In response to blindinglights, I accidentally wrote:
"The actions of the Arab regimes supposedly defending Israel should not be equated to the Palestinian people."
I actually meant:
"The actions of the Arab regimes supposedly defending
Palestinians should not be equated to the Palestinian people."
An Cat Gav said:
Once Dirk Benedict left Battlestar that programme died. Starbuck rules!
They also plan to bring back Knight Rider without The Hoff! What's the f$%%ng point of that!!!
Never watched the original, I'm afraid, but old Dirk has publicly stated that he hates that they made Starbuck a woman and added all this complicated drama in which it's not easy to discern good guys from bad. That's why I love the show and probably why I wouldn't like Mr. Bennedict, no offense to you. I think, when I was 3, I used to like Face Man from A-Team, though.
To keep this on topic I wanted to futher add to what I said to Ultoo in saying that U2 have already expressed a desire to shift back to non-self-consciously commercial records and Eno himself in the documentary has commented on his interest in complexity, as I said with this excerpt from my first post:
"If you look back at the press from "All That You Can't Leave Behind", you'll find quotations of Eno saying that there's a difference between music that's fun to make and which tends to be complex, and music that's fun to hear. In the lead-up to the 2000 album, he and Bono had discussed the timelessness of popular Beatles songs that were so simple, you could hear them from a window or in the next room. Thus, the mission statement for "All That You Can't Leave Behind" was to simplify melodies. This notion has always bothered me, especially in the last few years, given the results in U2's music which has appealed more to the mainstream but sacrificed creativity and uniqueness. Now, in Fez, Eno was telling Lanois that he likes complex things. He's bored by simplicity. If this is going to be the attitude as these two co-write with U2, I'm very excited. I hope they fight all the way for this vision of not surrendering to the mainstream, but just write great quality music."
Furthermore, Lanois himself has stated that the new sessions feel like Achtung Baby times. I was nervous, but I also didn't see a point in telling him what U2 should do. They'd probably agree with us completely, based on what they've said about music and the new album. It's really up to Bono, and I'm sure he'll already tell Bono to do what we wish he would.
So, all-in-all, I don't regret not driving the point home further. I alluded to it, and I think that hit him harder than anything else I said, given his response to me. I think he took my BSG remarks quite seriously, too, though. He was very kind. And those dark themes are already in BSG -- the difficult side of romance, adultery, family tensions, serious political issues, suicidality. It's all there, baby, much darker and more vivid than anything on my favorite album, "Achtung Baby."
People are joking that it's some silly sci fi show, but it's the most realistic TV drama I've ever seen, and I'm quite sure the passion with which I said this would have convinced an open-minded person like Lanois that it's worth checking out. I mean, what higher compliment is there for an artist than to be moved by her/his work? As an artist, I think Mr. Lanois may have been persuaded by that, since he and U2 often seek to have that same effect on their fans. He'll hopefully think, "Whoa, that must be SOME show to make him have the guts to get up and encourage U2 to watch that." And he'd be right.