" ~~~ U2 ~~~ "

gabers wrote:

When are they going to release the deluxe edition of Achtung Baby? That's what I'm waiting for. With the vinyl and what not like PJ did.

Bathgate66 wrote:

The sad ballad of Bruce and Bono

Sat, Jan 24, 2009

PRESENT TENSE: YOU MUST HAVE heard Bono's words at this week's pre-
inauguration concert. "What a thrill for four Irish boys from the
northside of Dublin to honour you sir, Barack Obama, to be the next
president of the United States." writes SHANE HEGARTY.

And what a thrill it must have been. Even if only one of U2 actually
lives on the northside now. Or that Bono must have lived as much of
his life on the southside. Or that two of the band were born in
England, before moving to the north Co Dublin town of Malahide. Roddy
Doyle, you'll have noticed, never sets his novels in Malahide.

Why be so picky? Because even in a moment when he was trying to
express the personal pride he and the band were feeling, Bono sounded
a false note. In throwing in the reference to the northside, he was
grabbing some of the "impossible journey" narrative for himself and
the band.

In many ways, U2's journey from school band to global megastardom has
been improbable, but it's not because they came from Dublin's
northside. It's not as if most of Bono's friends are either dead or in
jail. Last time I looked, they were making soundtracks and bowls. When
not being a citizen of Dublin, Bono is a citizen of the world.

During the band's performance of In The Name of Love, he described
Martin Luther King's dream as "Not just an American dream – also an
Irish dream, a European dream, an African dream, an Israeli
dream . . ." And then, following a long pause reminiscent of a man
who'd just realised he'd left the gas on, he added, ". . . and also a
Palestinian dream." This was his big shout out to the Palestinians.
You know, it's easy – and not original – to have a pop at Bono's
bombast, but sometimes it's necessary to point it out and impossible
to resist.

He serves it up on a platter, writing newspaper columns and giving TV
interviews. And for all his undoubted sincerity and effort on the
issue of world poverty, you can't help but marvel at this latest
expression of Bono's Sesame Street view of the world. Hey Middle East,
we just have to have a dream to get along.

Just ignore the sound of those loud explosions and concentrate on
Bono's voice.

U2 debuted a new single this week. Get On Your Bootsis actually pretty
good, a reminder that the band still writes decent tunes, which is no
mean feat given how many legendary acts continue to rely on ancient
material. (The Rolling Stones have written almost nothing memorable
during the entire time that U2 have been around). But not for the
first time in U2's career, Get On Your Bootssounds like the work of a
band trying to find their voice in other people's sounds. And, also
not for the first time, it's lyrically vacuous. That shouldn't be a
big deal – it's only rock'n'roll after all – but it reminds us that
it's been some time since Bono and U2 have been musically relevant.

Also on the stage at the Lincoln Memorial on Sunday was Bruce
Springsteen. Like U2, he released new music this week. In early
listens, the album Working On A Dreamis very strong in parts, if
unlikely to be remembered as one of his more substantial albums. It
lacks the grief and resilience that fuelled his post-9/11 album The
Rising; the honesty of Devils and Dust; and the anger that infused his
Bush-era America album Magic. Working On A Dreamis a romantic album, a
contented album, an album that sounds as if it marks the end of a
cycle in his songwriting.

It is, though, part of the continuing evolution of his music. He has
been singing about the same characters and themes through his entire
career, making his an epic, decades-long exercise in storytelling that
shows no sign of coming to an end. Springsteen has also been arguably
the most effective and popular protest songwriter of recent years. It
means that he remains essential in a way that few artists do. In a way
that U2, and Bono, are not.

Compared to Bono, Springsteen has always been on another plane as a
lyricist, but 40 years into his career he's writing songs that are not
just catchy, but actually say something intelligent about the world,
his country, his people. Like Bono, he's made enough money to remove
himself from the multitudes who pack his stadium shows, and yet he
still seems genuinely one of them.

Most importantly, he's politically brave in a way that Bono will not
be. He takes sides. He's not afraid to make enemies. Unlike Bono, pal
of all presidents, he will not sup with the devil, partly because he
knows what it's like when his political enemies misread and
misappropriate his music. And unlike Bono, who has a fascination with
America that displays itself as a cloying neediness, Springsteen
understands that country intimately. It means that Springsteen is
authentic and authoritative in a way that Bono can never hope to be,
no matter how much he mentions that he's from the northside.

© 2009 The Irish Times