When the band reunites in the studio after a yearlong break, the result is a kind of rhythmic techno-dance/’60s-pop-songwriting thing. OK, let them explain it to you.
DUBLIN, Ireland–For most of its celebrated career, U2 has preached the gospel of rock ‘n’ roll tradition, toasting at every turn such personal heroes as Elvis Presley, the Beatles and Bob Dylan.
So, why is Adam Clayton, the group’s bassist, talking about such ’90s techno-dance favorites as the Prodigy, Massive Attack, Tricky and the Chemical Brothers as he drives to U2’s recording studio on the banks of the Grand Canal Basin?
“See what you think of this,” says Clayton, who has just flown in from London, where he and drummer Larry Mullen represented the band at the MTV Europe Music Awards. He slips a cassette into the car’s tape player, and music suddenly explodes from the speakers.
It’s a burst of the sonic color you’d expect from a prized dance-floor entry–not the light audio confections associated with mainstream dance music in the United States during the last two decades but the hard-edged british dance music that bristles with attitude and bite.
Though the style is hugely popular in England, it has not secured much of a commercial foothold in America. For one thing, most of the Bitish dance stars have tended to be relatively faceless, and the emphasis in the music is on textures rather than conventional pop songwriting techniques.
Just when you begin to wonder which of those hot British acts’ music is playing in the car, you hear a voice through the speakers that sounds suspiciously like that of U2’s Bono and some sharp, vibrating guitar lines that seem awfully similar to those of the band’s the Edge.
Some dance outfit imitating U2?
Clayton smiles.
“It’s our new single–’Discotheque,’” he says. “What do you think?”
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