Whatever happened to just playing music??

[UberBeaver]

I had no idea you were such a masochist Beav...

I'm no masochist. I'm an American. Obama is a masochist, all taxing my soda and shit. ROCK. FLAG. EAGLE. BAM.

 

[gvox]

I'll be honest: I sometimes wish U2 would say more about more. There have been/are some really fucked up situations going on in this world in terms of genocides and humans rights abuses that they've barely even touched. I'm not criticizing them for it, but we really do get "poli lite" with U2.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

i'd like them to talk more about irish issues again, frankly.

 

[elevated_u2_fan]

like the price of potatoes and whiskey?

 

[Batfink27]

like the price of potatoes and whiskey?

racist!

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

A security guard asked me who Aung San Suu Kyi is. She didn't know it was on the back of the mask (mask aside and however you feel about it, I think it's odd for that setting and a bad idea for that reason but that's moot at this point). So she wondered and then she found out. Would she do that otherwise? Maybe, maybe not. It's not exactly on the news much. But a little awareness never hurt anyone. It's a small (and smaller than it used to be) part of the show, so is it ultimately really that bothersome? And I would think that people can tune it out, if that's what they choose to do. We all tune out and filter content in our lives.

 

[A stor]

That was exactly my thought.

Sorry, but he's the stereotypical way people here see Americans. This forum made it clear to me that yes, there are many of you that are actually very intelligent and well raised, but the majority of the Americans I knew and had heard about before I came to this forum were all like narrow minded Plato's cave people like the OP.

he thinks U2 shows changed for people NOT IN AMERICA after 9/11? Uh, certainly didn't change for me.


If you don't like what U2 live shows have become, it's very simple. BUY THE FUCKING DVD AND SKIP THE POLITICS.

Why always the pointless arguments? Holds no water and makes no sense. You are in the MINORITY. Stop trying to make it seem like there are many people supporting you, because I can assure you that 99% of this forum does NOT.

I'm an American and respect, Bono's political views. It makes U2 different from the rest. But, I have to say. There is no stereotypical American. Nor, British, German, Spanish and etc. How can there be, in any country that has a population of more than ten or so, people?

Approximately 300 million people call the U.S. Their home. With over 80 different ethnic groups. Multi-religions, or lack there of. But, the vast majority of us are informed, intelligent and do care about what happens, outside our borders.

No disrespect to anyone here. But, stereotypes hurt.

In regards to the debate.....should politics be in a U2 concert? Yes, they should. Bono has the freedom to say what's on his mind. The same freedom, I enjoy. And finally, if it isn't your cup of tea. Then, maybe at that point during the concert. You could go get a cold beverage or take a bathroom break.

 

[A stor]

like the price of potatoes and whiskey?

My family left Ireland during the "Hunger Years." People starving to death, is no joke.

 

[elevated_u2_fan]

I'm sure it wasn’t but if you can't keep a sense of humor about things you are just as bad as someone who doesn't care at all as far as I'm concerned. There has to be a middle ground.

 

[gvox]

My family left Ireland during the "Hunger Years." People starving to death, is no joke.

Between the famine on my Irish side and the British starving my ancestors to death on the Acadian side, an obscenely high percentage of my family perished in the 17-1800s. Most of my Irish side couldn't leave. I didn't take elfa's joke to be dismissive of that history at all. I thought he was joking about the current state of Ireland, that being relatively cool/prosperous, as compared to it's history and everything else that is currently going on elsewhere in the world.

 

[A stor]

I'm sure it wasn’t but if you can't keep a sense of humor about things you are just as bad as someone who doesn't care at all as far as I'm concerned. There has to be a middle ground.

I'm sorry. I glad that you explained this was just meant to be funny. And I do have a sense of humor. Don't know the price of whiskey, but I do love potatoes!

 

[elevated_u2_fan]

it's all good

 

[A stor]

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

i was refering actually to why nobody can pour a good pint of guinness in the states anymore.

 

[A stor]

Between the famine on my Irish side and the British starving my ancestors to death on the Acadian side, an obscenely high percentage of my family perished in the 17-1800s. Most of my Irish side couldn't leave. I didn't take elfa's joke to be dismissive of that history at all. I thought he was joking about the current state of Ireland, that being relatively cool/prosperous, as compared to it's history and everything else that is currently going on elsewhere in the world.

You are right and I understand this now. I don't know how many of my ancestor's families died during the famine. I was only able to do a direct line, great grandfather, great great grand father and etc. Many records were destroyed during a fire in 1922.

 

[A stor]

i was refering actually to why nobody can pour a good pint of guinness in the states anymore.

You need to go to some Irish Pubs on the East Coast!

 

[UberBeaver]

i was refering actually to why nobody can pour a good pint of guinness in the states anymore.

Seriously.....

 

[hpantazo]

Bono's best rants are the spontaneous one-offs. Fuck The Revolution is so good because you could tell he really, really meant it, and it didn't get watered down through nightly re-telling.

Even if you've only gone to one gig and haven't followed the tour online, it's pretty obvious what speeches are scripted and told all the time, and when that's a lengthy ramble, that hurts Bono's point. I've always maintained that a couple of well-chosen sentences will beat a lengthy ramble any time, and make Bono's points far more effectively. Doesn't matter if he uses the same well-chosen sentences each night; it neutralises the complaints about time-wasting, the crowd doesn't get restless, and it cuts through the muck straight to the point to give people food for thought.

I expect politics at a U2 gig, and I like it; I just think the style and presentation could be improved. Credit to the band for this tour's version of SBS - gets the Iran point across without wasting valuable time on a longwinded spiel, and the point's all the more effective because it's a part of the music.

very well put, being more concise and less scripted will get the point out to more people and won't kill the buzz of the show, too many people just tune out during the scripted speeches and long video lectures.

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

I think Bono should rant about selling $9 cans of Guinness at a concert. But somehow I don't see that happening.

 

[gvox]

Try $11 glasses of Bud here. On the upside, it's brewed in Canada so it's marginally better than the water Bud they call beer in the US

 

[U2girl]

I'm sorry but what is more off-putting at a concert?

Bono making a couple of speeches before songs or them stopping the concert altogether so they can have a live conversation with people in a basement in Sarajevo who basically accuse the audience of not doing anything while a genocide is going on.

The latter. As for the thread...

Concise Bono and subtle U2 keep dreaming

Nelson Mandela speech before One

spending a few minutes to listen to a message at a 2 hour show overrated

 

[powerhour24]

I'm an American and respect, Bono's political views. It makes U2 different from the rest. But, I have to say. There is no stereotypical American. Nor, British, German, Spanish and etc. How can there be, in any country that has a population of more than ten or so, people?

Approximately 300 million people call the U.S. Their home. With over 80 different ethnic groups. Multi-religions, or lack there of. But, the vast majority of us are informed, intelligent and do care about what happens, outside our borders.

No disrespect to anyone here. But, stereotypes hurt.

In regards to the debate.....should politics be in a U2 concert? Yes, they should. Bono has the freedom to say what's on his mind. The same freedom, I enjoy. And finally, if it isn't your cup of tea. Then, maybe at that point during the concert. You could go get a cold beverage or take a bathroom break.

QFT times infinity.

I agree with you completely. People buy into whatever the media will show them, are there close-minded individuals in the US that take what's fed to them? Sure, but you're doing the same thing if you think that's what most of us are like simply because the media around the world likes to hone in on that, just like when small flubs in a speech are all that are analyzed on the news, and how televengalists and extremists are nearly the only representation of religious people here in the US and in many other countries. Think for yourselves.

 

[Zoots]

It was one thing in 2001 when it was about 9/11. That was moving, memorable, and appropriate. Something that obviously hit home with all of us. No one who ever saw that tour post 9/11 will ever forget it.

Ohh I get it. So since it was injustice in America, it was okay. Fuck the rest of the world, right?

U2 in the 90s also really proved Larry's statement from the early 80s true about being more interested in the "politics of people" than politics. Those albums were about society, but they were, most importantly, about people.

Here is why I love Achtung Baby. It is an album about fame. It is an album about Berlin. It is an optimistic album about two halves of Berlin coming together. It is a pessimistic album about two halves of Berlin coming together. It is an optimistic glance into the future of Europe. It is a pissed-off rant against globalization that embraces globalization wholeheartedly, both sarcastically and seriously. It is the trials and tribulations of lovers throughout life. It is an album about Bono's internal struggles. It is an album about the band's internal struggles; it is a more sophisticated version of Quadrophenia in that sense. It is playful. It is serious. It is ironic. It is earnest. It makes fun of society. It makes fun of U2's role in society. It pretends to be teeny-bopper, but only when necessary, because it is about people, and people have their teeny-bopper moments. It is teeny-bopper, because we all have those moments within us, U2 being no exception. It embraces society. It says that we are all one. It says that we are not the same. It is an album that is pissed that we must be together as humans. It is an album that rejects that notion entirely. It is an album that embraces that notion. It, on the surface, ditches God entirely. But it embraces God, and spirituality, as it becomes more desperate. The twenty-first century began in 1991.

And it fucking evolved. Achtung Baby gained more meaning through ZooTV and Zooropa. And I think it still gains new meaning today... for me, for the world, and for U2. Ultraviolet, for example, came back this tour with a whole new attitude, one that relates back to its old ZooTV attitude, but builds on it, and ends up changing it totally.

No other album can do this.

I love U2 of the 90s, and I especially love Achtung Baby. 90s U2 were social, and political, and spiritual, but they were mainly amazing because they were humans, and their music was about humanity.

Loved your post! Made me realize again why Achtung is my favourite too.

Funny, I thought 9/11 and the whole middle-east problem were somehow related, therefor pointing out the possible changes in Iran should be a good thing, but hey maybe Iran is just to far away....

For the last time, she is not Iranian!

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

You need to go to some Irish Pubs on the East Coast!

umm... live in new york. of course you have your go to spots, and more over, go to bartenders, where you know you'll get a good pint... but generaly speaking, 3 out of 4 bartenders either do not know how to properly pour a pint of guinness or do not care. 2 out of every 4 just pour it like any other beer and hand it to you.

if i get my pint within 10 seconds of ordering it, it should be my right to throw the pint glass off the bartender's face.

bono should fight for these issues. if he's ok

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Try $11 glasses of Bud here. On the upside, it's brewed in Canada so it's marginally better than the water Bud they call beer in the US

the mets may suck, but beer is actually cheeper at CitiField than it was at Shea Stadium.

6.25 a glass...

 

[hpantazo]

just another note for some people on here about some replies to the original poster. Some people here think they are so open minded, but savagely attack someone else's opinion just because it differs from their own, look at yourselves in the mirror next time. Although I don't fully agree with the opinion of the original post, he/she has the right not to want their favorite band to talk politics too much during a concert and kill the vibe. Just because someone doesn't want to hear lectures during a concert doesn't mean they are ignorant, in the northeast US it's often the opposite, they know the subject so well that they don't need to pay 50-250 dollars to hear it again from Bono.

 

[Zoots]

Just because someone doesn't want to hear lectures during a concert doesn't mean they are ignorant

The original poster referred to Aung Saan Suu Kyi as an Iranian woman.

 

[elevated_u2_fan]

oh snap

 

[gvox]

ig⋅no⋅rant  [ig-ner-uhnt]
–adjective
1. lacking in knowledge or training; unlearned: an ignorant man.
2. lacking knowledge or information as to a particular subject or fact: ignorant of quantum physics.
3. uninformed; unaware.
4. due to or showing lack of knowledge or training: an ignorant statement.

 

[Galeongirl]

just another note for some people on here about some replies to the original poster. Some people here think they are so open minded, but savagely attack someone else's opinion just because it differs from their own, look at yourselves in the mirror next time. Although I don't fully agree with the opinion of the original post, he/she has the right not to want their favorite band to talk politics too much during a concert and kill the vibe. Just because someone doesn't want to hear lectures during a concert doesn't mean they are ignorant, in the northeast US it's often the opposite, they know the subject so well that they don't need to pay 50-250 dollars to hear it again from Bono.

He referred to Aun San Suu Khi as Iranian. Yeah, he's obviously well informed.

And as I said before. If he doesn't want to hear the politics, he shouldn't buy a ticket to a U2 show? It's THAT simple.