will also get a glimpse of the landscapes which served as the inspiration to these songs.

Inspiration

I was inspired to put this project together after my parents informed me that they had managed to purchase tickets to see U2's Joshua Tree Tour 2017, which is a tour commemorating 30 years since The Joshua Tree was first released. This news came at a time where I was reflecting on what the focus of my project for this module should be. As I was re-familiarising myself with the album, I was reminded of the significant and deep roots which the album had with America, and how in their own words, the band were U2 "falling into the arms of America".

Aim

The aim of this project is to highlight and discuss the different landscapes which inspired the 11 tracks which featured on the original Joshua Tree album.

Why a website?

The use of a website to achieve this aim makes sense. A website allows for the integration of multiple different content mediums in one, central place. Throughout the site, several different mediums of content are used (text, video, photographs, audio files) and so being able to integrate this together in one place, allowing for an immersive and interactive experience, was important. A website, in my opinion, was the most effective way to do this.