# Against U2. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 26, 2009, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/against-u2/483107 "2009-01-26T19:51:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/against-u2/483107/41 "2009-01-26T22:38:53Z")
As much of a dickhead as Bono patently is, I have to defend their music. Some of it is rubbish but some of it is great. Songs by them that I love or have loved include: _I Will Follow Sunday, Bloody Sunday Stay (Faraway, So Close) The Wanderer One Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses? So Cruel The Ground Beneath Her Feet Party Girl The Sweetest Thing With Or Without You Miss Sarajevo If God Will Send His Angels Please All Because Of You_ Despite their stereotyping as assembly line stadium pop artists they have done some quite daring stuff for a mainstream band. Some of those songs above are really famous and sound bland perhaps through over-listening but it is unfair to pigeonhole a band’s 30 years of material when so much of what they have done has “pushed the envelope”. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/against-u2/483107/42 "2009-01-26T23:18:39Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > As much of a dickhead as Bono patently is, I have to defend their music. Some of it is rubbish but some of it is great. Songs by them that I love or have loved include: > > _I Will Follow > Sunday, Bloody Sunday > Stay (Faraway, So Close) > The Wanderer > One > Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses? > So Cruel > The Ground Beneath Her Feet > Party Girl > The Sweetest Thing > With Or Without You > Miss Sarajevo > If God Will Send His Angels > Please > All Because Of You_ > > Despite their stereotyping as assembly line stadium pop artists they have done some quite daring stuff for a mainstream band. Some of those songs above are really famous and sound bland perhaps through over-listening but it is unfair to pigeonhole a band’s 30 years of material when so much of what they have done has “pushed the envelope”. I agree. And my favorite song by them has and always will be “Bullet The Blue Sky”. Raises my arm hairs every time. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/against-u2/483107/43 "2009-01-26T23:35:05Z")
> [@Ogre](#): > > This post invalidates everything you have said about U2 (and I fucking HATE U2). It’s simply inarguable that McCartney has done NOTHING worth two shits since the Beatles (and I’m including Wings. It’s so uniformly awful that you have to wonder if Paul engineered it that way on purpose). Oh, let bygones be bygones, and _Live and Let Die_. All he’s done is a bunch of stupid _Silly Love Songs_. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/against-u2/483107/44 "2009-01-26T23:37:30Z")
> [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > One of life’s true enigmas is how Bono and Jesse Helms became friends. Bono gave the Helms family backstage passes to one of U2’s shows and they came! Because he takes his Christianity seriously. I doubt I could have been nice to Helms, but I’m not known for my tolerance of bigots in trying to soften them. ---
**Author:** ![mr.jp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/48db29/32.png) [@mr.jp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mr.jp)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/against-u2/483107/45 "2009-01-26T23:45:30Z")
Bullet the Blue Sky is great! It has that deep trance like quality like Massive Attack - Angel, and no other songs I can think of has. Also you missed Mysterious Ways. A U2 song with a little more action, which also makes it stand out in a catalogue that does, let’s face it, sound a lot alike. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/against-u2/483107/46 "2009-01-26T23:51:06Z")
> [@Cuckoorex](#): > > I agree with the OP for everything after The Joshua Tree, for sure. But some of their early stuff was pretty good. I’m another one who really liked their early stuff. _Boy, War_, and _October_ all had some good stuff, and i liked much of _Unforgettable Fire_ too. And the live album, _Under a Blood Red Sky_. ETA: I saw them twice on their Pop tour (1998? '99?). I didn’t pay for either gig; in fact, i got paid because i was working in the venue. What struck me was that the songs that got the best reception from the crowd, by a noticeable margin, were the oldies like “New Year’s Day,” “Sunday, Bloody Sunday,” and “Gloria.” ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/against-u2/483107/47 "2009-01-27T00:31:36Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > Oh, let bygones be bygones, and _Live and Let Die_. All he’s done is a bunch of stupid _Silly Love Songs_. I disagree with his assesment of McCartney, too. He was a brilliant, if pop-minded, songwriter with the Beatles and with Wings. How can anyone not get a little nostalgic for songs like “Band On The Run”? ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/against-u2/483107/48 "2009-01-27T01:03:49Z")
Guilty-I’m a huge U2 fan, but to each his own. HOWEVER, if you’re going to criticize, AT LEAST know what the fuck you’re talking about. First, Bono, IS his nickname, moron. His real name is [Paul Hewson](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bono). A friend started calling him “Bonovox” after a hearing aid company (it means “good voice”) and it stuck, and then eventually just “Bono.” As for the sunglasses, I believe it’s an eye condition-something about being extremely sensitive to bright lights. Either way, again-if you don’t like U2-DON’T FUCKING LISTEN!!! - **Guin** , U2 AND Bono AND The Edge fan girl ETA: As for Paul-I like “Maybe I’m Amazed” and “Give Ireland Back to the Irish”. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/against-u2/483107/49 "2009-01-27T01:08:43Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Plus Interpol always got accused of being a Joy Division knockoff. Another comparison I don’t hear. I knew they reminded me of someone: thanks! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![PastAllReason](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f07891/32.png) [@PastAllReason](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastAllReason)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/against-u2/483107/50 "2009-01-27T01:16:50Z")
So, Freejooky, you still haven’t found what you’re looking for? ---
**Author:** ![CircleofWillis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/54ee81/32.png) [@CircleofWillis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CircleofWillis)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/against-u2/483107/51 "2009-01-27T01:17:16Z")
If you replace U2 with Radiohead… and any U2 band member reference with whoever the fuck the relevant Radiohead member is, you may be on to something. The God I believe in isn’t short of cash, CircleofWIllis ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/against-u2/483107/52 "2009-01-27T01:22:28Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > How can anyone not get a little nostalgic for songs like “Band On The Run”? Because it’s a horrible, soulless song, and I hates it forever. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/against-u2/483107/53 "2009-01-27T01:27:07Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Meh. > > Billy Joel: The iceberg lettuce of rock. DIAF. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![mshar253](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@mshar253](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mshar253)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/against-u2/483107/54 "2009-01-27T01:29:01Z")
This was the most perfect OP I’ve ever read on this board. Kudos. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/against-u2/483107/55 "2009-01-27T01:30:14Z")
> [@PastAllReason](#): > > So, Freejooky, you still haven’t found what you’re looking for? I thought he was just ranting to stand still? ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/against-u2/483107/56 "2009-01-27T01:37:56Z")
> [@PastAllReason](#): > > So, Freejooky, you still haven’t found what you’re looking for? I suspect he’s still trying to find it Where The Streets Have No Name. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/against-u2/483107/57 "2009-01-27T01:43:28Z")
> [@Ogre](#): > > Because it’s a horrible, soulless song, and I hates it forever. Man, there’s some snappy guitar work during the second sequence (“If We Ever Get Out Of Here” portion), and the song just (to me) has a generally overall Beatle-y feel to it. But since you profess disdain for the Beatles too, I guess that’s not surprising. I’d still like to hear why you believe their production was awful. You’re nuts. The Beatles became nothing BUT a studio band after 1966, and they were on the cutting edge of recording techniques _for the time_. Certainly it isn’t going to sound like modern recordings with digital processing, more tracks, etc. It’s an unfair comparison. ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/against-u2/483107/58 "2009-01-27T01:59:40Z")
> [@Freejooky](#): > > I don’t even have the energy to talk about his “activism,” which seems to consist of him standing near AIDS and looking smug as the flashbulbs go off like fireworks. No, silly. AIDS isn’t his first choice in charities, its _poverty_. And that’s why he spent $1,700 to fly his _hat_ from London to Italy when he left it behind. The hat got to fly first class too. That would cover almost 100 weeks worth of food for the Aboubakar family living in the Breidjing Camp in Chad. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/against-u2/483107/59 "2009-01-27T02:02:00Z")
> [@Freejooky](#): > > Every time U2 releases a new album, or gets their own signature Ipod, or appears on TV or on the cover of a magazine, I feel like I’m living in a Philip K. Dick novel and my reality diverged from the standard timeline sometime around 1985 and I’m caught in a wacky alternate reality. It’s like _Back to the Future 2_ where Biff controls everything. It’s a wacky, unfortunate alternate reality in which U2 didn’t politely fade away alongside their contemporaries like, I don’t know, the Church or Echo and the Bunnymen and instead became one of TEH MOST IMPORTANT BANDS OF IT’S GENERATION. Most bands follow a typical pattern-start out sounding fresh & original (assuming they were good in the first place), hit their creative peak around album 3 or 4, then either break up, or begin a long slow slide down to mediocrity (and below). The output of the Bunnymen and the Church, like U2, has also been less than stellar for the last 10-15 years or so (with some exceptions), the only difference is that U2 continues to get a lot of press attention, while it’s been a long time since you probably read an article on either of the other bands in any music magazine (in the US at least). I’ve been big fans of all 3 ever since their respective debuts, but I do agree that U2 and Bono especially can be very self-knowingly cloying and in constant search of publicity it seems, but it doesn’t take much away from their peak (_Achtung Baby_ IMHO). That in of itself is enough for some people to hate them I guess. ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/against-u2/483107/60 "2009-01-27T02:22:56Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > I suspect he’s still trying to find it Where The Streets Have No Name. With or without you? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/against-u2/483107.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/against-u2/483107.md?page=4)