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"The Fly is Blues and Gospel, Heaven and Hell. The Fly can see both sides but he isn't quite sure which one he's on." -- Bono |
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"The Fly is Blues and Gospel, Heaven and Hell. The Fly can see both sides but he isn't quite sure which one he's on." -- Bono |
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Column: off the record..., vol. 9-344
@U2,
January 31, 2009
Enough words have been said about whether "Get On Your Boots" is brilliant/terrible, so I'll spare you my views on the subject. However, I can't deny that the day the song was first aired will be a fonder memory for me than the first time I heard "Vertigo." Back then, I got up at 3 a.m. to listen to an Australian radio station that was meant to be the first place to play the song. But after enduring about an hour of inane banter from the DJs (who turned out to be just as irritating as those on most UK radio stations) along with mostly appalling music, I discovered that not only had I got the time difference wrong, but also that all I needed to have done was download the file from a link that someone had posted in the @U2 forum, which would have taken about three seconds. Still, I can't deny that hearing it for the first time felt akin to having had a double shot of espresso and codeine suddenly injected into my veins. But after that, I began to realise why people think I'm obsessed. Ah, the things one does in the name of geekdom.... This time round, I only had to listen to an awful radio station for a few minutes before realising that U2.com was streaming the song. The rest of the day was then spent playing it over and over again whilst sending text messages to my friend Robyn. An example of one such exchange: "You know what? I'm gonna listen again!" Reply: "Yes! Again, again!" Bliss was it then that dawn to be alive. I might as well venture an opinion very briefly at this juncture: I like it. A lot :) Maybe I'm just biased. But I don't think somehow that I'm the first person to have found the sentiments expressed at the centre of this article rather irritating. I only vaguely remember hearing about the big court battle between Lola Cashman and the band members, but even then I remember thinking that 1) it was irresponsible and a breach of their trust to release a book containing such intimate details of her time with them, and 2) to take a band with their amount of wealth and influence to court, knowing full well that she'd fail, for the sake of a couple of items of clothing, my sympathies lay firmly with U2. The piece struck me as little more than an attempt on behalf of the Irish Independent to dig up a minor event in U2's history for the sake of taking a rather feeble shot at the band, as well as resonating with a "how dare they be so rich and successful?" tone, even after all these years, which does strike me as slightly pathetic. I also recall once hearing someone describe Lola Cashman, along with Eamon Dunphy, as being something along the lines of "two authors whom fans just can't stand." After reading this article, I found it hard to disagree. In the same vein, it seems that with a flurry of new U2 releases set to arrive in the next two months, U2-bashing is back on the cards in many areas. The student newspaper I write for this week charmingly told Bono to stick No Line On The Horizon "up his self-righteous arse." Although I'm by no means against constructive criticism (as I hope I've demonstrated above), I like to think that when talking about people and things in a negative light, I avoid the use of four-or five-letter words where possible; as well as being unnecessary, it doesn't strike me as being a sign of good writing. I know I've definitely strayed into such territory more than a few times, but looking back it just comes across as a failure of imagination. It also tends to mystify me as to why there appears to be such a trend in music journalism of attacking bands as opposed to just trying to be supportive of good music. Alas, it's probably not going to change anytime soon. Have you ever realised that someone close to you looks a lot like a band member? It recently hit me that my lecturer (aptly enough) for African History bears a striking resemblance to Rattle & Hum-era Adam. The two front rows of the room during his lectures are also somehow always filled with girls....mystifying really. ;) Although the press once again hounded him for it, I think Bono needs to be applauded for including both Israel and Palestine in his comments during U2's 'We Are One' performance for President Obama's inauguration. I think most people can agree that those on both sides of the divide in the region have suffered immensely, and that expressing polarising views is not helpful to the debate at all. I just hope that as was eventually the case with South Africa and Northern Ireland, a peaceful solution is found to the Arab-Israeli conflict soon. And finally... If you haven't seen Danny Boyle's film 'Slumdog Millionaire,'
do so now. It may be early days, but this is already on my list for film of
the year. Also, here's a much-loved gem in commemoration of the 40th anniversary
of the Beatles' final concert: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=grp793i4gjs. Have a good week... (c) @U2, 2009.
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