Suggested listening – U2 on YouTube
Bono’s first monologue
On the Black Eyed Peas:
Says they’re “true pioneers from space” and “Xena meets Parliament/Funkadelic”. Oh, I see. Irrelevant past meets unrealistic future.
On the band being in Hollywood:
Larry Mullen Jr. is U2’s James Dean. Adam Clayton is Rhett Butler/Clark Gable because “Frankly, my dear, he doesn’t give a damn.” Edge is a visitor from outer space, or “Every good movie needs an evil scientist.” He’s also Mr. Spock, apparently. Bono proclaims he’s “somewhere between Schwartzneggar and Danny Devito, with a little Dennis Hopper.”
Ugh, my God. He still thinks Hollywood makes movies, and not reality shows
Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For – No power. I miss the Harlem choir. I miss my faith in the band, in the song, in the language. The crowd takes over, but I’d describe it as half-heartedly. The sound guy boosts the crowd in the mix. The band takes over again. The Edge harmonizes. Bono says “Take it to church.” There’s no religion here. Only cold science and empty space. Bono gives a shout-out to Buzz Aldin, for fuck’s sakes. Looks great, though.
Stand by Me – Edge can’t match Bono’s (or the crowd’s) tempo. He just drops out at the end. It’s cinematic like a bedroom webcam singalong. How appropriate for YouTube.
Stuck in a Moment – Acoustic. The song never hit me much before. Maybe I was too young for 9/11. That Tuesday afternoon, I came home from school, and my neighbour was blabbering about how someone “bombed the Pentagon.” I didn’t understand what he even meant until later that night. As for the song: this time it’s raw and broken. When I close my eyes (it’s 1:30 a.m. at this point), the song is powerful. I open them to take in what the band wants me to see, and I see Bono stalking the camera like Springsteen crotching at the Superbowl. The song makes me think about the irony of our generation. The innovators are 50-year-old musicians talking about space as if Bowie never existed. I guess the future is where the cash will be, cause the soul’s mostly gone.
No Line on the Horizon – “We got a spaceship.” Bono pretends to play the guitar again. I never mind his little charade, because he straddles it the way a 1970s rhinestone cowboy rides a horse. It’s a prop to bolster the myth.
I’m starting to get bored at this point. Details may drop off ‘cause I’m gonna try to focus. Maybe it’s my doubts and cynicism taking away from the experience. Like a little scientist, I’m going to try to be careful with contamination.
Elevation – “Ready to get off the ground? Liftoff? Going up?” Bowie wasn’t this far ahead of his time. This is irrelevant. No one believes in space anymore. We barely believe in Earth. Bono doesn’t ask “Do you believe in me?”, like he usually does at the end of the bridge. That’s a good thing. “Going up!” he says as the music scales down.
After the song punches out, Bono grunts, almost post-orgasm. I think they’ve blown their load long ago.
