hi from elmo.
elmo ([email protected])
Fri, 16 Oct 1998 16:50:47 +1000 (EST)
it seem that my last opst was easy to misinterperet judging fromthe emails
i've recieved.
i did not mean to imply that i thought u2 havn't stood the test of time -
quite the opposite. i meant to say that u2 are compromising their postion
as the world's greatest band by releasing this GH compilation NOW. having
thought about it more, it has become obvious to me that u2 are in this for
the money - have we yet taken into account how much revenue this will
generate for them? in addition to the $50 million, we'll all by this CD,
not to mention how many people it will appeal to who casually like the band
(i know that this is primarily who they want to reach with the release. do
they also want to entise these singles lovers into buying the b-sides CD? i
don't think so. it sounds more like a ploy to get the hardocre fans in,
buying a CD filled with tracks they all have). they could hit the 15m mark
with this release. ( to be fair, no amount of money could equal the joy
that u2 have brought to countless people.)
to me, it seems that 'the biggest band in the world' is a title that is
rapidy slipping from their grip. yes, they are entitled to release a
greatest hits CD, but i think it has been unwise to do it now, when they
are supposedly still in full swing. looking ahead as been fundamental to
u2's entity. this just flies in the face of what i thought they stood for -
pulling the unusual stunt and taking what is not obviously the easy road.
this is not what u2 are made of. this is a standard industry money making
stunt however you look at it.
this is all very hard for me to say. i love u2 more than most people and
things that i know (apologies to my beloved!) but we need to look at them
objectively and acknowledge that not everything they do is magic. being
completely honest, i think that u2 can only save themselves in the eyes of
people who don't have an enveloping soft spot for them by coming up with
the best album of their career next year. thankfully, they have eno back on
board and the man is a genius with whom they produce beautiful music (&
with lanios). they can definitely do it.
it just upsets me when the words that spring to mind when i think of u2 -
brave, beautiful, subvertive,thought provoking, monumental - do not spring
to mind when i think of these current releases.
just as all that u2 do is not sacred, anything that i say is not gospel,
so calm the fuck down with the offensive messages deeming me not a true
fan. you have no idea how u2's music has touched me and what has
contributed to my life.
elmo.
p.s. when u2 aren't nomintaed in Q magazine, something is very wrong.
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on Thu Oct 15 1998 - 23:51:48 PDT