Why doesn't any young people I know like U2, but like other, similar bands?

[HelloAngel]

I apologize, I should have clarified more about the people that I'm talking about. These specific people are people who do all the things that I mentioned in my post, but get good grades by copying and cheating their way through school. I also wasn't necessarily saying that going and getting drunk and high is a bad thing, because I do smoke every once in awhile too. I'm sorry if I offended you or anyone else, but that's the way that I feel about my school and the people that are seen as "good" and "popular."

Thanks for that I do agree that those who cheat and still good grades and basically fuck off for everything else are ridiculous - and this is not limited to small schools. I feel gherman's post above was not exactly the same sentiment you have just shared, however.

 

[onebloodonelife]

Thanks for that I do agree that those who cheat and still good grades and basically fuck off for everything else are ridiculous - and this is not limited to small schools. I feel gherman's post above was not exactly the same sentiment you have just shared, however.

 

[VertigoGal]

yeah I've noticed that a lot of people I hang out with share similar tastes in music, but none like U2 beyond the random song here or there. who knows, I guess it's just not "cool" to like them...their earnestness with the last 2 albums (which is what most kids will be familiar with), and Bono's general behavior probably add to that. Out of a school of 2200, I've seen 3 other U2 shirts after the concert.

 

[Stefan]

This is a very interesting subject. Sometimes I wonder why U2 are so popular because they don't realle fit in anywhere. As I see it they are not an indie band and not quite mainstream either but somewhere in between. I would think that their music is too deep to be appreciated by most casual music fans but at the same time they are considered too commercial by fans of alternative music.

But on the other hand maybe I'm wrong. It could be that the reason why U2 are so popular is that they appeal to a broad range of people, both the casual and the "serious" music fan?

I'm not sure if this makes any sense

 

[Irishteen]

People in my school think U2 is a band only loved by gay and old people, all I get is jokes about how gay i am for liking them, and how they have a BETTER musical taste, talking really fast ISN'T music. I'm the outcast who understands the U2 references the teachers say, my Maths teacher said One Tree Hill in class, and noone had any idea what it was. Or this time "Sorry sir, I was down in Edge's office""The Edge?" *Class laughs*
"No Mrs Edge""Good I thought you ran off to Windmall lane on us..............................doe's anyone know what windmill lane is".................................."*cough*U2's old recording studio""Well looks like Shorty knows his music"*Class looks at me**I hide behind my history book*

 

[GibsonGirl]

I'm so happy that I've only got a year and a half until I'm out of there...

I'd love to tell you that it's a different world out there, but it really is just high school on a wider scale. You've still got your "popular" groups who go out and destroy their bodies every weekend (and throughout the week, too, because mommy and daddy aren't there to keep an eye on them.) The one positive difference, though, is that you'll be able to find more people like yourself, if you look hard enough. You don't have to get involved with things or people if you don't want to. In small-town high schools, you either assimilate to the few social groups they have, or you cast them off and be miserable for the entire duration of your stay there.

I really hate social hierarchies. I really do.


But anyway, back on topic... I think it just really boils down to what music teenagers / young adults can connect with. It really does depend on the person. I'll take myself for instance. I discovered U2 at the age of fourteen. Back then, I was going through a lot of shit socially. Listening to depressing music just made me feel worse. U2 were different - not only was the music great, but the message was great too. This'll sound really stupid and lame, but those first four notes at the beginning of Beautiful Day gave me more hope than anything else could. The more I listened to ATYCLB, the better I felt. U2 gave me an escape from all the negativity of high school. The connection I felt with them was unlike anything I had ever felt with another band before. As I began buying more of their albums, that connection only increased.

Now, I'm not saying that all teenagers who've gotten into U2 from 2000 onwards are socially inept. I think it all just really depends on what strikes a chord within you. Some teenagers connect with Avril Lavigne. Some connect with Green Day. And some (make that most) just "connect" with the hottest thing on MTV. U2 just don't seem to be the kind of band that can connect with most teenagers. At least these days, anyway. It could be their age, it could be the fact that they don't endorse the "party" attitude, or it could be the fact that they don't have scantily clad women shaking their asses in front of the camera when they shoot their videos. I don't know what it is, all I know is that I really couldn't care less if people my age and younger like U2 or not.

 

[indra]

It's just a matter of taste.

Why don't other people like asparagus? Or gouda?

Why don't people who like the same band consider the same songs their favourites?

Makes for a more interesting world.

 

[doctorwho]

I was high and drunk all through high school but I managed a 3.8 GPA the whole way and I'm doing just fine in my life today.

Oh... I don't know... you seem so tense... so defensive.... and even a hint paranoid. Perhaps if you had used those weekends on relaxing aroma therapy instead of drugs and alcohol, you'd be calm now. Mmm.... soothing candles...





Kids will want to drink or get high because it's rebellious. They can't do it, ergo they want to do it.

U2 doesn't really represent rebellion - at least not in a typical high schooler's mind. They don't represent drugs and alcohol and loud music and wild parties, so teens getting into music then aren't interested. Couple this with U2's accessibility and success, and teens are turned off. However, by college, many have matured. The wild parties may still occur, but it's no longer "new". And college students realize there's more to life than just fun, as they are now a heartbeat away from living that life! Hence, U2 starts to play a bigger role in their lives.

So I wouldn't worry about the high schoolers not liking U2. With U2's success in album and ticket sales, clearly they are reaching a huge audience. And I honestly do feel that some need to mature before they can appreciate it.

Then again, as HelloAngel said many times in a post, "who gives a sh*t?" Music is ridiculously subjective and it's impossible to explain why someone can love one artist but not love another - even if that second artist is similar in style. As long as your friends enjoy some U2, I think that's enough.

 

[Ladera Heights]

Popularity is a bitch, but for U2 it just seems to come naturally. They do what they do and they get what they get.

We win, we lose, its perfect.

While the "cool" factor prevents U2 from being accepted by many music fans, U2 seems to be the musician's band, strangely enough. Its obviously not their musicianship that wins over other musicians, but U2 has soul that other bands wish they had.

Look at all the bands coming out of the U2 closet claiming U2's influence on them. Look at all the musical luminaries coming to their shows, especially on this tour. Lars Ulrich has been to multiple shows, the Beastie Boys were in New York, and they hated U2 in the past because Henry Rollins told them to. I've seen the members of Bad Religion getting a tour of the stage by Sam O'Sullivan. (Bad Religion's songs are all about how Christianity is destroying America, but members have said in interviews that they love U2). Don't forget the unidentified member of Pink Floyd in Atlanta.

Green Day has said U2 used to be punk and became big and that they intend to do the same thing. They even responded to Bono's biggest band challenge by saying that they would play stadiums on their current tour while U2 haven't been playing stadiums in America.

Tom Delonge from Blink 182 is about to release an album with his new band that he says is the next Joshua Tree. (Not only is he saying its gonna sound like a U2 album, he is answering Bono's biggest band challenge).

All these bands that kids love are all closet U2 fans. So what if U2 is considered gay by school kids. They will eventually come around, because they have to. They have no choice. U2 are the best band in history.

 

[joerags]

Most teenagers think U2 are corny, lame, uncool and definitely boring. Teenagers love all things cool: Green Day, Linkin Park, Britney, Beyonce, 50 cent, Eminem, anything rap and hip hop, whatever.
When I was a teenager, U2 was the same thing to most teenagers: corny, boring, lame and uncool. When I was a teenager, the cool artists were Bon Jovi, Debbie Gibson, New Kids on the Block, INXS, anything that was rap, and the other hair bands like Whitesnake, Guns N Roses, Poison, Def Leppard, Cinderella, Winger, Motley Crue, Ratt, etc. Oh, and heavy metal, like Metallica, Iron Maiden, Slayer.
If you were a teenager who liked U2, you were an outcast. It was like that for me in 1987-88 and it's like that today unfortunately.

 

[LeafsNation]

I actually think they are indie in some cases... well I don't know, but if they aren't indie, then what are they? Soft rock?

Is it seen as 'uncool' to like any other bands, or is it just U2?

U2 is not "soft rock". At least in Canada and the US, their stuff is played on Modern Rock, Mainstream Rock and Classic rock stations. Just because they have some softer songs doesn't make them soft rock...would you consider the Chili Peppers soft rock because of Under the Bridge?

 

[popacrobat]

bono doesnt have boobs and hes not wearing bling. thats the problem.

 

[blueeyedgirl]

It's just a matter of taste.

Why don't other people like asparagus? Or gouda?

Why don't people who like the same band consider the same songs their favourites?

Makes for a more interesting world.

Why do people have to be U2 fans? I thought music is down to one's own personal tastes, not because of one poster on a message board.

 

[WalkOn21]

The point isn't that people should like U2, but that it's apparently uncool to like U2, and cool to like Coldplay.

 

[david]

When I was in high school during the Achtung Baby era when ZooTV was in full swing not a lot of people really liked U2. Some of the cool kids did, but a majority of the kids that hated U2 were into GNR, and mostly grunge.

I honestly don't think U2 have ever been cool. Maybe back in 1981.

 

[HelloAngel]

When I was in high school during the Achtung Baby era when ZooTV was in full swing not a lot of people really liked U2. Some of the cool kids did, but a majority of the kids that hated U2 were into GNR, and mostly grunge.

I honestly don't think U2 have ever been cool. Maybe back in 1981.

I was in high school then too, and AB was most definitely the most popular and widely loved album then. And perhaps that was because it was such a bizarrely sounding album from U2. It was dark, it sounded dark, and even the hard rockers and goths could love it too. Everybody seemed to. It seemed cool back then, but I think once U2's sound became less odd sounding like in ATYCLB (not bashing the album) and HTDAAB, it didn't jibe with the cool sounds for high school kids or what speaks to them.

AB spoke to me as a high school kid b/c it was an album about fucked up relationships of all kinds. And in general, things being bleak. That spoke to so many people that I know, or knew. If I was a teenager these days (again, just me here) ATYCLB and HTDAAB would probably not speak to me.

After all, Bono doesn't talk about his lovely man lumps. That's for Larry to do.