i was trying to find the comments from i believe Bono where he talks about how Rick told them something along the lines of how people don't really cover U2 songs in bars because they're hard to play, but i'm drawing a blank.
I seem to recall a similar sentiment coming from
Bob Dylan, earlier in their career.
Edge talks about it in
U2 By U2, on page 228, when discussing Ultraviolet (Light My Way):
"That was another song that came out of
Lady With The Spinning Head. It's an epic, no doubt about that, with some gorgeous aspects, but it's quite unwieldy to play. It's never going to become a busking standard, put it like that. I once said to Bob Dylan, 'People are going to be playing your songs for thousands of years.' He said, 'Man, they're going to be listening to your songs, too. It's just no-one's going to know how to play them.' Sometimes, I might add, that includes us."
Regarding Larry's quotes - they're very interesting, and I appreciate his candor. But it's telling to me that he was saying the same things in 2009 that he was saying in 2022. The band, I imagine, has been the Bono & Edge Show feat. Adam and Larry for quite a while, and every once in a while, Larry has to spout off in public both to let his frustrations out and, also, to sort of keep Bono & Edge in check. I don't think he's going anywhere.
It's also interesting that his comments in 2009 focused on his kids. They were younger then, and I'm sure Larry was a bit more conscious of missing time with them. As an older man with fully grown, adult children, it becomes less of an issue. I see my father, who's just a few months older than Larry, and how his attitude towards his work and identity has changed as my siblings and I grew up and left home. As my mother presses him to shut down his business and retire, he's
more dedicated and involved in his work. It's his identity now, what he's been doing since he was 18 - much like the guys in the band.
I think Larry just simply needed time to recover from surgery, and was likely annoyed that the band was having discussions of doing the Sphere without him. Just like he was annoyed that they started work on Pop without him some 26 years prior.
I don't really understand the concept of a band 'retiring,' to be honest with you. Unless one of them leaves and the other three decide they won't do it without him but, as the band has shown us, that doesn't seem to be the case anymore. But a band like U2 has no need to retire unless one (or more) of them dies. Maybe they won't tour anymore. Maybe they'll sit on a beach in the south of France, completely uninspired, and just veg out for 4-5 years with nothing on the calendar.
But if The Edge, aged 75, wakes up one day and picks up his guitar and comes up with a cool riff or sound, and the other three are into it, I don't see why there has to be a definitive 'this is it - we're gone - goodbye!' moment. Creativity evolves, but it doesn't retire.
Metallica and Bruce Springsteen, peers of U2's of similar age groups, have specifically stated that this is their essential approach to their careers as they age. I don't see why U2 has to be any different.
