Monday, July 19, 2004
Reneging on U2 (OR) Why My Brother is Stupid
Regular readers of wrfarah.blogspot.com will remember a rant I gave last fall for why U2 has peaked. A fine post, if I do say so myself, and one I still affirm.
So we're sitting there at dinner this week, celebrating my little sister Jessica's 16th birthday. Being further removed from 16 than I am from 116, I asked mom what Jess wanted. She wanted a U2 cd and a Sinatra cd. Two choices that prove to me she's gonna turn out OK.
So she opens up her cds, and my brother Jon immediately starts ripping her U2 cd. For the record: my opinion on U2 has not changed since my previous post. In fact, it may have sunk further, now that news has surfaced that their sole recording of 6 months of studio work has been stolen. I could go on and on about that one . . . but that's another post.
My brother, in his most snickering tone, say, "Ha! The Edge! What a terrible guitarist!" And I'm thinking, "Huh?" The Edge may be a lot of things. We can rip him for his pretentious name, for you name it. But for his guitar work? Uh-uh. I've read a lot of things about U2, and I've read nothing but praise for The Edge's work. Moreover, I've always enjoyed his work. So I take this issue up with Jon, giving him a cheap shot about one of his favorite bands, Dream Theater.
After much arguing and raised voices -- stop. Let's explain something about Jon, first. He's got to be right. The only time he will not say he's right is if he's in complete ignorance of a subject. Then he won't as much admit he's wrong; he'll just slump off with a comment like, "So?" But this time, I wasn't interested in any easy compromises. In fact, after a good deal of arguing, I said to him, "You know how when two people are arguing, they'll look for some common ground, because people naturally do not like to argue, and like to come to some sort of an agreement to leave by? That's not gonna happen here. I'm not letting you off the hook for saying Dream Theater is more influential than U2. That is nothing but idiocy."
Thus, my brother's argument:
1.) Edge is a poor, boring, derivative, contemporary guitarist. Against my assertion that Edge is a talented guitarist, Jon said, "He relies too much on his pedals." To which I said, "Do you even know what pedals are used for? Have you ever seen The Edge play? Have you ever picked up a guitar?" To which Jon, a keyboardist, said: He plays guitar every day (a lie); and he has seen The Edge play (lie #2).
2.) Dream Theater is a more influential musical force than U2. I'm not even wasting my time, refuting this argument. Rather, I will simply state: if a group of musicians from a cross-section of genres of music were brought together in a room to listen to such a statement, laughter would fill the room. Or as I said Sunday night: "Jon. Jon. You're embarrassing yourself right now. Just stop. Stop."
3.) U2 is not a revolutionary band because they are a pop band. No band that gets on the radio can really change music. To answer this absurd assertion, I merely stated: "But Jon -- you're in a pop band. You play pop music." This is the underground highbrow's greatest argument against importance: popularity. And Jon's bought into it. To live this philosophy would mean his band would -- if approached by a record label -- have to turn any offer down.
I gave him plenty of opportunities. I told him, rip U2 for what they deserved to be ripped for. But I would not merely sit there and listen to him crap on a fine musician. One doesn't have to like another's music to respect him. Maybe we all just need someone to tell us we sound ridiculous sometimes. God knows I do. And so did Jon.
So we're sitting there at dinner this week, celebrating my little sister Jessica's 16th birthday. Being further removed from 16 than I am from 116, I asked mom what Jess wanted. She wanted a U2 cd and a Sinatra cd. Two choices that prove to me she's gonna turn out OK.
So she opens up her cds, and my brother Jon immediately starts ripping her U2 cd. For the record: my opinion on U2 has not changed since my previous post. In fact, it may have sunk further, now that news has surfaced that their sole recording of 6 months of studio work has been stolen. I could go on and on about that one . . . but that's another post.
My brother, in his most snickering tone, say, "Ha! The Edge! What a terrible guitarist!" And I'm thinking, "Huh?" The Edge may be a lot of things. We can rip him for his pretentious name, for you name it. But for his guitar work? Uh-uh. I've read a lot of things about U2, and I've read nothing but praise for The Edge's work. Moreover, I've always enjoyed his work. So I take this issue up with Jon, giving him a cheap shot about one of his favorite bands, Dream Theater.
After much arguing and raised voices -- stop. Let's explain something about Jon, first. He's got to be right. The only time he will not say he's right is if he's in complete ignorance of a subject. Then he won't as much admit he's wrong; he'll just slump off with a comment like, "So?" But this time, I wasn't interested in any easy compromises. In fact, after a good deal of arguing, I said to him, "You know how when two people are arguing, they'll look for some common ground, because people naturally do not like to argue, and like to come to some sort of an agreement to leave by? That's not gonna happen here. I'm not letting you off the hook for saying Dream Theater is more influential than U2. That is nothing but idiocy."
Thus, my brother's argument:
1.) Edge is a poor, boring, derivative, contemporary guitarist. Against my assertion that Edge is a talented guitarist, Jon said, "He relies too much on his pedals." To which I said, "Do you even know what pedals are used for? Have you ever seen The Edge play? Have you ever picked up a guitar?" To which Jon, a keyboardist, said: He plays guitar every day (a lie); and he has seen The Edge play (lie #2).
2.) Dream Theater is a more influential musical force than U2. I'm not even wasting my time, refuting this argument. Rather, I will simply state: if a group of musicians from a cross-section of genres of music were brought together in a room to listen to such a statement, laughter would fill the room. Or as I said Sunday night: "Jon. Jon. You're embarrassing yourself right now. Just stop. Stop."
3.) U2 is not a revolutionary band because they are a pop band. No band that gets on the radio can really change music. To answer this absurd assertion, I merely stated: "But Jon -- you're in a pop band. You play pop music." This is the underground highbrow's greatest argument against importance: popularity. And Jon's bought into it. To live this philosophy would mean his band would -- if approached by a record label -- have to turn any offer down.
I gave him plenty of opportunities. I told him, rip U2 for what they deserved to be ripped for. But I would not merely sit there and listen to him crap on a fine musician. One doesn't have to like another's music to respect him. Maybe we all just need someone to tell us we sound ridiculous sometimes. God knows I do. And so did Jon.
