Favorite quotes from the band?

[Starr :)]

What's your favorite quote from U2?
It could be lyrics or something actually spoken..

[Zoost]

"We may lose some of the pop kids, but we don't need them" - Bono 1992

[Boom Cha!]

"We may lose some of the pop kids, but we don't need them" - Bono 1992

Whatever happened to that Bono?

[The Exile]

"We may lose some of the pop kids, but we don't need them" - Bono 1992

Ha! That's exactly the one I was going to post. But then I just figured you'd do it for me.

[The Unknown Caller]

"We may lose some of the pop kids, but we don't need them" - Bono 1992

Whatever happened to that Bono?

Sadly, pretty sure that the Flanagan quote about Zoo TV saying that they would end the tour early if the album wasn't received well isn't a direct quote from the band, making it ineligible for this thread.

[The Exile]

"We may lose some of the pop kids, but we don't need them" - Bono 1992

Whatever happened to that Bono?

Sadly, pretty sure that the Flanagan quote about Zoo TV saying that they would end the tour early if the album wasn't received well isn't a direct quote from the band, making it ineligible for this thread.

You're so obsessed with that quote! You treat it as some kind of rejoinder to those of us who miss U2's daring attitude in the '90s.

The idea that the band would not extend and expand ZooTV if it flopped is hardly remarkable to me. What exactly is it that you think the quote proves?

[The Unknown Caller]

I have cited that maybe three times ever, which is roughly 1/100 of the number of times that someone has cited some variation of the "We may lose some of the pop kids!" quote. I think the quote-  particularly since it's a pretty clear behind the scenes case of what the band were actually thinking and planning rather than what they wanted people to think they were saying - adds a little dose of reality to the people who are hellbent on pretending that there has ever been a time in U2 history when they didn't want U2 to be relevant, commercial and popular as well as artistically successful.

U2 wanted people to see them as edgy, daring and COMPLETELY unconcerned with what people thought of them. That doesn't mean that we should pretend that they actually were that way, particularly when most indications clearly are that they weren't. And yes, I think the fact that they were closely watching how Achtung Baby was doing commercially and planned to change their touring plans based on that is pretty important. No extension of Zoo TV  = no Zooropa, after all.

[The Exile]

I have cited that maybe three times ever, which is roughly 1/100 of the number of times that someone has cited some variation of the "We may lose some of the pop kids!" quote. I think the quote-  particularly since it's a pretty clear behind the scenes case of what the band were actually thinking and planning rather than what they wanted people to think they were saying - adds a little dose of reality to the people who are hellbent on pretending that there has ever been a time in U2 history when they didn't want U2 to be relevant, commercial and popular as well as artistically successful.

U2 wanted people to see them as edgy, daring and COMPLETELY unconcerned with what people thought of them. That doesn't mean that we should pretend that they actually were that way, particularly when most indications clearly are that they weren't. And yes, I think the fact that they were closely watching how Achtung Baby was doing commercially and planned to change their touring plans based on that is pretty important. No extension of Zoo TV  = no Zooropa, after all.

That sounds to me like a classic example of special pleading. On the one hand we have the radical departure that is Achtung Baby (which led to a mass exodus of older U2 fans), Zoo TV, Zooropa and all that came with it. On the other hand we have a single line from a book about U2 suggesting that the band may have altered their outrageously expensive tour plans if the whole thing flopped. And after weighing one against the other, you conclude that behind the scenes U2 was actually as concerned with commercial popularity and relevance as they are now.

And people call us oldtimers cynical!

[The Unknown Caller]

I don't buy your argument at all, and think it's a classic example of trying to see what you want to. BUT that said, there is already a thread for discussing U2 in the 90s, and I apologise for causing the hijacking of this thread, which the OP did not intend to dissolve into this kind of argument!

So, I will say that, cliché as it is, 'Live is where we live' is a fantastic quote!

[MLP Midnight]

"You know, on a long tour you do hear people saying they miss their pets. I never have. But last night I started really missing my dog. It's very odd, 'cause I don't have a dog."

Bono 

[Allie79]

I want to play the guitar very badly, and I DO play the guitar very badly."

[missey]

Fu** the past, kiss the future.
Bono


My all time favorite quote.

[OnlyU2]

As a rock star, I have two instincts, I want to have fun, and I want to change the world. I have a chance to do both.
Bono

[CherryYouDanceWithMe]

You can't get further from the song than the singer.


THat changed the way I listen to lyrics.

[Jara]

"We play two kinds of music....Country AND Western"

Adam