Did anyone else get chills

[80sU2isBest]

During halftime when Bono recited "Oh Lord, open my mouth that I may show forth thy praise" at the beginning of Streets? That was a very spiritual experience for me; the song in the back, the names on the screen, and Bono singing his praises in front of millions of viewers!

 

[Lilly]

Yea, I thought that was great too. At first I didn't know what he was saying as he has a tendency to mumble, but then I realized he was praying. I thought that was beautiful. Although I was taken a bit aback when they let the screen on which the names were projected fall. It conjured images of all those people dying when the towers themselves collapsed, though I know it was not the intended connotation. Did anyone else think that?

-Lil

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It's the puppets that pull the strings.

*You're very kind. Most people laugh when they see my googly eye.*

+fabulous+

 

[80sU2isBest]

Yeep, I noticed that, and it struck me as odd, also.

 

[spanisheyes]

When I first saw the broadcast, I couldn't catch what Bono was saying, but then when I heard he had quoted the psalmist with "Oh Lord, open my mouth that I may show forth thy praise" and I watched the broadcast again...I will admit that I got chills, and it brought me back to Bono singing Gloria, and invoking the Lord to loosen his lips to sing forth God's praise.

Chris

 

[scatteroflight]

Originally posted by Lilly:
Yea, I thought that was great too. At first I didn't know what he was saying as he has a tendency to mumble, but then I realized he was praying. I thought that was beautiful. Although I was taken a bit aback when they let the screen on which the names were projected fall. It conjured images of all those people dying when the towers themselves collapsed, though I know it was not the intended connotation. Did anyone else think that?

Yes, and I didn't like it at all. I hope it wasn't deliberately intended to conjure up that image because if so I think it was most inappropriate.

Streets was fabulous, though.



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Love was never a single emotion

-ACROB@T

 

[truecoloursfly]

YES!! I actually did make out his words the first time, and assumed it was another psalm. I'd been thrilled that he did that on the NBA broadcast, but this one... oh, yeah! No amount of pressure or context makes Bono other than his Bono-self... except to make his work BIGGER.

There's been much debate about the "falling towers" illusion/allusion. It's impossible to tell if it was deliberate or not; but I'll say this, and I wish I could get this out to EVERYBODY who was understandably disturbed by it: it's hard to make out on the TV footage, but as at the concerts, those scrims were only screens for projected text. And when the scrims fell, the names kept scrolling over the crowd, just like "leave it behind" on the tour.

The "screen" fell, the NAMES REMAINED.

In other words (what I took from it), those spirits cannot be crumbled like so much steel and concrete. They live and shine among us, and dear God, it makes me weepy even now what a piece of performance art THAT was in the most populist of settings.

Death, be not proud... nor darkness, neither. Streets was a victory song that day. They played a three-song haiku (my preoccupation of the moment) of victory:

It's a beautiful day
may your dreams be realized
where the streets have no name

Deb D

 

[mebythesea]

Originally posted by truecoloursfly:
They played a three-song haiku (my preoccupation of the moment) of victory:

It's a beautiful day
may your dreams be realized
where the streets have no name

Oh wow, what an insight. Thank you!

I found the collapsing of the screen into white light a very triumphant gesture on a gut level. But I do understand why it upset people who read it differently.

 

[ZooGrl]

I think that if anything, the falling screens might have represented the fragility of human life and showed how precious it is and how quickly it can be taken away. Perhaps the larger message is one demonstrating the importance of peace...
I've actually had trouble with the concept of peace lately; so many people *want* it but I don't think that necessarily means they know what it means or *how* to achieve it. My belief is that peace starts with the smallest of things-- I think the world could be a better place if we just realized that. I think one of the best ways to do this is to always be able to put yourself in the other person's shoes before you do something that might affect that person in a negative way and to understand what their reaction might be and WHY. Even if you follow through with the action (no one is perfect), at least you have given some thought to the way the other person might feel. I'll give an example... I used to ride my bike to class-- the wrong way on a one way street. I would always get angry whenever drivers would honk at me, which they did occasionally. Then I took a moment to realize that of COURSE they were angry, I was cutting them off and getting in their way! Once I realized this, well, ok, I still did it. But I was always careful never to get in anyone's way or cut anyone off again.
Hostility breeds conflict and all too often, conflict turns into war. Understanding and compassion are key...
Wow, I'm not sure where that came from, but it sure felt good to get it out.

[This message has been edited by ZooGrl (edited 02-06-2002).]

 

[new orleans]

Originally posted by ZooGrl:
I think that if anything, the falling screens might have represented the fragility of human life and showed how precious it is and how quickly it can be taken away. Perhaps the larger message is one demonstrating the importance of peace...
I've actually had trouble with the concept of peace lately; so many people *want* it but I don't think that necessarily means they know what it means or *how* to achieve it. My belief is that peace starts with the smallest of things-- I think the world could be a better place if we just realized that. I think one of the best ways to do this is to always be able to put yourself in the other person's shoes before you do something that might affect that person in a negative way and to understand what their reaction might be and WHY. Even if you follow through with the action (no one is perfect), at least you have given some thought to the way the other person might feel. I'll give an example... I used to ride my bike to class-- the wrong way on a one way street. I would always get angry whenever drivers would honk at me, which they did occasionally. Then I took a moment to realize that of COURSE they were angry, I was cutting them off and getting in their way! Once I realized this, well, ok, I still did it. But I was always careful never to get in anyone's way or cut anyone off again.
Hostility breeds conflict and all too often, conflict turns into war. Understanding and compassion are key...
Wow, I'm not sure where that came from, but it sure felt good to get it out.

[This message has been edited by ZooGrl (edited 02-06-2002).]

Maybe it didn't and wasn't suppose to represent anything. Maybe it was that the list of names was for MLK and the list was finished and MLK was over. It could be just a SIMPLE as that.

 

[foray]

Originally posted by 80sU2isBest:
During halftime when Bono recited "Oh Lord, open my mouth that I may show forth thy praise" at the beginning of Streets? That was a very spiritual experience for me; the song in the back, the names on the screen, and Bono singing his praises in front of millions of viewers!

YES.

foray