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Category Archives: U2
Irish Hospitality?
Bono, lead singer for U2, gave the president an iPod and the book “The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language” by Eugene H. Peterson valued at $440.
Bono, who has met with Bush at the White House, has campaigned for erasing the debts of poor countries to help fight poverty.
Comic Relief
Please Turn in Your Hymnals to “Mysterious Ways”
With the tour on hold and no sign of the boys in the studio just yet, U2 news has slim to none. However, I came across a great church meets culture article discussing how some churches are using the music of U2 to attact young twentysomethings.
Earlier attempts by churches to connect to youth culture have usually involved ministers in open-toed sandals strumming acoustic guitars and singing Kumbaya to the general embarrassment of all. Yet, in parishes from California to Maine, worshippers are flocking to hear U2 classics such as Beautiful Day, Pride and Peace on Earth rolled into a service of prayer.
While U2 songs are not yet listed in the Episcopal Church’s authorised hymnal, Ms Blair believes it is only a matter of time. She said: “I seriously think the day will come.”
While I have taught my teens the song 40, I think that it will be a long time coming before any church breaks into The Sweetest Thing during services. Maybe Gloria? Grace?
Regardless of how you feel about the article, churches can do a better job of engaging our culture. We know what it looks like when it is done poorly. When its done right though more than just popular music can be redeemed.
U2 Tour Postponed
From U2.com:
It is with great regret that tour promoter The Next Adventure announces the postponement of the final ten dates of U2’s Vertigo ’06 tour. This action is unavoidable due to the illness of an immediate family member of one of the band. The effected dates are listed below.
‘Any fan of U2 will realise that this decision has not been taken lightly’, said TNA President Arthur Fogel. ‘We will announce further details as soon as we have them.’
Please keep the families in your prayers.
Strike Up Amhrán na bhFiann
From Relevant:
After a concert on Sunday, Bono met with Chilean President Ricardo Lagos, who awarded the singer the nation’s highest award for the arts. Before the concert, Bono also received Amnesty International’s 2005 “Ambassador of the Conscience” award, officially making Bono’s medal count higher than the American downhill ski team
It’s funny cause it’s true!
Perspective for Life
“Our critics — I’ve met them in rock ‘n’ roll in the early years and they’re the same people: cranks carping from the sidelines. A lot of them wouldn’t know what to do if they were on the field. They’re the party who will always be in opposition so they’ll never have to take responsibility for decisions because they know they’ll never be able to implement them. We get hits from the left, we get hits from the right, but in the end, every year, the world’s poor are better off for our presence.”
Sometimes it is difficult to see if what you are working on or pouring your life into is really making a difference in the lives of the people you serve. There will always be critics and “cranks” that love to stand in opposition. Whether your a youth minister, a coach, a social worker, a teacher or a globe-trotting rock star philanthropist- keep up the good work.
Stand firm. Be rooted in love. Keep making a difference for the Kingdom.
So Bummed Updated
Update: This morning @U2 posted a link to Macnn which has posted a pic of the fake invite. Now can you see why I got a little excited? According to Macnn, the invite was sent from a user in Germany and according to @U2, Bono will be in Bueno Aries on March 1st so a press confrence in the US would be pretty difficult to pull off. Even for Bono.
I got way too excited over a post on iLounge that announced that Bono and Steve Jobs might be holding a press confrence in March to announce a red iPod as part of the Product Red initiative. Alas, the rumors turned out to false.
Minutes after I saw the post, iLounge posted a retraction:
Contrary to an earlier report, Apple will not be holding a special event on March 1. An Apple representative has confirmed to iLounge that an electronic invitation – marked with indicia of a benefit for AIDS – is an elaborate fake. The sender was apparently taking advantage of recent speculation that Apple would introduce a red iPod as part of Bono’s Product RED initiative. iLounge apologizes for any confusion this may have caused.
Companies including American Express, Converse, Gap and Giorgio Armani have all joined the project and plan to release specially-designed red products with a portion of the profits going to the Global Fund to support AIDS programs in Africa. The U2 frontman was reportedly overheard mentioning that Apple would be joining the initiative and introduce a red iPod.
I hope that Apple will join with Product Red sometime soon. There is always hope. Until then, I should learn to temper my excitement. The news that this was a fake has been a total bummer.
Class Act That Bono
Last night, nearly twenty years after accepting the award for their definative album, The Joshua Tree, U2 took the Grammy stage and accepted the Album of the Year award for How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb. Bono spent the bulk of his acceptance speech praising the other nominees which included Paul McCartney, Gwen Stefani, and Kanye West. He’s a class act that Bono. Class Act!
Not only was HTDAAB named album of the year but it won every award that it was nominated for including Rock Album of the Year, Song of the Year (Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own), Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal, and Best Rock Song (City of Blinding Lights).
Best. Band. Ever.
Good Tune For a Rainy Day
It is raining pretty hard here today in the Southeast. I just can’t get this tune out of my head. A great song for nasty weather.
Kite
All That You Can’t Leave Behind
U2
Something is about to give
I can feel it coming
I think I know what it is
I’m not afraid to die
I’m not afraid to live
And when I’m flat on my back
I hope to feel like I did
‘Cause hardness, it sets in
You need some protection
The thinner the skin
I want you to know
That you don’t need me anymore
I want you to know
You don’t need anyone, anything at allWho’s to say where the wind will take you
Who’s to say what it is will break you
I don’t know which way the wind will blow
Who’s to know when the time has come around
Don’t wanna see you cry
I know this is not goodbyeIn summer I can taste the salt in the sea
There’s a kite blowing out of control on a breeze
I wonder what’s gonna happen to you
You wonder what has happened to me
I’m a man, I’m not a child
A man who sees the shadow behind your eyesWho’s to say where the wind will take you
Who’s to say what it is will break you
I don’t know where the wind will blow
Who’s to know when the time has come around
I don’t wanna see you cry
I know that this is not goodbyeDid I waste it
Not so much I couldn’t taste it
Life should be fragrant
Rooftop to the basement
The last of the rockstars
When hip-hop drove the big cars
In the time when new media
Was the big idea
That was the big idea