Exploring U2 for less money

Exploring U2: Is This Rock 'n' Roll?: Essays on the Music, Work, and Influence of U2
the collection of papers from the first U2 academic conference, is out in paperback now. When the hardback came out there were lots of understandable comments about the pricing, which was typical for an academic book but high for the U2 market. If you haven't bought it already, you can now get a copy for only $30 (list price), and about $16 for the eBook. Several friends and commenters here have  material in the book, and it also contains my paper "Where Leitourgia Has No Name."

More in the "what worship leaders can learn from..." genre

Thanks to Bob Keeley for tipping me off to this recent post on what worship leaders can learn from U2. There have been a number of such pieces linked here over the past couple tours (here's a recent 360 one, e.g.), each of which brought a little something different to the topic. In looking over past examples, I was reminded that one of the highlights in terms of both initial insights and subsequent discussion has to have been this 2006 post from Steve Taylor (whose work on "Bullet the Blue Sky" will also appear in Exploring U2, incidentally! /shameless book promotion off).

Adam

Those of you who enjoyed Stephen Catanzarite's book on Achtung Baby may want to drop over to the blog for the 33 1/3 book series and read his account of presenting the book to Bono at a recent 360 concert. Incidentally, the paper on U2's conservative voice that's mentioned briefly will appear in Exploring U2: Is This Rock 'n' Roll?

Exploring U2: Is this rock 'n' roll?

Take a look at the cover, table of contents and general information for Exploring U2: Is This Rock 'n' Roll?, the book that grew out of the 2009 U2 academic conference. I can vouch for the excellence of several of the papers that made it in, and I am very excited about seeing a hard copy this fall!

[edit: We've been asked to submit an alphabtical list of songs cited in our chapters, and I was kind of amazed to discover that I cite 29 songs in mine, to wit: "40", Bad, Beautiful Day, Bullet the Blue Sky, Elevation, The Fly, Kite, Love Is Blindness, Mothers of the Disappeared, Mysterious Ways, New Year's Day, One, Out of Control, Please, Pride, Running to Standstill, Satellite of Love, A Sort of Homecoming, Stuck in a Moment, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Trying to Throw Your Arms Around the World, Unknown Caller, Vertigo, Walk On, What's Going On, When Will I See You Again, Where the Streets Have No Name, With or Without You, Yahweh. Geez, think you cited enough songs there?]

"They want you to be Jesus"

Hat tip to Scott Calhoun for this article (Describing Bono’s Christian Faith For Kids) about a new book from Zondervan, Breaking Through by Grace: The Bono Story. It presents Bono for young readers as a well known example of Christian commitment. Readers with extraordinarily good recall may remember that this is the second such "role model" book, the other being the 2004 release A Powerful Voice from Religious and Moral Education Press in the UK.

"Not that I’d proffer the songwriter’s own comments as in any way decisive on the issue...."

Thanks to Scott for giving me a heads up that Andrea Morandi, who published that Italian book on U2's lyrics In The Name of Love which drew some comment back in January, has posted on his blog a nice piece by Deane Galbraith (who did a wonderful paper on the fallen angel image in U2 at the U2 academic conference) analyzing the media reception Morandi's book has received.

New book from Steve Harmon

Readers of this blog will probably recognize the name of theologian Steven R. Harmon, whose perceptive work on U2 I've linked frequently here. Steve has a new book out which I got to review ahead of publication and which may be of interest to some of you. It is not at all a book on the band, but a book that makes an approachable and compelling case that regular grassroots Christians, especially younger ones, have a stake in the quest for Christian unity and specifically in the future of the ecumenical movement. Along the way of making this case, at times Steve draws examples from aspects of U2's life and work -- which, as is not hard to imagine, chime well with his theme.

So check out Ecumenism Means You, Too: Ordinary Christians and the Quest for Christian Unity, now available online from Wipf & Stock. (If you'd like to see what I wrote for the back cover, click to expand "Endorsements & Review" at the bottom of the page.)

Andrea Morandi book - update

I thought readers might like to know that a fuller version of @U2's interview Andrea Morandi's Lavoro D'Amore is now available. It includes an excerpt from the book, to demonstrate its cinematic style, and more information on some of the literary quotations and allusions which the author picks up.

Andrea Morandi’s Lavoro D’Amore

Readers may remember this blog noting a piece some weeks back in the Guardian about a 650-page Italian book by Andrea Morandi, U2: The Name of Love, Testi Commentati. Based apparently on little more than the fact that the book was noted positively in L'Osservatore Romano, that piece cast a snide eye-roll at U2's lyrics as a front for proselytizing. Now, @U2 has interviewed Andrea Morandi himself, who sets the record straight on the subtleties and scope of his book. Excerpt:

I started with the lyrics and went backwards. The Bible has been a key source because in the book I compared Bono’s words with those of Habakkuk, Isaiah and David, but there is much more. There is an influence of Karl Popper in “Zoo Station”; of Jean Baudrillard in “Even Better Than the Real Thing”; of Raymond Carver in “Acrobat”; and of Paul Celan, Patrick Kavanagh and Soren Kierkegaard in “The First Time.” There are also influence from essays on foreign politics, books on the history of blues, Sam Shepard and Flannery O’Connor, John Boyle O’Reilly and Norman Mailer, John Clare and Thomas Mann, and Günter Grass and Virginia Woolf. I discovered all these thing starting from reading old interviews with Bono, old quotes, suggestions and well-known things (John Boyle O’Reilly is the man in “Van Diemen’s Land”).

I’ve read many books about U2, of course, but the one that I followed like a polar star was "U2 by U2." There are many revelations in that book and I try to investigate them more. I read Niall Stokes’ "Into the Heart" but I tried to dig deeper; Niall doesn't go very deep into influences from the Bible or literature.

Testi commenti

I suppose I need to link this Guardian article, because it's probably important to note the historically interesting fact that the enterprise of publishing books explaining U2's Christian underpinnings (a trend that's now very tired in anglophone countries) has made it freshly to Italy; the article is commenting on a recent review in L'Osservatore Romano of Andrea Morandi's November 2009 Italian-language book The name of love. Testi commenti. The author (judging from the brief quotes in the actual review) sounds rather thoughtful, and has created a 656-page work in which U2 lyrics are commented upon and linked with the Biblical allusions they make (I'm curious if it cites @U2's well known list; guessing not).

This whole topic is apparently more or less risible news to the Guardian, who had hoped U2 got over all that decades ago. They share their concern by festooning the article with cliched adolescent sneers like "crusader," "defender of the faith," "earn a halo and a pair of wings," and "heaven's pearly gates." (Apparently the concept of thinking adult artists choosing to carry on in their work an ongoing dialogue with a complex, nuanced spiritual tradition is inconceivable. Or perhaps the problem is inability to conceive of there even being such a thing as a complex, nuanced spiritual tradition in the first place?) Though unable to deny the general case In the name of love and the review apparently make, the Guardian does find a specific way to fault Morandi and debunks linking "Magnificent" with the "Magnificat" as just reading too much into things. Unfortunately, that happens to be one link Bono has made repeatedly in print.

But, let me put my annoyance at Confirmation-class-style spitball throwing and my "how can this be news to anyone?" outlook aside... If anyone has read Morandi's book, which I'm betting is more subtle and careful than the Guardian portrays it, please tell us more. Any Italian fans out there who can help?

Author Interview

Here is an interview with Greg Garrett, author of the most recent, and the most simplistic and generic, book in the series of (now 4) books making the overall point that U2 have a spiritual component to their music, We Get To Carry Each Other. Anyone who has at all followed the outpouring of writing on this very popular topic over the years will find no new insights in the work, but judging from the tone of the interviewer there are still people to whom the basics are quite fresh. You may want to check it out even for that perspective. (FYI, people familiar with the literature may be a bit perplexed at some of the representations made in the interview.)

Bouquet of links

More catchup: Quaerentia continues its trip through the album.
Author Christian Scharen announces a study guide to his 2006 book.
Project rednoW muses on how "White As Snow" chooses "description over commentary."
Laurie Britt-Smith writes a Christian themed review on U2 fansite Interference.
Fresno Dave postulates some "meta-motifs" of the album.
Well-known writer Don Miller gives a comical sense of how tough it is for U2 to be U2, followed by interesting discussion by various other Christian voices in the comboxes.

5 Questions with Matt McGee

It's not just because I'm looking forward to the book, but also because, yeah, I wouldn't mind winning a $50 iTunes gift certificate, that I bring you this interview with Matt McGee, author of U2: A Diary which is being officially released Oct 1. If you have a blog, you can also email Matt with 5 questions and get in on the contest. (And if you don't, there seems to be another contest coming later.) By the way, if you're coming to the U2 academic conference, U2: The Hype and The Feedback in NYC next May, Matt McGee will be one of the featured speakers.

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U2 Sermons: I know from some conversations we've had that U2: A Diary is going to draw on recent sources to offer a presentation of U2's early involvement with charismatic Christianity in Ireland which is more nuanced than the mainstream media, "VH-1 Legends" type script many of us were used to. Do you have hopes about how your research will affect people's assessment of this era in their career?

McGee: I think my main hope is that readers will notice and appreciate the nuance in how this part of their development is described! I've always been fascinated by this aspect of their early years, but I don't know how many other fans are. For a long time, I bought into the stock description of their involvement and eventual separation from Shalom, the timing of those events, and the impact on the band. But, as I learned during the research, it's more complicated than what we thought we knew all along. There are so many different versions of what happened and when, so combining all those accounts was a painstaking process.

I spent a lot of time researching this, and was very careful in writing about it -- not only to make sure I have the timing correct (or, as correct as it can be), but also to make sure I chose words very carefully and didn't misrepresent the nature of what was going on. And, in the name of full disclosure, I owe you (and a couple other fans/friends) a big THANKS for your help in both aspects -- the research and the writing.

U2 Sermons: Lots of the material here on U2 Sermons ends up alluding in some way to U2's commitment to social justice and the transformation of culture. Could you tell us the first event documented in U2: A Diary where we'll see that commitment showing up?

McGee: I suppose the answer depends on what you consider a display of that commitment. Early on, I use the somewhat well-known quote from Bono where he talks about being four years old and seeing a kid in school bite the ear of another kid, and Bono reacts by banging the biter's head against a metal railing. Is that a commitment to social justice? :-) Beyond that, you might count an August, 1978, charity gig in Dublin for the Contraception Action Campaign as the band's first encounter with social justice ... or you could argue that was four teenage boys acting selfishly for the cause!

U2 Sermons: Your name is on the book as author, but through your blog you actually created a whole community of folks who contributed. What's the best story of a way that community benefited the finished product?

McGee: There were so many fans -- hundreds, to be sure -- that contributed in some way, and every contribution has made the book better. But I doubt anyone went to the lengths that Donal Murphy did in Ireland. He made several trips to his local library in Cork to look up old Irish newspaper articles on microfiche. Amazing! I wrote about him on U2diary.com.

U2 Sermons: What is the shortest entry in your book and why?

McGee: There are a lot of entries that just have the date, a venue name, and a city. I don't go into detail on all of the concerts, because U2 Live - A Concert Documentary already does a terrific job of that. So you'll see entries that just say "November 13 - Limit Club, Sheffield" in my book.

[Editor's note: Thank God it's not "Bono wept."]

U2 Sermons: Since this blog began with a book of homiletics that drew on U2's work, here's my effort to make the interview on topic: Any mention of preaching or sermons in U2: A Diary?

McGee: How about this... The first mention of a sermon is about the fact that Shalom leader Chris Rowe gave the sermon at Bono's and Ali's wedding in 1982, despite the fact that U2 had -- according to conventional wisdom -- already left Shalom by then. In truth, it shows that the situation was a bit more complex than that, and that the relationships and connections still existed, even after U2 had survived its spiritual crisis and committed to staying together as a band.

Ist U2 wirklich ihre Religion?

There's a relatively new scholarly book by Brigitte von Dorner called "U2 ist ihre Religion, Bono ihr Gott: Zur theologischen Relevanz der Rock- und Popmusik am Beispiel von U2." Obviously, it's in German. Table of contents here. It deals in general with rock music's connections with spirituality (drawing on Rene Girard) and then turns especially to U2 in its last half with a few song analyses, a chapter on Bono, and coverage of the Vertigo Tour.

"What was lost when the gates slammed shut"

The folks at @U2 weigh in with a duet on the Achtung Baby book -- an interview with the author, and a review from the perspective of a writer unsympathetic to Roman Catholicism (who actually takes the book as rather more specifically denominationally Roman Catholic than it seemed to me.)

The interview, among other things, touches on whether "the personal trumps the political" on Achtung Baby. The review, among other things, applauds a very successful example of how Catanzarite's writing evokes the beginning of "Zoo Station" and uses the interesting image of the songs as "apparitions" in each chapter.

Sidebar: I was a bit mystified by the review's idea that Catanzarite is advancing a sort of personal theory that Achtung Baby is "about the Fall." I thought the book's imaginative narrative was intended more to draw on the way in which Achtung Baby assumes the Fall as a given. And frankly, I can't imagine how anyone could even attempt to make any kind of plausible case that the album doesn't do that. (Or more, that U2 have EVER made ANY album that doesn't assume the Fall as a given.)

Both pieces point out the fact that the book demonstrates no evidence of engagement with women writers as theological or intellectual resources (only works by males are quoted, and the interview's rationale for this made me cringe, unintentionally - I hope! - implying the only reason someone might draw on the work of a woman theologian is because of being obligated to by a "fairness doctrine.") To me, the best answer to why these kind of sweeping omissions can happen is given by Catanzarite himself in an answer to a very different question: "[The Fall is] more than just 'a' relationship in trouble. That's ALL relationships in trouble."

By the way, a reader sent me a link to his own review of the book, too, while we're on this.

"a one-way ticket out of Eden"

The publisher was kind enough to send me a copy of Steven Catanzarite's U2's Achtung Baby 33 1/3 book, and I thought I'd say a few words about it. Essentially, it's a song by song meditation on the album, which takes the unusual step of superimposing a narrative about two characters over the top. I was initially pretty skeptical about that concept, thinking it fixed the songs' situational meaning too much -- but I wouldn't for a minute let it put you off the book. The situations in which he puts the characters are certainly plausible enough, and if you've never thought about the album as a sustained story or rock opera, it throws an interesting light on it -- and at some moments is very succesful indeed (his contextualization of "Love Is Blindness," for example.)

I've been trying to figure out a good way to describe the theological sections. I had first thought to say "popular-level," but my concern with that term is that so much of what passes for popular theology is pablum, and this isn't at all. It's strong enough meat, just dealt with in a non-specialist way.

The book engages a narrow range of conversation partners who say what to theologically-trained readers (only) will be predictable things. The style is a bit old-school homiletical, if the homily were being delivered to people who hadn't done much thinking about basic Christian concepts like the Fall before. This milieu explains the decision not to include asking how other theological conversation partners would frame the same questions: it's more like a confirmation class, a "we believe" rather than a "there are three ways theologians have talked about...." And in fact I think it's quite successful for that audience: presenting with naturalness and clarity in the marketplace how basic concepts of classical Christianity relate to the themes on Achtung Baby.

My favorite thing about the book, however, is neither the specificially theological parts (though they are vital to the work) nor the narrative. It's the insightful writing about the songs themselves as songs, not as disembodied lyrics. If I had to pick one sentence to illustrate what I mean, it would be "'Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses' begins with the din of things falling apart." I also quite like several of the chapter titles, particularly the first: "Straight Outta Eden."

There's a review of this book on Amazon that makes the ridiculous claim that the spirituality of 90s U2 has been "left almost untouched," and that the other books talking about U2's spirituality are "centered around the band's early days and Bono's latter-day humanitarian efforts" -- oh, really? I can't name one such book. In fact, a couple of the previous Christian book-length treatments are notable for their fannish gushing about the 90s. However, the book does fill a new space -- that of a sustained meditation on what many think is U2's greatest album, and one that is alert to its spiritual, relational, and musical depth.

As I write this, it strikes me that the book is devotional-book sized. It (plus an iPod) might make a nice 8-day retreat companion for somebody who wasn't quite sure about the Christian thing, but wanted to go somewhere sacred and try something spiritual. I'm sure several monasteries would be sympathetic.

33 1/3 on Achtung Baby: exclusive excerpt from Stephen Catanzarite's book

While this blog has its origins in promoting our U2 book, I'm pleased to present today part of a different one. Here's a snippet from the section on "One" in the forthcoming book Achtung Baby: Meditations on Love in the Shadow of the Fall by Stephen Catanzarite. It's delightful to see extended musical as well as lyrical analysis (and I've had to cut several paragraphs from each for length here.)

"One" begins gently. In contrast to the ballyhoo and heavily processed sounds of the previous two songs, it is austere, even raw. You can almost smell the wood and feel the steel of the instruments, nearly taste the grit of a long day—or perhaps an even longer night—in the singer’s voice. This is a love song that reaches beyond romance, a kind of postmodern blues ballad that rises swiftly and powerfully above the banal.

Melancholia is in the song’s DNA, a certain darkness that is built right in to its chord structure. It is written in the key of C, a key so familiar to Western ears that it can quickly dissolve into musical treacle. A kind of tension in the arrangement of "One" never allows that. Nothing says "bittersweet" quite like a solid A-minor chord on which the song begins and to which it frequently returns...

The verses and choruses are not as obviously repetitive or distinct from each other as is typical of a pop song. Two main chord progressions cycle into and out of each other throughout the song, and all the other elements work around them. This structure, combined with the absence of a sustained lyrical hook, prevents the song from ever turning into an anthem. At its heart "One" is an elegy.

* * *
Lyrically, "One" is a conversation. It is the kind of conversation lovers often avoid having, those that can quickly overwhelm the peace and tranquility of even the most stable of households. Though its title suggests unity, the lyrics speak of difference. One of the many consequences of the Fall is the disintegration of our natural unity. We are at enmity with God, with each other, and with ourselves. In a Fallen world, love is not cheap, it does not come easy. Consider what the Bible has to say about love, in the words of the Apostle Paul:

"Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, hopes all things, endures all things."

Try not to let the familiarity of those words get in the way of what they have to say. These are not the romantic couplets of a greeting card. These words, like love itself, present us with a challenge. They call on us to reach beyond ourselves, beyond our selfishness, to rise above our fears, and to overcome our weakness. Not just for our sake, but for the sake of others. "One" boldly confesses that it is practically impossible to live up to that challenge. Yes, love is patient and kind, but we are jealous, arrogant, and rude. Even in adversity love truly does endure, but we want everything to go our way—and we bitch and moan the minute that does not happen. Like all good poetry, "One" shows rather than tells us how easy it is for the bitter to overcome the sweet.

The book is out next month and is available for preorder now.

33 1/3 takes on Achtung Baby: "the zeitgeist of our fallen world"

Continuum has announced that forthcoming in their series of 33 1/3 books on seminal albums will be Achtung Baby by Stephen Catanzarite. The author's nascent blog is here; judging from it he will be drawing on a Roman Catholic perspective as well as prior training in writing (and music! hurray! Far too much of the philosophical/theological material on U2's art bizarrely stops short at the lyrics) for his work.

I have to say I am pleased to hear him comment there that "it is not a book about U2... it is also not, properly speaking, about the album Achtung Baby. It would be much more precise to say that the book is about what the album is about (or at least what I believe the album to be about)."

You can read an excerpt from chapter 1 at the Continuum 33 1/3 blog I linked above. (HT: Scott)

Mark Wrathall interview

Probably slightly off topic: U2 Station interviews Brigham Young University professor Mark Wrathall on his new collection U2 and Philosophy. It's out a little later than originally anticipated. I haven't seen it yet, though I did read an early draft of one of the essays. Fuller description on the publisher's site.

Classroom resource

I found it sweet to read the teaching activity from USA Today for classroom use (scroll to page 2) based on their U2 by U2 review and excerpt last week. Excerpt follows (by the way I think this could be a really salutary learning activity not just for kids, but for the masses of religious and secular leaders who seem unwilling to admit a difference between respecting others and agreeing with them):
Bono explains that the lyrics from the song 'One' were inspired by a reply he sent to the Dalai Lama declining an invitation to participate in a festival called Oneness. He responded saying, 'One — but not the same.' Explain how this concept applies to human beings. Then, find an example in today’s paper that illustrates how two people, two groups, etc. are both one, but not the same. Share your example in class, and explain its meaning.
VOCABULARY: underpinning consensus improvising