Why U2 is influential to me.

    When I was a young kid for years my favorite band was the Beatles. I got my first cassette of theirs, a greatest hits collection, and wore it out. I went through my parent’s record collection and listened to Seargent Peppers, Revolver, and other LP’s. But than one day almost thirty years ago, I was on a camping trip with my family. I was in the very back of the station wagon near the rear speakers. And out of that speaker came a loud blaring repetitive guitar line that echoed into my ear. There were vocals that sounded like they came from a modern day impassioned philosopher. The song was called “I still haven’t found what I’m looking for.” And the band was U2. I was probably 11 or 12 but it was the most essential piece of music I ever heard. Pretty soon it became my favorite band, even more than the Beatles.

When my family pulled up into a pizza joint in southern Oregon, I looked on the juke box. There was that song again. I put it on and sat transfixed as I listened to the song again. A couple years later, I had the whole Joshua Tree album. I was also learning how to play the guitar. I was at a bookstore and saw that there was a chord book for every song on the whole album. I would sit down with my guitar and chord book and play along with the cassette until I knew every song.

A few years after that, I saw them play the Zoo TV tour. It was an amazing concert. How was this band of four guys from Ireland able to transfix a crowd of several thousand all by themselves for nearly three hours? The songs. The reason why U2 is the most important band isn’t because Edge is the best guitar player, Bono is the best vocalist, or Adam and Larry are the greatest rhythm section. What makes them important is their body of work. No band that has been around for four decades can compete with their discography and continue to create compelling music at the same time.  Even though their latest album is not quite they dynamo that their first albums were, there is still enough great material to make it worth listening to. Their music means something to people. It’s spiritual, yet it leaves you alone at the same time. “I can’t change the world, but I can change the world in me when I rejoice,” Bono sings on October, their second album. I rejoiced along with their records growing up in my youth, and I still do as I gravitate towards middle age. And I believe they will be listened to for a long long time.