My long relationship with U2.....

It has evolved over time, as any good relationship should. The torrid, passionate affair of the late 80's and early 90's mellowed as we both experienced drastic changes and directions in our lives. No longer were we carefree high school/college students and band taking on the world. We had to accept our choices and our different roles in the world and so we did. We both experimented and eventually arrived at a more stable understanding of who we are and what we do. Are we done challenging those expectations? I hope not.

For those of you that have not heard the latest album - How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb - it's good, though certainly not Joshua Tree or Achtung Baby good, probably not even All That You Can't Leave Behind good. It suffers from a lack of the always elusive 'album' feel. There are some really good songs in there but they do not create a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. You don't finish listening to it stunned by its wonders. I still get that feeling when listening to Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby - they are indescribable in their greatness.

U2 has succumbed to the trappings of age and success. It's really hard to create great art if you're not suffering, or so wrapped up in its creation that it consumes you. Despite the fact that they know their shit, music-wise, it's not enough. There needs to be a spark that is more than, 'I really love to make music for people' if you're going to make something really great. Examples of really phenomenal work done by long established artists in the Rock and Roll era are rare. You'll find a few, but you'll find far more of the others. Peter Gabriel, Paul Simon, Paul McCartney, are the most obvious. Each of them can still make good songs, and even occasionally a really good album, but the great stuff is far more rare.

That said, U2 has managed to maintain as high a level of quality as anyone over the years, and I look forward to some spark and strife in their lives for the next great album.