Et Tu, Bono?
U2, Pop
Joe Martin
April 1, 1997
U2, Pop (Island Records, 1997) In the world, of rock a decade is a millennium and chances are that what was cool in the eighties is decidedly not so now. Only image-conscious chameleons are able to maintain the staying power necessary to market themselves to rock's consumer audience. "Strike a pose/ there's nothing to it!" chants Madonna. And Prince—or The Artist Formerly Known As—transforms his name into an unutterable symbol, driving typesetters and catalogers everywhere insane. It's the poseurs and provocateurs who make cameras click and cash registers clink. A voice, a song, a message—sure these help. But the ongoing contenders know that in rock, image is everything. Supergroup U2 provides the lesson du jour. Just a couple of years ago, lead singer Bono tweaked viewers of an mtv awards show by giving the verbal equivalent of the raised middle finger in his acceptance speech. The quintessential defiant rocker. Now comes U2's new album. It's title? Pop. Well, so much for "F—k the mainstream." On Pop, we observe the unusual spectacle of a band selling out to the commercialism of contemporary culture while simultaneously asking forgiveness for the same. The experience is akin to watching an alcoholic lecture on the evils of liquor as he apologizes for downing that next gin and tonic. Or a lothario eyeing a woman as he ambles towards the confessional. A puzzling scenario—and an irritating one. The new set opens with "Discotheque," as trite a song as its title suggests. Imagine Abba doing industrial rock. Siren sounds, riffs, and amped-out distortions are dolloped generously throughout, signaling listeners that U2 has embraced the techno-rave stylings of a new decade. But what begins as an arresting sonic ...
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