![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
May. 4th, 2020 02:31 pmThese are sentiments I've shared on tumblr before but since I sort of fell out of love with U2 lately, I haven't been blogging about them on this site... however, I'm on a low-key 90's U2 kick and I just wanted to share this.
I understand Zoo TV. I do not understand PopMart. U2's Zoo TV Tour was the first time that the band had turned their "concerts" into "shows," utilizing cutting edge technology to create a spectacle instead of just presenting their music onstage and letting it speak for itself. They were outfitted with massive TV screens, which played (depending on the song) either pre-recorded footage of words flashing across a screen or visuals to complement the song better, as well as whatever was floating around on TV at the time. It was meant to resemble the experience of watching TV and how it can desensitize the viewer to reality- the inspiration came to Bono when watching coverage of the Gulf War, and noticing how if you changed the channel, the war might as well not exist. The theme was held up by the structure of the set, and Bono's performance of each song. The set opened with several rockers, with Bono clad in black leather and shades, swaggering around the stage and making witty remarks like a typical rock singer (he called this persona "The Fly" after U2's song of the same name, and the fly-eye shades he wore). Then the ballad "One" came along and Bono dropped the persona, allowing some vulnerable sentiment to be felt. Part of their tour of Europe also involved broadcasts from Bosnia, where those suffering in the Bosnian wars were given a mouthpiece and spoke out about the horrors they were facing. U2 caught a lot of flack for this, calling it tone-deaf, with a lot of concertgoers saying they felt so sick to just move on from such a message and enjoy the show. But that was intended to be the point. They were lured into the good times and rock and roll, seduced by the TV screens, only to be reminded of the very real problems outside themselves, in "reality." Point is, I understand what U2 were doing and I think it's easy to spot where the irony began and ended.
However, PopMart was supposed to be a spoof on consumerism, and while I vaguely "get" the concept, I think the execution was weak. Because you can't have four filthy rich rock stars proclaiming that consumerism is bad while also spending exorbitant amounts of money on stage props and TV screens, and selling out venues every night. The statement was just so unclear and felt disingenuous. Coupled with that, the album Pop which the tour was supporting was full of heavy, buried emotions, and it just didn't fit well with the concept. I dunno. I sometimes think I would accept this tour more if there was a book written about it, like Bill Flanagan's U2 at the End of the World about Zoo TV. But then again... maybe it was just a bad move on U2's part.
I understand Zoo TV. I do not understand PopMart. U2's Zoo TV Tour was the first time that the band had turned their "concerts" into "shows," utilizing cutting edge technology to create a spectacle instead of just presenting their music onstage and letting it speak for itself. They were outfitted with massive TV screens, which played (depending on the song) either pre-recorded footage of words flashing across a screen or visuals to complement the song better, as well as whatever was floating around on TV at the time. It was meant to resemble the experience of watching TV and how it can desensitize the viewer to reality- the inspiration came to Bono when watching coverage of the Gulf War, and noticing how if you changed the channel, the war might as well not exist. The theme was held up by the structure of the set, and Bono's performance of each song. The set opened with several rockers, with Bono clad in black leather and shades, swaggering around the stage and making witty remarks like a typical rock singer (he called this persona "The Fly" after U2's song of the same name, and the fly-eye shades he wore). Then the ballad "One" came along and Bono dropped the persona, allowing some vulnerable sentiment to be felt. Part of their tour of Europe also involved broadcasts from Bosnia, where those suffering in the Bosnian wars were given a mouthpiece and spoke out about the horrors they were facing. U2 caught a lot of flack for this, calling it tone-deaf, with a lot of concertgoers saying they felt so sick to just move on from such a message and enjoy the show. But that was intended to be the point. They were lured into the good times and rock and roll, seduced by the TV screens, only to be reminded of the very real problems outside themselves, in "reality." Point is, I understand what U2 were doing and I think it's easy to spot where the irony began and ended.
However, PopMart was supposed to be a spoof on consumerism, and while I vaguely "get" the concept, I think the execution was weak. Because you can't have four filthy rich rock stars proclaiming that consumerism is bad while also spending exorbitant amounts of money on stage props and TV screens, and selling out venues every night. The statement was just so unclear and felt disingenuous. Coupled with that, the album Pop which the tour was supporting was full of heavy, buried emotions, and it just didn't fit well with the concept. I dunno. I sometimes think I would accept this tour more if there was a book written about it, like Bill Flanagan's U2 at the End of the World about Zoo TV. But then again... maybe it was just a bad move on U2's part.
