| U2 or not U2? Is that really a question? |
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| Tuesday, 09 September 2008 06:24 |
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Geoff Hurst
Unpack the Issues...Popular culture creates, informs and reflects. It also normalises and comforts. Sometimes it inspires; and U2 have had a significant impact on how many 30-somethings interpret their world. Bono says U2 are artists… not musicians. The passionate cynicism of U2’s art and craft has been a Godsend for many who have looked at a ragged and fraying Christendom. U2 have not just offered a voice but also words that help many make sense of the complex and muddled issues and compromises of our world. It’s been nice the way he and the other members of the band have been able to broker their incredible commercial success into a offering a voice for important causes. But isn’t it too much? I’m staggered by the amount that is written about U2. In particular about Bono. I found a website of the ultimate U2 clone band (http://www.notu2.com). They call themselves 2U. They sound like U2. They play replica’s of U2 concerts. They use the same instrumentation as U2. They dress like U2 members. From 6 foot away I dare you to tell the difference. “Even better than the real thing!” Its spooky to watch. This is more than impersonation. It’s veneration. It’s Elevation. It’s stopped being music. It’s stopped being art. Its hagiography, the craft of making saints. Will Elvis need to make room for Bono and the boys? Let’s catalog the miracles. Let’s find a relic or two in the Edge’s guitar collection. Or perhaps it’s heading beyond sainthood… I think the success of U2 is found in the mix of entertainment, cynicism and passion. Yet when the voices fade and they can no longer hold the striking poses (they are getting old you know!) what will be left? Will U2 fade gracefully from the stage? Unlikely. But maybe they will have had made a more useful contribution than the Stones and a bunch of other has beens.
Bono: Grace over Karma by Michka Assayas Rev Geoff Hurst is a short fat bald guy who is nearly 50. He has worked for many years in information technology and ran an internet service provider based in the remote north of WA. He has recently returned to full-time work as a Uniting Church minister at Greenwood in the northern suburbs of Perth. He is married to the utterly wonderful Jenny and has three children who are going to be better, friendlier and happier than he will ever be. Geoff’s interests lie in unscrewing the inscrutable and putting the vole back into revolution. Unpack the Issues...
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  written by Mark Starr, September 13, 2008
blaming western workers for being greedy will not solve poverty. living simply is a myth spread by capitalism in order for people to think their greed is the blame for poverty.
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 written by Guy Lambert, September 17, 2008
Mark. I can't see how your response is related to the article that was written.
In relation to your response, do you have any guilt feelings regarding your own wealth? You have a very defensive arguement regarding wealth, if I am reading between the lines correctly, what you are saying is that you can earn as much as want do what ever you want, no matter what the cost is to other people. If you take a closer look at greed and what it represents you will find it contributes greatly to poverty. Thanks Guy report abuse
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Guy offered me this challenge… “I learned more about God from a couple of U2 albums than I ever did from the Bible!” Guy and I have this running argument about U2. He thinks they continue to re-invent themselves and address where events have taken us. I think they did some good stuff with Joshua Tree (1987) and Rattle and Hum (1988) but have done nothing really new since then... but I think Guy is probably right.
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