Songs of joy


Timothy McIntyre ([email protected])
Thu, 17 Dec 1998 22:34:39 -0800 (PST)


Hi wireland,

I think it's pretty interesting that Bono has said that U2's next record
is going to contain "songs of joy," as has been posted. To me, the most
joyous U2 tracks to date include "Where the Streets Have No Name"
(especially live), "Tryin' to Throw Your Arms...", "Pride", "Angel of
Harlem", "Sweetest Thing", and "Zooropa". Perhaps that means then that
the lyrics will be optimistic (I hope so--Pop was a pretty pessimistic
album, in a lot of ways), and the music will contain strong melodies,
quick tempos, and big breaks.

Still, I'm not sure if Bono's pre-record predictions ever turn out to very
accurate in the end. Remember prior to Pop's recording, when Bono said
that the record was going to a have a gritty, classic, New York-rock n'
roll sound? Maybe he'd just been listening to a lot of Lou Reed, or was
trying to inspire Adam and Larry (who were in New York at the time of
quote, if I remember right), but I don't think that describes Pop at all.
Dunno... time will tell I suppose.

I watched the VH1 special, and I thought it was a pretty fair portrayal of
the band. I think the reason Adam's maverick tendencies were emphasized
is because VH1 tries to make all their "Legends" specials fair and
balanced, instead of being overly-sanitized commercials for the artists.
So, when they went to do a U2 special, it was probably hard to find too
much "negative" material on the group, so they had to mention Adam and the
lackluster results of PopMart.

My favorite part of the show was when Larry was talking about PopMart, and
he said "We'll never do that again... *laughs* he says!" That was great.
Does anyone else wish that the rest of the band would do more public
speaking? Adam and Larry, especially, always give these great no-nonsense
answers, but Edge is a little reserved, and Bono is always trying to show
off. Don't get me wrong; I think Bono's amazing, etc., but he's always
out there trying to put the best spin on the current state of the band,
and he's so careful with his words that it can be maddening sometimes.
Larry, on the other hand, reminds me of a little kid who blurts things out
inappropriately, especially when he was griping about PopMart. It's
nice, as a fan of the band, to hear all of them talking about the band. I
hope we hear more from the rhythm section.

Anyway, that's it,

cheers
Tim

________________________________________

Timothy McIntyre
Boston University School of Law

[email protected]
http://www.csua.berkeley.edu/~timothym

"The writer never seeks admiration.
    He wants to be believed."
                             --Jean LeCocteau
________________________________________



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