The following piece was published on The Big Lead yesterday.
U2 was a decent band. Their first couple of albums were interesting. Joshua Tree was a seminal 80s album, even if it is the same song eleven times. They were the biggest pop stars of their time. People enjoyed them.
That said, their albums since 1987 have been underwhelming or worse. Bono has become an insufferable prick who opines about helping the world’s poor but refuses to pay taxes to help them in Ireland.
What I don’t understand is their unique generational relevance. There is an entire generation of thirty-somethings who listen, live and breathe U2. The band unloads their latest excrement from Mt. Pious and this fawning flock awaits it with mouth wide open.
Bill Simmons once wrote a column claiming that U2 had no parallel in sports. No athlete could replicate their extended run of greatness in athletic terms.
Viewing them soberly, I think Nomar Garciaparra is the perfect parallel. People who were there at the time where transfixed by him. He looked like a hall of famer before his career went all crazy and weird. No one who was not there at the time and seeing him afterward would understand it.
Older people don’t know who U2 are. My generation knows all about U2, but we don’t get what all the fuss is about.
For those cognizant in the 80s, what is the deal with the U2 obsession?
There. He said it. I've never really understood U2 either.
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