Jens M?ller ([email protected])
Thu, 30 Jul 1998 22:47:52 +0200
Well, first of all let me say that I'm really amazed about the crazy
*;-P *
traffic from all over the world that occured on this list !!. I'm
new to WIRE ( oh , about 2 weeks ) an hey..... It's fantastic !! I like
it a lot.
It's good to hear that "out there" are a lot ( !!! ) more CRAZY U2 fans
like me !!
This are just some private thoughts about U2 that I have.....
U2 is very special to me ( as to the most other people on WIRE, am I
right ???!!? ).
In 1985, when I was about 11 or 12, my Mother bought " The Unforgetable
Fire" and ( naturaly ) I listend to this ( in my opinion at that time
and still today ) *smashing* record and was inspired at once. Ever
since then
I was a U2-fan. Still today "The Unforgetable Fire" is one of my
favorites.
But to be honest: All U2-albums are my favorites. There's no easy
selection which album is "the" best of all times.
The decade of the 80's was the decade of U2 ( as the title of the Time
magazin in 1988 (??) wrote" ROCK HOTTEST TICKETS"). They created a kind
of music that was completly different at that time...and became
mainstream with Albums like " The Unforgetable Fire" or "Joshua Tree".
Today, when you hear "Pride" or " Where the Streets.." you think
"Yea..that was a hit back in the 80's", but at that time, it was new,
revolutionary.... and it was good.
When I was older ( about 15 or 16 ) and heard BOY, OCTOBER and WAR,
compared to Albums like TUF or JT, I was very astonished. Is this the
same band ?? I could "feel" the leap that U2 had made to get to new
coasts, to make more musical experiences ( and experiments ), change
their "style" and the way they aproach their music.
Since back then you could figure out that U2 is a band which tends to
"reinvent" itself. For the first time after War and in the future a lot
more.... ( as we know.... ;-D ).
And that's what I mostly like about U2. The band isn't fixed at one
point of the musical scale like most of other musicians. Most Bands with
success tend to copy themself. I think mostly to make money with the
accustomed sound. But how much of this bands survive a period of, lets
say, 5 or 10 years ? Quite frankly, most of the 80's bands are over and
out today.
My guess is If U2 had copied themself, they wouldn't be around anymore.
But can anyone imagine a record after R&H that sounded like R&H or JT ??
Or could have anyone expected something like that ? That's a not an easy
question to answer.
Looking today back on Achtung Baby with the new aproach on "their"
music, that was the natural step to do....(as I feel).
After the mega-success-story U2 had in the 80's and finally the
press-flamings
at the end of the 80's , what else could they do ?
The pressure on them was enormous . To continue like before would have
been on the long term very probably a musical death for the band. To
stop the band would have meant to stop their music, also a musical
death.
They made the right decision and found a new path for their music to
cope with all this "shit" out there in the big buissness.
As Bono likes to say : " Four Jerks in limos with police escort".
Looking today back on Achtung Baby occured to me that it was the best
possible way to go on..
It was the ultimate answer to press, television, stardom...... and four
jerks with police escorts.
It was a genius and genuine way to adress all the issues they had to
cope with.
It was a way to change (in public ) their appearance, their style, their
reputation,
to reinvent themself another time, but now to stay "alive".
They have approached new musical heights which could open in all
directions.....
That wasn't anymore the 80's stuff, they have come to the 90's with a
bang and
used all of the modern stuff of modern times.
The ZOO-TV-tour was a genius masterpiece. They showed the people in
a very subtle and irony way how weird the world around us has become.
I've seen Zoo-Tv and POPMART, and in my opinion Zoo-TV was a piece
better than POPMART.
ZOO-TV was very emotional, subtle, full of irony, a tour with a lot of
emotions with songs like
LOVE IS BLINDNESS or ONE combined with this stage full of lights and the
atmosphere the Band created within.
POPMART on the other side was very straight. Not exactly a "slap in the
face" ( probably the wrong term ), but very direct and to the point. I
think POPMART lost a great deal of the emotions that fueled ZOO-TV.
That doesn't meant that POPMART was bad. NO !!! POPMART was the second
best rockshow ( right after ZOO-TV ) on earth.POPMART had a lot of
creativity, art and good music combined together with a phantastic
stagedesign and stageshow.
What I find most remarkably about the show ( doesn't matter POPMART or
Zoo-TV ) is the cobweb of music and visual statements, the combination
of film, sounds, liveaction and acting. A concert of U2 is a piece of
art itself. With all these little goodies...
Take alone the Arch... In how many colors lightens the arch up? Yellow,
green, blue, red (??), dark with stripes, complete dark.....and so on...
( Or at ZOO-TV :I liked this Zoo-TV neon sign, or the eastgerman Trabant
cars hanging in the middle....... )
Some people say it's a commercial for McDonalds, well, MMMHH, the
resemblance isn't that far away...
But that's not the point. I thing it's all about aesthetics and new ways
to approach things. Whenever I've looked at the whole set in action
(I've seen POPMART 4 times), I got a feeling of aestetics or to be
wittness in a special kind of art performance, not just normal live
music performace. I didn't felt that I was there to hear only the music
playing live, I felt that I was there to be wittness at this audiovisual
experience where the music is just a piece of the whole...And that's
exactly what I expected since buying the tickets.
Alone the Roy Lichtenstein or Keith Haring clips on the screen where
fantastic and perfectly fitting into the whole concept.
There isn't one band in the world which gets in my opinion that far
whith the show, setting such milestones than U2. Zoo-TV was
State-of-the-art, POPMART the same but in another way...
Even the Rolling Stones, probably the only real BIG WIG in Rock, playing
huge arenas with a lot of technics and showeffects, can't come near the
elaborate design and show of U2 ( my appologise to all stones fans !! ).
And up to a point I think the Stones felt the need to copy some
showeffects to compete in the concert buissnes, not to look small
against others ( well, let's say U2 ) in concert.
Or I've seen Bon Jovi ( that doesn't mean that I'm a fan; sorry to all
fans !!)in concert... It was nice, but compared to a U2 show it felt
like a train timetable ( know what I mean ?? ).
And that's what it is : I'm deeply impressed with the great show this
rockband can bring on stage, the feelings they can create listening to
them in concert or at home when you are lying in bed....
I don't know any other band which could create such deep feeling in me (
and I guess in you too... )
like U2 did with most of the songs (like ONE....).
In the end it's all about love.
So, that will be the end and I hope I didn't bored you down to the
ground.... ;-)
Oh, if there are any gramatic errors or so.. forgive me, I'm not that
good in english as I wish to.
And if anyone likes to mail me, hey, feel welcome....... (
[email protected])
By the way, Im looking for a bootleg of the POPMART
Hannover,Germany,8/20/97 or Seattle, 12/12/97,( that are the best 2
shows out of 4 I attended ) hopefully in Soundboard quality.If there's
any of these out there.....
PLEASE MAIL ME !!!!!!!!!!
And here's a tip for all Fans who didn't heard : Read " U2 at the end of
the world " by Bill Flanagan.
THAT'S the HOLLY U2 BIBLE !!!!! A great book, the best in
rock-journalism.....
HEY, are there any Wireling from Germany out there ??????
So , see yaa.....
Jens
**********
In the silence of the night
I think of you
Night and Day
- Cole Porter -
***********
Hey Bono !!
When you still haven't found what you are looking for....
Look behind Larry's drum kit !
- Boy George -
***********
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.0b2 on Thu Jul 30 1998 - 13:52:57 PDT