I just came across this amazing performance from U2 back from Live Aid, when musicians donated their performance for a cause to help those in need. It brought back so many memories. Also, next time someone calls you “woke”, feel free to retort, “I’m WIDE AWAKE!”
Help those in need?! We don't do that, libby! This is America!! We cancel the entirety of all foreign aid, we cut 11.8 people off Medicaid to fund tax cuts for the rich, and we spend 10's of thousands of dollars per person to incarcerate and kick out refugees who just want to work for a substandard wage, when we need the labor! Then we fly them out to a country that is not where they're from! This is AMERICA! (^ imagine voting for or supporting any of that)
The hype for their performance that day was huge. They were the biggest thing coming up on the scene at the time. This was pre-Joshua Tree, still just principled rockers that everyone wanted to on a live stage. This is my favorite U2 song so I’m glad they milked it, but Bono’s antics ran the song long and they had to cut Pride, which angered the rest of the band.
Perhaps you could reserve this talk for one of many other threads it pertains to. There is great nostalgia here for many of us. I was never much of a U2 fan, but the older I get the more I appreciate them. The depth of Bono's vocal instrument here is fantastic.
Point taken. Huge U2 fan here, first saw them in '87 when he broke his arm at RFK. Their first album not only more than holds up, it seems better than ever in this era where we seem to play albums in their entirety less frequently. The '92 Achtung Baby show in Orlando might be the best concert I've ever seen, which is a very high bar considering it is competing against a Radiohead show that left me speechless, and my first My Morning Jacket show that was so good it seemed like applauding was so inadequate that it almost degraded how astounding they were.
Yeah I saw them Dec 5 1987 at Tampa stadium, pretty much the height of their powers. Joshua Tree was the biggest album in the world and they had fulfilled their potential. Bizarre opening acts of Buckwheat Zydeco and Los Lobos. Buy that show was also a test run for Rattle and Hum, cameras were there filming. My lasting memory though as a high school senior who was heading to UF the next year was how many beautiful college aged women there were. Made me want to get to Gainesville even faster.
Amazing story about the filming of ‘I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For’ The untold story of U2’s 1987 video shoot in downtown Las Vegas Love how the drummer just gets in a taxi and leaves
Yep, but at the same time, his antics made the performance iconic and the most memorable of incredibly memorable performances that day. I found it really cool, too, that he—the icon of Ireland—was singing a string of iconic English band lyrics, like the Beatles and the Stones, at the end. An Irish band singing British lyrics in 1985 meant something.
I dont understand the ire and criticism people have for U2 and in particular the edge. I mean i guess I understand all music is not for everyone and there will always be a segment that has to disparage something but U2 obviously strikes a chord with millions of people across the world and over several decades now. There is beauty in simplicity and while music shouldnt be quantified they truly are a case where the sum is greater than its parts. Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen's simplicity and steadiness in their rhythm section complemented the edge's lush delayed guitar riffs. Bonos theatrics may not be for everyone but his charisma drove the band. Im not sure how an Irish band from Dublin can exude Americana but the Joshua tree album did just that and I remember driving to gainesville via back roads with it blaring on repeat. I was a little kid during live aid but I remember it through my older siblings who recorded it on MTV when MTV still revolved around music. Another stirring performance for me will always be the intro to where the streets have no name fresh after 9/11 during halftime of the superbowl. The intro juxtaposed against the backdrop of the names of 9/11 victims was powerful.
They strike me as a band that demonstrates that public perceptions are often better for those that flame out quickly rather than slowly burning out. If U2 breaks up in 1992, they are probably revered as one of the greatest bands ever. But, they stayed together and stayed in the spotlight. That actually likely indicates something positive about them personally (emotional intelligence/stability) but often results in people giving them a bunch of crap as they slowly ran out of new and groundbreaking things to say.
You nailed it for me. I've never been a U2 guy because I always found their guitar stylings take away from everything else . But I've also demonstrated on this board that my taste in music is counter to what a lot of people enjoy. Notably as it pertains to Bob Seger.
As someone who plays guitar and listens to everything I can to some degree i always Loved the edge for not only his delay riffs but his amazing tone. I dont think U2 would reach anywhere near their same heights without that unique guitar styling. I understand its not for everyone but at the same time its not worthy of the ridicule some guitar snobs like to dish out. There is a skill to playing how he plays even if it isn't fretboard gymnastics that virtuoso gutar geeks gravitate towards. I also didn't get the whole Bob Seger hate thread lol. I can take away a quality from most music even mainstream dad rock. My Playlists bounce from beach boys to NWA, from Gordon lightfoot, to bad religion, from Jane's addiction to new order, sloppy seconds to U2. There is some Bob seger in there as well... But u2 has at least two legendary performances decades apart which says something
I don't particularly like the Beatles, but I love the Stones. Music is like food. People who get all upset when a person doesn't love their favorite band need to lighten up. I'm an REM guy and never bought a U2 album. I appreciate their talent. Just not for me. Bono in the south park episode was great, though.
I'm not a guitarist, nor have I explored U2's catalog of recordings, but my impression is that The Edge doesn't play many improvised solos. There may be critique for technical prowess as well, but I think it's more about the call for organic/spontaneous soloing. And by referring to them as guitar snobs, aren't you shooting the messenger and not the message?
