Comments on: U2 & Me

By: Frances_Genau

Frances_Genau — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 00:11:31 +0000

First off, aj, in my comment "I think [am] beginning to understand how Obama got elected." Was referring to the complete and utter lack of anyone to do research before spouting off on a subject: "he still lives in Ireland…" YES BUT HE HAS OBFUSCATED PAYING FULL TAXES IN IRELAND.

So a grown man prances about at half-time and showing us the lining of his jacket, in front of a screen of dead people, is the new definition of, and/or is the epitome of "non-self-indulgent?" Hmm. That's really high bar on your part. Did BONO load the names in himself of was his only connection to the people behind so to just SING IN FRONT OF THEM? Did BONO choose the specific SCRIPTURE, or did he just SING IN FRONT OF THEM? Well, you were not at the Super Bowl Party I was at one everyone just pretty much were just amazed at what a complete self-indulgent jerk BONO was at the half-time.

Secondly, don't EVER mention "My fellow conservatives" {too much like "My FELLOW TRAVELERS" again in the front of a REAL conservative, aj, much less "The ONE Campaign." You have been suckered.

By: ajamison

ajamison — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 17:22:17 +0000

Don't assume to know my personal politics, because frankly you have no idea. Your feigned indignation is hilarious though. Learn how to have an intelligent, thoughtful discussion with those who don't agree with you 100% and perhaps we might actually bring others into the conservative fold, rather than scare them away.

I'm done here.

By: ajamison

ajamison — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 04:34:47 +0000

First off, Obama has nothing to do with this (and for the record, I didn't vote for him)...irrelevant to the conversation. Especially since the show took place 7 years ago. The Super Bowl performance (seen here on youtube: http://bit.ly/2lCt9u ) was probably the most un-self-indulgent halftime show I've seen. They list the names of the innocent behind them, quote Scripture.....I don't think that's very out of touch with reality. In fact, you're the only person I've heard in the 7 years since that show took place that is concerned about it; or for that matter, livid about it in the first place. Secondly, Bono and The ONE Campaign is not solely about dumping money into Africa, as I've tried to explain here. He and the organization realize and incorporate promoting stable & transparent governments, education and entrepreneurship & free trade. My fellow conservatives like to (apparently) create this straw man image that Bono is a bleeding heart socialist hypocrite, and I don't know what else to say other than it simply isn't true.

By: ajamison

ajamison — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 21:38:27 +0000

There are so many misguided and false accusations in your comment, I don't even know where to begin…so I'm not going to try.

By: Frances_Genau

Frances_Genau — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 20:32:27 +0000

A grown man pays tribute to innocent victims of terrorists by showing the lining of his jacket??? Whoa – way to go; so out of touch with reality that your way to show solidarity with victims is to be self-indulgent during a half-time show at the Super Bowl. Legendary? Seriously?

I think I beginning to understand how Obama got elected.

Living in Ireland and sneaking your earnings out the treasury are two separate things, while whining that Western Governments (i.e. other people in Ireland's confiscated income) "do not give enough" – friends and the family in Ireland are very hot about this issue; "that is what I am going on about."

By: taggart snyder

taggart snyder — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 18:38:37 +0000

Joshua Tree. Their best. Period. (IMHO)

By: Kevlaur

Kevlaur — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 17:12:46 +0000

As a long time fan I'm torn after reading this. I recall borrowing 'Under a Blood Red Sky" and "Boy" back in 87 or so after hearing Joshua Tree (the wife and I dated while listening to the 'Joshua Tree'). I recall liking all the tracks. I like to be grabbed by a song….
Perhaps I'll download some of the tracks Matt lists and give them a whirl.

By: DirkBelig

DirkBelig — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 16:29:48 +0000

Thank you. One comment I left out (but have noted elsewhere) is that as awful as "Poop" was, it at least had some verve to it. "No Bars" is just sleepwalking banality. There isn't a single moment as stirring as the modulation at the end of "Walk On" that slingshots the song into the outro.

The Rolling Stones fizzled out in the mid-Eighties as their comfy lifestyles sedated them into irrelevance, but U2's decline has been more distressing, partially because they were the "Great Band" for my Gen X cohort, but also as recently as 2002 they still had some juice in them. While some may resent Saint Bono globetrotting Third World hellholes with his $150 D&G shades on, that's not what's behind my disappointment in this album; it's lameness is.

By: Bubba

Bubba — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 15:39:23 +0000

Brilliant summary, there, particularly of the last three albums. I agree that POP was undercooked, but I still think it's a stronger albume than No Line, and it's certainly more interesting: "Discotheque" is just as dense as "Get On Your Boots" but not cluttered, clumsy, and embarassing.

But, yeah, I think All That You Can't Leave Behind was their third high watermark, if not an uncontestable masterpiece like Achtung Baby. Atomic Bomb was a retread, and No Line is certainly a different album that Atomic Bomb, but hardly an improvement.

By: phthalo

phthalo — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 15:31:31 +0000

I used to love U2, but the downfall came for me way back in the 80s when at a concert in Ireland Bonehead yelled, f**k the revolution! After that I noticed his activism and the more he became active the more I lost interest in their music. He was too over the top and it was obvious that he cared more about his activism than the music. And I couldn't get past it. I really don't need to know the personal pet projects of the bands I follow or the celebrities in Hollywood. When will they figure out that their fans encompass more than one group? Yeah, Bush gave in to Bonehead's demands that we put up the funds to fight AIDS in Africa. I had to ask, why? We didn't start it there, did we? There are homeless, AIDS, and starving people in this country. Why are we supposed to save the world? When will the other countries on this planet take responsibility for themselves? I don't agree that he has deep knowledge of any of the topics. Throwing a tantrum and bullying the leaders of countries into forgiving the debt of these countries was wrong. I understand his skewed logic in saying that if the nations of the world forgive the debt that the people will benefit, but he was wrong. The people will never see a dime of any of that money because the people that the nations of the world keep putting into power are not righteous people and they never will be. Doing the same thing over and over expecting a different outcome is a sign of insanity. The US needs to stay out of the business of other countries and let them take care of their own problems. We have problems here that need to be addressed. If Bonehead needs a cause, maybe he should start with his own country. He should go back there and make amends. He turned his back on his own people because it became too hard for the pampered rock star when people quit listening to him because they realized he was a pretender. Then he comes here and disses our country, the one that made him famous and contributed to his fat wallet and head. I'll never waste money on another U2 album as long as I live. There are better bands out there than U2. And their members stick to what's important: the music.