Rattle & Hum? Luckily apparently, I don’t think I’ve ever heard it. I certainly wouldn’t recognise it if I heard any of it in a lift, which perhaps I have.
One of the best things about having kids is that this generation has none of that bullshit. Queen, Dire Straits, the Smiths, Pulp, Joy Division, David Bowie - all part of the same continuum to them and there's no cool or not cool, only music that they like, or don't.
It's funny that people are willing to admit that fascists, racists, transphobes and racists can make great art but are unwilling to admit that Joshua Tree, Rattle and Hum and Auchtung Baby all slapped.
I have absolutely no problem saying that I liked U2. First time I saw them, a college buddy had to drag me. "$3 cover charge? This better be worth it!" (Beers were 50¢ and no cover, ofc, where we usually hung out.)
They had just come out with their first album. They played all of the songs from it, took a break, came back out and played them again, in different order. One of the best shows I've ever seen, and I say this as someone who worked in the biz for eight years.
I've always thought The Edge was the rare guitarist who truly broke new ground. I forget how many more of their next albums I liked, but a few, easily. And they never turned me off; it was more a case of my moving on from pop music altogether.
Could Bono be a bit precious from time to time? Sure. But I'd put him no higher than about 4000th on the list of Annoying Celebrities Who Make Pronouncements. And I have to say, I can't think of anything, offhand, that he said that was bad. Cringe, at worst.
Please excuse the length. I had such a good time thinking about that show that it just opened the floodgates.
A friend once described Joshua Tree as "music to slit your wrists by," which was only partly a joke even in 1987. Over time I've gotten a little less tolerant of bombastic overproduced guitars. But nothing killed my appetite for later U2 more than watching The Edge in "It Might Get Loud."
Surely there is space for those who genuinely preferred Echo and the Bunnymen at the time and have been rude about U2 for more than 40 years. (In fairness, I can now admit with the magnanimity of age that some of their tracks are legit bangers.)
My brother formed a band in secondary school in the 80s before any of them could play their instruments. They started off playing U2 covers, because they could.
I never liked U2. Could tolerate it, never liked it. I used to like Morrissey, not shamed to admit that. Also not shamed to admit that he's turned into a complete arse. Same with Radiohead.
Not wholly sure about the wider application from Bono. Oasis fans Gen 1 I think still look back fondly on the coarse and mindless behaviour. Its the five albums after WTSMG that cooled the ardour.
Is it too boring to think that "nice chunes, that guy is a bit of an arse though" is the Right and Proper condition for popular music? I mean, they are. And he is. Mostly. Even Jarvis
A request for thoughts: why is it Pulp are different? An ongoing humility? Self reflexive nous, wit, humour? The shake of the arse in MJ’s face is a cultural high point of the 90’s.
This is all true. And like lots of home truths is hard. There is that peculiar dissonance, the heart and head paradox, when I hear the opening of Where The Streets Have No Name, when, before I can remind myself how much of a twat Bono is I can’t help but get up and dance like Peter Kay.
Rattle & Hum? Luckily apparently, I don’t think I’ve ever heard it. I certainly wouldn’t recognise it if I heard any of it in a lift, which perhaps I have.
One of the best things about having kids is that this generation has none of that bullshit. Queen, Dire Straits, the Smiths, Pulp, Joy Division, David Bowie - all part of the same continuum to them and there's no cool or not cool, only music that they like, or don't.
It's funny that people are willing to admit that fascists, racists, transphobes and racists can make great art but are unwilling to admit that Joshua Tree, Rattle and Hum and Auchtung Baby all slapped.
As a Gen Xer, I still like U2 (and REM), although I think Prince, Tom Waits, Bruce, and Tom Petty have held up better.
Hilarious closing line.
I have absolutely no problem saying that I liked U2. First time I saw them, a college buddy had to drag me. "$3 cover charge? This better be worth it!" (Beers were 50¢ and no cover, ofc, where we usually hung out.)
They had just come out with their first album. They played all of the songs from it, took a break, came back out and played them again, in different order. One of the best shows I've ever seen, and I say this as someone who worked in the biz for eight years.
I've always thought The Edge was the rare guitarist who truly broke new ground. I forget how many more of their next albums I liked, but a few, easily. And they never turned me off; it was more a case of my moving on from pop music altogether.
Could Bono be a bit precious from time to time? Sure. But I'd put him no higher than about 4000th on the list of Annoying Celebrities Who Make Pronouncements. And I have to say, I can't think of anything, offhand, that he said that was bad. Cringe, at worst.
Please excuse the length. I had such a good time thinking about that show that it just opened the floodgates.
Thank you for your indulgence in this manner.
A friend once described Joshua Tree as "music to slit your wrists by," which was only partly a joke even in 1987. Over time I've gotten a little less tolerant of bombastic overproduced guitars. But nothing killed my appetite for later U2 more than watching The Edge in "It Might Get Loud."
What’s this about Phil Collins being selfish? Was it going solo?
Interesting article!
Surely there is space for those who genuinely preferred Echo and the Bunnymen at the time and have been rude about U2 for more than 40 years. (In fairness, I can now admit with the magnanimity of age that some of their tracks are legit bangers.)
My brother formed a band in secondary school in the 80s before any of them could play their instruments. They started off playing U2 covers, because they could.
Being on vacation, Dan wisely decided not to do a lengthy "think piece" on Bono like:
–"How Bono explains everything"
–"Bono = cybernetics"
–"Bono: destroyer, or savior?"
Because
-One day, there will be a world where no one will wonder: "Who was Bono?"
–Then, there will a world where people wonder: "How do you even spell 'Bono'?"
–Then there will be a world that "re-discovers" Bono, now spelled "bn"
–Later, there will a world that forgets about Bono all over again.
Today we are living in a Las Vegas funhouse world of mirrors where Bono, like truth, both exists and does not exist simultaneously.
Reminds me of the old saw that you can tell when a woman was happiest by the hairstyle she wears.
I never liked U2. Could tolerate it, never liked it. I used to like Morrissey, not shamed to admit that. Also not shamed to admit that he's turned into a complete arse. Same with Radiohead.
Not wholly sure about the wider application from Bono. Oasis fans Gen 1 I think still look back fondly on the coarse and mindless behaviour. Its the five albums after WTSMG that cooled the ardour.
Is it too boring to think that "nice chunes, that guy is a bit of an arse though" is the Right and Proper condition for popular music? I mean, they are. And he is. Mostly. Even Jarvis
Once upon a time girls used to buy records. Not U2 ones eh?
A request for thoughts: why is it Pulp are different? An ongoing humility? Self reflexive nous, wit, humour? The shake of the arse in MJ’s face is a cultural high point of the 90’s.
This is all true. And like lots of home truths is hard. There is that peculiar dissonance, the heart and head paradox, when I hear the opening of Where The Streets Have No Name, when, before I can remind myself how much of a twat Bono is I can’t help but get up and dance like Peter Kay.