Album of the day (#3679): All That You Can't Leave Behind

[rkm]

U2 Album Trilogies:

1. Boy, October, War.

2. Unforgettable Fire, Joshua Tree, Rattle and Hum.

3. Achtung Baby, Zooropa, Pop.

4. ATYCLB, How to Dismantle..., No Line.

5. Songs of Innocence, Songs of Experience, ?


With the exception of the last two albums, I know people who vehemently defend one of these three album eras as being the greatest, followed by the band losing the plot, in their opinion. Some people prefer earnestness. Some people prefer irony. Some people prefer raw performance, others production.

I also know a lot of people who love it all, as well as those who aren’t interested in any of it.

Thing is, Bono has been in your face, outspoken, a bit preachy, and uncomfortably political and spiritual in every era. What’s the difference? He’s now older and richer. If he was preachy before, he was speaking truth to power (“the God I believe in doesn’t need your cash, Mister!) If he’s preachy now, he’s a hypocrite because he’s rich and should solve the world’s problems himself.

There’s a degree of people who just want to be entertained, and don’t want artists to have an opinion on anything.

There’s an element who’d rather artists be a mess, burn out and die young.

There’s nothing scandalous about him. No public fall from grace. Just someone who has grown old (and wealthy) with his idealism in tact.


“The great challenge... is holding on to your idealism after you lose your innocence” - Bruce Springsteen, 2002 (p.528 of 1001 Albums You Mist Hear Before You Die)

[Applerill]

Yeah, apparently he’s only worth $700 million, which means he has a teensy bit of wiggle room to escape the guillotine.

OR, as I also told RoundTheBend, he spent post-COVID time inviting every celebrity in the world to a resort hotel to make a $300 million MBDTF.

[an-outlaw]

Like the lyrics to one part of Beautiful Day could make a Bono book of poetry. Mostly as I needed the lyrics sheet to understand fully