At dinner we were debating genius.<\/p>\n
Obviously Bob Dylan is a genius.\u00c2\u00a0 John Lennon was one too.\u00c2\u00a0 But what about
BONO?<\/p>\n
I was clear about this, DEFINITIVE, Bono IS NOT A GENIUS!<\/p>\n
Then, sotto voce, I said…"But Edge is."<\/p>\n
Bono gets all the attention.\u00c2\u00a0 He’s the one making the pronouncements, he’s
the one in the news.\u00c2\u00a0 He’s talented, he’s got an interesting voice, but the
worst Don Henley lyric is better than the stuff Bono pens.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s all about the
PERFORMANCE, and that’s fine, that’s great, I give him credit, there have been
great entertainers throughout the ages, but someone with INNATE talent, with
something in his genes, who then works to develop it, and lets us peek inside at
his creations, that’s GENIUS!<\/p>\n
The reason I love "Achtung Baby", resent everything they’ve done since, is
they’ve subjugated Edge’s genius to structure, everything the band does is in
service to being the BIGGEST BAND IN THE WORLD!<\/p>\n
History is littered with creators who were lionized in their day but have
been forgotten over time.\u00c2\u00a0 The key isn’t to play for popularity, but to
constantly test…the edge, push harder, into the unknown.\u00c2\u00a0 Oh, you take the risk
you’ll fail, that you’ll go up a blind alley, hit a dead end, take some of the
shine off your career, but you also might discover something so exquisite it will
change lives.\u00c2\u00a0 Even though these people ultimately affected might not come to
the party early, even though they might profess to want more of the same, when
confronted with something so beautiful, so amazing, so DIFFERENT, they
EMBRACE IT!\u00c2\u00a0 Hell, isn’t that the secret of Apple Computer?<\/p>\n
But Apple makes tools.\u00c2\u00a0 That ENABLE geniuses to do their work.\u00c2\u00a0 And it’s THIS
work we truly admire.<\/p>\n
Now Edge isn’t Eric Clapton, certainly not Alvin Lee, he hasn’t built his
reputation on playing a lot of notes.\u00c2\u00a0 Oh, speed isn’t even a factor.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s
TONALITY!\u00c2\u00a0 And rhythm.\u00c2\u00a0 He lays down these grooves, and peppers them with astral effects, to the point where you’re ENTRANCED!<\/p>\n
You’re sitting at your computer, you’re driving your car, and Edge starts to
play and your foot starts to tap, your leg starts to move, your head starts to
nod…INVOLUNTARILY!!\u00c2\u00a0 Your complete MOOD can be changed just by hearing what
comes out of his guitar.<\/p>\n
It’s not the genius of Lennon and McCartney.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s not about melody.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s
about PURE SOUND!!<\/p>\n
And this is why the U2 tour is selling out.<\/p>\n
Oh, of course, there’s mania.\u00c2\u00a0 Hype.\u00c2\u00a0 But the reason all those
thirtysomethings and early fortysomethings clamor for a ticket to see the band is that SOUND!\u00c2\u00a0 They want to remember a time gone by, when they still felt hope, saw
OPPORTUNITY, when they were SET FREE BY MUSIC!\u00c2\u00a0 They just want to go to the show and have Edge fire up his amps, string his guitar around his neck and PLAY!<\/p>\n
Bono’s working the stage, mugging for the camera.\u00c2\u00a0 If Edge is moving at all,
it’s minor.\u00c2\u00a0 His feet are planted.\u00c2\u00a0 His upper body leans forward and back just
a bit.\u00c2\u00a0 He’s not reacting to the music, he IS the music!!<\/p>\n
Now U2 has had its share of hits.\u00c2\u00a0 And "I Will Follow", their debut single,
is one of the best of all time.\u00c2\u00a0 With all that energy.\u00c2\u00a0 But talk to the fans,
it’s really the album tracks, the more obscure stuff that resonates.\u00c2\u00a0 Songs
like "Bad".<\/p>\n
My iTunes library just shifted into a live performance of "Bad" from the
Elevation tour.\u00c2\u00a0 The guitar starts off sparkling, like a SATELLITE!\u00c2\u00a0 Announcing
the arrival of something FANTASTIC!<\/p>\n
And that’s what you get when Edge lays into the groove.<\/p>\n
It’s like the Millennium Falcon.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s like the spaceship in "E.T."\u00c2\u00a0
Suddenly, 20,000 people LIFT OFF!\u00c2\u00a0 They’re no longer on the ground, they’re hovering in space, weightless.\u00c2\u00a0 They’re part of something bigger than themselves, a sea of humanity powered by this little Irish guy on stage.\u00c2\u00a0 Bono’s just the
cheerleader, really, EDGE is the team!\u00c2\u00a0 He’s the quarterback, the integral element
that everybody else is supporting.\u00c2\u00a0 Oh, a fine ensemble cast it is, then again,
greatness, GENIUS, is always fragile, it needs a friendly supportive
environment in which to flourish.<\/p>\n
Edge can’t handle the spotlight.\u00c2\u00a0 Bono’s for that.<\/p>\n
Larry and Adam provide the underpinning, the canvas, Edge just dances upon
it.\u00c2\u00a0 Sometimes all over the place like a Jackson Pollock painting, yet there’s a
rhythm to the madness, it’s not without form, there IS control.<\/p>\n
You’re mesmerized.\u00c2\u00a0 You’re flying around the arena, checking everybody out,
grooving to the music.\u00c2\u00a0 You start to sing along, in joy, with Bono, as Edge
slowly sets you back in your seat, like the experienced pilot of a 747.<\/p>\n
You can tell everybody about your trip, but unless they were there with you,
that night, or at another show, they just won’t get it.<\/p>\n
You’re a member of a secret society.\u00c2\u00a0 You can listen to the records, and
they’re great, but they’re just a FACSIMILE of the live performance.\u00c2\u00a0 And that’s
why you go. <\/p>\n
<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
At dinner we were debating genius. Obviously Bob Dylan is a genius.\u00c2\u00a0 John Lennon was one too.\u00c2\u00a0 But what about BONO? I was clear about this, DEFINITIVE, Bono IS NOT A GENIUS! Then, sotto voce, I said…"But Edge is." Bono gets all the attention.\u00c2\u00a0 He’s the one making the pronouncements, he’s the one in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-live-shows","category-the-music"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/s96vPs-bad","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}