Tom in Boston
The Fly
I picked this out of the Stylus review in one of the other threads:
"Call me close-minded, but I like my Europeans acting and sounding European; to me that seems honest and sincere?not humping America?s leg like a capitalist dog in heat. But Bono is obsessed with making Americans love him and as such, Zooropa cannot be represented properly on their ?Best Of?."
I think it is so true. I think Bono is obsessed with making Americans love him. I sort of cringe when I hear him yell out "U.S.A" or "America" in songs. Give it a break. I love just about everything that U2 has done, but they were at their best when they were their most European. Everyone with any musical taste knows that 99% of the music in America is awful. Even the best American bands are more popular in Europe (The Strokes, Dandy Warhols, Beck, to name a few). So, why cater to the masses in America if it means sacrificing your artistic integrity? I really do fear that they will go forward into adult-contemporary mediocrity, instead of creating challenging and compelling music. I really hope that they can bring back a ZooTV attitude, be rock stars, and model themselves after someone like David Bowie instead of someone like Rod Stewart or Elton John.
It's not all that bad. There were a bunch of songs off of ATYCLB that I liked. The Elevation tour was great. But compare it to U2 of 10 years ago, with one of the best albums ever with one of the best tours ever, when they were a band on the cutting edge with fantastic videos, they look like they are headed in the wrong direction, especially when it seems like that seems like a period that they aren't really proud of.
In short, U2 needs to explore Europe again. I don't care if it is an album full of pub songs (a la Wild Honey) or Achtung 2, as long as they strive to make compelling music, I'll be happy.
"Call me close-minded, but I like my Europeans acting and sounding European; to me that seems honest and sincere?not humping America?s leg like a capitalist dog in heat. But Bono is obsessed with making Americans love him and as such, Zooropa cannot be represented properly on their ?Best Of?."
I think it is so true. I think Bono is obsessed with making Americans love him. I sort of cringe when I hear him yell out "U.S.A" or "America" in songs. Give it a break. I love just about everything that U2 has done, but they were at their best when they were their most European. Everyone with any musical taste knows that 99% of the music in America is awful. Even the best American bands are more popular in Europe (The Strokes, Dandy Warhols, Beck, to name a few). So, why cater to the masses in America if it means sacrificing your artistic integrity? I really do fear that they will go forward into adult-contemporary mediocrity, instead of creating challenging and compelling music. I really hope that they can bring back a ZooTV attitude, be rock stars, and model themselves after someone like David Bowie instead of someone like Rod Stewart or Elton John.
It's not all that bad. There were a bunch of songs off of ATYCLB that I liked. The Elevation tour was great. But compare it to U2 of 10 years ago, with one of the best albums ever with one of the best tours ever, when they were a band on the cutting edge with fantastic videos, they look like they are headed in the wrong direction, especially when it seems like that seems like a period that they aren't really proud of.
In short, U2 needs to explore Europe again. I don't care if it is an album full of pub songs (a la Wild Honey) or Achtung 2, as long as they strive to make compelling music, I'll be happy.