U2...

[onajourney87]

From the looks of the U2 fan thread, I'm probably gonna get stomped on in this thread, but hey! I'm used to stuff like that.

I guess I'm wondering, what do you guys exactly think about U2? I can tell there's a LOT of fans around here of them. Yet I question what's so great about them. In my research about them, I've yet to find one time where a member of U2 has said they are a believer without tossing in a either a s--- or f---.

Some of their songs are positive, some aren't.

What really bugs me about these guys is how they on one hand claim to be Christians, but on the other hand are doing some seroius cussing about it.

Not to mention, I've yet to find anything about anyone becoming a Christian after listening to any of their recent music.

So... care to toss in you opinions? I'd love to hear them.

osm

 

[Axver]

From the looks of the U2 fan thread, I'm probably gonna get stomped on in this thread, but hey! I'm used to stuff like that.

I'll be nice ... for now

I guess I'm wondering, what do you guys exactly think about U2?

A lot more than I can state.

In my research about them, I've yet to find one time where a member of U2 has said they are a believer without tossing in a either a s--- or f---.

Really, where are you getting your information from? Bono's often professed his faith without swearing. On the Elevation tour, he routinely said a prayer during the into of Where The Streets Have No Name.

And to quote The Edge: "I'm very nervous about the Christian label. I have no trouble with Christ, but I have trouble with a lot of Christians." (I fully agree with that quote, too)

Some of their songs are positive, some aren't.

I challenge you to produce one of these non-positive songs. Before you provide the lyrics to Wake Up Dead Man, note the "Listen to the Words, they'll tell you what to do" verse; If God Will Send His Angels is about the theme that "even if God sent a sign, would anyone change?"; and Acrobat is about sin so you can't exactly do that in a positive sense.

What really bugs me about these guys is how they on one hand claim to be Christians, but on the other hand are doing some seroius cussing about it.

1. Adam Clayton, the bassist, is NOT a Christian.
2. Cussing is NOT sinful. I've written an article on this issue and I can provide a link to it in an archived entry in my LiveJournal if you want.

Not to mention, I've yet to find anything about anyone becoming a Christian after listening to any of their recent music.

They didn't make me become a Christian, but they certainly saved my faith. I have met people on the MB on Interference.com (which is currently having server problems so you may have trouble accessing it) who have come to Christ through U2.


And to answer "what's so great about them?", let me throw some stuff at you.

Bono's lyricism: some notable songs include 11 O'clock Tick Tock, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Surrender, New Year's Day, Bad, Pride, A Sort Of Homecoming, Running To Stand Still, Bullet The Blue Sky, With Or Without You, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, One, Until The End Of The World, Love Is Blindness, Acrobat, Mysterious Ways, Stay (Faraway, So Close!), Wake Up Dead Man, Please, Walk On, and Beautiful Day.

Edge's guitar: 11 O'clock Tick Tock, New Year's Day, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Bullet The Blue Sky, live Exit, The Fly, Gloria, Love Is Blindness.

Beautiful songs: Running To Stand Still, October, All I Want Is You, One, Walk On, Kite.

Great themes: too many to list.

Live: they are said to be the best live band in the world. I have many, many recordings that I feel prove this. Some good shows displaying this that I have heard all or part of are 13 December 1981 (Lido Beach, NY), 5 June 1983 (Red Rocks, Denver), 8 November 1987 (McNichol's Arena, Denver), 11 November 1987 (San Francisco), 4 July 1987 (Paris), 19 December 1987 (Tempe, Arizona), 31 December 1989 (Point Depot, Dublin), Uncertain Date in 1997 (Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina), 3 December 1997 (Mexico City), 1 September 2001 (Slane Castle, Dublin). Exit from 28 September 1987 is also bloody amazing.

 

[onajourney87]

I'll be nice ... for now

Thank you.

Really, where are you getting your information from? Bono's often professed his faith without swearing. On the Elevation tour, he routinely said a prayer during the into of Where The Streets Have No Name.

Multiple sources. It's very hard though to be able to tell what is always correct and incorrect, as there's only people who are either totally against U2, or totally for them... so I have yet to find any info on them that isn't heavily biased.

I challenge you to produce one of these non-positive songs. Before you provide the lyrics to Wake Up Dead Man, note the "Listen to the Words, they'll tell you what to do" verse; If God Will Send His Angels is about the theme that "even if God sent a sign, would anyone change?"; and Acrobat is about sin so you can't exactly do that in a positive sense.

Yes, I've realized the Wake Up Dead Man stuff was kinda twisted by the 100%-anti-U2 people. As for the "If God Will Send His Angels"... I do see the theme. But I fail to understand how the phone part fits in. If you anyone would like to try and help out with that, that'd be cool.

2. Cussing is NOT sinful. I've written an article on this issue and I can provide a link to it in an archived entry in my LiveJournal if you want.

Cussing is not sinful? Okay, I'd like to see you're article.

They didn't make me become a Christian, but they certainly saved my faith. I have met people on the MB on Interference.com (which is currently having server problems so you may have trouble accessing it) who have come to Christ through U2.

Thank you for that info.

osm

 

[Faranor]

I think Bono also said something like "During the 80s we wrote about what we believe, during the 90s we wrote about what we didn't believe"

It's not an entirely accurate quote, but it captures the essence of it... That might explain why some people might view some songs as "negative".

Another thing: I heard U2 was heading back for studio soon. Before the release of "best of 1990-2000", i heard their next album would come late 2003, but I haven't heard much since then Any news I might have missed?

 

[Lotar]

Last I heard is it's coming out next year.

Some of U2's songs have Christian messages. Some of the members may be Christian as well, but it would a huge stretch to say that any of them are a good example of a Christian.

I love their music, but I realize that they are just people and I certianly wouldn't try to emulate them.

 

[sad astronaut]

I would agree with Lotar in some points. I believe that 3 out of 4 of the band members are Christians, but I would not say they are role model Christians. However, even if they are not great Christians, they are much better people than those in most rock bands, and I believe that can be attributed to their Christianity. This is evidenced by a few things. Unlike other bands, the group has not been torn apart by drugs, sex, and greed. U2 went through some tough times in the early 90s that would have torn apart lesser bands, based on their biography in "U2 at the end of the world." Adam, the only nonbeliever, is the only one to have a major run-in with the law (as far as I know anyway), and this was through drug possession. Also, U2 do not let greed and money issues tear them apart, while other bands let royalty distribution and such tear them apart. I think their bad issues involve swearing and maybe partying a little too much.

Also, like Lotar said, I don't try to emulate them. I just listen to their music and appreciate their good points and bad points as people.

Last I heard is it's coming out next year.

Some of U2's songs have Christian messages. Some of the members may be Christian as well, but it would a huge stretch to say that any of them are a good example of a Christian.

I love their music, but I realize that they are just people and I certianly wouldn't try to emulate them.

 

[sad astronaut]

As far as what is so great about U2 music-wise, well, its hard to explain. Why I like them is that not all their songs are immediately catchy, alot of them aren't. But because of their craftsmanship and poetry, they grow on me the more I listen to them. The songs do not usually follow a verse-chorus-verse-chorus structure (although more common of late). With other bands I feel that a group does a screaming guitar solo because they feel that they have to. As others have said, Edge's style is minimalist. If there is a guitar solo, it fits the song, its not "well, we sang the chorus for the second time, lets fit in a guitar solo".

Also, they are very diverse. If you listen to 80s U2, followed by Achtung Baby, followed by Zooropa or Pop, it is like you are listening to different bands. No two U2 albums sound the same. There's a U2 song for every mood I am in.

 

[indigo tree]

U2 is composed people, so naturally they will have flaws. Yeah they do cuss, but lets not throw out the baby with the bathwater eh? Too many times we want to focus on people's bad points, but we don't see the great goodness that all their faults and weaknesses. Same with U2.

And I personally try not to judge whether or not a person is a good example of a Christian by how many f-bombs they deliver, but rather by how they treat others, and how much compassion present to the eye. And in U2, theres alot of compassion.

 

[Axver]

Bono, I would contest, is a brilliant example of a Christian. Just look at the aid work the man does for Africa. He's so giving. One line from With Or Without You goes "And you give yourself away" and one Bono quote goes something like "The others [in U2] feel it's about me, how I'll give myself away."

Edge is a quiet one ... he's been divorced, yes, but the details of that have been kept pretty quiet and I don't think anyone could use that to bash him. However, his faith would appear to be strong. The one thing that came closest to tearing U2 apart was an incident back in the early 1980s when Bono, Larry, and Edge were members of a prayer group and questioned whether being in a rock band compromised their faith. Bono and Larry pretty quickly reconciled their issues, but Edge lingered and came very close to leaving for his faith ... but then he realised he could be in the band and not compromise his faith, and walked into the studio to record the classic Sunday Bloody Sunday.

Larry ... I guess some would say he's not a good example of a Christian because he's not actually legally married to his wife and has kids, but what constitutes marriage? To be married before God, does one have to have a slip of paper? And in Larry's favour, when the rest of U2 really went a bit overboard, he remained quite conservative. Just watch the Popmart Mexico tape and compare how he's dressed to the other three and you'll see my point.

Sad Astronaut, Adam was arrested in the late 1980s in Ireland for drug possession. However, Irish law allows you to plead guilty and do community service with no conviction recorded. A few years later, after his breakup with Naomi Campbell, he went on a massive binge, drinking himself silly (and I assume taking drugs), and was so out of it he missed a gig (he's the only member to ever do so). After that, he really woke up to himself and the other band members supported him and helped him clean himself up.

In regards to the new album, Daniel Lanois has just headed to Dublin for a week to listen to what's been recorded - really just a pair of fresh airs to give a new opinion and perspective on the work. Apparently it's pretty much finished and the album will be out around March or April. I personally can't wait.

As for the "If God Will Send His Angels"... I do see the theme. But I fail to understand how the phone part fits in. If you anyone would like to try and help out with that, that'd be cool.

Hmmm ... that's a bit of a questionable one and I'm not sure I have an answer. I think the line's more expressing how the people themselves feel - they feel like God's turned their back on the crisis in Ireland and has simply knocked the phone off the hook. I am pretty sure it's not how the band members actually feel, but more something like that. Remember, in many of their songs, themes relating to Ireland can be found, even in songs not necessarily about the Troubles.

Here's my article on swearing: http://www.livejournal.com/users/axver/66786.html

You're right, stuff about U2 often comes from extremely biased people ... there's rarely people just sitting on the fence when it comes to them. They get an emotional response from people, that's for sure ...