As “Vertigo” became ubiquitous in the mid-2000s, Bono had a deep disagreement with music journalist Greg Kot over the definition of rock ‘n’ roll. For Kot – an avowed U2 fan, especially during their visionary run in the ’90s – the group’s integrity was compromised by their recent iPod commercials, back-to-basics songwriting and hit-filled stadium sets. Bono, on the other hand, believed that their message could only achieve its highest goal if it was heard by as many people as possible. In Kot’s eyes, the group was slowing its artistic growth by becoming a familiar corporate brand in the style of the Rolling Stones; for Bono, there were good songs Voodoo room.
On Luz Carnivalfirst album of original U2 material in almost a decade, Bono takes a different view of the debate: “There’s no such thing as rock ‘n’ roll,” he sings. “We just needed it to be.” The 66-year-old singer is making the concession, in part because he has bigger things on his mind these days. Never mind the creative rut his band has endured for most of this century, nor the concomitant PR debacles that have attracted more attention than the music itself. The defining incident of the band’s concise and colorful new album was a neck injury suffered by drummer Larry Mullen Jr., a late-career obstacle that put a question mark over the future of a four-party democracy that had been operating intact since 1976. Forget all your big ideas about getting your message out there: What happens when there’s no one to deliver it alongside you?
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Welcoming Mullen Jr.’s return to the band — and perhaps finally accepting that even sending your record to 500 million phones at once doesn’t guarantee success — U2 decamped to make new music with (relatively) lower stakes. Brian Eno stopped to help. Just like Jacknife Lee, the How to dismantle an atomic bomb co-producer that I associate with a dry, metallic distortion that never seemed like the right fit for the depths of this band’s sonar (but hey, it could be worse). The sessions were reportedly plentiful, and early this year they began to unveil the results with two surprise released EPs. Despite some promising moments, that of February Days of Ashes and that of April Easter Lily felt more exciting for what they represented: a band finding its groove, exchanging ideas, reconnecting with its core audience.
Gn entert
