U2… a classic example of a band that should’ve called it quits at the top of the hill – arguably “Rattle and Hum,” give or take an album. I know that when I first heard “Angel of Harlem” that the bloom had been blasted off of the rose. Hey, U2 – I liked you because you weren’t American, because you weren’t writing about the USA. I liked you because you didn’t have mansions in Malibu, and you weren’t playing gigs where people paid enormous sums to watch you on a video screen.
Oh, those were the days, that first half of the 1980s. This is one of the last gasps of greatness from a bunch of Irish lads who were still a bit hungry. Also a song that made me realize, finally, that Larry Mullen, Jr. – not The Edge – was the most talented member of the group. I read a story once where he discerned that a digital metronome was slightly off, and needed to be re-calibrated.
- Steve Stav, along with cohost Mitch Hurst, is the proprietor of an enlightening Facebook page called The Big Music, which focuses on the music, movies and culture of Generation X. A podcast with the same name and hosts is in the planning stage.
