And not for the first time, as lzh has been watching the soap 《男人底线》, which seems to have acquired a Chinglish title along the lines of The Bottom Line of the Man (although I’m not sure about that… glimpsed it for two seconds and thought huh?), I’ve heard the background music start up some kind of tune that sounds incredibly like U2’s The First Time, but with a slight Kenny G’ing to it. But every time the lyrics start flowing…
I have a lover,
A lover like no other,
She’s got soul, soul, soul sweet soul…..
And no, it’s not a love song. It’s an apostate’s song, and yet there is something in it, some kind of kernel of faith that can not be thrown away with the key.
And U2 makes a lot of great music, but it’s never the big, stadium-filling, bombastic, Bono prancing around in silly glasses, bad, greasy hair and shiny, black leather, The Edge in the latest incarnation of his dodgy old man facial hair doing things with a guitar that would make Eric Clapton blush, Adam Clayton trying oh-so-hard to stay cool and Larry Mullen playing the drums music. It’s always the really quiet, contemplative stuff that really lifts U2 out of the ordinary rock band range- well, that and the fact they’re still together after 30 odd years. But really, it’s their quiet music that shows how good they are- or would be if they dropped the bombast and pomposity. In songs like October, 40, Bad, Running to Stand Still, Mothers of the Disappeared, Van Diemen’s Land, All I Want is You, One, The First Time, Wake Up Dead Man, Grace you have an exploration of faith, love, and humanity that is rare in rock circles.
And yes, I enjoy their “big” songs too, but really, it’s the quiet stuff that makes me a fan.
But what started this off was an odd riff I’ve heard a couple of times on a TV show my wife has been watching… and I suspect if I chucked a Zooropa on the CD player and listened to the song in question it would not actually sound like what was on TV…. Ah well, whatever.
I thought I knew a thing or two about U2 but haven’t heard any of those songs before…will check them out.
I try not to let the lives of musicians interfere with my appreciation for their music, but I must admit that my cynical distaste for Bono’s activism turned me off to U2 some time ago.
They’re a good band, no doubt, and I still think “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” is a great song. But to me they’re overrated, benefiting from coming to age in a time when rock music was in a fallow period.
Bono’s activism irritates me, too, but more because of his attitude- that pompous arrogance bugs me. Oh, and that whole tax avoidance thing was a big turn off, too, y’know, the “Oh, we benefitted so much from that allowance in Irish tax law to help starving artists, but now we’re filthy rich and you’re going to close that hole on us and make us live up to our social responsibilities we’re going to take our money to the Netherlands where we can keep our privileges” thing, yeah, way to show the world your principles.