Back to war, and the anti-war stance. Part of the conclusion of Songbook #6 was that the stance of songs like Blowin in the Wind and New Years Day could easily lead to despair and overindulgence of anger. Masters of War certainly is a . . . . Continue Reading »
In the comments on Songbook #5, I was reminded that Bono said he wrote the central verse of U2s New Years Day with Solidaritys struggle in mind. My reply there lays out the erotic and political elements any full analysis of that song would address, and why the . . . . Continue Reading »
One night in early 1983, my teenaged-Christian-60s-obsessed-socialist/pacifist-leaning self heard this song on the radio. I had not heard U2 before, and I was thrilled. Here was a band politically committed in a way that smacked of the idealism of the 60s I had been reading about in library books, . . . . Continue Reading »