U2 bassist Adam Clayton discussed ‘depressing’ The Who guitarist Pete Townshend in a new Absolute Radio ‘Time to Listen’ interview. A U2 member made a painful rehab revelation a few days ago.
“The first track that I guess I really related to is The Who’s ‘Substitute’. When I was growing up and around that age of 14 where you get that sort of a mixture of consciousness and a slight depression; a sort of haze of being locked in and closed down. For me aggressive music – rock and roll music – seemed to kind of touch me and unlock me. I think that’s what Pete Townshend was always getting at in his writing. The Who always had this visceral energy that spoke to me. I identified with them; they were misfits, they were outsiders and maybe I was drawn to that amazing bass sound they had.
“Substitute is really one of those songs about not quite measuring up and comparing yourself to other people and other things. I suppose that as a 14-year-old that’s what I was doing.”
Bono revealed what John Lennon did to virgins a few days ago. Clayon also said, “When we first got together in our band, U2, there was so much that we couldn’t play that we didn’t know how to play, but we knew what we wanted to sound like, or more definitely what we didn’t want to sound like. At the time there was this Scottish punk band called the Skids with Richard Jobson and Stuart Adamson playing guitar and they made this sound that was mighty and Celtic and primitive. It was music that you could conquer the world with. With that on your Walkman you could go anywhere.”
dontchabotherme posted on Reddit claiming that U2 have gone from that early sound Clayton described to Dad Rock, “Vertigo, Beautiful Day, I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight, Walk On, Every Breaking Wave, Iris, Get On Your Boots, Miracle of Joey Famine etc. I mean pick a dart, pretty much 90% of what they’ve made the last 20 years.
Beautiful Day from the mentioned album is such a bland song that Maroon 5 could have written it. Half the singles from this and Atomic Bomb I hear on grocery store stations all the time too. It’s safe dad/mom rock that anyone can listen. There’s nothing exciting or different about any of their albums this or last decade. Compare that with 90s U2 that experimented with dance, disco, synth-pop, alt rock, metal, country etc.” Bono revealed a massive bank payment a few days ago.
