Miggy D
War Child
U2 is a band of many faces, both musically and physically.
They started off wide-eyed and badly dressed, as they recorded the albums Boy through War. Edge still had hair, Larry's was oftentimes shaggy, and Adam's was a fro. Bono's...well Bono is Bono, and he went from shag to mullet, back and forth at will. At times, his hair even had blonde highlights. The band members took to wearing black jeans and t-shirts.
Their sense of style improved only slightly during the Unforgettable Fire - Rattle and Hum era, their sometimes awkward hair styles and clothing only being surpassed by the passion of their maturing music and vocals. Bono's hair was long, and extremely so during his Rattle and Hum days. Edge sported the 'homeless man' look for much of this era, with extremely long hair at points, and an 8 o'clock shadow throughout the day. Adam's hairstyle was conservative, as was Larry's, and their fashions matched their hair in sensibility. In fact, the rhythm section's fashion matched their playing style - conservative, but solid, while Bono and Edge's matched theirs - showy, but signature.
Achtung Baby - Pop brought about a big change for the band - Edge started off wearing bandanas, and eventually switched to his now-standard skull cap. He later wore a cowbow hat and at times, took off his hat altogether. Bono cut his hair, although at times it was still mullet-like, and dressed in leather from head to toe. Later, he wore a lot of form-fitting spandex-like muscle shirts and shaved his head crew cut, and at times, completely bald. Larry's style was probably the most conservative of the group, as it always is, but he spotted a goatee for some time, and grew his hair about a tad. Adam was the Posh Spice of the group, stylish and debonnaire, and bleached blonde. Their music was techno, industrial, and experimental.
The year 2000 ushered in the current era of U2 music and fashion. Not only did U2 'return to basics' musically, but also physically as well. Bono grew his hair out to a reasonable length, and re-dyed it black, until about 2003, when he went to a more Irish-red. He also took to wearing oversize coats and jackets. Edge moved away from the mustachio and back to the Van Dyke which he had sported during his Zoo TV days, donned his now infamous skull cap, and started wearing flared jeans and colorful t-shirts. Adam took about a more conservative, though still very posh and fashionable, style, and Larry wore unbuttoned, tightly fitting t-shirts and jeans.
So which 'era' is U2's best? When voting, please take into account not only the music, but also the appearance. Think of each era as a complete package. Perhaps you like one era because both the fashion and music were 'perfect.' Or perhaps one era shines more than others because, although the fashion is lacking somewhat, the music more than compensates, or vice versa.
My vote: U2 was at their peak creatively and stylistically during the Achtung, Baby! - Pop era. Though I do not care for their Pop style or music that much, 1991-1994 saw U2 at their very best, both in appearance and in the studio. I mean how cool was Bono? How incredibly cool was he back then? Uber cool. All one needs to do is watch the Zoo TV concert to see what I mean. The Zoo Station intro? The Mysterious Ways performance? Musically awesome and iconically cool at the exact same time. Brilliance.
My opinion is far from definitive, so which is YOUR favorite U2 era? Please share - I am eager to hear your opinions, and the reasoning behind them.
-Miggy D
They started off wide-eyed and badly dressed, as they recorded the albums Boy through War. Edge still had hair, Larry's was oftentimes shaggy, and Adam's was a fro. Bono's...well Bono is Bono, and he went from shag to mullet, back and forth at will. At times, his hair even had blonde highlights. The band members took to wearing black jeans and t-shirts.
Their sense of style improved only slightly during the Unforgettable Fire - Rattle and Hum era, their sometimes awkward hair styles and clothing only being surpassed by the passion of their maturing music and vocals. Bono's hair was long, and extremely so during his Rattle and Hum days. Edge sported the 'homeless man' look for much of this era, with extremely long hair at points, and an 8 o'clock shadow throughout the day. Adam's hairstyle was conservative, as was Larry's, and their fashions matched their hair in sensibility. In fact, the rhythm section's fashion matched their playing style - conservative, but solid, while Bono and Edge's matched theirs - showy, but signature.
Achtung Baby - Pop brought about a big change for the band - Edge started off wearing bandanas, and eventually switched to his now-standard skull cap. He later wore a cowbow hat and at times, took off his hat altogether. Bono cut his hair, although at times it was still mullet-like, and dressed in leather from head to toe. Later, he wore a lot of form-fitting spandex-like muscle shirts and shaved his head crew cut, and at times, completely bald. Larry's style was probably the most conservative of the group, as it always is, but he spotted a goatee for some time, and grew his hair about a tad. Adam was the Posh Spice of the group, stylish and debonnaire, and bleached blonde. Their music was techno, industrial, and experimental.
The year 2000 ushered in the current era of U2 music and fashion. Not only did U2 'return to basics' musically, but also physically as well. Bono grew his hair out to a reasonable length, and re-dyed it black, until about 2003, when he went to a more Irish-red. He also took to wearing oversize coats and jackets. Edge moved away from the mustachio and back to the Van Dyke which he had sported during his Zoo TV days, donned his now infamous skull cap, and started wearing flared jeans and colorful t-shirts. Adam took about a more conservative, though still very posh and fashionable, style, and Larry wore unbuttoned, tightly fitting t-shirts and jeans.
So which 'era' is U2's best? When voting, please take into account not only the music, but also the appearance. Think of each era as a complete package. Perhaps you like one era because both the fashion and music were 'perfect.' Or perhaps one era shines more than others because, although the fashion is lacking somewhat, the music more than compensates, or vice versa.
My vote: U2 was at their peak creatively and stylistically during the Achtung, Baby! - Pop era. Though I do not care for their Pop style or music that much, 1991-1994 saw U2 at their very best, both in appearance and in the studio. I mean how cool was Bono? How incredibly cool was he back then? Uber cool. All one needs to do is watch the Zoo TV concert to see what I mean. The Zoo Station intro? The Mysterious Ways performance? Musically awesome and iconically cool at the exact same time. Brilliance.
My opinion is far from definitive, so which is YOUR favorite U2 era? Please share - I am eager to hear your opinions, and the reasoning behind them.
-Miggy D
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