Classic or Dud: U2

Anthony Burgess (like Paul Bowles, a notable composer himself, and certainly one of the best music writers of the 20th century) abhorred the music that Bono and The Edge composed for that Clockwork Orange musical

I don't think he liked The Beatles either!

In the last 20% or so of Bono's SURRENDER. It has taken a rather disappointing tone, perhaps in keeping with Bono's career trajectory.

He has little to say, in this stage, about songwriting or making music. The band is almost forgotten much of the time. Bono seems to be doing most things alone, or with his wife. It makes it more logical that he's now doing more things without Clayton and Mullen.

His activism, which seems very sincere and substantial, as well as his celebrity, takes him into the orbit of global leaders: Clintons, Obamas, et al. This tends to make for blandness. And Bono's sense of the political is one that I find quite problematic. It seems not to involve conflict but only consensus. But what if people in the consensus do bad things?

A bad page records a visit to Steve Jobs in Palo Alto. This already sounds unpromising. Bono wants to make an advert with Apple, citing the fact that U2's not making adverts is costing them money. (Did U2 in 2004 really need more money?) He then asks, in return, for Apple stock, and not getting that, asks for a specialised iPod to be made. Bono says that all this association with Apple makes U2 look cool. I think, and would have thought at the time, the opposite: that it looks corporate and bad.

It doesn't surprise me that Bono hangs out with Barack Obama, but his whitewashing of GW Bush's Iraq war seems discreditable. Then when D.J. Trump comes along, Bono finally attacks a public figure, saying, in rather familiar terms, that Trump is orange and bad, and that he is a symptom of the virus of populism.

It seems to me that Trump, for people who want to hold these positions, is a scapegoat. He's easy to dislike, you can say nasty things about him, and be sure that everyone will agree. OK. But criticising 'populism' and 'fake news' and 'post-truth' won't wash when you won't criticise the Bush administration - which is infamous for lying at great scale, and indeed made explicit statements about its post-truth views; and which was arguably more 'populist' than Trump in starting foreign wars of choice, demanding national obedience and staging pictures on aircraft carriers. I can still remember the hatred I felt for the US government in those days. Many people on ILX probably can too - and actual ILX threads from the time would show it. Bono doesn't remember this. He thinks things only went bad with Trump.

As I say, all this comes up because there is so little about music. Was Bono still serious about music by this point? Why are his lyrics in this era so stilted compared to decades before? He can be very self-critical or at least self-deprecating, but he doesn't seem to reflect on this.

i think bono's views are heavily skewed because bush was the sort of establishment guy that he could successfully lobby to spend more on aid for africa etc., so he can't have been that bad. there was never any chance that he could get anywhere convincing trump to spend more on foreign aid, so he could see him for what he is.

Yes - I think that is an accurate assessment of Bono's outlook.

I think Bono's views are skewed because he's an establishment guy who dodges taxes through Maltese holding companies and takes a what me worry/some of my best friends are corporations when he was exposed in the Panama Papers.

In his book he gives a paragraph to the controversy over U2's tax affairs. He says something like 'we may have gone too far'.

He said something similar, more strongly, about the time that they gave away their music to people via Apple. The puzzling thing about that story is - presumably only people with some kind of Apple music buying account received the music. (I didn't ... and I would have liked to! I bought the CD, very very cheap, a couple of years later.) So while it was described as 'U2 give everyone their unwanted music', it must really have been a minority of people.

it showed up for anyone who had an itunes account, so anyone with an iphone and anyone who'd ever used the most popular way to buy music at the time

Happy birthday, Bono!

xp I recall it was effectively undeletable too, at least until they released a software update or two.

I had iTunes on my computer, with thousands of songs on it. But I didn't receive the U2 LP. So I assume this is a difference between using iTunes and having some kind of commercial account with Apple.

I am not sure that this was a majority of pop music fans. Maybe a vocal plurality.

However, I agree with the view that people should not be given something they wouldn't want. And if it can't be deleted that's worse still.

I am near the end of the book and the one LP that Bono has not commented on is NO LINE ON THE HORIZON. The only thing he's said is 'Had we gone too far from our punk roots with that album?'. If he's serious about this he should have a chapter explaining it. U2 naturally made a big deal about that LP at the time; it shouldn't be erased from history. In fact I think it's probably better than their later records FWIW.

The 'punk roots' stuff is mostly nonsense, as eg: the LP representing their supposed return to said roots was SONGS OF INNOCENCE, which is not punk at all.

Bono: (excitedly) Gentlemen, it's an honor to have both of you here today. What brings us together?

Putin: (smirking) Bono, your charisma always intrigues me. I suppose we're here to discuss global issues and find common ground.

Blair: Indeed, Bono. We live in a complex world, and it's crucial for leaders to collaborate for the greater good. Let's get down to business.

Bono: I appreciate your perspectives, gentlemen. How about we establish a joint task force that addresses poverty, stability, and security? We can pool our expertise and engage other influential figures to drive real change.

That's rather accurate !!

apologies, chatgpt was just giving me some lols. I'm tired and giddy and finding dumb stuff very amusing today.

Calzino + AI -- a dangerous combination for satire.

Can't wait to see you produce some about KS!

people should not be given something they wouldn't want

Isn't that a Sinéad O'Connor album?

I suppose if an amalgam of The Wonder Stuff and weak Blondie callbacks are your thing...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVqWb0JKBdw

Vegas show looks like a cross between real US, virtual ABBA and an IMAX movie

The inside of the Las Vegas Sphere looks stunning and U2 has always been good with visuals.

But this must be so disorienting. Just give me Bono running laps around a stage while singing “One”.pic.twitter.com/tBJFPmZxyO

— Trung Phan (@TrungTPhan) September 30, 2023

gaudy as fuck, a perfect match of city, venue, and artists, this will make Bono an additional billion dollars

I saw that place on CBS Saturday Morning. Venue looks Blade Runner crazy as he11, but it's just another rich man's pleasure palace.

The one drawback is you have to listen to U2. The Channel 4 News feature on this was one of the most nauseating pieces of television I've had the misfortune to watch this year.

My wife’s boss is a huge fan and was at last night’s show (he has tickets for two of them). He sent some pre-show pics of the dome.

Said that fans had been camped out since Wednesday in the GA ticket line, heard the band rehearsals, and were posting spoilers on the U2 messageboard (I guess they play Achtung Baby followed by random songs?). Just to give you a taste of that U2 fan lyfe…

https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/u2/2023/sphere-at-the-venetian-resort-las-vegas-nv-63a3fadb.html

Photos look crazy. https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/sep/30/u2-review-an-utterly-astonishing-admirably-raw-vegas-extravaganza

I was offered a couple tix to see this on Oct 7, and while i do love this band and the visual experience looks amazing, I don't like dealing with Vegas. Driving there, being there, driving back...plus it's only 3/4ths of the dudes.

^ I read that url as “raw vegan extravaganza” and thought it was about a U2 themed restaurant

Where The Sides Have No Name

Unforgettable Fire-Roasted Tomatoes

not gonna lie i would love to see this

Xp All I Want Is Tofu

as would i.
i once went to a 360 degree video thing at a planetarium where folks showed these films that they had made especially for the format.
dj food had prepared a full film that accompanied his 'search engine' album.
to say it was a massive headf^ck/dizzying experience would be an understatement.
and the pics that i have seen of this basically looks like that experience but expanded to the power of XXXX.

xpost

yeah I'd just love to see U2 full-stop really.

Sundae Non-Dairy Sundae

The tours they've done in my adult life I haven't been able to see for one reason or another.

Shake it shake it shake it vegan salami

tfw the venue is more interesting than the band

That looks sick as hell and I say that as someone who's gone to laser Floyd

lol I posted "real US" instead of "real U2," still works

Two Artichoke Hearts Eat As One

lime dill pine nut ground onion shaoxing slaw

i have never seen them live
had tix to see the 360 tour in Oakland then the tour was cancelled bc bono had to get back surgery & havent had a chance or financial wherewithal to see them since ;_;

“raw vegan extravaganza”

Even Better Than the Real Thing

Seen them a bunch, not for a while, might consider this if it were cheap and down the street.

i've seen them seven times, probably the best overall experience was the 360 Rose Bowl show, but Zoo TV was a truly iconic show. actually all the shows were really great, though Popmart wasn't a great experience as far as seeing the band, being so close to the back row at Soldier Field in Chicago. but the spectacle was fun. they always brought it live ime.

I've seen ... Joshua Tree tour in '87 (my first concert), Zoo TV in whenever that was ('92?), Popmart, two or three shows on the Elevation tour (which were the best), Vertigo tour and ... I think that was it. Started to get too hard to get tix, too expensive, didn't like the new albums, etc.

at the last minute i got tix for their massive roundhay park/leeds gig as part of the zoo tv tour.
at the time my wife and i were not fans at all.
but we decided to go along for the experience.
yeah, that was a good day.

That looks sick as hell and I say that as someone who's gone to laser Floyd

otm

All I can say is, imagine how annoying the average boomer+ fan is at an arena show, now make that arena a Vegas extravaganza that is actually in Las Vegas. This is going to be like being trapped in a Vegas casino elevator at 1am with drunk convention goers.