IN DEFENSE OF U2
Guest Blogger Paul

Just to bring you up to speed, a few weeks back I casually dropped a comment about how I thought that musician, composer, and producer Brian Eno had ruined U2, which spawned this exchange between me and my buddy Paul. He gets the final word:

I guess I sort of have a love/hate relationship with U2. I got into them when War came out, and was very surprised by the new sound Eno brought in for Unforgettable Fire. I love their most beautiful passionate work, but hate when they do anything else that makes me feel foolish for loving them so much. I used to have a theory that they do 3 albums, then change styles (Boy, October, War, all Steve Lillywhite produced) (The Unforgettable Fire, The Joshua Tree, Rattle and Hum) (Auchtung Baby, Zooropa, Pop). Rattle and Hum could have been a decent album, but it's lack of focus reminds me of the White Album, and their Dylan cover (All Along The Watchtower) is just embarassing. I was glad, at first, when they went to the more European style of Auchtung Baby; Zooropa was good, but seemed like a less focused version of it's predecessor. By the time they made Pop, I was real sick of them, and what I saw as a smarmy self-parodying style. And the songs on that one were extra weak. I was very pleasantly surprised with All That You Can't Leave Behind, but the new album (featuring only one song co-produced by Eno) sounds like a watered down version of All That You Can't Leave Behind. Still, it has moments of greatness.But I guess what I still respect about them, is they keep trying new things. It must be really difficult to still make passionate music in today's music industry, and I'm just glad they haven't started recording whole albums of covers or a live album with a symphony orchestra (always signs that the end is near for any band). I also worship at the altar of Springsteen, and his work has fallen off over the years, too.

I did catch Springsteen inducting U2 in the rock and roll hall of fame, and it was funny, because he gave them much shit for selling out and doing that ipod commercial. His best line was something like: "Bono has one of the most naked messianic complexes in rock and roll. And believe me, it takes on to know one." But the best line of the night was something Chrissy Hynde said about how hard it is to be totally honest onstage. She was trying to make the point that she, as an artist, doesn't play for herself, but for the audience. Only she is part of that audience. So here's the quote, it was so good, and kind of applied to something I was thinking about my own performance, I had to write it down:

"What I might not want to reveal, is exactly what I, as an audience, might want to see."

I think it's funny that as wildly liberal as I am and as much as I would love to see Tom DeLay hit by a cement truck, what really gets me going was one little U2 comment...keep up the good work...

Did you ever hear any of Eno's "Passengers?" It features U2 with Luciano Pavarotti and some other almost dance type-stuff. Not the kind of thing I want to listen to very often, but still interesting.

And you had to go mention Steely Dan, another band I have strong feelings about...but that will wait until another day.

Hmmm. I may end up having to do an "In Defense of Steely Dan" post someday. Ah well. I'm going to go steal that "Passengers" song off the internet!

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