u2 returns to new relevance with sloganeering rock
Last Updated : GMT 09:40:38
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle
Last Updated : GMT 09:40:38
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle

U2 returns to new relevance with sloganeering rock

Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle

Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicleU2 returns to new relevance with sloganeering rock

Irish rock band
New York - Muslimchronicle

U2 has rarely been accused of lack of ambition, from record-breaking tours to headline-grabbing human rights campaigns, yet after four decades together the band inevitably has wondered how to move forward.

If 2017 has been chaotic for the world, the year has given fresh relevance to U2. The group's first album in three years, "Songs of Experience," sees Bono and Company returning to U2's founding faith in rock as a means of inspiration, at a historical moment when many listeners may be better disposed to activism than cynicism.

President Donald Trump's shadow hovers over much of the album, which comes out Friday after a delay of a year, which U2 said it needed to fine-tune its message after the right-wing tycoon's shock election victory.

"Don't take it lying down / You got to bite back / The face of Liberty's starting to crack," Bono sings on "Get Out of Your Own Way."

On "American Soul," the Irishman longs for the United States as an ideal higher than a messy, divided nation, singing: "It's not a place / This country to me is a thought that offers grace / For every welcome that is sought."

Kendrick Lamar, one of the most venerated voices of hip-hop, brings together the two tracks as he flips around the words of the Gospel of Matthew to ironize: "Blessed are the bullies / For one day they will have to stand up to themselves."

- Flashes of early U2 -

"Songs of Experience," U2's 14th studio album, is a companion of sorts to the group's last album, 2014's "Songs of Innocence," the juxtaposed concepts in the titles an allusion to a poetry collection of William Blake.

"Songs of Experience" maintains the confessional approach of the previous album, with Bono, when not taking up the state of the world, reminiscing about his life's 57 years from his gratitude for support early in his career to his enduring love for his wife.

But if "Songs of Innocence" saw U2 half-heartedly adopting the lighter pop-rock style of bands whom the Dubliners once inspired, "Songs of Experience" carries flashes of U2's earlier passion, even if few tracks seem destined to join the band's classics.

"The Blackout," the first song released off the album, brings the energy of 1980s U2 with Adam Clayton's bass line pounding the way for The Edge's heavily distorted guitar.

"The Little Things That Give You Away" and "13 (There is a Light)" show anew U2's knack for the understated, with The Edge comfortably in the background, while the band stopping short at a return to full-effect ballads.

- No more free album -

U2 also steered clear of the most memorable feature of "Songs of Innocence" -- its much maligned format, as a free release on iTunes.

Apple sent out "Songs of Innocence" to iTunes' half-billion users as part of a promotion, delighting some fans but triggering a flurry of complaints that the band was presumptious in believing the whole world wanted to listen.

Bono still has no shortage of detractors. Weeks before the album's release, the longtime advocate for international development was among wealthy figures named in the leak of the so-called Paradise Papers showing how he parked money overseas to avoid tax.

There is no indication Bono did anything illegal and he welcomed the transparency. Still, he may find embarrassing, even out-of-context, his line on "Red Flag Day" off the new album, "Paradise is a place you can see when it's yours."

But "Songs of Experience" shows U2 thinking large, opening with an unusually futuristic meditation for a band so focused on problems on Earth.

Bono, at once reflective and triumphant, sings: "So many stars / So many ways of seeing / Hey, this is no time not to be alive."

themuslimchronicle
themuslimchronicle

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

u2 returns to new relevance with sloganeering rock u2 returns to new relevance with sloganeering rock

 



Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle

GMT 14:00 2017 Saturday ,25 February

Reveals his passion for Mandole

GMT 01:04 2017 Tuesday ,28 February

Nokia 3310 is back — and so is 'Snake'

GMT 04:26 2013 Monday ,05 August

2 courses lie before the Brotherhood

GMT 19:22 2017 Wednesday ,06 September

New song by late George Michael to be released

GMT 07:13 2015 Saturday ,04 July

Rosé sangria

GMT 09:23 2017 Sunday ,29 October

Higuain breaks 100-goal barrier

GMT 10:02 2016 Friday ,09 December

Australia's Rinehart, China group

GMT 14:34 2017 Tuesday ,31 January

Dubai to import lemons from Mozambique

GMT 07:39 2017 Tuesday ,19 December

local brews make a comeback in Syria

GMT 07:48 2017 Monday ,18 December

British embassy worker found murdered

GMT 06:03 2017 Sunday ,17 December

Monaco hit four to stay in PSG chase

GMT 09:16 2011 Sunday ,23 October

LG Enlighten

GMT 07:52 2017 Tuesday ,24 October

Baskal Meshalany’s song achieves high views

GMT 12:48 2011 Wednesday ,22 June

China\'s car industry to reach parity with S. Korea

GMT 13:43 2011 Thursday ,01 September

Germany lifts Doom sales ban after 17 years

GMT 16:29 2011 Tuesday ,20 December

Foundation students kept closer to home \'bears fruit

GMT 10:21 2012 Monday ,13 February

Overeating can cause memory loss

GMT 10:01 2013 Thursday ,24 October

Ways to get your thrills this ski season
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle
 
 Themuslimchronicle Facebook,themuslimchronicle facebook  Themuslimchronicle Twitter,themuslimchronicle twitter Themuslimchronicle Rss,themuslimchronicle rss  Themuslimchronicle Youtube,themuslimchronicle youtube  Themuslimchronicle Youtube,themuslimchronicle youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2025 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2025 ©

muslimchronicle muslimchronicle muslimchronicle muslimchronicle
themuslimchronicle themuslimchronicle themuslimchronicle
themuslimchronicle
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle