A Strange thing...

[iacrobat]

I am not sure where this post should go, I think here.

I was browsing the forum at U2Spain cos I am living here in Barcelona and want to see what the fan base is like, that kind of thing. See if there are other U2 geeks in the city.

There was a post called "what is the best and worst thing about U2?".

Almost everyone has said the worst thing is their "religiosity". That there music is better when it is not influenced by religion, like Achtung Baby and Pop.

The truth is I find this mind boggling how one thinks one can separate religion from U2's music. That is like saying, "I like it better when Bono's feelings about his mother's death doesn't influence his music." A-duh, that's impossible! Its all there, all the time.

You may be wondering why I am venting here. I signed up and posted in my mangled Spanish and just don't have the ability to express myself completely. (what is "a-duh" in spanish?)

I am also wondering what some of you think around here. Can it be separated? To me it can't. The religious beliefs of the group seem to be highly valued and respected in this forum.

I think it has to do with religion in Spain. But I won't start on that.

Any thoughts?

 

[U2Kitten]

No religion on AB or POP? Have they heard UTEOTW? WUDM? IGWSHA? There are many references. I don't think you can take the religious influence out of their music because it's in THEM like everything else that makes them what they are. All their work will have it in some way, but they have never been preachy IMO. I like it that God goes with them. Still I think a lot of their stuff can be taken either way, depending on what you want to find, and that is okay.

 

[Liesje]

In the Christian Reformed tradition (Ellen, Laura, hang in there...no gagging....yet....) we have this thing we like to call "worldview" (..ok, now you can gag). In a nutshell, one's religion ultimately shapes one's worldview, and one's worldview then influences everything from clothes to songs to jobs, etc, etc, etc you get the point. So, yeah, religion is ALWAYS a factor.

 

[bonosloveslave]

So true Lies, so true.....

Kitten, I was thinking just what you were thinking, how could they miss so much spirituality on these albums?

 

[ILuvLarryMullen]

maybe the religiousness of AB and Pop is more subtle, but that doesn't mean that it's not there.

 

[kingofsorrow]

No religion on AB or POP? Have they heard UTEOTW? WUDM? IGWSHA? There are many references. I don't think you can take the religious influence out of their music because it's in THEM like everything else that makes them what they are. All their work will have it in some way, but they have never been preachy IMO. I like it that God goes with them. Still I think a lot of their stuff can be taken either way, depending on what you want to find, and that is okay.

very well said.

 

[Axver]

I would contend that, with the exclusion of October, Pop is quite possibly U2's most spiritual album. And the wonderful thing about Bono's songwriting is that you can often interpret songs to have either a secular or Christian meaning.

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

Odd. Their views on religion don't bother me at all. Some people tend to mistake them for a really religious band. They aren't. They're spiritual. But they still have their questions.

Heck, that's one reason why I love their music so much. I have the same sorts of questions they do-my spiritual beliefs are pretty similar to, if not exactly like, theirs. And with songs like the ones on October, or "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" (which some people do interpret as a spiritual song), their spirituality's expressed in a way that isn't pushy at all. In the Rattle and Hum movie, where they're at that church and the choir's singing along, now that's the kind of thing I'd enjoy doing at church, 'cause that song is open to so many kinds of interpretations spiritually, so I can sing it with my own interpretation in mind and still feel a part of the whole experience.

Besides, I like the way they talk about their beliefs in their songs. I really like the lyrics in "Wake Up Dead Man"-I don't think I could've expressed those questions any better myself. The way they present their beliefs...I find it intriguing, I love hearing what they have to say about religion. Makes for good discussion.

So, yeah, that's not a complaint of mine at all. That's odd that some people do have issues with it. But...*shrugs*...their opinions.

Angela