Let me explain it to you from a different perspective. I am one of those who love some eras and despise another. We all have our own feelings about things, and our lives, times and experiences develop them. There is nothing wrong with the way anyone feels, and no one is right or wrong. It's just what it means to us. This is my story:
I am a LONGtime U2 fan. I am 40, the age of the band, 28 days younger than Larry. I was actually due on the same day as him, but I was late! I saw them on the Tom Snyder show on their first US TV appearance. I remember thinking how cute they were, and how they didn't sound very Irish. I found Boy in a record shop on my first date with my eventual husband. We rode across the bay-bridge tunnel on a cloudy, windy, grey October day listening to October. War was awesome! SBS and NYD rocked so hard, and my teenage brother could sing Seconds word for word, (and still can at 33) Those songs all meant something to me. I knew what SBS was about, and it was powerful, but still I couldn't help thinking of some of its lyrics when all my teams lost on the same Sunday during football season. When I saw Red Rocks, I saw them in a different way- not only were they good, talented and cute, the singer was HOT! I loved watching it, and it was shown a lot in its day.
I got married in '84, just after The Unforgettable Fire came out. It was the first thing my husband bought me after we were married. I loved and still love all its songs, they are so artistic and incredible to listen to, and gave me a special feeling. Bono's voice was at its best, he was in his prime, and so was I. I admit to having fantasies about him, and no man has ever made me feel the way he did. Live Aid ruled! I remember how great it was, and how HOT Bono was in that outfit, his tight pants and the way he bent in them, those boots and the way he strutted in them, that white shirt and the little thingy around his neck, and that jacket! Oh, and his hair- his lovely, touchable long hair, I cannot stand to hear it called 'mullet.' That was MY Bono, the one I fell for, the one dear to my heart, the one who was special to me. No one can ever replace him.
Of course when the Joshua Tree came out, (a few nonths after my son was born) I was on it right away. The world was just discovering what I had known for years- this band was unique, excellent and destined for greatness. Now they had proven it. I couldn't imagine Bono getting any sexier, but he had! I relished all the attention they got, becoming the greatest and most popular band in the world, rock's hottest ticket and a household word! Those songs were and still are enchanting. Bono's voice on RHMT and others is just magic. I had a personal story too. My Grandmother passed away in the summer of '86 when I was pregnant with my first baby. At her funeral, I remember standing in the rain, a summer chill at the cemetary, crying and thinking how sad it was she had to go just before my kid was born. I looked up and saw this hill, perfectly round, with only one tree on it. So naturally when I heard One Tree Hill, it reminded me of her funeral. When I read the lyrics sheet of the album, I was shocked at the irony and got the chills- the song was written for their friend Greg Carroll's funeral, which was eerily the same day, month and year as my Grandmother's. So for that, and many many other reasons since the beginning of their career, I felt they were MY band, and I had an attachment to them. I had come along with them the whole way, they were my age, I felt their feelings, cared for their causes, beliefs, lived with their words and music, and the bond was strong.
It actually got to the point where I took them for granted. But oh, what great days those were, the late 80's, when the dominated MTV! My daughter was born in 1989, a few months after Bono's first daughter. My kids were little, but they would sit there and watch the videos like they were interested. This was MY band. I could feel them.
Then they went away for awhile. I was raising two little ones, there was no internet, and I didn't see them for awhile. When I saw them again, they had changed. Bono had cut off his pretty long hair, but it was still good enough, and dyed black. I liked it black, and his black outfit was hot. I didn't like the shades over his lovely eyes though, and I was surprised at the way he acted sometimes, and I was worried he was changing. But AB was good, and the more I listened to it the more I liked it. They were not exactly the same, but they were good, and Bono was still hot. It was all cool. I could get into this.
Then one day my husband, who rarely talks, especially seriously, yelled for me and said 'what the hell is that?' It was the Lemon video. It was freaky and odd. My husband was totally stunned and couldn't believe it was U2. He said surely it was a joke, they were thinking they were so big and famous now they could do anything and the fans would buy it. I began to worry about the direction the band was heading. I felt them slipping away. Then I saw the Stay video, Bono was so beautiful and sensitive and the song was good. I thought it would be okay. I was wrong.
My U2 love and devotion continued. In 1994, my brother and son and I drove all the way across the country, and we played JT driving past real joshua trees, and of course we had to get out and pose by some!
Then, it happened. It was in early 1997, just after I had bailed my husband out of jail for drunken driving. It was a bad time in my life for many other reasons I will not mention here, because they hurt too much. U2 came on TV. They looked wacky and weird. Bono looked terrible. They were making an announcement at Kmart. I didn't like the way they looked or acted. There was a TV special. I watched a few minutes, and hated what I saw and heard. I turned it off and cried. What had happened to this band I loved? Why did they do this and what were they trying to prove and to who? I was devastated. When I heard the CD and saw scenes from the tour, my fears were realized. I had lost MY band. They were someone else's band now, I could not accept them like that. It wasn't just that they 'evolved' but that to me they had become something different, something I didn't have good feelings about and didn't want to be close to.
There had been reasons I had loved U2, and with POP they had taken a hacksaw and destroyed all of them, from their look, sound, reputation, image, personality, even Bono's hair was gone. Not only did he no longer look good to me because of that and the lame outfits, I considered that the final straw, a symbol MY Bono was gone, the last of him had slipped away, he was now something different, something I hated. I hated U2. I hated POP, POPMART, the POP look, and the entire package. I hated them for stabbing me in the back, betraying me, and selling out and becoming something they really weren't. Now I know some of you say this is crazy, but when you are extremely emotionally attached to someone, it hurts. The more you love, the harder you fall. It was like breaking up with someone you love after a long term relationship and being heartbroken. That's exactly how it felt. I had broken up with U2 and fallen out with them. It hurt so badly, I could not even bear to listen to their old stuff anymore. It was just too sad. Now, don't be mad at me for this. Haven't you ever felt like this about someone in your life? Don't people 'change' and you no longer want to be around them? Don't you break up with them? I don't know anyone who hasn't felt this way about a significant other or a family member at some time. That's how it feels when you were attached to someone and they destroy your faith in them, and the love. I hope you understand what I'm trying to say.
Fast forward to summer 2000. I was in Texas with my kids, visiting a family of friends we had met online. We were discussing U2 and one of them asked me if I liked U2. My direct quote was, 'I used to love them very much and they were my favorite band, but not anymore. They turned into something else and I didn't like it. They freaked out and suck now. No thank you.' I honestly felt that way. That was August.
In September, I was sitting in a Kmart parking lot, ready to go inside, when I heard the Dj on my car radio say a new song from U2 was coming up. I almost ignored it, but something drew me in and I stayed in the car to listen. It was Beautiful Day. It was the best song I had ever heard. The music and tune were just what I loved and the words could have been written for me that year. My heart jumped with excitement. The old feelings came back to me, could it be? Was MY band 'back?' How ironic. My U2 story- lost and found in a Kmart parking lot!!!
The more I heard from ATYCLB, the more I loved it. Walk On, and more. I bought it and loved it. I saw the video, and I thought, they look nice, but I do wish Bono would grow his hair out a little more. When I saw them on the My VH-1 awards, I nearly blasted off throught the roof with joy! Bono had just the hairdo I had wished for! I was so happy! I LOVED the band's look and sound, and I was ecstatic. I couldn't believe it. If I had made a list of everything U2 could do to win me back, it happened. ATYCLB and the Elevation tour was like my wish list come true. I was in Heaven!
I went to several Elevation shows, and had a very special moment at one of them with Bono. He read my sign and told me to hold it up. He stared right at me and smiled, and I was frozen in his glorious gaze. He kept motioning 'up' and I swear it was months later before I realized he wanted me to hand him the sign. I saw him do that same thing to people at other shows, and he took their sign and pulled them up. I was too overcome to catch on. That would have made my miserable life worthwhile. But I did have my time with him, I did make contact with him. I made a sign expressing my longtime love for him, and I think he felt it, I hope he did, and it was a special moment for me. Oh, and it also was the day that would have been my Grandmother's 100th birthday. I could feel her presence, and the energy and power of my connection to U2, and as Bono says, I could feel the power of God being in the house. The next show, he grabbed my son's hand when he jumped into the crowd during UTEOTW. He jumped right on top of us! I touched him several times! So I had my waves of regret, and waves of joy. I will always remember my shows as some of the best times of my life. ATYCLB and Elevation came as special gifts to me, and could not have been any better if they were made just for me.
Sometimes, looking back at the memories of the old days, it's hard to believe they are the same band, and sometimes it isn't. What I felt for them left me, then came back stronger than ever. It's different, but the same. When I look into the eyes of young Bono, I think, he's dead and gone, he doesn't exist anymore. Then I see my 'old' Bono, and I look into his eyes, and I see he IS still with me. We are older now, a lot has happened, and a lot of water has gone under a lot of bridges. But we are here. Another thing, I am not afraid to get 'old' any more. I stopped feeling bad about my age. Summer Rain helped with that too. 40 was easier on me because I knew when I go there, I go there with U2!
So wertsie, I hope you can understand now how someone can love U2 very much and still despise one era. It's like you can love a person and still get mad at them and not speak to them for awhile, but you take them back and love them more than ever, because you thought you'd lost them. Those are my feelings, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.
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"I've been all over,
and it's been all over me!"
[This message has been edited by GypsyHeartgirl (edited 04-05-2002).]