Bono stories in new Steve Jobs biography.

[bigbang]

Was wondering if anyone has read the new Steve Jobs biography by Walter Isaacson?

There's a few mentions of U2 and Bono and a couple gems of a story in the book, like
how Bono took Jonathan Ive, Apple's head designer, out for a beer in Dublin to discuss
the look of the U2 ipod and both of them def. drank plenty!

Another interesting tidbit mentioned Steve Jobs was considering attending the 360 show
in Oakland but decided to present designs for the future Apple HQ at a Cupertino town
hall meeting instead.

Just thought it'd be worth a mention! The book is extremely captivating and the U2 stories
are just the icing on the cake for me.

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

I got it Monday. Did you read the whole book already? If so that's very impressive

 

[bigbang]

I got it Monday. Did you read the whole book already? If so that's very impressive

I guess I just had too much free time! Jobs, like Bono, makes for compelling reading material.

There's a couple more mentions of Bono in the book, one of them involving arguments between
him and Steve over business matters. It's fascinating that Bono was able to get so close to Jobs.

Jobs is also described as mercurial and harshly pushing his employees to make the best product
possible, and that reminded me of the conflicts in U2 during the making of Achtung Baby as
depicted in "From The Sky Down." Edge himself once described U2 as consisting of "four evil motherfuckers."
Jobs and U2 share a conviction never to settle for the easier but less innovative and original product,
and to never repeat themselves, even at the cost of being uncomfortable. It's really striking that these
two top artists in different fields have similar principles.

phew! sorry for the rambling thoughts.

 

[blm]

Hey, thanks for the info and your comments ! I have a list of books I'd love to read, but don't have time, and this one's on the list. Any mention of U2 IS icing on the cake, so thanks for letting this girl in on the those tidbits. My interests are diverse, but I DO prefer my dessert first.
'Ramble on' anytime

 

[subnet]

iphone 4 to iphone 4S is like ATYCLB to HTDAAB

very similar, but you need both. need and want is synonymous in both camps

 

[AGirlLikeTheSea]

Gosh, all I can think of no matter what news involving Steve Jobs is how odd it is that his dead. It's not only celebrities, I have to remind me over and over of who's dead.
Amy Whinehouse wasn't a surprise but still that death hasn't sunk in, I keep forgetting that she's dead.
Sorry for being so morbid but whenever I hear or read Steve's name I get reminded of his demise.

 

[canedge]

I was reading it last night and the stories of Bono and Jobs are worth reading. Isaacson says that Bono tried to get Apple to sign on for Get on Your Boots but Jobs refused. I suppose the relationship had soured by then.

 

[canedge]

What was also impressive about the book was that Jobs was dedicated to the Humanities. He critiqued his competitors by consistently making decisions based on financial criteria and not artistic or quality standards. He cited Bob Dylans 1966 tour as a precedent for principles and artistic standards trumping business concerns.

 

[financeguy]

From what I have been told by people who work in the Valley, Jobs was widely regarded as a notorious workplace bully and obvious sociopath. Some of the anecdotes may have been generated by people who had a vested interest in attacking Jobs' reputation and/or competitors of Apple motivated by envy, but, there are too many stories from too many independent sources to dismiss them entirely out of hand.

So, it's somewhat disturbing to me that Bono, the leader of a band that started out with high ethical principles of "Do unto others as they would do unto you", that agreed on an equal royalties split between band members early on even though some were obviously more talented than others, that set its store out on the basis that they were not going to do the rockstar shtick of exploiting groupies, abusing their power, and such like, became buddies with this guy, but I guess it just goes to show that, ultimately, all our heroes have feet of clay.

Ultimately U2 will be remembered for putting out a few great albums in the 1980s and 1990s and Steve Jobs will be remembered as a guy that used to work with a real genius and pioneer (Steve Wozniak).

 

[financeguy]

iphone 4 to iphone 4S is like ATYCLB to HTDAAB

In the sense that they're all shit?