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Book SynopsisExploring U2: Is This Rock ''n'' Roll? features new writing in the growing field of U2 studies. Edited by Scott Calhoun, with a foreword by Anthony DeCurtis, Exploring U2 contains selections from the 2009 inaugural gathering of The Hype and The Feedback: A Conference Exploring The Music, Work and Influence of U2. In keeping with U2''s own efforts to remove barriers that have long prevented dialogue for understanding and improving the human experience, this collection of essays examines U2 from perspectives ranging from the personal to the academic and is accessible to curious music fans, students, teachers, and scholars alike.Four sections organize sixteen essays from leading academics, music critics, clergy, and fans. From the academic disciplines of literature, music, philosophy, and theology, essays study U2''s evolving use of source material in live performances, the layering of vocal effects in signature songs, the crafting of a spiritual community at live concerts, U2''s success
Trade ReviewIrish rockers U2 are celebrated in this collection of writings by a variety of observers, many of whom find the band fascinating in massive and important ways. As usual in this sort of pop-music Festschrift, most of the individual pieces are laudatory, but between U2’s sustained commercial success and Bono’s seemingly unending flair for the very public pursuit of good, there is more to comment on than the usual pop-music group’s ethos might offer. Specifically, Christopher Endrinal expounds on U2’s use of “vocal layering” on albums that “reinvented” the band’s sound in the 1990s; and Stephen Catanzarite, perhaps unexpectedly, discerns “U2’s conservative voice”; but the deepest depths are delved by Greg Clarke, who contrasts the influence of Jesus Christ on Bono and Nick Cave. Bono says, “either Christ was who He said He was—the Messiah—or a complete nutcase.” Heavy stuff for rock and roll, to be sure, this collection is comprehensively referenced, challenging, and frequently provocative. And why not? * Booklist *
Stephen Catanzarite's piece on U2's conservatism is surprising, even something of a shock, yet strangely reassuring. It goes some way to explaining why U2 has survived as a band for so long, been able to 'speak' to different generations and, while dabbling in some of the excesses of the rock music world, has never quite succumbed to it, or been submerged within it. ... This collection is not simply a collection of theological pieces... but it is evidence of the kind of wrestling which Christian preachers, teachers, youth workers, lay workers and theologians need to do not simply with the quest for 'relevance' but with respect to the fact that theology... needs to remain sharp and not ecclesiastically captive. * Theology *
Exploring U2 is a fascinating anthology that will provide readers, both aficionados and novices, with an appraisal of the band’s influence upon contemporary music, theology, politics, and culture. It will also encourage the reader to re-examine U2’s music by uploading the I-pod or placing some vinyl on the turntable. * Rock Music Studies *
