Artists' Influences Depending On Their Country

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oliveu2cm

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Artists Influences Depending On Their Country

Bill Graham, who used to be a writer for Hotpress Magazine & long time U2 advocate, was quoted in the Gavin Friday book I read recently.

I found this particularly interesting. Thoughts?

"The Oscar Wilde background is very Irish. I have a personal theory. You'll find within a lot of Irish musicians, songwriters and so forth a definite sense of: the people who precede them are the writers. If you are involved in American music, you say: "The Ramones preceded me or Elvis or Blondie, Patti Smith, Dylan or whatever". Since you don't have that sort of musical heritage -- we
have folk heritage but no rock and roll or pop heritage -- you'll see Van Morrison releating himself to Yeats, you see it in Shane McGowan, also. You'll see a lot of people identifying with Flann O'Brien, you'll see it in the Radiators. Phillip Chevron has all sorts of references to Joyce and O'Casey and Behan and so forth. There is that sense: if you are Irish you go measure yourself a little bit against those people. You will never see an English musician taking anything from T.S. Elliot or Auden."
 
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Yes I have thought about that. U2 were influenced by very different bands than American bands who grew up and formed at the same time.
 
Even more than being influenced by different bands, though, U2 were influenced a lot by writers. How many references have we heard Bono make to Yeats or Wilde or Joyce, as well as indirect references/allusions to them and their writings/themes/ideas in his songs. I think that's fascinating, and quite different than American artists.
 
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