bono's thoughts on early 90's grunge

[marik]

anyone know what bono's views on early 90's grunge rock bands are? i know he mentained a bit in bill flanagan's book, but i don't want to search through every page. anyone know it for sure? i seem to recall he didn't think that grunge was as good as evryone was making it out to be at the time. not inventive music. he probably made some comments about Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins....

 

[BVS]

Grunge....uhhh I cringe at that word.

I don't have time to find the quotes, but I remember him say some thoughts on Nevermind, saying he was impressed.

They had PJ open for them during ZOO TV for a few dates, so I'm sure they like them.

He's friends with Corgan, I've heard him and Corgan talk about conversations they had together. There was even an interview during POP that was printed in a mag where Corgan interviewed the band.

 

[mikal]

personally, i don't consider pearl jam or the pumpkins "grunge." they're both way too talented. pearl jam has obviously stood the test of time considering they're still releasing absolutely amazing music.

 

[U2Kitten]

I read something once that he kind of liked Kurt Cobain. But notice they didn't copy that sound, even though they were already in the studio when grunge came out. U2 always forges their own thing and almost always blows the mainstream away!

 

[marik]

did he ever meet Kurt cobain? i thought i heard somewhere that courtney love was trying to arrange a meeting between the two so that bono could give advice on how to deal with fame. unfortunatly the meeting never materialized. anyone else heard this?
also, i thought i heard bono say he thought Pumpkins should win the 94 Grammy for alternative album. not nirvana for nevermind. is this too?
i seem too recall him also saying that grunge is not as good as every one thinks.

 

[MrBrau1]

The Pumpkins are so NOT grunge. Billy loves melody and loves songs way more than grunge will allow.

 

[nick_u2]

Bono said in Newsweek a like a year ago that when Nirvana released Nevermind that "it was nuclear" he said some other good things too.

 

[ThatGuy]

also, i thought i heard bono say he thought Pumpkins should win the 94 Grammy for alternative album. not nirvana for nevermind. is this too?

I believe he said that he thought the Pumpkins should have won the Grammy for best Alternative album instead of U2.

 

[marik]

yeah, but wasn't nevermind up for that too? so basically bono was saying zooropa shouldn't have won it, but neverming shouldn't have either.

 

[nick_u2]

Nevermind came out in '91. If a Nirvana album would have been up for it, it would have been In Utero.

 

[marik]

oh yeah, sorry. i knew that. my mistake.

 

[david]

there's actually a better quality version of this picture somewhere.

 

[SnoopDog]

Bono said the following on Canadian TV during an interview in 93 just at the end of the Zooropa Tour. I'm paraphrasing quite a bit here:

"...if rock n roll isn't progressive, if it stays in the same place it becomes dull. White rock music at the moment has never been so dull, its actually retrogressive. It has become the folk music of the nineties and its in a way your parent's music, and thats boring. And black music, with kids coming out of Compton and the Bronx, are using the new technology to create new forms of music trough hip hop and rap or whatever and they're just leaving these white comfortable middle class grunge kids behind."

 

[Michael Griffiths]

According to Bono, in a nutshell (not that you'll find Bono in a nutshell!):

Grunge = Conservative.

 

[BigMacPhisto]

Bono said something about Pearl Jam when the band was in the Much Music studios in Canada during the Elevation Tour.........wish I had a tape of that interview, was one of those moments where the band felt real close and and direct to me.

 

[Numb1075]

if i'm not mistaken, pearl jam opened for u2 in europe. they must like pearl jam. no?

 

[U2girl]

Yes, didn't Pearl Jam open for U2 on Zoo TV? And Bono often spoke highly of Nirvana - I guess he likes at least some grunge bands.

 

[The John Tree]

Yes, Pearl Jam did open a few shows for U2 in Europe during the Zoo tour. Bono has said that he quite likes Eddie Vedder,

Though according to Pearl Jam's biography "5 Against 1", Eddie hated the U2 tour and didn't approve of U2's use of celebrity.

He also took a barb at Bono during the 1993 MTV Video Music Awards, but later apologized for it.

 

[U2girl]

What did he do at the MTV awards?

 

[MaPhisto]

Check this out, excert from spin magazine... btw, just as a side note, Pearl jam is also one of my favorite bands, although I can't say I really liked Riot Act that much except for I am mine

you can see the full article at http://pearljamhistory.no.sapo.pt/PJArticles_Interviews_08-xx-01_-_spin_magazine_ten_past_ten.htm


Spin Magazine, August 2001

Ten Past Ten
By Eric Weisbard with Jessica Letkemann, Ann Powers, Chris Norris, William Van Meter, and Will Hermes


VEDDER: Maybe I wasn't ready for attention to be placed on me, you know? Also I think it was the practical things that I wasn't ready for, or the legal things that I wasn't ready for. I never knew that someone could put you on the cover of a magazine without asking you, that they could sell magazines and make money and you didn't have a copyright on your face or something.

WILSON: Eddie was seeking the advice of Bono a lot. After the shows you'd see Bono and Eddie over in a corner in deep discussion. And they would go off together and stay at Bono's place, and they would have stayed up and had some wine and really talked about the business and sort of argued about it.

BONO: I seem to always take the role of scolding them for not wanting to be pop stars. I think they suffer me with some grace. Anyone in their right mind would do [what Pearl Jam have done]; this is actually how to have a life, how to keep your dignity.

 

[babyman]

i know pearl jam started supporting u2 during many dates of the zoo tv tour in 1992, so bono surely likes grunge! me too

 

[david]

I believe someone posted pictures of Eddie Vedder at an Elevation tour show and recited their story of how they met Eddie that night and also said they saw him crying during Bad.

 

[Swan269]

I remember in "The End of the World" Bono and Edge thought the music was OK but it was kind of a repeat of late 60's, 70's rock.

 

[BVS]

Yes, Pearl Jam did open a few shows for U2 in Europe during the Zoo tour. Bono has said that he quite likes Eddie Vedder,

Though according to Pearl Jam's biography "5 Against 1", Eddie hated the U2 tour and didn't approve of U2's use of celebrity.

He also took a barb at Bono during the 1993 MTV Video Music Awards, but later apologized for it.

Like Eddie using his celebrity to fight Ticketmaster...

Didn't he just say that the moon man looked like Bono? I thought it was funny...he kinda did.

 

[Swan269]

Bono and Edge also found it funny.

 

[intedomine]

A u2 grunge album would've been brilliant, i assure you.....


It would have reshaped rock n roll altogether, and made nevermind look like an album created by a bunch of 3 year olds, as much as I love nirvana.

Smashing Pumpkins, never considered them grunge, i gues they are a bit.

 

[yertle-the-turtle]

"this one's...for Kurt Cobain"

- Bono, during One, Popmart Seattle 1997

 

[jick]

anyone know what bono's views on early 90's grunge rock bands are? i know he mentained a bit in bill flanagan's book, but i don't want to search through every page. anyone know it for sure? i seem to recall he didn't think that grunge was as good as evryone was making it out to be at the time. not inventive music. he probably made some comments about Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins....

Bono said that the 90's Grunge scene was nothing but 70's rehash. And that it was high time for U2 to really rock and show fans what real rock is all about with their next album (which ended up being POP). Bono said this in an interview with the Hot Press a year or two before the release of POP.

Cheers,

J

 

[wolfeden]

I've heard (and read) some of the exchange between Pearl Jam and U2 at a specific Italian show.. seemed the Italian audience didn't much care for Vedder and Co. and Ed made some catty comments towards U2, which of course Bono fired right back at him when they took the stage... sheesh
but for all that there's still some affection between them... back then, Bono told Ed "you guys are where we were 10 years ago" meaning, U2's serious, political phase, and to see where Pearl Jam were 10 years later..... interesting stuff.