242sumner wrote:

octave spectrum wrote:A band that has always tried too hard and never been quite right. How did they beat the Bunnymen in the '80s pop wars? Who cares anyway - CRAP.

Yeah! Bono tries too hard and fails miserably to imitate Ian Curtis.

I wish Bono would imitate Ian Curtis a little more faithfully.

Brett Eugene Ralph wrote:

242sumner wrote:

octave spectrum wrote:A band that has always tried too hard and never been quite right. How did they beat the Bunnymen in the '80s pop wars? Who cares anyway - CRAP.

Yeah! Bono tries too hard and fails miserably to imitate Ian Curtis.

I wish Bono would imitate Ian Curtis a little more faithfully.

Brett Eugene Ralph is the champ of yet another thread.

Derogatory comments on the originality/coolness/distinctiveness of this band seem valid. Even though I like them, I'd never fault anyone for finding them repellent or at least boring. But as for the mention of them not having enough "charisma"... considering the dictionary definition of the word "charisma" we might have to weigh the millions of fans who still pack arenas more heavily than the messageboard dudes who sling devastating bon mots between discussions of Travis Bean serial numbers.

One thing I find remarkable about U2, and is equally remarkable whether you like them or hate them: I can think of no other band that has ever gotten its new music on the radio and into big venues, 25+ years after its earliest hit records. Even the Stones' last recognizable single was put out before they'd clocked two decades.

I actually think that this ability to hold a huge mass audience for so long (if not consistently, then at least intermittently) is probably the single most interesting thing about U2, and I can't think of anything that explains it.

REM I had heard about before they had released a record. I think U2 released a few singles starting in 1978?

I thought "I Will Follow" was complete tripe when it was originally released.

They were critics' darlings from the word go, just like REM.

It is sad to know that just like the VHS/Beta wars, there were other bands far more deserving of attention, but it's all in the promotion that determines the winner.

I listen to Echo far more than U2, in fact I can't ever recall putting a U2 album on. I did see them at First Avenue in 1981, but it was comp'd. They weren't bad, anyways.

U2 - no matter what they do, they still seem like wankers. Their music is sanitised shite. As soon as I see Bono on Tv wearing those big daft shades and trying to be all intelligent and deity-like, it just repluses me, I turn off.

tmidgett wrote:and i LIKE the fact that bono is trying to save the world. he doesn't have to do any of that shit. he doesn't need the publicity. he isn't making money off it. i think he knows he'll take shit for it, but he also knows he can get people to pay attention to things b/c he's bono from U2, so he takes advantage of that fact to advance worthy causes. good for him.

nice statement.

but I never liked their music. I don't think that they had such a great influence on other bands (well maybe on simple minds and heroes del silencio and stuff like that).

(small)crap.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ec4TE6myl4


what i like about this band is that every time i read an interveiw with them they appear to be much more self aware than i expect any crazy-rich rock stars to be. and bono did help to raise billions of dollars for the good cause. billions!


edits: and they get the things right when in comes to playing outdoor gigs for thousands of people. i watched their zoo tv sydney dvd recently, it was impressive.

Complete crap. Always have been, always will be. Fuck Bono, fuck the edge, fuck joshua tree, fuck their delay pedals... cont p94

sigh.

I actually started liking these guys a lot more than I had before recently. I used to dislike them, but now I like them. They are one of the very few bands I vacillate drastically in opinion about.

Bono has a gigantic ego and oversings every song, the Edge is technically amateurish and plays his delay units as much as his guitar, Adam Clayton only knows how to play about six different notes, and Larry Mullen is a cheap drum machine. This is all true.

But damn. This band had some truly great songs. Not crap, in the end.