thankyou
Refugee
As if we didn't already know, but it's fun to read, when someone else is gushing about your favorite band:
7 reasons to love U2: From guitar to joy
By DEBBIE GILBERT
The Times
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Edge's guitar. Any good rock band is easily recognized by the voice of its lead singer, but a U2 song can be identified even when Bono is silent. Edge's guitar playing is a dead giveaway. It has a ringing, echoing quality that is so distinctive, other guitarists don't even try to imitate the sound.
Though I'm not a guitar geek by any means (I prefer keyboards), the greatest pleasure of a U2 concert is hearing the Edge (aka Dave Evans) play his guitar live. It is a transcendent experience.
2. Crescendo. Many of the best U2 songs, including my all-time favorite, "With Or Without You," start softly and build to a glorious climax. Most of my favorite pieces of classical music follow the same pattern.
I think it's hard-wired into our physiology to respond to a gradual increase in intensity, leading up to full-volume release and finally, resolution.
I got a powerful demonstration of this when U2 played Philips Arena during the Elevation tour in 2001. The intro to "Where the Streets Have No Name," in which the music gets faster and faster until it suddenly bursts out of the shadows into the light, seemed to inject me and everyone else with a hyper-shot of adrenaline. It was as if 20,000 people had received a communal electric shock.
3. "War." This 1983 album, U2's third release, made the world stand up and take notice of this band, and it's still probably my favorite. The entire record focuses like a laser on its eponymous subject, and it screams with righteous anger. When Larry Mullen bangs the hell out of his drums, it's like a call to arms -- or rather, a call for those in conflict to lay down their arms. Sadly, the topic is no less relevant today, which is why "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "New Year's Day" are still played at most U2 concerts. And the band keeps returning to the anti-war theme (their latest album includes a track called "Love and Peace or Else") because the world apparently hasn't gotten the message.
4. Perspective. The vast majority of pop songs are about falling into or out of relationships. Nothing inherently wrong with that; U2 have written their share of love songs.
But they've also covered an unusually broad range of subjects, including civil rights ("Pride"), heroin abuse ("Bad"), the Iran/contra scandal ("Bullet the Blue Sky"), commercialism ("Zooropa"), political prisoners ("Walk On"), and epidemics in Third World countries ("Miracle Drug").
After spending much of the past 25 years on tour, the members of U2 are global citizens, and their work reflects that. It's refreshing to see musicians who aren't afflicted with narcissism and tunnel vision.
5. Self-awareness. Bono understands that he's a pop icon and ripe for parody, so he gets the jump on everyone else by making fun of himself. He often comments on the absurdity of what he does for a living. But he also realizes that his fame can be a springboard for making things happen. Which brings us to ...
6. Compassion. U2 is involved in so many causes, you wonder when the band finds time to make music. Hunger, AIDS, poverty, war -- you name it, they're fighting it. At their concerts and on their Web site, they encourage fans to get involved with humanitarian organizations.
Lots of bands do that, but U2 goes way beyond advocacy. Bono literally tried to change the world, by persuading the leaders of developed nations to write off Third World debt.
And it worked, because he actually studies the issues and can speak as knowledgeably as any policy advisor. Improbable as it seems, Bono was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize this year. (He didn't win, but don't rule him out in the future.)
7. Joy. For me, this is the quality that separates U2 from every other band. Whether it's the instrumentation or the lyrics, or a combination of both, there's something about a U2 song that lifts you up and makes your heart soar.
Unlike many of today's disaffected young bands, U2 is openly emotional. Some things in life are worth caring for, worth striving for, and U2 isn't afraid to say so.
There is a world beyond our insulated, narrow lives. There are wonders waiting to be experienced, if we choose to do so. There are horrible wrongs that can be fixed, if we choose to do so.
U2's music takes us by the hand and helps guide us to a place where all things are possible.
E-mail: dgilbert@gainesvilletimes.com.
Originally published Sunday, November 13, 2005
7 reasons to love U2: From guitar to joy
By DEBBIE GILBERT
The Times
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Edge's guitar. Any good rock band is easily recognized by the voice of its lead singer, but a U2 song can be identified even when Bono is silent. Edge's guitar playing is a dead giveaway. It has a ringing, echoing quality that is so distinctive, other guitarists don't even try to imitate the sound.
Though I'm not a guitar geek by any means (I prefer keyboards), the greatest pleasure of a U2 concert is hearing the Edge (aka Dave Evans) play his guitar live. It is a transcendent experience.
2. Crescendo. Many of the best U2 songs, including my all-time favorite, "With Or Without You," start softly and build to a glorious climax. Most of my favorite pieces of classical music follow the same pattern.
I think it's hard-wired into our physiology to respond to a gradual increase in intensity, leading up to full-volume release and finally, resolution.
I got a powerful demonstration of this when U2 played Philips Arena during the Elevation tour in 2001. The intro to "Where the Streets Have No Name," in which the music gets faster and faster until it suddenly bursts out of the shadows into the light, seemed to inject me and everyone else with a hyper-shot of adrenaline. It was as if 20,000 people had received a communal electric shock.
3. "War." This 1983 album, U2's third release, made the world stand up and take notice of this band, and it's still probably my favorite. The entire record focuses like a laser on its eponymous subject, and it screams with righteous anger. When Larry Mullen bangs the hell out of his drums, it's like a call to arms -- or rather, a call for those in conflict to lay down their arms. Sadly, the topic is no less relevant today, which is why "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "New Year's Day" are still played at most U2 concerts. And the band keeps returning to the anti-war theme (their latest album includes a track called "Love and Peace or Else") because the world apparently hasn't gotten the message.
4. Perspective. The vast majority of pop songs are about falling into or out of relationships. Nothing inherently wrong with that; U2 have written their share of love songs.
But they've also covered an unusually broad range of subjects, including civil rights ("Pride"), heroin abuse ("Bad"), the Iran/contra scandal ("Bullet the Blue Sky"), commercialism ("Zooropa"), political prisoners ("Walk On"), and epidemics in Third World countries ("Miracle Drug").
After spending much of the past 25 years on tour, the members of U2 are global citizens, and their work reflects that. It's refreshing to see musicians who aren't afflicted with narcissism and tunnel vision.
5. Self-awareness. Bono understands that he's a pop icon and ripe for parody, so he gets the jump on everyone else by making fun of himself. He often comments on the absurdity of what he does for a living. But he also realizes that his fame can be a springboard for making things happen. Which brings us to ...
6. Compassion. U2 is involved in so many causes, you wonder when the band finds time to make music. Hunger, AIDS, poverty, war -- you name it, they're fighting it. At their concerts and on their Web site, they encourage fans to get involved with humanitarian organizations.
Lots of bands do that, but U2 goes way beyond advocacy. Bono literally tried to change the world, by persuading the leaders of developed nations to write off Third World debt.
And it worked, because he actually studies the issues and can speak as knowledgeably as any policy advisor. Improbable as it seems, Bono was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize this year. (He didn't win, but don't rule him out in the future.)
7. Joy. For me, this is the quality that separates U2 from every other band. Whether it's the instrumentation or the lyrics, or a combination of both, there's something about a U2 song that lifts you up and makes your heart soar.
Unlike many of today's disaffected young bands, U2 is openly emotional. Some things in life are worth caring for, worth striving for, and U2 isn't afraid to say so.
There is a world beyond our insulated, narrow lives. There are wonders waiting to be experienced, if we choose to do so. There are horrible wrongs that can be fixed, if we choose to do so.
U2's music takes us by the hand and helps guide us to a place where all things are possible.
E-mail: dgilbert@gainesvilletimes.com.
Originally published Sunday, November 13, 2005
yeah well there a lot of bands out now that have an obvious U2 influence I think, like The Killers and The Bravery as well as Coldplay. I think their influence is another reason to love them, their influence and [for the most part] undisputed status as the biggest and best rock band around. Being a U2 fan now is kinda like being a Colts fan 
) Unfortunately there are stupid people that think the best band in the world is Fall Out Boy or Nickelback, but hey, what do TEENAGERS know? 
