was anyone else surprised by this bit in u2 by u2?

[U2Man]

p. 215:

"bono: the melody has always been the part of the song writing that i don't have to think about."

while i know that edge is the main composer in u2, this does surprise me a bit. i thought bono contributed with verses and melody lines while doing his bongolese, when they were jamming.

?


edit: and also, it goes directly against what edge says on page 221: "bono got on the microphone and started improvising melodies."

 

[gorman]

I think you're misinterpreting it. I'm pretty sure he means the melodies just come to him, and he doesn't have to really think about them.

 

[The Glyphreader]

kinda offtopic but....u got that far in the book?! i'm still thinking about how to read it.....it's so...big

 

[coolian2]

If God Will Send His Angels was originally to the tune of Mofo.

 

[gman]

p. 215:

"bono: the melody has always been the part of the song writing that i don't have to think about."

To me, this is Bonoman saying that the melodies arent a problem, as they come naturaly to him.

As I say, thats how it comes across to me.

 

[last unicorn]

^I do believe that as well. From everything I have heard and read from and about Bono, I believe he has the melodies in his head first and then makes up some words to go with it, so I think he means that the melodies come automatically and he doesn't have to think about them.

 

[U2Man]

also, to those of you who still think that passengers is a u2 album:

u2 by u2, p. 261:

"paul: it was against this background that u2 decided to have a go at making a record with brian as a full partner. it wouldn't be a u2 record. it would be a side project".

 

[Aygo]

I think that it is in Bono by Bono that he explains how he gets into melodies, how he creates them and how he deals with them. It was pretty curious that.

 

[U2Man]

this bit about pop is interesting too:

u2 by u2, p. 269: "bono: we should have called the album u2 lighten up. that is a serious piece of work but you have to be at the peak of your power, across a few disciplines, to hit the mark. it's not enough to write a great lyric, it's not enough to have a great idea or a great hook, lots of things have to come together and then you have to have the ability to discipline and screen. we should give this album to a re-mixer, go back to what was originally intended [...]"

 

[Axver]

also, to those of you who still think that passengers is a u2 album:

u2 by u2, p. 261:

"paul: it was against this background that u2 decided to have a go at making a record with brian as a full partner. it wouldn't be a u2 record. it would be a side project".

Ah, don't you love revisionist history?

I can't wait for Larry to tell us Pop wasn't a U2 album in 2016.

 

[Rafiennes]

Ah, don't you love revisionist history?

I can't wait for Larry to tell us Pop wasn't a U2 album in 2016.

LOL

Ok, refresh my memory. At what point did U2 say that Passengers WAS a U2 album?

 

[BVS]

p. 215:

"bono: the melody has always been the part of the song writing that i don't have to think about."

while i know that edge is the main composer in u2, this does surprise me a bit. i thought bono contributed with verses and melody lines while doing his bongolese, when they were jamming.

?


edit: and also, it goes directly against what edge says on page 221: "bono got on the microphone and started improvising melodies."

I think you're misinterpreting his quote.

 

[U2Man]

another interesting quote:

u2 by u2, p. 335:

"larry: [...] it makes you wonder why some people are fans of the group at all, if they think we would deliberately try to exploit them."

 

[Kiki]

I think you're misinterpreting it. I'm pretty sure he means the melodies just come to him, and he doesn't have to really think about them.

I have to agree, that's how I took it anyway.

 

[phillyfan26]

this bit about pop is interesting too:

u2 by u2, p. 269: "bono: we should have called the album u2 lighten up. that is a serious piece of work but you have to be at the peak of your power, across a few disciplines, to hit the mark. it's not enough to write a great lyric, it's not enough to have a great idea or a great hook, lots of things have to come together and then you have to have the ability to discipline and screen. we should give this album to a re-mixer, go back to what was originally intended [...]"

That whole entire Pop section was either "We screwed Pop up" or "people didn't get Pop." I was left entirely confused as to where they actually stood.

They called the chapter "Some Days are Better Than Others," which I think probably caused half of Interference to growl at the same time.

 

[U2girl]

That whole entire Pop section was either "We screwed Pop up" or "people didn't get Pop." I was left entirely confused as to where they actually stood.

I didn't read the book - is it worth getting for us big fans or is there nothing in there we wouldn't already know? - but with their interviews over the years I always felt both of these points apply to Pop.

 

[biff]

I didn't read the book - is it worth getting for us big fans or is there nothing in there we wouldn't already know? - but with their interviews over the years I always felt both of these points apply to Pop.

It's definitely worst getting, even for "old" fans like us. I was surprised by a number of things as well as by the level of candour in some places. It's also very funny at times.