Bono ruins everything

Comes now the latest news from the world of touring: Interpol had to cancel its summer tour because Bono has a bad back – I guess the wallet in his pocket was becoming too big to hold all the money he’s getting from Live Nation to forget about keeping ticket prices down for his true fans.

This bummed me out. I had tickets to see Interpol at the 40 Watt in July and was all geeked up for the show. For most of my employed life I’ve been working nights and weekends, and going to concerts was a rarity (plus, living in South Florida for many years, many of the good up-and-coming bands never made their way down the peninsula). But in the past couple of years I’ve switched to a day job and have had the good fortune to see many of the bands I missed over the years. While I’ve seen Interpol before, it’s been several years and the last two tours I wasn’t able to catch them.

There is hope they’ll came back around when this all gets straightened out, but who knows? So Bono has messed it all up. Bastard.

Of course, this whole bad back for Bono thing makes me feel a bit old, and I’m sure many people are making jokes about Bono’s age as well (I read one joke which read he hurt his backing trying to see where all the sunshine was coming from). But in reality, Bono and U2 are getting old, both literally and figuratively, and it pains me to say that. From 1980 to 1984 U2 made some of the greatest records, records that to this day are still among my favorites. But now . . .

Years ago I went to see Henry Rollins during one of his spoken word tours, and during one part of his set he lit into Bono and U2. This is what Rollins had to say recently:

I just think the music, you know, knowing what I know about music, and being in any line up I’ve ever had, musicians I play with could hand U2 their heads. And knowing that. Bands make so much fun of U2. Ask any band on the bandstand, say U2 and the band starts laughing. Because the drummer can’t play. Bass player plods along. The guitar player, if he didn’t have Brian Eno, he wouldn’t have a guitar sound. It’s basically a Brian Eno guitar sound played by guy who’s got one trick. That’s why there’s no leads, because the guys got nothing in there. And lyrically, I mean, whatever. You like God, you go ahead with that. That melts your butter you for it. To me those records are for people who’ve lost the will to fight.

Ahem.

Now I wouldn’t say all bands make fun of U2, though I’m sure the bands Rollins love do (in the world of opposites, the opposite of Henry Rollins probably is U2), but I can get where he’s coming from. U2’s recent albums are light, they’re like Muzac versions of older U2 albums.

Maybe it’s time for them to stop.