salomeU2000
The Fly
[SIMG]http://bonovox.interference.com/about/elvisbonothumb.jpg[/SIMG]
By Kimberly "hippy" Egolf
July 2003
"Elvis is alive!" - Bono
Elvis has long been one of those supremely attractive personalities. From his earliest days as a performer, people sensed something about him. Not only did he possess charm and good looks that could sweep girls off their feet and cause the guys to emulate him, he was also the hallowed bringer of the raucous music we now revere as rock n' roll. Before Elvis there were artists performing rock n' roll, but none of them had the irresistible appeal that made Elvis the "King" of rock n' roll. He not only paved the way for all rock n' roll music since the early 1950s, he indeed blazed the trail. Elvis became the first of the modern-day celebrities, the first mass-produced icon of American culture. His was a life lived in the spotlight, a life that ended tragically and too soon. But for most fans, Elvis lives on: his legacy is modern celebrity; his gift is his music that continues to inspire and innovate - long after the he had left the building.
In Elvis, U2 found an icon from whom to take instruction about their own lives. The "King" is a continuous presence for the band, as much of a fixture in their lives as music itself. For us, it is difficult to imagine a world without the presence of U2. In turn, it's difficult to imagine U2 without the presence of Elvis.
The U2-Elvis connection began even before the members of U2 were officially making music together. In Rattle and Hum, Larry speaks of watching Elvis's movies as a boy and "really relating" to the films. He says that Elvis wasn't just a workingman in those movies, he was a man who also loved to play guitar. Larry shared with Elvis that same passion for music, which quickly became a role model for the young drummer.
Although U2 seemed to derive its early sound mainly from the punk tradition, they quickly made it clear that they were not limited to playing one kind of music. The hyperactive rock n' roll-meets-punk sound of their three earliest records was quickly taken in new directions by all four band members, who did not want to fit into a category or be saddled with a label.
They stunned fans and critics with their fourth studio album, The Unforgettable Fire: an ambient record that explored the deeper musical talents of all of the band members. Instead of the "three chords and the truth" attitude of Boy, October, and War, The Unforgettable Fire employed synthesizers, multi-layered tracking, softer vocals, and generally softer songs. One of those songs is a 6-minute ode to the King of rock n' roll. The song, though composed almost twenty years ago, continues to confound U2 fans. Though the band members haven't spoken at length about this particular song, it has been reported by most sources that "Elvis Presley and America" was a one-off take constructed by Unforgettable Fire producer Brian Eno in order to get the band thinking outside of their normal sound. The story goes that Eno slowed down the riff from "A Sort of Homecoming" and then encouraged Bono to improvise lyrics. This style of song writing helps to explain the occasionally unintelligible murmuring and stream-of-consciousness delivery that characterizes the song.
Even through these technical difficulties, the song reveals a young band beginning to struggle with the larger questions and ideas of fame. Though U2 had been critically acclaimed for years and had built a steady fan base across the world, it was 1983's War tour that really began their ascent to international recognition. No longer were they allowed to be anonymous; they were forced to begin the difficult transition of small rock band from Dublin to international superstars. It is easy to forget that the band became wildly successful in a fairly short amount of time. In a way, this parallels the ride that Elvis himself had taken years before.
The song "Elvis Presley and America" is largely about that ride to fame and beyond. The song sees Elvis at both his highest and lowest points. There was a time when Elvis had conquered the world; he recorded albums, appeared on television, played the leading man in numerous movies, and toured constantly. But eventually all this began to wear on him and the pressure became too much. It does not shock us as much today because it has become clich?, but Elvis became a victim of his own celebrity. He was Elvis, the King, and he had a hard time continuing to live up to that standard. He wasn't allowed to change; he wasn't allowed to retire. And, many say, his fame was what eventually killed him.
From our vantage point today, we can see that the song "Elvis Presley and America" contains the seeds and themes that would eventually sprout into the Achtung Baby album and the ZooTV tour. The song explores the consequences, both good and bad, of fame and celebrity, a theme that would become increasingly relevant to the band as their fame grew and the pressures of being superstars mounted.
But before getting to the early '90s, U2 was forced to pass through the late '80s, the half a decade that would propel them to international recognition and cement their place in the history of rock n' roll. Most critics and fans alike label The Joshua Tree the breakout record for U2. With the album and the tour that quickly followed, U2 saw the height of their celebrity so far. They achieved fame not unlike the fame that Elvis himself had achieved thirty years before. During the tour, the band stopped in Memphis to record a couple of songs in Sun Studios, the same studio where Elvis recorded his earliest music. This stop also witnessed their first visit to Graceland, the enormous mansion Elvis lived in during the last twenty years of his life. Luckily for U2 fans, the cameras were rolling as the band took a special tour of the house. For the band and fans alike, the moment has become a sacred one, an indication of the heights to which the band would soon rise, but also a warning as they encountered the same kind of fame and hysteria that Elvis had encountered.
The film Rattle and Hum documents this visit to Graceland. In it, the current greatest rock band in the world become mere tourists and worshippers at the Elvis shrine. Their awe and excitement is evident as they walk through the house and realize that Elvis, their idol, lived and died here. The outtakes from the film show the band as they ride in their limo on their way to Graceland. On this ride, they crack jokes and discuss movies and music. But then Edge bursts out, "I cannot believe we're actually going to Graceland!" A smile breaks over his face and his glee is evident. But when they arrive at Graceland, an attitude of reverence and thoughtfulness possesses the band. They ask some questions of their tour guide, but remain largely silent as they walk through the huge mansion that was formerly the home of a legend and an idol.
After touring the house, the band goes outside to visit Elvis' grave. They have to pause and take a moment. Larry says in a later interview that he "wished Elvis hadn't been buried in the backyard." Larry doesn't explain the statement himself, but when taken with the pictures that have just preceded the interview, his meaning becomes clear: after walking though a house where someone like Elvis has spent so much of his life and love, after walking where such a legend walked and touching what he touched, after being in awe of the life of such a man, it is quite disturbing to realize that he is really dead, a victim of his own celebrity.
In the recent television special "Elvis Lives," Bono shared his thoughts on Elvis' decline in his last years: "...the sort of meltdown was interesting to me; not as a freak show, but as an almost Shakespearian character. It's like Lear. People talk about Elvis in the '50s and the '68 special... this kind of extraordinary Adonis, sort of American David. They say that that's the moment where he sort of came undone. But I don't think so. To me, that's... that's him, in a way, at his vainest. It's a period that we shouldn't ignore. That Elvis went through the rock n' roll phase, became a Las Vegas performer, but then his weight... not just his overeating, but the gravitas of a guy who's actually run out of life and love: he became an opera singer. You know there's a man who really needs it."
It's that kind of attitude that can be seen as U2 stands at Elvis' grave. He becomes a warning for them about the dangers of success. But he also shows them how powerful celebrity can be. U2 would spend most of the '90s exploring these contradictions, this dichotomy presented by fame and exemplified by Elvis.
Nowhere is this contradiction more evident in U2's career than with their ZooTV tour in the early '90s. The band will be the first to admit how much they borrowed from the life of Elvis for this tour. In fact, Bono has repeatedly commented on the similarities between ZooTV and Elvis' famous '68 Comeback Special. Bono says that he liked the way Elvis balanced rockin' out with high-tech gadgets with playing an intimate acoustic set practically sitting in the audience. U2 would employ this same idea in their tour, sending a barrage of multimedia at the audience in the first part of their concert, but then throwing away the gadgetry and just playing their music while surrounded by their fans. It is even more interesting to notice that Elvis was really the first musician to employ television as a medium for performing. With ZooTV U2 turned that idea on its head, creating a space in which the images on the screens behind the band actually competed for attention with the music. It was a strong comment on how things have changed, how television has gone from a benevolent medium supporting the music to one that actually grabs attention away from the music.
In Bill Flanagan's famous biography of the band called U2 At the End of the World, Bono compares the ZooTV tour to Elvis himself: "He [Bono] compares it to Elvis Presley in a jumpsuit singing ?Can't Help Falling In Love? to a weeping woman in Las Vegas. It might have been hopelessly kitschy, but if the woman believed in the song and Elvis believed in the song, it was not phony. Maybe rock n' roll was at its truest in the space between those apparent contradictions." (see p. 56)
One of the ironies of that statement is that Bono would eventually create a character based on that stage in Elvis' career: MacPhisto, the last rock star, who sported a brilliant gold lam? suit in homage to the first rock star. MacPhisto even took to closing the ZooTV concerts with his very own version of Elvis' love song "Can't Help Falling In Love." After all the glitz and glamour of the previous two hours, MacPhisto finally throws away his horns, strolls to the B-stage, right in the middle of the audience, and abandons himself to the music. After the confident belting of the previous few songs, the audience is stunned to hear an infinitely small voice come from this character. MacPhisto becomes that Elvis character, singing to the audience... it may be kitschy, but if the audience believes in the song and MacPhisto believes in the song, it's not phony. MacPhisto?s thin falsetto then fades into Elvis' original version as the lights fade and the band disappears. All we are left with is our belief in the song and the band and the ultimate power of rock n' roll. As Bono says, "maybe rock n' roll was at its truest in the space between those apparent contradictions."
Bono has often referred to Elvis as "the American David." In 1995 U2 released Passengers: Original Soundtracks 1, an album full of displaced movie soundtrack songs composed by the band. The album was a departure from their normal style, but gave them an opportunity to have some fun experimenting with sounds and styles. One of the songs is called "Elvis Ate America," which is actually based on a poem Bono wrote called "American David." The comparison of Elvis to the Biblical King David is an apt one. The similarities are striking: Elvis rose to international superstardom from a humble background; so did David. King David united the tribes of Israel; Elvis united musical styles. And both men eventually committed sins that brought about their respective downfalls. In addition, both men were heavily involved in music: Elvis, in obvious ways, and King David is credited with many of the Psalms, praise songs to God. Like "Elvis Presley and America," "Elvis Ate America" chronicles the rise and fall of the King and some of the myth along the way.
U2 continues to closely associate itself with Elvis: recently Bono narrated a DVD documentary of Elvis; and Larry has even gone so far to name one of his children Aaron Elvis! (Elvis's middle name was Aaron.) Elvis's extraordinary rise and fall in just a few short years has served as a model and warning for U2: they may rise quickly, but they must be careful of the traps of stardom. U2 has managed to avoid the traps that Elvis was caught in, and even make fun of their own celebrity. They have taken Elvis's warning, and still managed to become one of the biggest and most relevant bands in the world today.
By Kimberly "hippy" Egolf
July 2003
"Elvis is alive!" - Bono
Elvis has long been one of those supremely attractive personalities. From his earliest days as a performer, people sensed something about him. Not only did he possess charm and good looks that could sweep girls off their feet and cause the guys to emulate him, he was also the hallowed bringer of the raucous music we now revere as rock n' roll. Before Elvis there were artists performing rock n' roll, but none of them had the irresistible appeal that made Elvis the "King" of rock n' roll. He not only paved the way for all rock n' roll music since the early 1950s, he indeed blazed the trail. Elvis became the first of the modern-day celebrities, the first mass-produced icon of American culture. His was a life lived in the spotlight, a life that ended tragically and too soon. But for most fans, Elvis lives on: his legacy is modern celebrity; his gift is his music that continues to inspire and innovate - long after the he had left the building.
In Elvis, U2 found an icon from whom to take instruction about their own lives. The "King" is a continuous presence for the band, as much of a fixture in their lives as music itself. For us, it is difficult to imagine a world without the presence of U2. In turn, it's difficult to imagine U2 without the presence of Elvis.
The U2-Elvis connection began even before the members of U2 were officially making music together. In Rattle and Hum, Larry speaks of watching Elvis's movies as a boy and "really relating" to the films. He says that Elvis wasn't just a workingman in those movies, he was a man who also loved to play guitar. Larry shared with Elvis that same passion for music, which quickly became a role model for the young drummer.
Although U2 seemed to derive its early sound mainly from the punk tradition, they quickly made it clear that they were not limited to playing one kind of music. The hyperactive rock n' roll-meets-punk sound of their three earliest records was quickly taken in new directions by all four band members, who did not want to fit into a category or be saddled with a label.
They stunned fans and critics with their fourth studio album, The Unforgettable Fire: an ambient record that explored the deeper musical talents of all of the band members. Instead of the "three chords and the truth" attitude of Boy, October, and War, The Unforgettable Fire employed synthesizers, multi-layered tracking, softer vocals, and generally softer songs. One of those songs is a 6-minute ode to the King of rock n' roll. The song, though composed almost twenty years ago, continues to confound U2 fans. Though the band members haven't spoken at length about this particular song, it has been reported by most sources that "Elvis Presley and America" was a one-off take constructed by Unforgettable Fire producer Brian Eno in order to get the band thinking outside of their normal sound. The story goes that Eno slowed down the riff from "A Sort of Homecoming" and then encouraged Bono to improvise lyrics. This style of song writing helps to explain the occasionally unintelligible murmuring and stream-of-consciousness delivery that characterizes the song.
Even through these technical difficulties, the song reveals a young band beginning to struggle with the larger questions and ideas of fame. Though U2 had been critically acclaimed for years and had built a steady fan base across the world, it was 1983's War tour that really began their ascent to international recognition. No longer were they allowed to be anonymous; they were forced to begin the difficult transition of small rock band from Dublin to international superstars. It is easy to forget that the band became wildly successful in a fairly short amount of time. In a way, this parallels the ride that Elvis himself had taken years before.
The song "Elvis Presley and America" is largely about that ride to fame and beyond. The song sees Elvis at both his highest and lowest points. There was a time when Elvis had conquered the world; he recorded albums, appeared on television, played the leading man in numerous movies, and toured constantly. But eventually all this began to wear on him and the pressure became too much. It does not shock us as much today because it has become clich?, but Elvis became a victim of his own celebrity. He was Elvis, the King, and he had a hard time continuing to live up to that standard. He wasn't allowed to change; he wasn't allowed to retire. And, many say, his fame was what eventually killed him.
From our vantage point today, we can see that the song "Elvis Presley and America" contains the seeds and themes that would eventually sprout into the Achtung Baby album and the ZooTV tour. The song explores the consequences, both good and bad, of fame and celebrity, a theme that would become increasingly relevant to the band as their fame grew and the pressures of being superstars mounted.
But before getting to the early '90s, U2 was forced to pass through the late '80s, the half a decade that would propel them to international recognition and cement their place in the history of rock n' roll. Most critics and fans alike label The Joshua Tree the breakout record for U2. With the album and the tour that quickly followed, U2 saw the height of their celebrity so far. They achieved fame not unlike the fame that Elvis himself had achieved thirty years before. During the tour, the band stopped in Memphis to record a couple of songs in Sun Studios, the same studio where Elvis recorded his earliest music. This stop also witnessed their first visit to Graceland, the enormous mansion Elvis lived in during the last twenty years of his life. Luckily for U2 fans, the cameras were rolling as the band took a special tour of the house. For the band and fans alike, the moment has become a sacred one, an indication of the heights to which the band would soon rise, but also a warning as they encountered the same kind of fame and hysteria that Elvis had encountered.
The film Rattle and Hum documents this visit to Graceland. In it, the current greatest rock band in the world become mere tourists and worshippers at the Elvis shrine. Their awe and excitement is evident as they walk through the house and realize that Elvis, their idol, lived and died here. The outtakes from the film show the band as they ride in their limo on their way to Graceland. On this ride, they crack jokes and discuss movies and music. But then Edge bursts out, "I cannot believe we're actually going to Graceland!" A smile breaks over his face and his glee is evident. But when they arrive at Graceland, an attitude of reverence and thoughtfulness possesses the band. They ask some questions of their tour guide, but remain largely silent as they walk through the huge mansion that was formerly the home of a legend and an idol.
After touring the house, the band goes outside to visit Elvis' grave. They have to pause and take a moment. Larry says in a later interview that he "wished Elvis hadn't been buried in the backyard." Larry doesn't explain the statement himself, but when taken with the pictures that have just preceded the interview, his meaning becomes clear: after walking though a house where someone like Elvis has spent so much of his life and love, after walking where such a legend walked and touching what he touched, after being in awe of the life of such a man, it is quite disturbing to realize that he is really dead, a victim of his own celebrity.
In the recent television special "Elvis Lives," Bono shared his thoughts on Elvis' decline in his last years: "...the sort of meltdown was interesting to me; not as a freak show, but as an almost Shakespearian character. It's like Lear. People talk about Elvis in the '50s and the '68 special... this kind of extraordinary Adonis, sort of American David. They say that that's the moment where he sort of came undone. But I don't think so. To me, that's... that's him, in a way, at his vainest. It's a period that we shouldn't ignore. That Elvis went through the rock n' roll phase, became a Las Vegas performer, but then his weight... not just his overeating, but the gravitas of a guy who's actually run out of life and love: he became an opera singer. You know there's a man who really needs it."
It's that kind of attitude that can be seen as U2 stands at Elvis' grave. He becomes a warning for them about the dangers of success. But he also shows them how powerful celebrity can be. U2 would spend most of the '90s exploring these contradictions, this dichotomy presented by fame and exemplified by Elvis.
Nowhere is this contradiction more evident in U2's career than with their ZooTV tour in the early '90s. The band will be the first to admit how much they borrowed from the life of Elvis for this tour. In fact, Bono has repeatedly commented on the similarities between ZooTV and Elvis' famous '68 Comeback Special. Bono says that he liked the way Elvis balanced rockin' out with high-tech gadgets with playing an intimate acoustic set practically sitting in the audience. U2 would employ this same idea in their tour, sending a barrage of multimedia at the audience in the first part of their concert, but then throwing away the gadgetry and just playing their music while surrounded by their fans. It is even more interesting to notice that Elvis was really the first musician to employ television as a medium for performing. With ZooTV U2 turned that idea on its head, creating a space in which the images on the screens behind the band actually competed for attention with the music. It was a strong comment on how things have changed, how television has gone from a benevolent medium supporting the music to one that actually grabs attention away from the music.
In Bill Flanagan's famous biography of the band called U2 At the End of the World, Bono compares the ZooTV tour to Elvis himself: "He [Bono] compares it to Elvis Presley in a jumpsuit singing ?Can't Help Falling In Love? to a weeping woman in Las Vegas. It might have been hopelessly kitschy, but if the woman believed in the song and Elvis believed in the song, it was not phony. Maybe rock n' roll was at its truest in the space between those apparent contradictions." (see p. 56)
One of the ironies of that statement is that Bono would eventually create a character based on that stage in Elvis' career: MacPhisto, the last rock star, who sported a brilliant gold lam? suit in homage to the first rock star. MacPhisto even took to closing the ZooTV concerts with his very own version of Elvis' love song "Can't Help Falling In Love." After all the glitz and glamour of the previous two hours, MacPhisto finally throws away his horns, strolls to the B-stage, right in the middle of the audience, and abandons himself to the music. After the confident belting of the previous few songs, the audience is stunned to hear an infinitely small voice come from this character. MacPhisto becomes that Elvis character, singing to the audience... it may be kitschy, but if the audience believes in the song and MacPhisto believes in the song, it's not phony. MacPhisto?s thin falsetto then fades into Elvis' original version as the lights fade and the band disappears. All we are left with is our belief in the song and the band and the ultimate power of rock n' roll. As Bono says, "maybe rock n' roll was at its truest in the space between those apparent contradictions."
Bono has often referred to Elvis as "the American David." In 1995 U2 released Passengers: Original Soundtracks 1, an album full of displaced movie soundtrack songs composed by the band. The album was a departure from their normal style, but gave them an opportunity to have some fun experimenting with sounds and styles. One of the songs is called "Elvis Ate America," which is actually based on a poem Bono wrote called "American David." The comparison of Elvis to the Biblical King David is an apt one. The similarities are striking: Elvis rose to international superstardom from a humble background; so did David. King David united the tribes of Israel; Elvis united musical styles. And both men eventually committed sins that brought about their respective downfalls. In addition, both men were heavily involved in music: Elvis, in obvious ways, and King David is credited with many of the Psalms, praise songs to God. Like "Elvis Presley and America," "Elvis Ate America" chronicles the rise and fall of the King and some of the myth along the way.
U2 continues to closely associate itself with Elvis: recently Bono narrated a DVD documentary of Elvis; and Larry has even gone so far to name one of his children Aaron Elvis! (Elvis's middle name was Aaron.) Elvis's extraordinary rise and fall in just a few short years has served as a model and warning for U2: they may rise quickly, but they must be careful of the traps of stardom. U2 has managed to avoid the traps that Elvis was caught in, and even make fun of their own celebrity. They have taken Elvis's warning, and still managed to become one of the biggest and most relevant bands in the world today.
