(11-22-2006) Is Bono the next Beethoven? - Q*

[HelloAngel]

Is Bono the next Beethoven?


He’s a leading cultural figure with designs on saving the world. Politicians love him but he has the sense of humour of a doorstop. Sounds familiar? Well before you start humming 'Vertigo', apparently this list could apply just as much to Beethoven as well as Bono.

Despite a 200-year gap between them, classical music magazine Gramophone says it was stunned by the similarities between the pair, not just musically but in terms of their outlook on the world.

Editor James Inverne said, “Beethoven was a major cultural figure in his day, just as Bono is now. In the 18th century, composers were the pop stars of their day. Beethoven was also a regular guest at court and would have been a point of reference for the Austrian aristocracy.

“Bono has a comparable relationship with Tony Blair and George W Bush, and the dynamic is still the same.”

The magazine was trying to find ways of linking Beethoven to contemporary music and found that the Austrian composer shared more than just music.

“Beethoven believed the world should work to make itself a better place and that we should stand up against oppression,” said Inverne.

Who's better - Bono or Beethoven?

http://news.q4music.com/2006/11/is_bono_the_next_beethoven.html

 

[Liesje]

Hmmm, I really don't see the comparison at all. Both being famous musicians doesn't really mean they have much in common.

 

[ponkine]

The article is one of the worst pieces of s*** I've ever read

Beethoven composed his best pieces of music being deaf. I can't imagine Bono writing even a song with a single chord being deaf

Man, that corporate magazine has no sense of respect to the musical genious of classical music

 

[LyricalDrug]

They're both short and ornery

 

[Zoots]

Is Bono the next God?

 

[victor_f]

I can't imagine Bono writing even a song with a single chord being deaf

 

[Vincent Vega]

Is Bono the next God?

Why the next?

 

[Nube Gris]

Bono is as important to popular culture as Beethoven was considered for his time, both cultural and musical...Bono has gone much further, as we live in a diferent world now

 

[BEVERLY56]

What's brown and sits on the piano bench?


...


BEETHOVEN'S LAST MOVEMENT.



Also Beethoven would not look so good in the cop hat.

 

[U2girl91289]

Their names both start with B?

 

[Zoots]

Their names both start with B?

So does Bobby Brown.

 

[U2Man]

for once i agree with porkline

 

[Zoots]

Beethoven pisses on Bono like Keiran pisses on Caisenma.

 

[U2girl]

How can you compare people who lived 2 centuries apart, a classical componist and a non-clasically trained songwriter?

 

[Rachel D.]

Politicians love him but he has the sense of humour of a doorstop.

Oh come on! He at least tries to be funny, even if he doesn't always succeed.

 

[Carek1230]

They each possess at least a bit of musical genius for each of their times, however it's unfair to compare. We are all separate and unique individuals. Those of high intelligence don't usually have much of a sense of humor like the "average" person. Say they are equally talented for their day and leave it at that.

 

[Liesje]

I don't mind comparisons as long as there's something to compare.

Beethoven was a musical genius in every sense of the word. His talent as composer and virtuoso were so far above and beyond, coupled with his depressed, temper, and general strangeness...it was like he lived on the outskirts of his own mind. Bono, on the other hand, wears his heart on his sleeves (often literally) and is the epitome of mainstream. Their childhoods, musical backgrounds, and temperaments have nothing in common.

 

[Vincent Vega]

My brother and I came to the conclusion that there are other very important similarities between Beethoven and Bono worth to compare:

1. Both are men
2. Both are Europeans
3. Both are Musicians

(Ok, Beethoven was)

On that basis the author of the comparison now should start a series in his magazine. There are a lot more to compare.