October 04, 2004

The Greats #1

One of my favourite bands is U2, and while Bono doesn't always enunciate his words properly, there's something to be said about U2 lyrics.
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I don't dig poetry, and I'm no authority on it, but I read poetry and short stories pretty regularly, and IMO the best poetry writers are the people who write something and have 10 people read it, and each of those 10 people will have a different interpretation of it based on their life experiences. The appeal of poetry, as I see it, is that it can carry so many different meanings depending on your worldview, and it's interesting to see how people identify with a particular piece of work.

Almost all of U2's songs have profound lyrics, and once I understood the significance of a particular song, it's powerful enough to move me to tears. Even though Bono may have wrote a song while thinking of, say, homosexuality, those very lyrics can be taken to represent something entirely different, and no less appropriate.

One means a different thing every time I listen to it, depending on my mood and what I've just read or felt. It's one of the most lyrically powerful songs out there, and I wonder why MTV doesn't run more of U2 videos. Layers, that's what it's all about.

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I hope I don't live long enough to witness a desecration of the greatest songs ever recorded by the I'm-pretending-to-be-rock/punk/alternative-but-I'm-really-pop wannabes.


CD cover on top right: Achtung Baby (1991)
CD cover on center: All That You Can't Leave Behind (2000)

1 comment:

seth.frostheart said...

Well.. the U2 song tht does it for me would be "Stay Far Away(So Close)". My life is such a one big soundtrack and "Stay Far Away(So Close)" reflected one part of my life in the past. And the music video... that grainy film noir black and white look with angels tumbling outta the skies. Very nice.