# 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:** 6
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/against-u2/483107/101 "2009-01-27T23:29:21Z")
> [@Uvula\_Donor](#): > > Cool. Put it on YouTube. 1. Blow own head off 2. ??? 3. Upload video to Youtube I think I’m on the verge of spotting a flaw in this cunning plan. ---
**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 27, 2009, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/against-u2/483107/102 "2009-01-27T23:42:43Z")
> [@Ogre](#): > > Not even close. Prince is actually an extremely gifted instrumentalist, and you can’t just manufacture those. Prince also fades in and out of popularity, becoming reclusive at times. Bono makes very sure to keep himself in front of the cameras at all times. They are both gifted, probably Prince moreso. But Prince comes off as a completely smug self-centered asshole with no thought for anyone else virtually all of the time. Bono has his charity stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Roonwit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/54ee81/32.png) [@Roonwit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roonwit)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/against-u2/483107/103 "2009-01-28T00:50:16Z")
U2? Isn’t that the band that opened for MLK, Jr. at the March on Washington? No? I _loved_ The Joshua Tree. Most of Rattle And Hum kicked ass. I admit that I started losing interest when they started doing the ‘10000 giant TVs on stage tours’, but I still think they’re a decent band. But when Bono goes off into his mumbling speechifying mid-song about apartheid and oppression (see ‘Inauguration Concert’ for example) it’s just embarrassing. Will someone please tell him that jamming with B.B. King doesn’t make him an honorary African-American? That he can _empathize_, but he can’t _sympathize_? It might help him not look like such a tool. I grew up in Birmingham, AL in the 60s. Bombingham. The rest of my life I’ve lived in the Atlanta area. I’ve been surrounded by the Civil Rights movement and its ghosts all my life. But as a white guy, I accept that I’ve never _really_ understood the plight of my black brethren, because I never had to walk in their shoes. And it annoys me to no end to hear Bono pretend as if he _does_ understand for fame and profit. Wanker. Here are 5 of my (many) ‘favorite bands’. In case anyone wants to point and laugh, I’ve included helpful tips: The Beatles (too predictable) Jethro Tull (dude with a flute!) James Taylor (not at all edgy) Mother’s Finest (funk for white folks!) The O’Jays (uh…ok, I don’t know how you could make fun of the O’Jays) ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/against-u2/483107/104 "2009-01-28T02:35:11Z")
> [@Roonwit](#): > > The O’Jays (uh…ok, I don’t know how you could make fun of the O’Jays) While smiling in your face? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/against-u2/483107/105 "2009-01-28T03:33:22Z")
Anybody heard Pet Shop Boys’ song “How Can You Expect To Be Taken Seriously”? It’s a pretty entertaining savaging of U2. I have to agree that any living human being who uses a name, in English, preceded by the definite article is so amazingly pretentious it’s a wonder he doesn’t collapse into a quantum singularity. \*Especially \*when the word following the definite article is “Edge.” ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/against-u2/483107/106 "2009-01-28T04:56:12Z")
> [@matt\_mcl](#): > > Anybody heard Pet Shop Boys’ song “How Can You Expect To Be Taken Seriously”? It’s a pretty entertaining savaging of U2. U2’s answer to PSB’s question could presumably be “because we are, and consequently the discussion has moved on from expectation, so suck it up”. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/against-u2/483107/107 "2009-01-28T05:36:26Z")
> [@matt\_mcl](#): > > I have to agree that any living human being who uses a name, in English, preceded by the definite article is so amazingly pretentious it’s a wonder he doesn’t collapse into a quantum singularity. Hello, Ba-a-a-aby! The Big Bopper would like a word with you. (Yeah, I know you said “living.” Well, he was living when he used the name.) ---
**Author:** ![BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/against-u2/483107/108 "2009-01-28T05:47:50Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > 1. Blow own head off > 2. ??? > 3. Upload video to Youtube > > I think I’m on the verge of spotting a flaw in this cunning plan. No no wait, that’s it! That’s step two! 1. Blow own head off 2. Upload video to Youtube 3. $$Profit$$!! ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/against-u2/483107/109 "2009-01-28T05:50:44Z")
Stop me if yuo’ve heard htis one. How many Bono’s does it take to screw in a light bulb? One, he holds the bulb and waits for the world to revolve around him. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/against-u2/483107/110 "2009-01-28T06:13:44Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > U2’s answer to PSB’s question could presumably be “because we are, and consequently the discussion has moved on from expectation, so suck it up”. Actually, their answer to the question was a mock-wounded, “What have we, what have we, what have we done to deserve this?”, which was kind of weak. ---
**Author:** ![criminey.jicket](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@criminey.jicket](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/criminey.jicket)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/against-u2/483107/111 "2009-01-28T10:48:44Z")
> [@matt\_mcl](#): > > I have to agree that any living human being who uses a name, in English, preceded by the definite article is so amazingly pretentious it’s a wonder he doesn’t collapse into a quantum singularity. \*Especially \*when the word following the definite article is “Edge.” I would agree with you if he gave himself that nickname. but he didn’t. His mates starting calling him The Edge to take the piss out of his razor sharp nose and chin. ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/against-u2/483107/112 "2009-01-28T16:00:20Z")
I dont like to be lectured about the third world, the environment or any subject by someone whos only qualification to do so is that they’re rich and famous,let alone someone who sends their private airliner halfway around the world to pick up their lucky hat that they’d left behind. But that said I do enjoy U2s music and couldn’t give a flying fuck what Bono calls himself. Bloody good rant though. ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Badger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/848f3c/32.png) [@Dead\_Badger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Badger)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/against-u2/483107/113 "2009-01-28T16:46:01Z")
> [@criminey.jicket](#): > > I would agree with you if he gave himself that nickname. but he didn’t. His mates starting calling him The Edge to take the piss out of his razor sharp nose and chin. Maybe, but when you take it as your stage name, shorn of context, it is still immensely wanky. My friends have all sorts of nicknames for me (“Ace”, “Big Guy”, “The Main Man”\*), but I don’t force other people to refer to me as such. Presumably he chose it because he liked the way it sounded. Plus, neither his nose nor chin are particularly razor-sharp in this big-nosed individual’s opinion. Of course, I’m happy to admit that my opinion is based almost entirely on prejudice, germinating (along with many varieties of flora and fauna, one presumes) somewhere in that STUPID FUCKING HAT. - Some or all of these may be lies. ---
**Author:** ![CircleofWillis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/54ee81/32.png) [@CircleofWillis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CircleofWillis)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/against-u2/483107/114 "2009-01-29T03:48:28Z")
> [@neutron\_star](#): > > I’m sorry, but what are the U2 equivalents to OK Computer and Kid A? Im gonna go with the obvious ones: The Jopshua Tree, Achtung Baby, and All That You Can’t Leave Behind.. > [@neutron\_star](#): > > And which guy in U2 is the one with hair hanging in his eyes while he repeatedly keeps plugging up weird electronic equipment in crazy ways to make unique sounds? The pretentious roadie who doesn’t realize he is barely good enough to polish Larry Mullen Jr.'s tom-tom? but thats a guess… > [@neutron\_star](#): > > Your post makes zero sense is all I’m sayin’. If you find the the computer age equivalent of fucking around wiht a Theremin to be musical genius, then yeah it prolly doean’t Fuck the revolution, CircleOfWillis ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/against-u2/483107/115 "2009-01-29T03:59:00Z")
Can you stick refrigerator magnets to your tin ears? ---
**Author:** ![CircleofWillis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/54ee81/32.png) [@CircleofWillis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CircleofWillis)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/against-u2/483107/116 "2009-01-29T04:02:40Z")
> [@neutron\_star](#): > > Can you stick refrigerator magnets to your tin ears? Yeah, funny story that. A friend decided to play The Bends for me. Made me claw my ears off. These are the replacements. Thanks for noticing. ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/against-u2/483107/117 "2009-01-29T06:32:20Z")
Touché. ---
**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 29, 2009, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/against-u2/483107/118 "2009-01-29T06:43:20Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > Hello, Ba-a-a-aby! The Big Bopper would like a word with you. > > (Yeah, I know you said “living.” Well, he was living when he used the name.) And if you stop and think about it, which sounds more well, “pretentious”: “The Edge”, or the “The Big Bopper?” At least The Edge isn’t necessarily trying to compensate for something, if you know what I mean. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/against-u2/483107/119 "2009-01-29T07:02:00Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > And if you stop and think about it, which sounds more well, “pretentious”: “The Edge”, or the “The Big Bopper?” The Edge. > [@](#): > > At least The Edge isn’t necessarily trying to compensate for something, if you know what I mean. 😉 He’s trying to compensate for his lack of an edge. ---
**Author:** ![BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/against-u2/483107/120 "2009-01-29T07:44:06Z")
> [@CircleofWillis](#): > > Im gonna go with the obvious ones: The Jopshua Tree, Achtung Baby, and All That You Can’t Leave Behind.. > > The pretentious roadie who doesn’t realize he is barely good enough to polish Larry Mullen Jr.'s tom-tom? but thats a guess… > > If you find the the computer age equivalent of fucking around wiht a Theremin to be musical genius, then yeah it prolly doean’t > Fuck the revolution, > CircleOfWillis Zing! > [@neutron\_star](#): > > Can you stick refrigerator magnets to your tin ears? Zing! > [@CircleofWillis](#): > > Yeah, funny story that. A friend decided to play The Bends for me. Made me claw my ears off. These are the replacements. Thanks for noticing. ZIIING! > [@neutron\_star](#): > > Touché. Zi-- aww. I was enjoying that 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/against-u2/483107.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/against-u2/483107.md?page=7)