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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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@U2 QOM January 2010: New Year ResolutionsWhat New Year resolutions do you suggest for band members?
@U2,
February 05, 2010
(Each month, @U2 puts a spotlight on U2 fans with our "Question of the Month." We pose a question to our readers and invite answers of 200 words or less. If you're interested in taking part, check our home page to see if the current question is still open. If not, check back shortly after the beginning of next month and we'll have another question ready to be answered!)
Kathy Roeser: This isn't so much a resolution as a wish...That the members of the best band in the world have good health so that I (and the rest of us fans) can enjoy their music until they decide they are through (which I hope doesn't come in less than 30-40 years!). Sharon Knox: Follow your hearts, the Word and the Spirit. Tobias Green: My new years resolution is for Bono -- reestablish your artistic credibility. Tax shelters, demands of ISPs, photos with Bush have hurt your credibility over the last few years. When people hear about Bono, they think "ugh, he's that guy who does good things while living the life of a millionaire." You are making it hard to be a U2 fan with a lot of this other stuff. It is beginning to seem as if you take the average U2 fan for granted while hanging out with the Tony Blairs, Paul Allens and Michael Bloombergs of the world. How is anyone supposed to take the wonderful song "Moment of Surrender" seriously coming from a man who pals around with the wealthy elite? This isn't just another contradiction that the band can live with but the squares can't. The embrace of the very wealthy and powerful people who are doing the minimal to alleviate the suffering of millions around the globe attacks the believability of the songs you write. Please understand, I love No Line on the Horizon, and it is your life to live however you choose. But I also believe in the U2 audience that have supported your band for 30 years, and they are intelligent well-thought-out people. No Line on the Horizon failed because no one believed the singer, it is just another product by just another band for just another tour. Which is a shame because it is a great album and U2 is a great band. Sean Wilson: Bono: Resolve to keep fighting against piracy and illegal downloading no matter what! How the world cannot see the bigger picture here is beyond me. The Edge: Resolve to raise a dignified middle finger to any doubters out there. You are a true pioneer. If music was Mount Everest, I believe you'd be remembered as the 'Tenzing Norgay' of that particular conquest. No one has worked harder or been more courageous to go with the untried idea and no one has arrived at the peak ahead of you; and yet you remain, in my view, somehow cheated of the accolades you deserve. You are the most innovative guitarist of all time! Adam Clayton: Resolve to completely blow us away by providing the lead vocal for a U2 hit single!! Just the base and the baritone - go for it!! Larry Mullen Jr.: Resolve to expose more of your gifts, and I'm not talking about your drumming. Honesty and wit are the ingredients of a dry sense of humour -- and you have this gift. I often laugh at your take on things and I always enjoy the interviews that include these rare gems. Like the NLOTH interview, there's Larry explaining; "In Fez -- we're not huge!" It covered everything about the experience with a wonderful cloak of humour and honesty. I guess just like those sheets from the "Magnificent' video. In all of this I'd like to thank the band for the wonderful joy they've given us over the years and to wish them the best for the new year. Jen Willins: I would suggest that for a New Years resolution for the band, that they consider Cleveland, Ohio as part of the 360 Tour in 2010!! This is a great resolution. It would bring great joy to this sleepy Rock-n-Roll town. Think of the smiling faces. This would have a domino effect and the band will be happy as well. Good times in 2010, think about it? Happy New Year! Maryann Green: Easy. Quit smoking. Not sure if Edge does but I know Bono, Larry and Adam all share this nasty habit. C'mon boys - a little will power. Shannon Bond: U2 band mates shouldn't make any New Year resolutions. Be open to change and growth always and live life to the fullest. Happy 2010! Wille: I suggest the band members allow themselves time to relax, think, live normally for fragments of time so that they don't run out of experiences to draw their brilliant lyrics and music from. Don't worry, your fans understand the need for sanity and calm once in a while, and you've given us plenty of interim music to get us through the downtime! Elsha Stockseth: I would just suggest that they keep up the great work especially on the new album and continuing the 360 Tour. The two shows that I have been to see this tour have been amazing. I am going to see them again in Denver in June so I am really excited to see what is going to happen. Bubba Beasley: I have reluctantly concluded that No Line on the Horizon was something of a mere pretense for the 360 Tour. In an era where an unremarkable Dave Matthews album reached platinum status in the U.S. in less than three months, No Line took eight months to reach the same milestone. By wide margins, the album has had the most sluggish sales of any major U2 release in the last quarter century, and so what Bono now defends as "a bit challenging" is hardly an obvious album to be supported by a gargantuan stadium tour. I wonder if an otherwise atmospheric album was delayed for -- and ultimately weakened by -- up-tempo singles that might conceivably play better before a hundred thousand people, for a tour years in the making. Having this particular tour, ostensibly in support of this particular album, suggests that U2 has misplaced their priorities, as they did with the film for Rattle and Hum and especially the premature tour schedule for POPMart. For the entire band, I suggest the resolution to return to making their new music their central focus, before they have to retreat a third time in order to "dream it all up again." Debbie Clark: Bono: "I will work more with U2 than G8 and such matters". The Edge: "I will find the lost guitar chord, whatever that might be". Adam: "I will finally get engaged and get married -- can't be a bachelor too long". Larry: "I will try to make myself more available to people" U2 (as a band): "We will continue to be the world's greatest Irish rock band!" There ya go!
(c) @U2/individual contributors above, 2009.
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Roseann Henderson: I wish the lads would give up the smokes.