echo0001 said:
If this is how they react to a generation of kids who tastes have been damaged by too many years of boy bands and Britney Spears, I'm beginning to wonder if they have lost touch with musical reality--where more sophisticated listeners are always on the look out for something new.
oh I think that is exactly right, and it might get be flamed for saying it, but U2 are notorious for being out of touch with things. Hell, it was part of their appeal for years.
first let me add, that I love new fans, getting new fans, it's great, I was a new fan back in the Achtung era, so I empathize and say "the more, the merrier". I certainly do not think that having teenagers listening to your music is a bad thing but I do agree with your premise that they have lost touch with the reality of the music scence, primarily the American music public which they covet so much because of the demographic they target. A 14 year old kid with a good ear for music and good taste in substance will get into U2 either way. If you target the poppy-heads you are losing grip of the situation. They don't want you, they want something of their own generation. U2 could make the greatest album ever made and it wouldnt sell as well as most rap and hip-hop. It's the nature of the beast, and it's more or less the way it's always been, although it has gotten worse because rock is running out of places to go.
I mean, to read Bono's responses he's talking as if he is aiming at getting the kids listening to Jay-Z and Britney Spears to turn on to his music. When in reality, anyone would tell you that, kids, teenage kids like the pop fluff of their generation and it burns hot for about 2 years and dies and creates a massive list of one hit wonders and "has-beens" . But that is the popular culture, it has always been this way. I don't know if Bono beleives they can "re-invent the wheel" of the industry, so to speak, but it sure seems like they are trying.
U2's audience has, without question I would say been one of the smarter sects of the listenig population. They cut their teeth with rebeliion and politics and religous songs and drastic makeovers, and their legion of fans is filled with people who love them for this very thing. So what do they do? They say "well, we've already got those people, let's get the ones who aren't listening" the thing is, they aren't NOT-listenig because they don't know who U2 is, they aren't listening because they don't care. This demographic (and I am certainly generalizing, I was part of it once too, you now?) this demographic is full of kids who buy records for everything other than the right reasons, hardly ever for the actual music content. Just faddish junk.
And for the record EVERY SINGLE young generation that has come along in rock history has it's own gimmicky banal pop bands and teenage acts who only sell records because they are good looking. Every one.
It was no worse in 1999 than it was in 1989 or 1979. The difference is that mainstream rock was crap for about 5 years there, really really bad. But it's getting better.
You'd think U2 could figure this out, they have influenced half of these bands, Coldplay, the Killers whomever. In 1991, I was 16, the old folks were telling me rock and roll was dead blah blah blah, yeah right. It will survive if it's greatest assets don't go "full blown pop", like U2 is tending towards. It's not bad pop music, but if you try to sell me that this isn't pop music, I will have to laugh. They are admitting it, left and right. I mean, at least they are being brutally honest about it.
It's like they want to target people who don't have any interest in them in large part, no matter what they fucking do. In the meantime they do so and it leaves that legion of fans left over from two decades of really inspring music scratching their heads.
I mean, it seemed to me that U2 was the alternative to the SHIT those people listened to.
The new music is not bad,, it's good but it could be so much better though. And I think 99% of this problem is to do with the demographic they are going after. I mean, Bono fucking admits it. It's plain as day.