Thank you for calling out U2. It has also bothered me for awhile now. I can also vaguely remember a video that popped up on Facebook in which Bono patronizingly quoted scripture appealing to some local Catholics to accept the Globalist agenda. He quite literally looked posessed. He's suckling the proverbial tits of the gilded archonic calf at this point.
I'm with you on U2. Bono's memoir last year, "Surrender," could have been subtitled "How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Deep State and WEF."
Bono was always a bit dubious with some of his political stuff, but I could ignore it because the band's music, especially the early stuff from Boy in 1980 through Achtung Baby in 1991, meant so much to me in my teens and 20s and transcended Bono's more loopy political takes (I was 13 when Joshua Tree came out, so discovered the earlier 80s stuff later, since I was only 6 when Boy came out; by the time I discovered Boy I was only a few years younger than they were when they made it, so it spoke to me like nothing I'd ever heard on mainstream pop radio as a kid; also lived in Dublin for a year in mid-'90s so their early stuff was like a soundtrack to Dublin for me).
But Bono's constant cozying-up to the powers that be from about 2000 on has been baffling and feels like a total sellout. He's even a partner in a Romney-esque "private equity" firm that has a billion dollar+ stake in Facebook, and who know what else (I wouldn't doubt some Big Pharma holdings as well at this point; cha-ching, thanks Covid jabs!)...just seems icky for a singer and band that came from punk, and who still name check The Ramones as key influences.
Funny you mention Lydon. I remember he was photographed wearing a MAGA hat in 2020 and got loads of grief from the usual suspects claiming he was "betraying punk," etc. Apparently it didn't occur to any of them that Johnny Rotten wearing a MAGA hat in 2020 was actually the most punk & anti-regime thing he could do at the time (shades of Sid Vicious wearing a swastika shirt c. 1978).
An old rocker friend was talking about politics and how he loved Rolling Stone magazine which he relied on for his opinions. “I still like to stick it to the Man” I said “Jim you ARE the Man”. Then proceeded to tell him that R n R was totally co-opted by the neo-liberal establishment. That there was little or no rebellious fight left in the music business. Virtue signaling put to song and a pat on the head by some disgracefully corrupt producer ready to steal your soul. Creativity has left the building being replaced by pop formulas. And Bono omg 🤮.
I almost threw in a section about the capitulation of Rolling Stone and Mother Jones. "Tell me you've been infiltrated by the CIA without telling me you've been infiltrated by the CIA."
Mother Jones. I liked them better when they were real commies. I wonder if like the ACLU, SPLC, NAACP, they are a property of Open Society and kindly old Mr Soros?
I have a similar issue with Springsteen: particularly hypocritical, given the stories that a lot of his songs tell. Bob Dylan, though, basically ignoring the Nobel Prize committee—that was great. Looks like he's still keeping it real. I've always admired how he has followed his muse without giving the slightest damn for what anyone has to say about it.
Thank you for calling out U2. It has also bothered me for awhile now. I can also vaguely remember a video that popped up on Facebook in which Bono patronizingly quoted scripture appealing to some local Catholics to accept the Globalist agenda. He quite literally looked posessed. He's suckling the proverbial tits of the gilded archonic calf at this point.
He disgusts me. Such a betrayal.
Three Cords and the Truth!
“If that ain't country, I'll kiss your ass” - David Allen Coe
His brother owned a bar here we used to frequent once upon a time.
I'm with you on U2. Bono's memoir last year, "Surrender," could have been subtitled "How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Deep State and WEF."
Bono was always a bit dubious with some of his political stuff, but I could ignore it because the band's music, especially the early stuff from Boy in 1980 through Achtung Baby in 1991, meant so much to me in my teens and 20s and transcended Bono's more loopy political takes (I was 13 when Joshua Tree came out, so discovered the earlier 80s stuff later, since I was only 6 when Boy came out; by the time I discovered Boy I was only a few years younger than they were when they made it, so it spoke to me like nothing I'd ever heard on mainstream pop radio as a kid; also lived in Dublin for a year in mid-'90s so their early stuff was like a soundtrack to Dublin for me).
But Bono's constant cozying-up to the powers that be from about 2000 on has been baffling and feels like a total sellout. He's even a partner in a Romney-esque "private equity" firm that has a billion dollar+ stake in Facebook, and who know what else (I wouldn't doubt some Big Pharma holdings as well at this point; cha-ching, thanks Covid jabs!)...just seems icky for a singer and band that came from punk, and who still name check The Ramones as key influences.
Funny you mention Lydon. I remember he was photographed wearing a MAGA hat in 2020 and got loads of grief from the usual suspects claiming he was "betraying punk," etc. Apparently it didn't occur to any of them that Johnny Rotten wearing a MAGA hat in 2020 was actually the most punk & anti-regime thing he could do at the time (shades of Sid Vicious wearing a swastika shirt c. 1978).
I love watching Lydon in interviews. So funny, so intelligent, so human. So punk!
An old rocker friend was talking about politics and how he loved Rolling Stone magazine which he relied on for his opinions. “I still like to stick it to the Man” I said “Jim you ARE the Man”. Then proceeded to tell him that R n R was totally co-opted by the neo-liberal establishment. That there was little or no rebellious fight left in the music business. Virtue signaling put to song and a pat on the head by some disgracefully corrupt producer ready to steal your soul. Creativity has left the building being replaced by pop formulas. And Bono omg 🤮.
I almost threw in a section about the capitulation of Rolling Stone and Mother Jones. "Tell me you've been infiltrated by the CIA without telling me you've been infiltrated by the CIA."
Mother Jones. I liked them better when they were real commies. I wonder if like the ACLU, SPLC, NAACP, they are a property of Open Society and kindly old Mr Soros?
Who would have guessed, Michael, without being explicitly told? Not me. More power to the muse of inspiration, in whatever form she may be.
I must confess, I am grateful that Tom Petty passed before the pandemic. My soul would have been crushed had he caved.
I totally get that.
I have a similar issue with Springsteen: particularly hypocritical, given the stories that a lot of his songs tell. Bob Dylan, though, basically ignoring the Nobel Prize committee—that was great. Looks like he's still keeping it real. I've always admired how he has followed his muse without giving the slightest damn for what anyone has to say about it.