Michael Griffiths
Rock n' Roll Doggie
For me, U2 were never the "cool" band anyway, and in fact have always been about being "uncool" - by wearing their hearts on their collective sleeve. Like Brian Eno said, "cool" implies a detachment, really a sign of someone whose afraid of themselves, a sign of insecurity. U2 are about being vulnerable, honest, and thereby being open to criticism as a result. So, yeah, I like the fact that they are so "uncool". Anyway, I was just over at the main Coldplay message board, looking for info on the B-side 'One I Love', and out of interest I checked out the "Other Music" forum. There's a thread entitled, "U2 please stop". Here's a couple sample posts:
"U2 have become "actors". They are nothing like they used to be. Bono is no longer a lead singer, Bono is a "role " that he slips into. They have not really been relevant for years...."
and...
wow. this has exloded.
u2 is overrated. more than any other band ever. they had some good stuph. but had is the key word. hey you guys, lets come out with not one, but two greatest hits albums before we are even done making music, so that we can make more money for some unknown stupid reason.
their songs no longer invoke emotion like they may have like 10 years ago. now its all junk that is merely bla, its not terrible, but its not good. there are so many other bands out there that sound no different. and some smart guy can copy that and reply to it by saying "thats cause they copied off of u2" but guess what, those bands arent good either. u2 is good for nothing more than music in the background any more. music to do things to, because if you are doing nothing but listening to it, you will get bored and change it. they sell records because they used to be good.
and they said they were going to stop making music about 3 years ago, but damnit, they just had to make more. retire already. music is supposed to make you feel something, not just fill a void of silence. which is what their music does.
As bad as some of the writing in the second post is, I feel a lot of people share this opinion. I'm not saying it necessarily matters, but it's interesting. As for the thread itself, what's even worse is that some of the U2 fans who are defending U2 (how embarrassing) are actually more ignorant than the people who hate U2!!
Here's the link:
http://coldplay.artscience.net/vbb/showthread.php?threadid=9523
I would have thought that most fans of Coldplay would mostly at least *respect* U2 even if they didn't like them, as Coldplay has been so heavily influenced by our Irish lads. Apparently not, though. It makes me wonder if U2 are even relevent among the "music fan elite" anymore, and further makes me wonder if that's even important. I talk with a lot of younger people, and it seems most of them don't like U2, or really care about U2, for that matter. One guy I work with said, "I didn't even like U2 when they were cool..." Kind of funny. (He must be talking about War and Achtung Baby, how's that for irony!) Do you think U2 have lost touch with the "kids"? Or is their current work for an older audience? Why do I feel so old all of a sudden? (Quarter life crisis, here) I would have thought a Coldplay forum would be indicative of general good taste, but apparently U2 aren't too popular in the wider-spectrum of things (and I don't mean mainstream radio and MTV, etc). Just mean what fans of music are generally listening to.
So the question I pose to you: now that U2 aren't the "cool" band anymore, do you want them to be again? Or do you prefer it this way? Thoughts to ponder...
On a side note, why is War always considered to be such a "cool" album when it's the most headstrong, foot-heavy, question seeking, honest, frightened, absolutely no artifice, heart on their perpetual sleeves album they've ever released?
"U2 have become "actors". They are nothing like they used to be. Bono is no longer a lead singer, Bono is a "role " that he slips into. They have not really been relevant for years...."
and...
wow. this has exloded.
u2 is overrated. more than any other band ever. they had some good stuph. but had is the key word. hey you guys, lets come out with not one, but two greatest hits albums before we are even done making music, so that we can make more money for some unknown stupid reason.
their songs no longer invoke emotion like they may have like 10 years ago. now its all junk that is merely bla, its not terrible, but its not good. there are so many other bands out there that sound no different. and some smart guy can copy that and reply to it by saying "thats cause they copied off of u2" but guess what, those bands arent good either. u2 is good for nothing more than music in the background any more. music to do things to, because if you are doing nothing but listening to it, you will get bored and change it. they sell records because they used to be good.
and they said they were going to stop making music about 3 years ago, but damnit, they just had to make more. retire already. music is supposed to make you feel something, not just fill a void of silence. which is what their music does.
As bad as some of the writing in the second post is, I feel a lot of people share this opinion. I'm not saying it necessarily matters, but it's interesting. As for the thread itself, what's even worse is that some of the U2 fans who are defending U2 (how embarrassing) are actually more ignorant than the people who hate U2!!
Here's the link:
http://coldplay.artscience.net/vbb/showthread.php?threadid=9523
I would have thought that most fans of Coldplay would mostly at least *respect* U2 even if they didn't like them, as Coldplay has been so heavily influenced by our Irish lads. Apparently not, though. It makes me wonder if U2 are even relevent among the "music fan elite" anymore, and further makes me wonder if that's even important. I talk with a lot of younger people, and it seems most of them don't like U2, or really care about U2, for that matter. One guy I work with said, "I didn't even like U2 when they were cool..." Kind of funny. (He must be talking about War and Achtung Baby, how's that for irony!) Do you think U2 have lost touch with the "kids"? Or is their current work for an older audience? Why do I feel so old all of a sudden? (Quarter life crisis, here) I would have thought a Coldplay forum would be indicative of general good taste, but apparently U2 aren't too popular in the wider-spectrum of things (and I don't mean mainstream radio and MTV, etc). Just mean what fans of music are generally listening to.
So the question I pose to you: now that U2 aren't the "cool" band anymore, do you want them to be again? Or do you prefer it this way? Thoughts to ponder...
On a side note, why is War always considered to be such a "cool" album when it's the most headstrong, foot-heavy, question seeking, honest, frightened, absolutely no artifice, heart on their perpetual sleeves album they've ever released?
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