Desire4Bono
Refugee
Electric Storm a political song?
From The Daily Telegraph:
Weller sings out, the rest stay silent
BY NEIL MCCORMICK
<snip>
'You don't have to be specific to be political in a song, and sometimes it's
better not to be," says U2 singer Bono. The Irish group's
anthem Walk On, originally written in honour of Burmese activist Aung San Suu
Kyi, became the most played song on US radio in the
wake of the attack, its universal sentiments capturing the spirit of the moment.
U2 have recently recorded a new track, Electrical Storm, for a forthcoming
best-of. Bono says that, although it was his intention to write
about the aftermath of 9/11, it has turned out to be a love song. "It's about a
couple in a room, feeling a storm brewing in the sky
outside and equating that to the pressure they feel in their relationship. I
think it captures a sense of unease I feel around the world,
especially in America, an air of nervous anticipation. It's not an overtly
political song, but I don't think we could have written it before
what happened in New York."
A seasoned campaigner for good causes, Bono is only half joking when he suggests
the public may be sceptical of rock stars making
obvious political statements. "You have to get your message across in different
ways. A hardened terrorist is not going to put down
his weapon because Bono says war is bad," he says. "I'm terrified that, if U2
make another big statement about peace, war might break
out just to knock me off my high horse!"
From The Daily Telegraph:
Weller sings out, the rest stay silent
BY NEIL MCCORMICK
<snip>
'You don't have to be specific to be political in a song, and sometimes it's
better not to be," says U2 singer Bono. The Irish group's
anthem Walk On, originally written in honour of Burmese activist Aung San Suu
Kyi, became the most played song on US radio in the
wake of the attack, its universal sentiments capturing the spirit of the moment.
U2 have recently recorded a new track, Electrical Storm, for a forthcoming
best-of. Bono says that, although it was his intention to write
about the aftermath of 9/11, it has turned out to be a love song. "It's about a
couple in a room, feeling a storm brewing in the sky
outside and equating that to the pressure they feel in their relationship. I
think it captures a sense of unease I feel around the world,
especially in America, an air of nervous anticipation. It's not an overtly
political song, but I don't think we could have written it before
what happened in New York."
A seasoned campaigner for good causes, Bono is only half joking when he suggests
the public may be sceptical of rock stars making
obvious political statements. "You have to get your message across in different
ways. A hardened terrorist is not going to put down
his weapon because Bono says war is bad," he says. "I'm terrified that, if U2
make another big statement about peace, war might break
out just to knock me off my high horse!"
