Their music has generally help me deal with things in my life. I have been a fan since I was a teenager - and the music I listened to prior to U2 was just shit that every teenager listens to (you know the stuff that's the most popular at that time). But I remember hearing U2 for the first time and there was just something about it. From then on I was hooked. As someone who is not a believer, I never really connected to that religious end of things (not in a way that it had any spiritual inspiration on me), however, i always enjoyed the way Bono uses religion in his lyrics - it's often very indirect and not so much in your face yet it gets the message across. Their lyrics are quite deep (well, with some exceptions, of course) and they are almost like a story. Don't know, but I always felt that someone who doesn't may much attention to words will never truly get hooked on U2. Going thru different stages of my life I always had a specific song I could relate to.
What has U2 meant to you?
- Thread starter daygloeyes2
- Start date
The friendliest place on the web for anyone that follows U2.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
sony
War Child
- Joined
- Nov 14, 2004
- Messages
- 595
They are everything to me, i listen when im happy, sad......U2 have gotten me through many periods of my life, both good and bad....They are like gods to me, i always turn to the music when i need help!!! I love the guys & the music!!!!
ha, i know exactly how you feel. my long term memory is terrible. it's really selective too, i wouldn't be able to tell you what i ate for dinner last night but i can remember the words to every song ever.
u2 was also one of my first musical loves too, or at least the first band i liked that wasn't top 40 pop. them and inxs were the first bands outside of the pop world.
though u2 aren't my favourite band and probably never will be, i'm definitely grateful for the music they've given me and where i am today as a result of that music.
kingofsorrow
Refugee
i can't put into words what U2 means to me because i don't know. i despise religion and it's followers, u2 are devoutly religious. my perspective as a whole is negative, u2's is positive and hopeful. i'm the exact opposite of them and their beliefs, yet i couldn't imagine the 20 yrs of my life without their music.
Jeannieco
Rock n' Roll Doggie Band-aid
I think U2 are more spiritual than religious. There is a HUGE difference.
kingofsorrow
Refugee
Last time I checked they're devout Christians who believe in the teachings of that religion, hence they're might, just maybe, they're religious. Now if you say their musicis more spiritual than religion, I'll buy that.
Moser
Refugee
Great music.
europop2005
Refugee
- Joined
- Mar 19, 2006
- Messages
- 2,420
the inspiration for my music...the reason I learned a guitar or piano, the voice of everything that I feel
Bonogirl777
Blue Crack Addict
Wow. This truly is a great story.
That is so awesome that you've been cancer free for 5 years!!!!
adam isn't though. he almost left the band in the early 80s because he didn't like the super religious path they were going down (for a rock band, anyway). i've no idea about his religious preferences these days, but something tells me he still isn't as religious as the rest of the band.
kingofsorrow
Refugee
fine. u2 isn't religious. their spiritual, new wave, super funky, tree hugging mofo's.
Jeannieco
Rock n' Roll Doggie Band-aid
Respectfully, I didn't mean to stomp on your opinion, I just wanted to make the point that you can be a believer and not be religious. That's me btw.
Bono has been quoted many times saying that God leaves the church whenever religion enters the building. Or something like that...
He has taken a lot of crap from so called "Christians", for not attending a church regularly or belonging to any one specific branch of Christianity.
It's total garbage... I agree with Bono that you find God everywhere, you don't have to be stuck in the rituals and the dogma of man.
Although if that is what works for you then good for you!
RavenBlue
Blue Crack Addict
U2 came into my life at a time when I was feeling very isolated and alone, their music lifted me up and has carried me through times of struggle, adversity and also through times of joy. When you can be lifted up by words or a song, I think that is a pretty amazing thing.
I know alot of folks weren't happy with NLOTH, but it came out in the middle of a complete desolate scary time for me.. and like I did when Pop came out, I grabbed hold of those songs. Some of them are so close to how I felt, what I was going through. It was my lifeline. They are my musical helping hand and I feel fortunate to live in this time frame when such a wonderful, credible and creative band still exists.
I know alot of folks weren't happy with NLOTH, but it came out in the middle of a complete desolate scary time for me.. and like I did when Pop came out, I grabbed hold of those songs. Some of them are so close to how I felt, what I was going through. It was my lifeline. They are my musical helping hand and I feel fortunate to live in this time frame when such a wonderful, credible and creative band still exists.
JessicaAnn
ONE love, blood, life
U2: They are one of the few bands… wait, the only band, I really recall liking since I began taking a real interest in music.
I think, if my memory isn’t deceiving me, I have vague and hazy memories of songs like "Pride" and maybe "Sunday Bloody Sunday" on the radio or TV back in the early 80. But, I had no idea where those songs came from.
My first conscious memory of U2 as a band was the Joshua Tree album (along with most of America, I suspect). I recall my dad buying a cassette tape at a local music store and I wondered why on earth he was buying this record with the three gloomy looking guys on the picture that graced the cover. And what the hell was a joshua tree anyway.
He put it in the cassette player in the car to listen to it right away and, as much as I didn’t want to like it (who, at the age of 10 or 11 wants to admit to liking the music your dad likes?), I was hooked.
It was so different than anything else that was being played on the radio at the time, and yet, it was that different sound that attracted me.
Looking back on U2s music, perhaps with the exception of Boy, their music has always been different from what was and is being played on the radio… or these days, available on iTunes. In the early 90s, for example, no one was doing what U2 did on Achtung Baby and Zooropa. Later that decade, when POP came out, no one else sounded like that. And, so it continues with No Line on the Horizon.
Anyway… back to that Joshua Tree cassette. I kind of “stole” it from my dad. I suppose it wasn’t really stealing… he knew exactly where he could find it if he ever wanted to listen to it. Even though the cassette was eventually replaced with a CD, and later by iTunes, I still have that cassette somewhere, packed away with other childhood mementos.
U2 has always been there… even when I would walk away and get interested in some other band or some other singer, I always returned to them.
Even when it was hard to like them because they sounded so different from whatever else was on the radio, I was drawn to that different sound: Larry’s steady drumbeat that is the heartbeat of the music; Adam’s bass lines which always seemed more like a melody line than a typical bass line; Edge’s powerful, soaring, skyscraping, sparkling guitar; and Bono’s poetic lyrics.
It was music that grabbed you by the shoulders and demanded your attention.
And that was just their albums.
The live shows… now, that is where the music really comes alive and what truly separates the U2 from the rest. Even from the video recordings I have seen of their pre-Zoo-TV tour shows – which were comparatively stripped down, compared to the spectacle of every tour since Zoo-TV – they were powerful shows. U2 concerts have always had a unique combination of drama, emotion and music, better than any opera Verdi, Wagner or Puccini could have written.
The cliché of U2 concerts being a “religious” experience or like going to church is an interesting one. As a Catholic, I have always found comfort in going to mass – even when I have struggled with my faith (well, for me, it’s more like struggling with the institution of “The Church” and other Catholics), mass has been a familiar ritual; a ritual that has been practiced for more than 2000 years by millions of people. Sometimes, it’s the one hour every week where I can clear my mind and just be.
U2 concerts allow me to join with millions of other fans and for a couple of hours share a unique and uplifting visual and sonic experience. U2 concerts are not something you attend; they are an experience. If that is what others mean by U2 concerts being almost like going to church or being a “religious” experience, I totally buy it.
I am not ashamed to admit that anytime the band takes the stage and starts playing that very first song of the concert, I have shed a tear or two as the crowd roars. Certain songs will do it too… One, hearing those first tinkling notes of "Streets," "Bad," "Stay," "I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For," "With or Without You," "Sometimes You Can’t Make it On Your Own," and too many more to mention.
It’s hard for me not to get caught up in the emotion of the moment – especially when seeing the emotion the band puts into the songs combined with the energy and enthusiasm of the crowd. It is indescribable; I mean that quite literally, because when friends have asked me, the morning after a concert, how it was, I can never find words that are adequate enough to describe it.
Anyway… this is probably more than anyone probably cared to read, and it’s probably doesn’t even capture a fraction of what the band means to me, but, it’s a small glimpse into why I am a proud member of the U2 nation… why I will always admire them… why I will continue to listen to them, long after they have left the stage and the sound of the audience singing “40” for the last time has faded and the house lights have come up.
I think, if my memory isn’t deceiving me, I have vague and hazy memories of songs like "Pride" and maybe "Sunday Bloody Sunday" on the radio or TV back in the early 80. But, I had no idea where those songs came from.
My first conscious memory of U2 as a band was the Joshua Tree album (along with most of America, I suspect). I recall my dad buying a cassette tape at a local music store and I wondered why on earth he was buying this record with the three gloomy looking guys on the picture that graced the cover. And what the hell was a joshua tree anyway.
He put it in the cassette player in the car to listen to it right away and, as much as I didn’t want to like it (who, at the age of 10 or 11 wants to admit to liking the music your dad likes?), I was hooked.
It was so different than anything else that was being played on the radio at the time, and yet, it was that different sound that attracted me.
Looking back on U2s music, perhaps with the exception of Boy, their music has always been different from what was and is being played on the radio… or these days, available on iTunes. In the early 90s, for example, no one was doing what U2 did on Achtung Baby and Zooropa. Later that decade, when POP came out, no one else sounded like that. And, so it continues with No Line on the Horizon.
Anyway… back to that Joshua Tree cassette. I kind of “stole” it from my dad. I suppose it wasn’t really stealing… he knew exactly where he could find it if he ever wanted to listen to it. Even though the cassette was eventually replaced with a CD, and later by iTunes, I still have that cassette somewhere, packed away with other childhood mementos.
U2 has always been there… even when I would walk away and get interested in some other band or some other singer, I always returned to them.
Even when it was hard to like them because they sounded so different from whatever else was on the radio, I was drawn to that different sound: Larry’s steady drumbeat that is the heartbeat of the music; Adam’s bass lines which always seemed more like a melody line than a typical bass line; Edge’s powerful, soaring, skyscraping, sparkling guitar; and Bono’s poetic lyrics.
It was music that grabbed you by the shoulders and demanded your attention.
And that was just their albums.
The live shows… now, that is where the music really comes alive and what truly separates the U2 from the rest. Even from the video recordings I have seen of their pre-Zoo-TV tour shows – which were comparatively stripped down, compared to the spectacle of every tour since Zoo-TV – they were powerful shows. U2 concerts have always had a unique combination of drama, emotion and music, better than any opera Verdi, Wagner or Puccini could have written.
The cliché of U2 concerts being a “religious” experience or like going to church is an interesting one. As a Catholic, I have always found comfort in going to mass – even when I have struggled with my faith (well, for me, it’s more like struggling with the institution of “The Church” and other Catholics), mass has been a familiar ritual; a ritual that has been practiced for more than 2000 years by millions of people. Sometimes, it’s the one hour every week where I can clear my mind and just be.
U2 concerts allow me to join with millions of other fans and for a couple of hours share a unique and uplifting visual and sonic experience. U2 concerts are not something you attend; they are an experience. If that is what others mean by U2 concerts being almost like going to church or being a “religious” experience, I totally buy it.
I am not ashamed to admit that anytime the band takes the stage and starts playing that very first song of the concert, I have shed a tear or two as the crowd roars. Certain songs will do it too… One, hearing those first tinkling notes of "Streets," "Bad," "Stay," "I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For," "With or Without You," "Sometimes You Can’t Make it On Your Own," and too many more to mention.
It’s hard for me not to get caught up in the emotion of the moment – especially when seeing the emotion the band puts into the songs combined with the energy and enthusiasm of the crowd. It is indescribable; I mean that quite literally, because when friends have asked me, the morning after a concert, how it was, I can never find words that are adequate enough to describe it.
Anyway… this is probably more than anyone probably cared to read, and it’s probably doesn’t even capture a fraction of what the band means to me, but, it’s a small glimpse into why I am a proud member of the U2 nation… why I will always admire them… why I will continue to listen to them, long after they have left the stage and the sound of the audience singing “40” for the last time has faded and the house lights have come up.
theedgeu2
Rock n' Roll Doggie Band-aid
U2 became part of my life in 2005 at age 11. My dad put on the Vertigo Live from Chicago DVD and I sat down and watched. I was amazed at how awesome these guys were. The show was on DirecTV as a special and I had to buy it. I have watched that DVD so many times! I had to buy it again I had watched it so much! I then got more into them when my mom bought me HTDAAB. I know a lot of you are on the opposite end than I am but I have quite a love for every song on the Bomb. One of my favorite albums, with so many great memories. Then I got into the magic of JT! Summer of 2006 I was venturing round my dad's office and found something that said U2.
I pulled it out and imported it into my iTunes library and loved what I heard. I spent a night that summer listening to the album on repeat. I remember sitting in the den with mom, listening to Red Hill Mining Town. I have that memory everytime I hear that song. It's something special.
U2 are important to me because they have been there for the hard times and I have so many great memories with this band. The most important thing however is that had it not been for U2 I would have NEVER picked up a guitar and I don't know where I'd be now. I am grateful for a band like U2. Bono had shown me to have faith in God. I am a Christian and their music is like no other.
I LOVE U2!!!
I then got more into them when my mom bought me HTDAAB. I know a lot of you are on the opposite end than I am but I have quite a love for every song on the Bomb. One of my favorite albums, with so many great memories. Then I got into the magic of JT! Summer of 2006 I was venturing round my dad's office and found something that said U2. I pulled it out and imported it into my iTunes library and loved what I heard. I spent a night that summer listening to the album on repeat. I remember sitting in the den with mom, listening to Red Hill Mining Town. I have that memory everytime I hear that song. It's something special. U2 are important to me because they have been there for the hard times and I have so many great memories with this band. The most important thing however is that had it not been for U2 I would have NEVER picked up a guitar and I don't know where I'd be now. I am grateful for a band like U2. Bono had shown me to have faith in God. I am a Christian and their music is like no other.
I LOVE U2!!!
beau99
The Fly
U2 has made me learn that I can be a Christian without all that religion crap.
Also, their music. They have songs to fit all sorts of moods, and I like that in any band.
Also, their music. They have songs to fit all sorts of moods, and I like that in any band.
ntalwar
Rock n' Roll Doggie Band-aid
Some article (about make-a-wish) mentioned that the band has a private minister and a 10-15 minute prayer service before each show. I was actually a bit surprised to read that, and it sounds more "religious" than spiritual to me.
last unicorn
Blue Crack Addict
^ Yes they do, Bono has talked about that several times. It's the same priest that married him and Ali. Why not, guess they need a little soul-care from time to time.
Jeannieco
Rock n' Roll Doggie Band-aid
Imo, praying is not a religious matter. It's a spiritual/soul matter.
Whereever, however you find the spirit is what matters...and I think it's awesome they have a prayer service before each show w/their minister. It shows they are serious about their beliefs.
It's been my understanding ( I may be wrong, please correct me if I am) that they do not belong to any one demonimation specifically, but do practice in prayer quite liberally.
I love that they are so spiritually serious and are true examples of God's LOVE.
They walk the talk.
Wild__Honey
The Fly
Growing up in the same area that they did I feel like they've been the soundtrack to my life and where I live. Everything about them and their music feels very familiar and that's comforting, I know that there's probably a better way to explain that but I don't know how to word it better. I mean there's music that fits every area and every person, and when I'm walking around Dublin listening to them on an mp3 player, everything just fits together, because I've grown up in that area listening to music that was made in the same area. Their music has really meant a lot, for as long as I can remember.
financeguy
ONE love, blood, life
U2 are the most ambitious and successful attempt, to date, to combine the American with the European ethic in popular music.
As an Irish person, I view U2 as one of the few cultural things of merit that were here before the 'Celtic Tiger' and are still there for us after the ignomonious collapse of that benighted era - basically, the best thing Ireland has given the world in recent years. They have somehow managed to channel the best aspects of the Irish soul into their work, whilst filtering out the bad characteristics.
As an Irish person, I view U2 as one of the few cultural things of merit that were here before the 'Celtic Tiger' and are still there for us after the ignomonious collapse of that benighted era - basically, the best thing Ireland has given the world in recent years. They have somehow managed to channel the best aspects of the Irish soul into their work, whilst filtering out the bad characteristics.
theedgeu2
Rock n' Roll Doggie Band-aid
That's great!
I really do want to visit Dublin and I plan to one day. It just would tie everything together for me. I've got at least one song from every record (almost own every song on every record), seen them live, and next on the list, visit their homeland. And then I have to have a jam session with them. Jam session may not happen but to go to Dublin would be neat.Wild__Honey
The Fly
That's great!
When you do get over here, I'll let you know all the little places to visit relevent to U2. It'll be like a U2 tour of Dublin
You could take the official one but pshhh And don't write off the jam session, you never know!! That would be pretty amazing.
xx
theedgeu2
Rock n' Roll Doggie Band-aid
When you do get over here, I'll let you know all the little places to visit relevent to U2. It'll be like a U2 tour of Dublin
And don't write off the jam session, you never know!! That would be pretty amazing.
xx
That would be neat! Sounds like a plan! A jam session with U2 would be fun. Not likely for any regular old person though but
for it!Wild__Honey
The Fly
That would be neat! Sounds like a plan! A jam session with U2 would be fun. Not likely for any regular old person though but
Definitely! Hopefully you'll get to come over here soon, I'm sure you'll love it.
Hehe well I'll keep my fingers crossed for you
xx
theedgeu2
Rock n' Roll Doggie Band-aid
Definitely! Hopefully you'll get to come over here soon, I'm sure you'll love it.
Hehe well I'll keep my fingers crossed for you
xx
I hope so too! My parents said we may go soon. You should be able to show the best places. I definitely can't wait!
Wild__Honey
The Fly
I hope so too! My parents said we may go soon. You should be able to show the best places. I definitely can't wait!
I would love to show people all the U2 related places over here. Cos everyone here either already knows or doesn't care
So yeah, it would be cool to show someone who is actually interested!!!
theedgeu2
Rock n' Roll Doggie Band-aid
I would love to show people all the U2 related places over here. Cos everyone here either already knows or doesn't care
So yeah, it would be cool to show someone who is actually interested!!!
Haha, yeah I am real interested. I think there is a film coming out about U2 and it's like a documentary on their beginning or something. Not anytime soon I don't think. Anyway, I'd rather actually visit the location.
smitefull1
The Fly
- Joined
- Jul 27, 2009
- Messages
- 97
soundtrack of my life
skys the limit
it's hip to be square
skys the limit
it's hip to be square
Bonoa
Refugee
I can laugh and cry over their music. Sometimes both at the same time.
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