Was U2 "punk"?

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One Tree Still

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Anyone else find it strange that Bono has been referring to U2's early days as a "punk" band?

I never considered them "punk" in the same way the The Clash and The Ramones were - U2 was much more intellectual and spiritual than the typical punk band.

I guess it bothers me a little bit because it looks like Bono is trying to align U2 with "punk" because "punk" is making a popular comeback and several old-school punk mainstays have recently lost members/become legends (RR HOF).

IMO, U2 was it's own genre (remember the Dave Matthews quote?) and doesn't need to align themselves with any genre.

Thoughts?
 
Very good question. Maybe he thinks the band had a "punk rock" mentality in their approach to music - or maybe he is referring to the political element in U2's songs.

:hmm:


You know, if someone would care to expound upon and explore this topic into a formal essay - I'd love to have it for Interference.com. :wave:
 
is anyone other than me really afraid of trying to define "punk"?

cos the answer to this all depends on your definition
 
I would say they were one of the original "post-punk" bands actually. A lot of those bands had the same punk mentality though. Who knows.
 
I agree with IWB...I think "punk" is a term that gets thrown around way too often..*coughAVrilcough*

I think in spirit they were punk...they did their own thing and didn't think about trying to copy another sound. In terms of musically they were worlds apart from the 70's punk bands.
 
I agree that the "punk" definition is elusive.

I just remember hearing Bono say (paraphrased) "The Clash wrote the rule-book for U2" recently and hearing him make mention of how U2 "wanted to be" the Ramones in the early days.

I just have never seen any similarity between U2 and either The Clash or The Ramones.

If all Bono was saying was, "U2 was inspired by the Clash and the Ramones" then, okay - I can see that. I think part of the reason U2 made it so big was that they were sooo different from the other bands out there.

Maybe that's all he is saying?
 
I don't think you have to sound like an artist in order to be influenced by them. The Ramones impact on U2 may have been the fact that the Ramones were not great players, but they played anyway, the whole sum is greater than the parts thingy. The Clash had that whole political thing going, something U2 do as well.
 
I read in The Unforgettable Fire by Eamon Dunphy that Bono got into the punk movement of the late 70's early on. So, yes I think U2 was definitely punk at first, but I don't know if they still are.
 
I've read/heard Bono say "We came out of punk" more than once but I've never heard him say "We were punk."

U2 were not punk but were obviously inspired by it. To me there's a clear punk influence in Out of Control.
 
Bono's said they were a pretty "crap" band when they started out. They thought they were great but didn't play like it. That was probably the most "punk" thing about them.
 
U2 were not PUNK in the sense that they wrote songs in the vein of punk or even dressed in the vein of fashion punk.

I think U2 were punk by their attitude toward the music business and how they went about making their own music and doing things they way they wanted to. To me that is punk.
 
Any band who's ever been really good had that same attitude everyone is talking about. Does that mean that The Beatles were "punk"? Was Elvis? No, they werent. Neither was U2.

I know what you all mean. I know the attitude you're all talking about. I really just think that's a drive to be yourself. It's a drive to do your own thing and fight against what others tell you music should sound like and be. Really, all that is just a drive to not be content with mediocraty or conformity. I dont think that means you're a "punk".

Punk rock is punk rock.
 
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I think it said in some U2-related book that they were attracted to the punk music's raw energy and the idea that you don't have to be an accomplished musician or a studio magician in order to be in a band; but they rejected the nihilistic, destructive side of punk music.
 
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