by Divemistress of the Dark on 14 Jan 2009 16:13
Ha! What is it with all the Lecter references lately (there's another in EQ's 'bastard' thread)....
I dunno. There was a time when I thought REM and U2 were the two best bands in the world (this was post-Police breakup). I still think a lot of their work is waaaay above average, but...
Hmmmm. OK, actually this may be worth writing. I just found all the hype and hysteria over them at a certain point to be incredibly off-putting. Like, all of a sudden you couldn't get tickets, and they'd be a billion dollars, and...
Why was I willing to put up with hype and hysteria over the Police tour? Probably because I had already started hanging out here and was interested in Stewart's solo work. Although maybe because I got to see both REM and U2 back in the 80s, and yet I never was able to see The Police play a show. Yet again, perhaps if I'd felt a more personal connection to any of the guys in the other two bands, it would have been a different story.
I sort of 'reconnected' (sorry, Bets) to REM back in 2004, when I went to see them play the Ryman Auditorium in connection with the Rock the Vote tour that year. I was state chair of Women for Kerry-Edwards, so I got to hang out with Stipe backstage in sort of an official role, and - what can I say - they blew the roof off the place.
Since then I've seen Pete Buck play with Robyn Hitchcock (and John Paul Jones, the story of which I've already told here) and was really impressed, again. Plus, it seems like the worst of the hysteria is over, with REM anyway...you can actually get tickets to their shows, although this year they didn't play many stateside.
U2? I dunno. Seems like Bono went the route of pretentious ballbaggery, and I'm just not sure you can do that and still write lyrics that have any real meaning. Although, in retrospect, what else could he have done? Jesus, that band turned into the new Beatles after 'Joshua Tree' came out...you have to hand it to him for at least having a sense of humor about how ridiculous it all became.
On Google - site:stewartcopeland.net "your keyword here" - thanks DM!!