Worm
Taste the diffidence
Bono's lyrics are often intentionally abstract, Old Testament-meets-rock 'n' roll fare. In that way they complement The Edge's playing, which was always pretty abstract, at least until their latest, post-"Pop" phase. U2 at their best are more of a total package-- every element meshing perfectly with the others-- rather than a band you can break apart, piece by piece, and analyze.
Look no further than Adam Clayton, who is the Justin Timberlake of bassists. Yet there aren't many U2 basslines I would change. They work in context.
Bono writes almost from free-association, letting words "just come to him". (Another, underpublicized aspect of his prophetic/messianic persona.) If you've ever heard the song "Elvis Presley And America", apparently that's the sound of a half-finished song, with Bono still working out the lyrics as he goes along. When you think about how Morrissey works, with the words in his head, needing only a few takes to sing the vocals, the two songwriters become even more markedly different.
Over the last decade or so, Bono has become more of a "proper" songwriter, and the band has become more "professional". The result is often blandness*. But back in the good old days, when God was feeding Bono his lyrics, there were some pretty amazing tunes-- "Bad" comes to mind as a sublime song that dissolves into nonsense upon analysis of the words. Nowadays Bono and U2 write more conventionally, and the results are middling. And God, well, God's left Bono to his charities. Instead He's been whispering advice into George W. Bush's ears.
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* Sadly, New Order have followed the same trajectory.
Look no further than Adam Clayton, who is the Justin Timberlake of bassists. Yet there aren't many U2 basslines I would change. They work in context.
Bono writes almost from free-association, letting words "just come to him". (Another, underpublicized aspect of his prophetic/messianic persona.) If you've ever heard the song "Elvis Presley And America", apparently that's the sound of a half-finished song, with Bono still working out the lyrics as he goes along. When you think about how Morrissey works, with the words in his head, needing only a few takes to sing the vocals, the two songwriters become even more markedly different.
Over the last decade or so, Bono has become more of a "proper" songwriter, and the band has become more "professional". The result is often blandness*. But back in the good old days, when God was feeding Bono his lyrics, there were some pretty amazing tunes-- "Bad" comes to mind as a sublime song that dissolves into nonsense upon analysis of the words. Nowadays Bono and U2 write more conventionally, and the results are middling. And God, well, God's left Bono to his charities. Instead He's been whispering advice into George W. Bush's ears.
_______________________
* Sadly, New Order have followed the same trajectory.
Damn I love that song. Great vocal track. Have you heard Dream Theater's live cover of that? It's outstanding! Dear Lord, did I dare mention the name of a progressive metal band in a Morrissey forum? 
