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| Author |
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| vanislandwoman |
 U2 |
Posted Jul 14, 2006; 3:07 am |
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I'm just reading two books, one focused on Bono, the other on the music. I'm a personal cultural backwater, but I would like to listen to some of their work. Recommendation for a first-timer?
In a strange way, I feel sort of cheated by the christian music sub-culture- U2 being sort of out of the pale in Christian radio, and I can't stand a lot of regular radio, so I don't know that I've heard much by them.I don't listen to radio very much anyway, just if I'm driving. I am not one who remembers 'stars' and songs very well. I enjoy music very much, but in the immediate- listening to what is available to me and that doesn't repulse me.
I have some favourite Christian artists.
edit to add: Jillie Bean, my response to your topic about Beyonce has bothered me a lot. I realize that I was reacting on a very surface level- I need to know more, obviously. |
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| Todd Moderator Joined Sep 9, 2004 1088 posts Location: Winnipeg |
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Posted Jul 14, 2006; 10:48 am |
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I don't have any of their CDs, but I almost always enjoy listening to their sound. You can steam some audio/video soundbytes as well as read their lyrics from their homepage here, http://www.u2.com/music/index.php?album_id=10&type=lp.
It seems to me that the album "All that you can't leave behind" has quite a number of familiar tracks. Or perhaps "The Best of 1990-2000" would be a good bet as well. |
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| Jilliebean Member Joined Mar 24, 2006 46 posts Location: Swift Current |
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Posted Jul 14, 2006; 12:25 pm |
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well, im not offended by your response to the whole beyonce thing, people are very different and react and act in very different ways. but that is a thought that has caught me alot, and it hit home again on this past sunday we hada guest speaker cause our pastor was at the conference. she was so on the button withe what she was saying she brought in the story of jesus and the leper, and how when we look at this story there are 3 hearts to look at, the heart of the crowd, the heart of the leper, and the heart of jesus. and that at some point in time we will all understand each heart in some way. while talking about the heart of hte crowd she asked what we would do if 2 men came into our church holding hands and wanting to know more about god, woudl we embrace them and love them or woudl we start the whispers and the rumor mill full tilt? to me taht is a very big question, and i know that i am not the best, i have issues wiht wrong doings as do other people. but i couldnt answer that question as to how i would act. and yet with beyonce, her past does not bother me and the fact that she is doing alot more christian stuff to me is an improvement in which should be supported. i think that when people feel the heart of the leper, out cast and shunned, they tend to turn away from the church. which explains alot of the people out there that want to know about god but dont want to go to church. i am always faced with the question why do you go to church, and for me it is many reasons, i need the love and support of my church family to help encourage me and support me in my life trials. as well i want to raise my daughter to know god, and i love to sing and i git the opportunity to do that being on worship team. and being able to do that i dont miss the nights i used ot play in bars, and the hours ont eh road to go from gig to gig. i love being able to sing heartfelt, praise music, it always lifts my spirits. i am also surprised by the amount of artists, ie paul brant, who are in interviews openly speaking of god and their stance. i think this is a good thign for people to see that they are people too and they have faith and can stand up for their beliefs, and that their fame does not cloud their vision. i will pray for god to help intercede your reactions to thigns in the world. i have asked the same and it has helped me a great deal being able to take people at face value, and there is a mutual respect.
jilliebean |
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| vanislandwoman |
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Posted Jul 15, 2006; 6:57 pm |
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| Thank you from my heart |
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| Jilliebean Member Joined Mar 24, 2006 46 posts Location: Swift Current |
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Posted Jul 16, 2006; 2:13 pm |
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your very welcome, although i didnt do anything other than be myself and be honest. and thats just natural so im not sure it deserves thanks. but it was nice to hear. so thank you.
jill |
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| Martin Blumrich Joined Mar 23, 2004 161 posts Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba |
| rattle and hum on DVD cheap!!! |
Posted Jul 31, 2006; 2:16 pm |
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I'm not an endorsee of Extra Foods, but in our area of the world, I've seen U2's Rattle and Hum on DVD There for about $7. It's PG-13 because of one fairly hidden f-bomb during an interview. Otherwise it's a pretty good listen/watch and gets you more than the CD. Naturally this is from about 1988, so it misses some of the recent hits, but it's a definite exploration of their evolution as a band.
Peace Jill and all. Martin |
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| vanislandwoman |
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Posted Jul 31, 2006; 7:29 pm |
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Thanks, Martin. I don't know Extra Foods, but I can watch for bargain bins at stores.
My kids lent me "The Joshua Tree", and "Rattle and Hum" was also supposed to be there, but the disk was missing from the case. 
The Joshua Tree appears to be from the late '80's, so it will be interesting to find and listen to some of the more recent music. The books have been very interesting, following the musical as well as the life- and spiritual- development of the members of the band. "Mothers of the Disappeared" was pretty overwhelming... |
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| Guest |
| Re: U2 |
Posted Aug 12, 2006; 5:47 pm |
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| vanislandwoman wrote: | I'm just reading two books, one focused on Bono, the other on the music. I'm a personal cultural backwater, but I would like to listen to some of their work. Recommendation for a first-timer?
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You are wise to get into u2. They are phenomenal musicians and writers and they actually write about things of massive consequence politically, spiritually, and relationally (if such a division can exist).
Some of the most profound and intimate worship experiences have been listening to u2.
Their most popular albums:
Joshua Tree
Achtung Baby
All that You Can't Leave Behind
How to Dismantle and Atomic Bomb
Most Spiritual Albums:
Boy
October
All that You Can't Leave Behind
How to Dismantle an atomic Bomb
Joshua Tree
Most Political Albums:
War (upheaval and terrorism in Ireland)
Unforgettable Fire (dedicated to Martin Luther King)
Joshua Tree
Albums to avoid if you are an easily offended fundamentalist (or have children listening)
Pop
Zooropa
albums everyone Christian or not, must, must, must own
Joshua Tree
War
Achtung Baby
my favourites
October
How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
Now, off with you. Go and enjoy the greatest band in the world! |
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| Martin Blumrich Joined Mar 23, 2004 161 posts Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba |
| "easily offended" by u2? |
Posted Aug 15, 2006; 10:43 pm |
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Hey Stephen;
I'm just curious about your suggestion to would-be listeners that they avoid Zooropa if they're easily offended. What is it on this album that you consider might easily offend? (I wonder if it's the Johnny Cash last tune - "Wanderer" is it called?)
I've always considered "Daddy's Gonna Pay for Your Crashed Car" to be a great song of prophetic warning against those who might cheapen grace by abusing it.
I look forward to understanding how your hearing this album in particular.
From a previous post it might look like I'm a huge Rattle and Hum fan, but I like it no more or less than any other u2 album. I'm curious where this one might fit in on your suggestion list too.
Peace to you, Martin |
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| Guest |
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Posted Aug 18, 2006; 11:03 pm |
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Zooropa is the only u2 album I don't actually own. But I've heard it a number of times and do enjoy it. It seems to me that the albums and tours from this era are the ones that the fundies point to as proving that u2 are not a christian band. However they've missed the message. I love this era, but some might be particulaly turned off by some of the bold lyrics at this time (significantly more so on Pop). When heard for the first time (or out of context) they could be misunderstood.
Rattle and Hum is ok, but I've never really thought it was that great. I really like the additionally bit on Bullet the Blue Sky, and some of the covers are great. It always felt scattered and directionless to me. It's ok, but not great. Just my 2 cents. |
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| Martin Blumrich Joined Mar 23, 2004 161 posts Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba |
| thanks Stephen |
Posted Aug 20, 2006; 3:06 pm |
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I agree. Fundies miss the point of the Zooropa era.
Of that era I would say (musically), I think Bono's version of "Allelujah" on the Leonard Cohen tribute album Tower of Song was "da bomb", as in, it really bombed!!!  It was far too "techno". Though I believe covers and tributes have to risk, and that risk is often rewarded in a great reworking of some great art, this didn't work out for Bono this time. (This wasn't the case, even though it's pretty representative of "where they were at" at the time.)
I think the point of the Rattle and Hum album and movie was to document U2's discover of American roots music. This is itself a pretty ecletic genre to be sure, but it was the one unifying theme of Rattle and Hum, in my rattly humble opinion. |
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| Gruntled Member Joined Mar 18, 2006 135 posts Location: Winnipeg |
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Posted Aug 21, 2006; 11:07 am |
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Please don't simply assume that "fundies" have no ability to grasp imagery or other references. I heard Bono's speech to the National Prayer Breakfast and was truly inspired by his comparison of the Year of Jubilee with 3rd World debt relief. It was fantastic. Much of their music is also inspiring. But we also need to keep evaluating the music critically, just like we should for every artist, whether they are classified as Christian or not.
Case in point: Sting is often referred to as very spiritual. Yes, without a doubt he is seeking some kind of truth, but there is a lot that is misguided as well. Does that mean we should throw out the baby with the bathwater? No, but it also doesn't suggest that we need to swallow all of the bathwater either.
There seems to be this tendency that once an artist says something worthwhile or very true, that we place them on a pedestal where everything they say becomes gospel. I like listening to Sting and U2 because they have some truth, but only some. And please don't ask me to judge which side of the "saved" fence they're on. That's not my job. |
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| Martin Blumrich Joined Mar 23, 2004 161 posts Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba |
| fundies and imagery |
Posted Aug 21, 2006; 12:24 pm |
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I agree with you Gruntled. My first line of the previous post could point to an assumption that a Christian fundamentalist doesn't get imagery. I (we?) weren't saying anything about fundamentalists except perhaps that they are a little quicker to register offence. In speaking this way, I never even said that I myself am not a fundie.  Sorry if I made a blanket statement. I do find it hard to "always" use language like "most" fundamentalists miss the point. Naturally there are exceptions, and most everybody understands imagery. It just seems that when it comes to this era of U2's music, "they weren't Christian anymore". (I'm not really willing to discuss that whole mess of an issue at this point, just like you.) I didn't mean anything accusatory or specific. Sorry.
A little explanation of where my comment came from: I'm one of the only Christians I know who understood what Bono was doing occassionally coming out for encores with horns above his ears and pointy tail. (This is not a prideful statement: I just listened to his explanation!) I wouldn't do what he did myself. I believe there are other ways to make the point. He was a "god of this world" made so by all the power thrust upon him by the concert-goers and album-buyers, and he was demonstrating the foolishness of this status. It is something that they have even sung about, on the album Pop specifically: "You get to feel so guilty / Get so much for so little..."
I too heard Bono's National Prayer Breakfast speech on the radio. I heard it a day after I had spoken at a teen retreat this Summer in which I spoke of the AIDS pandemic and what youth can do. In the speaking I did, I referred to Bono as a prophetic voice in our time. When I heard Bono on the radio the next day I knew it was true. It was so inspiring I actually had tears in my eyes. Like I said above, this does not mean that I think U2 or Bono are infallible. I agree with the need to constantly be discerning.
Incidentally, part of what Bono was saying was how he didn't want to like the institutional church (which can be heard as fundies as well), but that the church's understanding of the DATA issues as seen through action has given him new reason to believe there's some good there.
Peace, Martin |
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| Gruntled Member Joined Mar 18, 2006 135 posts Location: Winnipeg |
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Posted Aug 22, 2006; 10:43 am |
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| I have to agree about Bono's speech. For someone like him, who has spent a lot of time taking shots at institutions and the establishment, to admit he was wrong was a big step. After all, he's never been one to say what people want to hear. I assume he was simply being honest. |
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| Martin Blumrich Joined Mar 23, 2004 161 posts Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba |
| Bono's National Prayer Breakfast Speech |
Posted Aug 30, 2006; 3:33 pm |
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For those of you wondering what we're referencing as we write about Bono's National Prayer Breakfast speech, you can download the mp3 or read the text from
americanrhetoric.com/...prayerbreakfast.htm
Listen and see what you think.
Peace, Martin |
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