Is U2 a product or a friend to you?

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that follows U2.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
See posts with no answers
jick

jick

Refugee
Joined
Aug 22, 2002
Messages
2,054
Location
Philippines
To me, U2 is just a product. U2 is just merchandise. A music cd where I can listen to the best music in the world.

I don't care what Bono is having for breakfast, or Clayton's refusal to be a Christian, or Edge's extra-marital affairs, or Mullen's exercise habits. I am a consumer of U2 merchandise - mostly the music and that's it. I am in this forum for U2's music. I got into U2 becuase of their music. And I will continue to be into U2 because of their music. Once they stop making albums, I couldn't care less about U2 because there would be nothing left for me to buy.

It's just that I see many people in the forum talk about the individual band members as if they were best friends. They get hurt when people criticize the band members bad points, and even take it personally. Why is that?

Now ask yourself, does U2 really care about YOU? To U2, we are all just statistics . one of the 7 million who bought POP, or the 16 million who bought the Joshua Tree. Does U2 send you birthday cards? So why bother sending them when they are filthy rich - much richer than you will ever be? Why bother taking offense to statements that seem to criticize individual band members?

I have no problem sending makers of good products my compliments. But I don't feel an attachment to the CEO of Coca-Cola, Microsoft, or Toyota - such that I'd take things personally when they are attacked. What makes U2 different? They are just a music product. Ear candy, really. The music critics review U2 albums the same way Road and Track reviews cars or Popular Mehanics review gadgets. We buy the music, the product, the compact disc - not the people or the band members. Yet there are people who take the individual band members too seriously and take things personally when their works are put under the microscope.

So let me ask all you U2 fans, to which school of thought do you belong to? U2 as a "friend" or U2 as a "product"?

Cheers,

J
 
Well...at first I thought of them as somewhat as higher than me...but when I met them I didn't really see them as superstars but more of like just friends that i've known for a long time. I know that sounds dumb but really I didn't have any problem talking to Bono and he asked me about my life and he cared about what I was talking about. Adam and Edge as well. I never felt nervous when I met them.
 
Ok, lets ask this then. Do you visit the Coca Cola message boards and post there? Does Coke even have a message board or do they have fans? NO So your analogy doesnt really work IMO. Yes, U2's music is a product but the band members are not. There is a human emotional element behind the product that makes it different from something like Coke. People connect to the music on an emotional level and relate it to personal things in their lives. This does not happen with a product such as Coke (although maybe you have an emotional attachment to Coke, I dont know, but it would be unusual to say the least). If you honestly view music as something as cold and emotionless as a soda pop I honestly feel sorry for you. You have missed the whole point of music IMO.

This board is for fans. People who have a connection with the band and/or their music and their live performances. It could be a direct connection, minor connection or a personal connection with a band member, song, concert, etc. Why someone who is not a fan or has no emotional connection with it in some way would come here and post is beyond me. I guess the question you need to ask yourself is why are YOU here posting? If you have no connection with the music other than viewing it as a product why come to a fansite when you know that is not the view or what the board is about? Also, why are 90% of your posts negative in nature? If you think the music is so great why do you seldom have anything positive to say about it? I think I know as I have indicated in prior posts.
 
Neither. They are neither just a product nor my personal friends, but there is a lot of gray in between these two.

What is the point of this thread?
 
Maybe when you see them live, and like what happened to me, getting smiled at by one of the band members right into your eyes, the fact I been a fan for twenty years, certain songs that have a big impact on a certain time in you life, the fact that this band can do something to make your heart swell simply by listening to their music, finding U2 have a impact on your life either by finding your soulmate cos they love the band too so a common bond has been made, I could go on and on but all the things I mention make them a friend to me not some soul-less dehumanised product.
 
I agree with the line of Blue Room's reasoning I don't have an emotional attachment to sprite/cocoa puffs/the brand of gas i put in my car.

yes I buy "merchandise" as you call it but I believe that the time/effort/thought U2 puts into these "products" exceeds the efforts of other artists.
 
Blue Room said:
Ok, lets ask this then. Do you visit the Coca Cola message boards and post there? Does Coke even have a message board or do they have fans? NO So your analogy doesnt really work IMO. Yes, U2's music is a product but the band members are not. There is a human emotional element behind the product that makes it different from something like Coke. People connect to the music on an emotional level and relate it to personal things in their lives. This does not happen with a product such as Coke (although maybe you have an emotional attachment to Coke, I dont know, but it would be unusual to say the least). If you honestly view music as something as cold and emotionless as a soda pop I honestly feel sorry for you. You have missed the whole point of music IMO.

This board is for fans. People who have a connection with the band and/or their music and their live performances. It could be a direct connection, minor connection or a personal connection with a band member, song, concert, etc. Why someone who is not a fan or has no emotional connection with it in some way would come here and post is beyond me. I guess the question you need to ask yourself is why are YOU here posting? If you have no connection with the music other than viewing it as a product why come to a fansite when you know that is not the view or what the board is about? Also, why are 90% of your posts negative in nature? If you think the music is so great why do you seldom have anything positive to say about it? I think I know as I have indicated in prior posts.
Click to expand...

Exactly right on everything you said.

Jick...I've never met the band. They do not know I exist at all. And should I ever be lucky enough to meet them-they've met so many people that it'd be hard to remember every single one. So, no, I wouldn't expect them to be friends in the sense you've mentioned.

However, I still look at U2 as...faraway friends, I guess-can't think of a better term for it at this time...just in the fact that if I'm feeling down about something, their songs are a way of telling me that everything'll be okay-it feels like they're right next to me, reassuring me. And on days when I'm happy, or on days when I'm trying to get a point of view about an issue I feel strongly about across and it's just not coming out right, when I listen to their music, I feel like the band is right there with me, celebrating a happy occasion or explaining in much better terms the point of view I'm trying to get across. That's one reason why people love this band-they feel connected to them, feel close to them, even if they've never met them.

And maybe you don't care about what happens outside their professional lives, but I do. When Bono gets involved with his political stuff outside of the band, I'm interested. When he's talking about his family, or some friends of his, or telling some funny story about an incident with a musician or whatnot, that interests me. I like hearing what he has to say about any and everything.

And ditto Dorian Gray and TiaraGurl's posts, too.

Angela
 
I like U2 as a band , good music , cd's , videos but that's it . Bono's political companies are noble , but useless , except for making $$$$ for other companies , political parties etc ...those charity festivals , yuck , it's called a fraud . but i lile all thier musical activities inside and outside the band , live shows .
and yay , bono could easily go solo :tongue:
 
U2 is neither a product or a friend to me. I personally dont care what other people say about the band bc I get the message that they are trying to convey so for me to worry about someone criticizing the band is a waste of time. Yes I am interested in U2 as people but then again I dont care about what they do in their personal lives bc its their bussiness not mine. Fact of the matter is I love their music and their music as helped me through the roughest times of my life and they have also been their for the happiest.
 
of course U2 cannot know us all.Crikes they are such a great band, there are tens of thousands of us. Imagine how many pizzas they'd really need to feed us all (and anyway there are some kids in distress who need medicine, water and food more than us priveleged lot)
But the music and art they create if far more than a product, far far more. It's because of the quality of that music that they make, I believe they have the capacity to care, not about us individually that is impossible. But I believe they do care. And I certainly care what happens to them. I can't affect what happens, but I care and I want their life experience to be good and I am pleased when it is.
The magic, the mastery that is U2 music, could never be reduced to the notion of a product imho.
It is a precious gift.
 
Bono, Adam, Larry, and Edge are humans. I relate to them as fellow human beings. I respect their art and, as with any artist (in my opinion), their lives directly influence their work. So I believe it is important to know about things like Edge's divorce, etc.

And I'm terribly sorry that you reduce U2 to mere "ear candy" and insist that we fans are merely "statistics" to the band members. I think you miss the entire point of their 25 year career. But that's your perogative.
 
jick said:
To me, U2 is just a product. U2 is just merchandise. A music cd where I can listen to the best music in the world.

I don't care what Bono is having for breakfast, or Clayton's refusal to be a Christian, or Edge's extra-marital affairs, or Mullen's exercise habits. I am a consumer of U2 merchandise - mostly the music and that's it. I am in this forum for U2's music. I got into U2 becuase of their music. And I will continue to be into U2 because of their music. Once they stop making albums, I couldn't care less about U2 because there would be nothing left for me to buy.

It's just that I see many people in the forum talk about the individual band members as if they were best friends. They get hurt when people criticize the band members bad points, and even take it personally. Why is that?

Now ask yourself, does U2 really care about YOU? To U2, we are all just statistics . one of the 7 million who bought POP, or the 16 million who bought the Joshua Tree. Does U2 send you birthday cards? So why bother sending them when they are filthy rich - much richer than you will ever be? Why bother taking offense to statements that seem to criticize individual band members?

I have no problem sending makers of good products my compliments. But I don't feel an attachment to the CEO of Coca-Cola, Microsoft, or Toyota - such that I'd take things personally when they are attacked. What makes U2 different? They are just a music product. Ear candy, really. The music critics review U2 albums the same way Road and Track reviews cars or Popular Mehanics review gadgets. We buy the music, the product, the compact disc - not the people or the band members. Yet there are people who take the individual band members too seriously and take things personally when their works are put under the microscope.

So let me ask all you U2 fans, to which school of thought do you belong to? U2 as a "friend" or U2 as a "product"?

Cheers,

J
Click to expand...


I think when someone has become this cynical about a band they supposedly like, its time to move on to other things.
 
not only do i see them as faraway friends, they are a huge part of my life. their music has touched me many, many times.

to see them as just a product is just fucking sad.

and what baw said too.
 
Not to be repetative, but.... my thought is how can one separate music (product) from the people. The significance of a song to your own experience is directly derived the band's own experience. Edge's love life influences the music, therefore it is relevant. If you know his story, the more you understand.

Since it was brought up, though this may not be the thread for it, I don't thing Bono could make it own his. U2 is greater than the sum of its parts.
 
Re: Re: Is U2 a product or a friend to you?

Bono's American Wife said:



I think when someone has become this cynical about a band they supposedly like, its time to move on to other things.
Click to expand...

:yes:

Exactly, this and what hippy and Blue Room said summarizes everything
 
I have never met any of the members of U2, so I can't say they are my friends. However, after listening to their music for the past 16 years I FEEL like I know them because they put so much of themselves into it. Their music could never be just a product to me. I like Coca-Cola, but I've never been moved to tears or been filled with joy because I drank it.
 
:yes: exactly.
I think the care and respect the band has for their fans/friends also contribute to the feeling of intimacy we have with them.

Their music could never be a product to me.
 
Not to use a stupid pun, but for me, U2 may be faraway, but they're so close.
 
So I guess all of you do have a personal attachment to U2. But why hasn't U2 given their fans more - just like Pearl Jam released every live show before? U2 would never release their other concerts, or even their backlog of stuff into DVD (UABRS, Zoo Sydney, Popmart Mexico) because of the costs involved. U2 know it might not be profitable for them, and would be too expensive to hire services for remixing the audio into DTS and DD5.1. If U2 did really care, they would have released stuff they know the fans would like - even if it may not be that profitable. After all, it is the fans who made U2 rich - so what's wrong with repaying them a bit and sacrificing?

People who say U2 does love their fans - otherwise they wouldn't be touring - you got it somewhat wrong. They do charge an arm and a leg for ticket prices. When was the last U2 free concert? U2 has so much room for improvement when it comes to relationship with their fans. U2 have done so many things to make their fans happy, but making the fans happy was only incidental to their primary purpose of profit. Have U2 ever done any real sacrifice for their fans?

On the flip side, I don't buy U2 albums because they are my friends. I don't buy U2 albums because the proceeds will feed Ali, Eve and Jordan - and put the latter two through school. I buy U2's albums purely for the music. The music does give me an emotional attachment. I am very passionate about U2's music that is why I am in this forum. But for the band members individually? I really couldn't care less if Mullen lost his favorite denim pants.

One of the best ways to appreciate U2's music is to separate the music from the personalities behind it. That way, there are no biases or pre-conceived notions. You listen to the music with naive innocent ears and let it flow to your soul naturally. You don't get analytic and say "this song must have been written because of the third world debt or that meeting with the pope." Just listen to the song itself and the music itself, and let everything flow from there. I find too much personal attachment to U2 is more of a hindrance in appreciating the beautiful product they put out.

Cheers,

J
 
I agree with you bono's american wife. and what is that about the edge's extra marital affairs.

let me answer the question now. to me u2 is not a product. i believe in God, and humanity, but i don t put a label on it. i dont consider myself, eventhough brought up Methodist, that i am Methodist, Catholic, Jewish, etc... i believe, like i said about in God, and U2 are my church.
 
jick really knows how to fuck up my night.

sorry if im out of line with this comment but its people like him that really, really, piss me off.

i wont even view this thread anymore.
 
I think I can see where Jick is coming from in a way. To me it is simply the music. All their extra bits are sometimes interesting reading sure, but I dont know them so its the same kind of distant interest of any celebrity from my point of view. The one exception is Bono and the causes he fights for, but even then it is the cause which carries its own importance, not what Bono per se is doing with them. I dont think this is indicative of fandom. If anyone chooses to go the extra mile and look further beyond the music, fine. If someone chooses not to or has absolutely no interest in them outside it, so be it. It can be simply about the music to some. It doesn't say anything about that person and their fan status.
 
jick said:
So I guess all of you do have a personal attachment to U2. But why hasn't U2 given their fans more - just like Pearl Jam released every live show before? U2 would never release their other concerts, or even their backlog of stuff into DVD (UABRS, Zoo Sydney, Popmart Mexico) because of the costs involved. U2 know it might not be profitable for them, and would be too expensive to hire services for remixing the audio into DTS and DD5.1. If U2 did really care, they would have released stuff they know the fans would like - even if it may not be that profitable. After all, it is the fans who made U2 rich - so what's wrong with repaying them a bit and sacrificing?
Click to expand...

Actually, I think they don't release stuff like Pearl Jam because it is redundant. It is a big enough thing to have released 2 shows from the same tour. So many of their shows are available as bootlegs anyways, many would perceive it as a cash grab. U2 is also obsessed with releasing the best of what they do, not every performance. They are perfectionists. To release an entire tour would be ridiculous, here you go, 140 ZOO TV shows! They would not make anything from it, they would lose. I think we can expect to see Zoo Tv and Popmart on DVD. Rattle and Hum is precedent.

People who say U2 does love their fans - otherwise they wouldn't be touring - you got it somewhat wrong. They do charge an arm and a leg for ticket prices. When was the last U2 free concert? U2 has so much room for improvement when it comes to relationship with their fans. U2 have done so many things to make their fans happy, but making the fans happy was only incidental to their primary purpose of profit. Have U2 ever done any real sacrifice for their fans?
Click to expand...

Good God! $45CAN for a floor ticket at a U2 concert. Outrageous!
I think U2's sacrafice has come in other ways. I'd much rather have Bono fighting for his causes than releasing hundreds of concerts for me to spend my savings on.

On the flip side, I don't buy U2 albums because they are my friends. I don't buy U2 albums because the proceeds will feed Ali, Eve and Jordan - and put the latter two through school. I buy U2's albums purely for the music. The music does give me an emotional attachment. I am very passionate about U2's music that is why I am in this forum. But for the band members individually? I really couldn't care less if Mullen lost his favorite denim pants.
Click to expand...

Just wondering if there is anyone on this message board who buys U2 album's to put Bono's kids through school and not because of the music? Please speak up if so.

One of the best ways to appreciate U2's music is to separate the music from the personalities behind it. That way, there are no biases or pre-conceived notions. You listen to the music with naive innocent ears and let it flow to your soul naturally. You don't get analytic and say "this song must have been written because of the third world debt or that meeting with the pope." Just listen to the song itself and the music itself, and let everything flow from there. I find too much personal attachment to U2 is more of a hindrance in appreciating the beautiful product they put out.
Click to expand...

Hmmm...I always thought it was good to know the context of what you are reading (ie. the bible) or listening to. No one lives in a bubble. You are making distinctions where none exist.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Achtung_Bebe
IO: It's been a while...
Replies
2
Views
675
mikal
mikal
O
Better late than never “they” say…
Replies
1
Views
289
Headache in a Suitcase
Headache in a Suitcase
U
Hey there! I finally made an account here!
Replies
2
Views
273
U2_family365
U
dan_smee
I listened to No Line on the Horizon right through tonight for the first time in about 10 years…
2 3
Replies
83
Views
2K
lazarus
lazarus
K
U2 Show Logistics Question/Theories
Replies
7
Views
748
lazarus
lazarus

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom