Bunch Bilges Blogger's Bono Bluff
My trite response to Mr. Bunch's Bono comments did not go unnoticed, so I hereby offer up my true and possibly valid opinion of Mr. Hewson. I was the first kid on the block to discover U2, cranking War on the stereo, beckoning curious listeners of this Irish/rock sound to my door. I later drove my rented Mini around the Ring of Kerry, Ireland while jamming to the new stars of rock-and-roll, driving between jagged cliffs overlooking the sea, sheep pastures, and foggy towns that seemed to exist in an earlier era of history.

A few years passed, and I dashed all my old music after going to the altar for the first time, leaving behind memories of a band that continued in the lights of stardom. There is a gap for a few years, then I happened across a copy of Rattle and Hum, which is a sort of stage seat at U2 concerts and backstage. My impression was that the band was the god, the audience the worshippers. After all, the music cannot be separated from the performance side of things. Bono shouting F this and F that at a concert made it plain that converting souls was not the objective.

Fast forward to one night at the firehouse where I worked, and Vh1 did an All U2 night. I wasn't aware of the Zooropa and Popmart Tour, nor the fact that they performed Sympathy for the Devil, the anthem of satanic influence in the music and era of the Rolling Stones. The message for me: we continue the work of earlier rock artists to create a spirit of party and rebellion. That's a bit far from "And now our work has just begun, to claim the victory Jesus won" (Sunday Bloody Sunday).

Now I admit I'm entranced by The Edge's incredible guitar work, and the solid feel of a four-man band who's stuck together all these years, producing hit after hit. But I agree with Mr. Bunch in that I must make my music choices and purchases carefully, I choose what I want to permeate my soul. Ay, there's the rub...to enjoy great music, but denying the power thereof. Is it possible?