Reading the various commentary I wondered if there was really anything else to add. Perhaps there is.
U2 has gone in directions that have frustrated fans before, but as many have pointed it out, it all came out okay in the end.
I remember hearing Zooropa and Pop and being confused (though I now appreciate both albums. You can read my story in the babyface forum). But even then, even when I didn't like what they were doing, even when I didn't buy the albums and just stuck to their "old stuff" I respected what they were doing. They are artists, they've got to follow their muse. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. U2 owes us fans a lot, yes after all as Bono said, we've given them "a great life." But we don't OWN them. I really respected that they wanted to experiment, test themselves, go in different directions--go and dream it all up again. That's what great artists do--they risk failure in the pursuit of their art. Mediocre ones do a focus group and turn out what they are told the public wants.
I really can't see U2 "doing hip-hop" but it's their business, their art, if indeed they choose to do it. I may not like it but I'll respect it.
Incidentally, didn't I hear Bono doing some sort of African chant during the opening to "Where the Streets Have No Name" in the Vertigo concert DVD. In the Michka Assayas book "In Conversation" Assayas asked Bono why they didn't incorporate African music into their material since Bono is so passionate about Africa. Bono, replied, as I recall something to the affect that the he didn't feel the group could pull it off. Well, it looks to me like Bono was wrong, because I thought that chant was a great touch. You just never know with U2.
