We did not receive any sermons using U2's scathingly self-aware meditation on celebrity, "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me," which is a darn shame. However, U2page has just put up a long, informal piece which wanders through the lyrics in three possible readings: if they were sung by the self-consciously manufactured '90s public persona "Bono," if they were sung by the character MacPhisto, and if they were sung from Jesus' point of view.

A sample, from the commentary on the last line in the jaw-dropping verse
They want you to be Jesus/They'll go down on one knee
But they'll want their money back/If you're alive at thirty-three
And you're turning tricks/With your crucifix
You're a star


Earlier in the song, [the "Bono" character] expressed the idea that his fame was forced on him, or at the very least unexpected or even undeserved. But here he turns that concept on its head by saying he is actually abusing or desecrating that position (�turning tricks�, which places the blame squarely on his own shoulders). If he had ended the verse with �alive at thirty-three�, it would have been a bitter resentment of the position celebrity thrusts upon him. But by continuing it with the �turning tricks� couplet, he takes the blame back on himself. He calls himself a charlatan and a fake.

Read the whole thing here.