IS U2 still Cool?

[Droo]

There have always been superficial complaints about u2’s coolness over the past 33 years

In chronological order:
1981 october (too religious)
1983 the war tour’s white flags (too pretentious)
1987 the joshua tree (selling out to mainstream)
1988 the joshua tree tour: (too much jesus complex)
1989 rattle and hum (trying too hard to be classic rock hero’s)
1991 achtung baby (too much wearing of too expensive sunglasses)
1998 popmart tour (too much lemon)
2001 atyclb (too little “experimental” )
2004 httaab (too much Lillywhite)
2009 no line (ignored by radio)
So u2 has a pretty cool history of being uncool!

You can never have too much lemon.

[@lmighty DS]

There have always been superficial complaints about u2’s coolness over the past 33 years

In chronological order:
1981 october (too religious)
1983 the war tour’s white flags (too pretentious)
1987 the joshua tree (selling out to mainstream)
1988 the joshua tree tour: (too much jesus complex)
1989 rattle and hum (trying too hard to be classic rock hero’s)
1991 achtung baby (too much wearing of too expensive sunglasses)
1998 popmart tour (too much lemon)
2001 atyclb (too little “experimental” )
2004 httaab (too much Lillywhite)
2009 no line (ignored by radio)
So u2 has a pretty cool history of being uncool!

You can never have too much lemon.

+1. I agree with both these posts. But i'd agree more with the complaint that U2 had just discovered jazz with R&H and decided they should take the liberty to introduce america to jazz, too. I believe Ebert said that.

[Dali]

U2 never were cool. And that's one of the reasons why I first came to like them. Even in their Zooropa and Pop eras, they were not cool because they were too out there to be cool.

Hm, maybe they were cool at one point only: the Vertigo iPod commercial.

[KitCat]

were they ever?

You can never have too much lemon.

+1 to both of those.



U2 is always being played in supermarkets here. Heard Alabama Shakes and The Black Keys in Woolies the other day. 

[Pasha]

U2 have never really been minimalists. That is- they are passionate and intense people. When they came to realise that they were being a little too intense they went for satire in the 90s. But frankly even when they did satire they put everything into that too. So it could be argued that they have always made decisions that would put some people off.

But as far as cool is concerned, it's not something that lasts for ever. Take the "27" club. All the 27 rockers were considered to be in their absolute prime when they died, and they forever stayed "cool". U2 were 27 when they put out Joshua Tree, which could be argued to be their prime. This can never be repeated.

So, yes they have lost their cool. But I don't care, nor should they. They are still the greatest rock band to have ever existed, and their longevity of career is testament to this.

[Manos73]

U2 has becoming my embarrassing guilty pleasure band.  Twenty years ago they were cool.  15 years ago they kinda cool.  They became dorks with the return of the mullets. 

I'm hoping that soon they will become elder statesmen of rock.  While that won't make them cool at least I'll be able to mention them without generating laughs. 

To be clear I've remained a fan throughout.  It just became more and more obvious as time went on that they weren't cool. 

[KitCat]

Um, I wouldn't go so far as to say U2 are a guilty pleasure. U2 may never have been in the cool kids club, but they were always authentic as a rock band, with genuine musical chops; one can easily formulate an argument in their favour.

I'd say a guilty pleasure would be something more like Mika. 

[missey]

The band themselves may not be all that cool, however it seems to be very cool to attend a U2 show.  I have a young cousin who is very much into indie bands and such, but yet her and all her friends were trying to get tickets to 360.  I've had people say to me so you're going to see U2, wow that's great, I should have gotten tickets.  I've had that happen several times. 

[Shark Ericson]

No, they certainly aren't...

[@lmighty DS]

Um, I wouldn't go so far as to say U2 are a guilty pleasure. U2 may never have been in the cool kids club, but they were always authentic as a rock band, with genuine musical chops; one can easily formulate an argument in their favour.

I'd say a guilty pleasure would be something more like Mika. 

guilty pleasures to most people are anything AP takes seriously. honestly. U2 are a legit rock band that "young people" never really respected

[goldtoad]

They are not cool, but that is cool... because it is cool to like a band that is not cool. 
I like Coldplay too... and that is even more uncool.

I don't know if U2 has ever been cool... except maybe way back in the early MTV days and for a while in the 1990s. 
If Chris Brown is cool, then I'm glad U2 is not cool.