I know we've had this conversation before, but I'll bang my drum again for the fun of it. First off, why do you think they want relevance and popularity? Well, I'll tell you---lol. It's because they're putting one of their oldest philosophies into practice for the first time. That being the philosophy of 'music may not change the world, but it can change the world inside of you'; which instigates change on a larger level. They REALLY believe that by offering a recipe of soul changing songs they would be doing a part in positively affecting the world.
This is music at it's most ambitious, I believe. It takes major dreams of grandiosity to believe this, but they do. This is certainly more ambitious than going the aurally/aesthetically adventurous route which so many around here are disturbed about. It's also alot more appropriate given the way the world has changed since the '90's. I believe the changed world climate and mood (which they anticipated with ATYCLB since it preceded the mood change, but knew a change was in the air) has motivated U2 to put aside they're purely musical/creative ambitions for the much bigger ambitions of which I speak of.
Remember, there was a time when rock embraced the idea of changing the world. Part of U2 clearly has always belonged to that school of thought regarding rock greatness. They've always had an uneasy relationship with the rock greatness school of thought that says one should make their music solely for one's self and whoever likes it, likes it. There is a time and place for that school of thought, but U2 doesn't believe that time and place is now. I happen to agree with them.
