23
Jan
2010
The Evolution of U2
U2 has been around for nearly three decades now, and yet still they draw huge crowds at concerts. This is because of one word: Evolution.
All bands evolve their sound (some less so than others) but not all evolve their art in the precise and confident manner that U2 has. We’ve been blasting U2’s singles since the 1980’s, dancing or head banging to the charged guitars and shattering vocals. And we’re still doing it. Most rock stars would have shrunk into memory, obscurity, or rehab by now like shots of spectacle that flare up only to sputter out just as quickly. But U2 has kept burning, kept playing, and most importantly, we’ve kept listening.
Twelve albums and 22 Grammys later (Which, by the way, is more Grammy awards than any other band has won) U2 still has our undivided attention. Inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame by none other than Bruce Springsteen himself (who polishes three less Grammys than Bono and company). Each decade a whole new demographic and age group joins the following, proving to the teens of today that U2 isn’t their Dad’s band the way Motley Crue was. U2 is for everyone because they change their approach, not themselves.
Their style was originally inspired by the spirit of punk rock more so than the execution of it. They bottled the energy and fused it into their debut album Boy, pouring out that adolescent vexation. As they matured, so did their music, and most notably Bono’s lyrics. Largely poetry rather exasperated venting, which more and more grew complex and open to political and social interpretations. Like any mature individual they also never lost the fun loving nature of their synthesizer and effects laden tracks of the 80’s, which pepper their modern hits in less obvious forms.
Their key to adaptation is refining the methods of the creature, never the spirit. And now, thirty years later, that initial spark of Sex Pistols punk rock energy and enthusiasm permeates U2fs being. Like the Pistols, they are concerned less with overtly complex musical arrangements and more with better ways to express themselves. As a band, U2 has learned the key to survival, the key to staying relevant in the eyes of multiple generations, the key to keeping the fire from sputtering out. That key is evolving. U2tickets.com sells tickets to U2’s current tour.
