It's a privilege to serve the poor, to be servants of noble Africans, but I better belong in the rehearsal room or in the studio with my band. That's where I want to be and I still wake up in the morning with melodies in my head.
BonoRead
Rock 'n' roll is ridiculous. It's absurd. In the past, U2 was trying to duck that. Now we're wrapping our arms around it and giving it a great big kiss.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Bono reflects on the absurdity of rock 'n' roll, suggesting that embracing its ridiculousness is more authentic than trying to distance oneself from it.
In this quote, Bono encapsulates the essence of rock 'n' roll as inherently absurd and ridiculous. He acknowledges that U2 previously attempted to separate themselves from this absurdity, but now they choose to embrace it fully, signifying a shift towards accepting the genre's playful and exaggerated nature. This acceptance acts as a celebration of the music's identity rather than a rejection of its quirks.
Themes
RockAbsurdityMusicEmbraceIdentity
In practice
Example use cases
During a music festival speech to highlight the joy and fun of rock 'n' roll culture.
More from Bono
All quotes βPerspective is the cure for depression.
BonoRead
At a certain point, I just felt, you know, God is not looking for alms, God is looking for action.
BonoRead
It's much easier to be successful than it is to be relevant. The tricks won't keep you relevant. Tricks might keep you popular for a while, but in all honesty, I don't know how U2 will stay relevant. I know we've got a future. I know we can fill stadiums. And yet with every record, I think, 'Is this it? Are we still relevant?'
BonoRead
God is in the slums, in the cardboard boxes where the poor play house. God is in the silence of a mother who has infected her child with a virus that will end both their lives. God is in the cries heard under the rubble of war. God is in the debris of wasted opportunity and lives, and God is with us if we are with them.
BonoRead
Hanging out with politicians and corporations is very unhip work. But I think that the U2 audience have turned out to be incredibly subtle in their understanding.
BonoRead
Similar quotes
There is nothing to keeping a band together. You simply have to have a gimmick, and the gimmick I use is to pay them money!
Duke EllingtonRead
My pops and my mom started playing Marvin Gaye and the Isley Brothers and all these people, but at the same time, they always had Snoop on right behind it in the same mix.
Kendrick LamarRead
No matter what you got, the blues is there
John Lee HookerRead
Pearl Jam is a band I have a lot of respect for. Nirvana and Sonic Youth I feel the same way about. Mumford & Sons, My Morning Jacket, Wilco, Givers, and Foo Fighters are just some of my favorites. I respect bands that give me something of themselves that I can feel. ("Posing" bands turn me off generally speaking.) It all has to do with a feeling I have about them. That is what music is to me, a feeling. It's similar with people too.
Neil YoungRead
The main focus for me is not trying to find duet partners. It's about just making great songs. I want most of my album to be in my voice because it's my point of view.
John LegendRead
I call myself a blues singer, but you ain't never heard me call myself a blues guitar man.
B. B. KingRead