This is great and hilarious - thanks for posting it. Of course, for many who those of us who think that “The fly” is the holy grail, it’s funny to go back to when it was just U2’s latest single, it puts things into perspective!
I think as U2 fans we give so much attention to the music that we end up feeling a bit proprietary about it. There’s a feeling of “hey you can’t do that, you are U2!”, whether “that!” is (take your pick) using drum machines, bringing a bellydancer on tour, making experimental soundtracks, playing country with Bob Dylan, making a religious album, writing about sexy boots, etc… It takes us quite a while to really “get” a U2 album, particularly when there is a certain stylistic shift.
Past U2 music is “fixed” and can be put on a pedestal (or demonized) - Current U2 music is always uncertain and exciting, it could fail or it could be the biggest thing. I think this insecurity is what drives a lot of the posts here (ehh including my own!)
I am liking GOYB a lot at the moment – it’s early days, but I think there’s enough of a shift to make it a musical-taste-expanding single, and hopefully the album will be similar (not necessarily in style, but at least in spirit).
Perhaps we should all be less sanguine about our opinions and realize that hey, it’s an ongoing process, if we spoke in about a year’s time our opinions would be a bit more solid!
Santiago