What's up with Bono?

So supposedly he's flying off with Treasury Secretary O'Neill to Africa to talk about things. It almost sounds like a romantic honeymoon! "So, tell me about these sexy songs of yours..."

"As of midnight, Greenwich time, I am hereby placing the Earth under my complete control. All this time you thought I was a wonderful humanitarian, talking with heads of state, really I was learning how it worked from the inside. My forces are now already in place at all military locations, and all of the heads of state have been toppled and replaced by my roadies. You will all bow to me! But first, I'd like to play you a little number I wrote in a hotel room in New York City. Hit it, Edge..."

This is one big reason why I didn't bother watching the game at all, I didn't want all the attendant smarm. Logically, the Super Bowl I had the least interest in ever becomes the most exciting one in years!

This boggles my mind.

The scrolling names of victims is something U2 used in their NYC show after 9/11, and possibly in others as well. And considering the halftime show was billed as a tribute to the victims of 9/11, it wasn't exactly out of place.

Actually, it was completely out of place. I didn't know they'd done the scrolling names before, but that doesn't make me loathe it any less. If anything, I'm even more irritated; I find the entire idea to be sensationalistic without any scrap of compassion or feeling for the families/friends who actually lost people in that tragedy. The entire time I was watching it, I kept thinking about two women I know who were directly affected by this (one's husband was on one of the planes; the other's father was in the WTC and on the phone with her shortly before the building collapsed) and how unbelievably tacky and offensive the entire spectacle was. On top of this, they performed "Where The Streets Have No Name". I can't think of a less-inappropriate song for U2 to have performed. They've got a big scrolling list of all thepeople who died in a terrorist attack while singing a song about burying your head in the sand so that your problems can't hurt you. Um, WHAT?

The band sounded strong. And actually played live. And little Bono stirred up the crowd.

The drums sounded horrible. Bono was a raspy, horrid mess and spent too much time sprinting around the stage grandstanding and not enough time worrying about his breath support. The only good thing about the entire performance, as I said before, was The Edge.

Being cynical = yawn. Bashing Bono = double yawn. Much more offensive = Drug Council ads equating buying drugs with funding terrorism.

The fact that those Drug Council ads were also offensive doesn't diminish the awful spectacle of that halftime show.

Further proof that nobody listens for lyrics, see. It's 'feel good classic rock' now -- and U2 knows their market.

My self-righteous ire makes me incoherent. That should have said "less appropriate" or "more inappropriate". How that HYPHEN got in there, I can only guess.

Bono was a raspy, horrid mess and spent too much time sprinting around the stage grandstanding and not enough time worrying about his breath support Yeah. Thats Jagger all right.

You KNOW thE answer!!

SAVE THE MOON! SAVE THE MOON! SAVE THE MOON! SAVE THE MOON! SAVE THE MOON! SAVE THE MOON! SAVE THE MOON! SAVE THE MOON! SAVE THE MOON! SAVE THE MOON! SAVE THE MOON! SAVE THE MOON! SAVE THE MOON! SAVE THE MOON! SAVE THE MOON! SAVE THE MOON!

The less I see of Bono mugging and being "helpful" and "considerate" in regards to world affairs, the easier it is to appreciate U2's particular MUSICAL charms.

*scratches head*

Even if the answer to that is 'no', and even if you're no more or less likely to vote for a politician who endorses debt relief as a result (I don't recall it being a big issue at the last presidential election), I think Bono's involvement might scare some politicians into action with the illusion that there is an 'army' of rock fans behind him, and that Bono might, at the very least, be putting the issue onto the agenda in the public mind. Are we right to lampoon him for that?

I take the opposite view to David here; in my mind the whole musical output of U2 is disposable, but Bono's political work (which depends on the public platform the less-than-compelling music has given him) is urgent and key.

(I would also tend to see U2 as a mere pretext for keeping Brian Eno in gin and mink.)

I actually have to agree here. Suspicious as I am of his motives sometimes, he actually seems to be persistent on this point and getting somewhere with it as well, even if it's only a matter of agendas. But better some talk than none -- and he's obviously aware of the perceived problem of dealing with 'suits,' even if he beats that point into the ground.

I don't have a problem with the U2 performance but then again I wasn't playing attention.

I won $240 and my girlfriend won $500, we're quite excited.

So is well made fried rice.

Don't get me wrong--I love Wisconsin. I'm practically from there.

(though not as good as NME interview, mid '80s: "The good thing about coming from Saturn is that you never have to sleep and er um zzzzzzzz...")

Superbowl performances which were better than the U2 performance:

XXXIII - Stevie Wonder/Gloria Estefan/Big Bad Voodoo Daddy/tap dancer Savion Glover
XXXII - Boyz II Men/Smokey Robinson/Martha Reeves/Temptations/Queen Latifah
XXX - Diana Ross (THIS was tacky spectacle done right)

These are the ones I have a clear memory of. I never used to watch the halftime show.

The whole game, commercials included, was saturated with 9/11 and patriotism. Given that, the list of victims didn't seem out of place.

Displaying the list of victims would not have been out of place had they done something that actually focused on the victims. As it was, the entire thing was about Bono running around sounding out of breath singing a wildly inappropriate song while the crowd went mad for him and, oh yeah, some people died or something. I mean, even the super-schmaltzy Budweiser ad at least had its mascots pay respect to the tragedy rather than using it solely to up their profile.

I don't know, hiding your head in the sand, doesn't seem that far fetched a reaction to horrible events. Lyrics are typically so vague they can be twisted into any meaning the listener chooses.

I understand that people can look at lyrics differently, but if we're going to be all "Rah-rah-America!" and make a big show of our nation's strength, we probably shouldn't do it to an Irish band singing "I want to run/I want to hide..."

And a raspy Bono sounded great to me. Sorry, Dan, I enjoyed it.

Certainly your perogative. I just can't understand why.

The U2 show was a similar misappropriation. Imagine WTC victims tuning in from heaven and saying to themselves: 'The downside is, we died. The upside is that we got to be a backdrop to Bono and the boys.'

(And now, of course, they've also got a bit part in a Momus satire. Lucky them!)

More seriously, this isn't really about celebrating life in the face of death. I didn't watch very much of U2's performance, but the entire tenor of the Super Bowl and, indeed, most post-9/11 events have revolved around ridiculous and largely disingenous display of patriotism. Most of this is propaganda, plain and simple, and while we have yet to find a domestic scape-goat (as yet) I feel this country is moving ever closer to fascism (a la Nazi Germany). I, for one, am horrified by the direction that our government country is taking (appropriating massive amounts of money for the military, making threatening gestures towards other countries, acting unilaterily in all our decisions) and I see very little at the moment which makes me proud to be an American. "Celebrating" patriotism while blinding oneself to imperialism is incredibly misguided and anything (Bono, commercials, flag waving, etc) which distracts from the direness of our current political situation is not doing anyone any good at all, whether they are alive, dead or soon to be dead.

!!!!!!

!

Only for those on the left.

Oh, yeah, I don't think there's much of a difference at all: that's my point. They've simply traded job titles. They're pretty sneaky about it, too. I don't think all business and all companies are bad, I just think people need to keep aware of what's going on behind the scenes. That's the main difference from kings, I guess, is that if we yell loud enough about them trying to hurt us, somebody will hear it and it'll eventually get sorted out.

The "Make Bono Pay Taxes" Movement:

http://www.counterpunch.org/mccann02262009.html
http://www.counterpunch.org/browne02272009.html