I Hate Bono and Larry

[phillyfan26]

Because he's been a really, really shitty drummer since about 1990.

I didn't always hate Larry. I used to like him, and there are a few good quotes from him back in the eighties. Plus, his drumming on songs like Sunday Bloody Sunday is very memorable and effective, and he carries songs such as I Threw A Brick.

However, I think the last remotely interesting song he recorded was God Part II. Everything since then has been bland, formulaic, unadventurous, uninteresting, and forgettable.

I tried to address this in my earlier post, but it sounds like Edge had something to do with it, at least according to U2 by U2.

I looked this up last night for a little further detail, and it seems it went something like this: Edge was getting really into dance music and much more into drum machines. The beats of those types of songs are much more restrictive and it sort of left Larry as an odd man out. Larry said that he was trying to learn more drumming styles (he mentioned specific names that I can't name at the moment) and then Edge came in trying to build songs around drum machines. I think Larry summarized by saying, "I was trying to figure out what more I could do, and Edge was trying to see what less I could do."

Edge admitted that the one song that Larry edited the drum beat to primarily was Mysterious Ways, which we know ended up having a pretty nice beat to it, especially live.

It sounds to me like Larry got really discouraged by those sessions. Although, you can't only go by what Larry did in studio during those times. You claim he's done nothing memorable since 1990. Well...

Mysterious Ways - ZooTV
The Fly - ZooTV and Vertigo
Mofo - Popmart
Gone
Acrobat
Ultraviolet
Wake Up Dead Man

It's not that many but it's something. It was a decline, but I wouldn't say nearly as steep as ATYCLB. I think City of Blinding Lights was the only song with anything he hasn't done before on the past two albums.

 

[Screwtape2]

Larry
and Adam actually put their foot down on Bomb in 2003 when Bono and Edge wanted to come out with an album (watch how unscathed the bass player got away with it in comparison). And Adam is the one, in the RS interview, that explicitely said he wanted more hits to get more young fans as opposed to ATYCLB where they only really had BD.

1. I'm sure Larry brainwashed the other three into thinking Pop is unfinished.
2. Bono is driving off himself, and off Edge. If those two don't get creative, that shows on their albums.
3. Edge reportedly did majority of music for Bomb alone, in Bono's absence. He's got no one to blame but himself if he hasn't come up with creative sounds in the last few years.
4. Given how U2 makes decisions, everyone has a say.
5. He's a great antidote to Bono's hyperbole, and from the interviews we read, the one U2 member capable of critisism of their work. The only one who can keep Bono's brain on U2 is Bono.
6. So when the band jams Larry is, what, knocked out? What do you think he's been doing since 1976 ?
7. Experimenting in itself means nothing without good songs. Larry knows this. And the band could not cover the dance experimentation without the rhythm section willing to sound different. That said the 90's albums, Pop in particular due to Larry's back problem, are notorious for U2 using drum machines and loops. I'd love to get a statistic how much of those albums is real drum playing...
8. Interesting...they've been rather successful for quite a long time with a shitty drummer. Larry isn't a flashy drummer, which is a good thing because he would overshadow Bono and Edge. U2 is all about the sum being bigger than the parts. Larry and Adam took lessons after Zooropa - I'd like to see Bono and Edge show that type of commitment and humility someday.
9. As if the other three have no say in the U2 business.
10. Mercy doesn't fit on Bomb, lyrically or music wise. The band should have taken it - and F. Cars - as a starting point for the next album. Bono said it's a B-side though, which is a bigger offense for that song.

1. This is no point in responding to sarcasm.
2. I completely disagree because U2 is driven by grooves.
3. Adam said that Edge comes in with chord progressions and the songs go on from there. That has to come from Larry who stomps out experimentation at every turn. What Adam said implies that Edge isn't willing to jam anymore. That's laziness.
4. It isn't that Larry doesn't have a say. It is that Larry shouldn't have a say.
5. Bono is a child. Larry has to keep him off American Idol and Africa.
6. He obviously isn't doing anything productive.
7. When they experiemented they had good songs when they haven't, the songs aren't so good.
8. I mean successful in the sense of good albums and songs, not sales.
9. Larry has pushed the band towards the business and away from making music.
10. Bomb is a terrible album anyway. Mercy could only help.

 

[U2girl]

On the post 1990 albums I liked his beats on Acrobat, UTEOTW, Please, Miami, IALW, LAPOE and COBL.

And I think it's been a while since he's punched anything like ABOY live.

 

[U2girl]

1. No point in making unsubstantiated claims either. Show quotes how Larry did brain surgery on everyone else when the band - yes, all of them - has been saying for years Pop is unfinished. As seen by 3 single versions done by the 97-98 era U2.
2. No. We know Bono and Edge are the creative minds in the band. Grooves are fine, but not nearly enough without an inspired guitarist and lyricist.
3. Exactly. Edge does the chords, and songs go from there. So thank Edge for not experimenting. (and Bono MIA)
4. He does have a say whether you like it or not. Let me know when that applies to Adam who, if you recall, vetoed Bomb too in 2003. And who in fact vetoed the experimenting on AB too, right along with Larry.
5. What is he, the Dad of the band? They're grown men perfectly capable of making their own decisions.
6. Given to the variety of sounds and music genres U2 has tried over the years, interesting statement. He does jam, as do all the others.
7. No. It's the other way around. The more experimental they get, the weaker the songs.
8. I wasn't referring to sales. Care to answer the rest of my no. 8 point?
9. Care to back that up with quotes? U2 make all the decisions as a band. About as likely as the Big Bad Bully theory on Pop.
10. Opinion, not fact. Mercy - a ripoff of AB era U2 - would feel out of place, as would F. Cars.

 

[Chizip]

To those that hate members in this band..."You go fuck off" I say. We are fans, yes 'fanatics' of this band ....& who would line up for 4 days in the rain to go watch someone they 'hated'??!?!?

Maybe some people just like the band for, get this.....the music!!!

shocking i know!!!

sometimes i think people get a litttttle too involved in the bands private lives. like when people start celebrating the band members kids bithrdays, thats a little too creepy mccreepster.

 

[U2Man]

like when people start celebrating the band members kids bithrdays, thats a little too creepy mccreepster.

 

[phillyfan26]

6. U2 is a jam band. Larry can't jam. U2 creates many songs out of jams. With Larry the songs go nowhere or don't come at all.

That statement itself is a contradiction.

 

[jedi Larry]

I know.

Larry was never hot about Pop or Popmart

That's incorrect. Larry liked the album but hated the fact the album was barely finished in time for the time and they had little to no rehearsal time.

Larry knows exactly who he is and what he likes, unlike Bono. He's the counterpoint to Bono and vice-versa.

And Larry is not,and never was, someone like Stewart Copeland. He's wasn't Neil Peart from Rush. He wasn't a musician in the real sense of the word.
He was just a kid who learned to play drums as he was going along.
And if I wanted virtuoso drumming I would listen to plenty of other drummers out there. They're all over.

 

[blueeyedgirl]

Axver, I reckon they can't move on from 4/4 cos after all, we 60,000 fools at the concerts have to be able to clap and pogo in time to all the songs. Stadium bands can't have songs that deviate from that particular rule, now can they?

 

[phillyfan26]

Larry only hated Pop because they made him dress up as someone from the Village People.

 

[kellyahern]

what about okra?

Fried okra or plain okra?

 

[cobl04]

This thread is scary. I never realised there are so many people here who only appreciate certain eras of U2 who still post here. Personally, I love Bono, Edge, Larry and Adam equally, there all still kick ass. Taking the last album, Bono still has great vocals, and that was evidenced by the last tour. He still sounds fantastic. The Edge is great, Miracle Drug, COBL, LAPOE are his standouts for me. Larry is mad. LAPOE rocks, and you can't tell me the drumming on tour did not rock. Bullet/SBS/LAPOE, and his drumming in the outro of OSC pumps it along. Adam rocks throughout the album.

So much hate

 

[bayou12780]

where's the love for larry?

Fuck, Ringo is cooler than Larry.

Other cool drummers:
?Love (The Roots)
Nick Mason (Pink Floyd)
Meg White (The White Stripes)
and my two favorites:
Keith Moon (The Who) [Deceased]
John Bonham (Led Zeppelin) [Deceased]

no no no... Tre Cool is the coolest!! How can you compete with the name?
ok, back to the real topic... vegetables we hate...

Fried okra or plain okra?

Plain

 

[cobl04]

What the hell's okra? Sounds... foreignly weird.

 

[Zoots]

What the hell's okra? Sounds... foreignly weird.

Are you more familiar with the term "lady's finger"? Cos that's what okra is.

 

[bayou12780]

am i the only one who thinks that u2 would probably be dead and buried by now if it wasnt for larry?

had they released another pop or passengers, they might have regained some respect on the indie boards, but they would have been slaughtered in the mainstream media and their albums would have sold as poorly as passengers. it wouldnt just be larry that wouldnt be able to accept that. they would all have called it a day.

hmm we agree on something... scary... unless you're being sarcastic
actually marc marot was probably the one that did them the biggest favor by fighting to keep U2's name off the passengers album... always wondered where they would be today if they had kept him around in some capacity. i think he was the rare combination of visionary and realist.

 

[indra]

What the hell's okra? Sounds... foreignly weird.

It's vile, slimey stuff.

 

[xaviMF22]

who gave this thread a 1 star rating

some sensitive PLEBAn I bet

 

[dietcokeofevil]

Let Adam and Edge run the band.

Let Bono sell it, and let Larry hide behind the drum kit.

 

[phillyfan26]

let Larry hide behind the drum kit.

The last time that happened things didn't work out too well.

 

[Screwtape2]

I've been really intrigued by the responses in this thread. I think I completely understand Interference now.
The responses that I found most interesting really where these:

SeattleVertigo:
"Yeah, if you hate half the band, I think it's common sense that you're less of a fan than someone who loves them all.

Let's just say I have a lot of question marks about how much you like the band if you hate Larry and strongly dislike Bono."

U2girl:
"If you hate any of the band members and said band doesn't do it for you anymore for the past ___ (insert number here) years, maybe it's time to reconsider things and move on to other bands?"

MaddyU2:
"I wish all of these U2 "haters" would stop going to so many of their concerts. It would be a lot easier for those of us, who actually like the band, to get tickets."

COBL_04:
"This thread is scary. I never realised there are so many people here who only appreciate certain eras of U2 who still post here."

Indra:
"But I do think what it really boils down to is: if you think of yourself as a fan, then you are a fan, no matter what anyone else thinks."

Axver:
"There are fans out there who profess to love all the band members, but they're such blind followers that they cannot conceive of U2 doing any wrong and will distort reality to suit their illusion. Then there are "fans" out there who seem to just criticise. Both bug me.

And I don't believe in a hierarchy of fans either. If someone doesn't like Larry, are they any less of a fan? That to me is just as silly a question as "if someone doesn't know that the most frequently performed song from Pop is Gone, are they any less of a fan?" And in any case, you don't need to like the individuals to love the music."

Chizip:
"Maybe some people just like the band for, get this.....the music!!!

shocking i know!!!

sometimes i think people get a litttttle too involved in the bands private lives. like when people start celebrating the band members kids bithrdays, thats a little too creepy mccreepster."

I think that really sums up Interference.

 

[AtomicBono]

Maybe some people just like the band for, get this.....the music!!!

shocking i know!!!

I'm not quite sure why it took 7 pages for someone to say this...

you could think everyone in U2 are douchebags but still love their music. though I think it'd be kind of awkward to go to live shows in that case

and I do think there are people on this forum that really need to move on

but yes, you could hate members of a band and still be a fan of the music. I think Thom Yorke does some pretentious bullshit but I still love Radiohead's music, so there you go.

 

[Ralphie]

I've been really intrigued by the responses in this thread. I think I completely understand Interference now.

So just curious...are/were you a psychology/anthropology/sociology major?

I think that really sums up Interference.

That some people think you should be a fan of the people involved and some people think only the music is important? Substitute 'concept' or 'idea' for 'music' and I'd say this is true of most things.

 

[Midwestgirl]

I didn't read all the posts, but will comment anyway. I apologize if I have repeated anything that someone else may have said.

I've been a fan for a long time. I love the music first. I enjoy it and it gives me joy in life. I like the band members all the same. Each one of them contributes in his own way. Each of them has their own talent to offer. Without one of them there would be no U2. Period

 

[Yahweh]

If you hate Larry then its a good thing the majority dont because if it wasnt for Larry there would be no U2. No matter what period you enjoy or if you enjoy them all, hating the founding member of the band is not good.

 

[U2girl]

I know.

Larry was never hot about Pop or Popmart

That's incorrect. Larry liked the album but hated the fact the album was barely finished in time for the time and they had little to no rehearsal time.

I know, but somehow over the years that got translated into "U2 hates Pop and wishes it never happened" on the internet sites.

 

[Salome]

why would anyone hate someone he/she really knows near to nothing about?

should Larry ever ivite me to his birthday party and then talk garbage the entire night then I might start to dislike him

as for Larry being inventive or not
what do you expect?
that he's going to play arabic rhythms while sitting with his back towards his drumkit and using a minimum of 80% cymbals while Edge is playing the riff of All because of you?
he basically has covered what he can do within the U2 sound by now - and I personally don't care

 

[phillyfan26]

Screwtape, I still don't really understand your beef with Larry. Your 10 arguments and subsequent debate was a bit contradictory and confusing.

 

[GibsonGirl]

I don't know about Screwtape, but my biggest beef with Larry lately is that he seems to drum without inspiration. All Because Of You being the prime example of this. I have only sat in front of a drum kit a total of five times my entire life, and I'm fairly certain I could get the drumming to that song down pat in about 1/100th of the time I would need to master something like Rejoice. His beats have become very standard, even a bit dull. Of course, the main cause for this is that U2 typically write their songs around guitar riffs, not drums. In the early days, the drums seemed to have a more prominent role. Sometimes I think Edge and Bono just need to step back a bit and give Larry a bit of space to try something a bit more inventive, something a bit like the old days. And before someone replies with 'So you've been to a U2 recording session have you? :insertsarcasticeyebrowsmiley:' you need to look no further than the album liner notes to see that it's more Edge and Bono running the show than Adam and Larry.

I think if U2 really wanted to try something different, to push themselves into a direction they've never really explored before, incorporating different tempos and time signatures would be a good start. There's nothing wrong with doing something that's different. The most interesting U2 songs, I feel, are the ones that stray from the norm. How cool is it when Zooropa takes that 180 degree turn at the end of the song? Or when the drums come crashing in at the end of Tomorrow?

I don't know if it was in this thread or in the counter thread, but someone mentioned that if you're looking for creativity in a song, a drumkit isn't the place to find it in. I completely disagree with that. When the drumming is creative and when the rhythm is creative, the creativity in the other instruments usually follows through.

Anyway, this post is all irrelevant because it'll never happen. The singles/radio success-oriented U2 that we presently have aren't about to start messing with the traditional 4/4 song structure.

 

[ALass4Larry]

So, the only thing I've really gotten out of this thread is that some people don't feel that Larry is entitled to an opinion about how songs/albums turn out and that he's a grumpy S.O.B. SO WHAT!!!!!!!!!! If it wasn't for him there would be no U2!