John J. Hlavaty ([email protected])
Tue, 04 Aug 1998 18:12:47 -0400
I'm not that familiar with Savage Garden and as such
I have never seen them in concert. I couldn't even tell you
how many albums they have (is this their first?). So when
I saw these type of posts about Savage Garden, I wasn't
sure how to take them. That is, would I also be "insulted"
if I saw Savage Garden or Third Eye Blind in concert copying
directly from U2? After some thought I came to the
conclusion that I am thrilled to see "new, hot groups" praise and
promote U2.
Rarely does a band give proper credit to past influences.
U2 were one band that did, unfortunately, the press mocked
them for doing so (during the R&H era). Still, U2 readily
admit not only past influences, but how impressed they
are with current artists. This is a rarity in the
ego-obsessed world of rock music. So, it's quite impressive
to see a new band not only cite U2 as their major influence,
but play U2 songs during their concert as well as directly
copy styles. Savage Garden and Third Eye Blind have
made no attempts to hide their respect for U2. And
while they may be emulating U2 a bit too much, if the
end result is that these bands continue to produce good
music and new fans are introduced to U2, then is any harm
really being done?
I'm also glad to see Savage Garden's lead singer
pick up on the "POP" and "POPMart" themes. When most
people think of U2, the JT or AB eras leap to mind. It's
great to see that the "POPMart" era of U2 is not being overlooked.
Personally, I think too many critics and fans *did*
dismiss either "POP" or "POPMart". In the years to come,
I feel the music world will realize not only how progressive
"POP" was, but how "POPMart" (and "ZOO TV") changed
modern day concerts. U2 may have been inspired by
artists from the 70's for the basic concepts of their
stage designs, but it was through the use of new
technology that enabled these tours to be a success.
U2's concert concepts are so powerful, that even a mega-rock
group, like the Rolling Stones, "borrowed" stage designs
directly from them! All future tours will be compared to U2's
"masterpieces".
Basically, this all points to one thing, that U2
are still the innovators of new rock music. U2 may have
initially looked to new artists for inspiration on "POP",
but "POP" and "POPMart" have far excelled those previous works.
Therefore, don't be upset by other bands' emulation of
U2, consider yourself flattered. After all,
you're a fan of one of the most respected, talented
and inspirational bands in rock music! :-D
Ciao,
John
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.0b2 on Tue Aug 04 1998 - 15:10:57 PDT