Reactionary

I was reading the newspaper a few days ago at lunch and a headline caught my eye in the editorials “I wish some of us had been immortals”. The author was bewailing the recent death of Death of a Salesman’s playwright Arthur Miller. It got me thinking… kept me thinking, rather, since I’d already been thinking about it. There are some people who have lived and some now living who have outdone what most of the rest have ever accomplished. Those who say that everyone is created equal as if that somehow means everyone is at the same baseline in their accomplishments are completely and totally wrong. There are people who are better than others, and they should be treasured rather than vilified for being extraordinary. For the writer of this editorial in today’s Inquirer, one of those people was Arthur Miller. For me, it’s U2.

It’s a shame the ticketing fiasco slapped their faces like that. It’s a shame and a crime of sorts. Why them? The way tickets are bought and sold in this country is reprehensible and monopolized. The entire structure is infected. Why does U2 catch it, and then go on to be torn to shreds in the press and online? Is it because they’re better?

A friend and I always complain about work to each other. One of our major complaints is how there are those who work and those who don’t. Everyone knows who the lazy, sloppy ones are, even those in charge. And yet, they’re allowed to slide by with their bad work and abuse of privileges and no one ever says anything to them. The people who work, especially the very good ones who do more than they should, are held to another standard. And if they ever slip up or forget something or ask for an extra day off, they get burned, complete with write ups and disciplinary action. It’s stupid and unjust in the worst way. Why this double standard?

The same has happened with U2. They made a mistake, whether by action or omission. They were at least partly responsible for what happened… and they were held fully answerable, often cruelly. Like true heroes, true men, they’ve admitted it, apologised more than they should, and have vowed to fix it. But the issue itself and the backlash stung. It was written on their faces at the Grammys. They looked tired and hurt. And while I listened to Larry Mullen Jr. apologise for the band before a bunch of people far inferior to them, the injustice of this began to make me angry. There was U2, head bowed, asking for forgiveness, open to the ridicule to such brilliant specimens of genius like Jennifer Lopez and Usher. Oh, my God. That was injustice.

That Simpson spawn gets caught red-handed lip synching on live TV after she’d been quoted as saying something like she abhorred the practice and would never do it. Of course there were detractors, but there have been almost as many defenders. Why? So far, I haven’t heard many people apologise to U2. The apology was merely (greedily) accepted.

But that’s the way of the hero, isn’t it? It’s harsh and lonely, under the burden of being better than most everyone else. There’s thanks, but any slip is followed by disproportionate scolding and anger by the lesser. Everyone wants to pull them down. Everyone loves to see them fail. Expectations become astronomical and unrealistic and when they’re not met in the way in which everyone imagines they should be met (because everyone has an opinion), the accusations come in faster and more numerous than the praise. U2 chose to apologise Sunday night, before millions, many who were only too happy to gloat at their mistake.

Is it because they’ve never played the victim card, because they’ve never made excuses? They could have easily used the very real illness in Edge’s family as an excuse for the ticketing oversight. It would have been easy since if there’s one thing this society rewards is sentiment or the nausea-inducing “human story”. It would have been easy, but they didn’t. They chose to offer an apology without qualifications or strings attached. Being strong is worse and more demanding than being weak.

While they have to do what they have to do, as far as cancelling the tour or unplugging the amp forever, it leaves a queasy, anxious feeling behind. It’s a bit like how the Roman people must have felt when Claudius died (Agrippina, that bitch) and they were left under Nero. There are plenty of good bands: The Killers, Green Day, Franz Ferdinand, Coldplay etc. But none have shown signs of being able to handle the burden of being the best; none could handle taking the instruments from U2’s hands. And when they’re gone, who’s going to save the world? It’s no secret how a hero’s treated and I don’t blame anyone from shying away from the thankless job. But I wish someone would, if only to have a successor in the wings.

I wish U2 could be immortal. But they aren’t. It’s as plain as any new line on Bono’s face or another scene like Sunday’s. Is it that in the end it’ll be a cellular mutation that finally breaks the back of the world’s greatest Rock Band?

Posted on February 17th, 2005 under Life, Rant, Tunes •  Print •  Email • RSS 2.0 feed • Both comments and pings are currently closed