January 1997

With the record industry in dire straits, it appears that it is turning to U2 for the proverbial shot in the arm. CD sales have been lackluster and beleaguered executives are anxiously awaiting some magic kickstart to reignite the music business.

This, of course, puts Bono and company in the hapless position of shouldering a tremendous and potentially distracting responsibility. All eyes are currently on the Irish quartet to resurrect anemic sales. And with recent disappointments from bands such as REM and Pearl Jam, it’s no sure thing they will.

So how does one create art under such duress? If you’re U2, you take a few precious pointers from Ktel records, and other artless entertainment factories, and incorporate their tackiness into your product. The result is that you've now made the dilemma itself part of some ambitious -- if not somewhat self-defeating -- cultural commentary. When the big wheels start leaning on you to grease the corporate coffers, why not turn the whole affair into one big surreal spoof. For what it’s worth, this is my take on U2’s current direction: the disco music, the tacky graphics, the unabashed talk of selling records -- it's all part of the joke.

To this end, U2 recently visited a local Kmart in downtown Manhattan to promote the forthcoming release of their new CD Pop and their respective "PopMart" tour. When questioned why the band decided to hold a press conference in the lovely plastic environs of the megastore, U2 explained that it appropriately complemented the tone of their PopMart stage set, which is to include a 35-foot-high mirror ball lemon, a 100-foot golden arch, and a 12-foot-wide illuminated stuffed olive on a 100-foot toothpick.

During the event, U2 performed "Holy Joe," from the forthcoming CD and fielded questions from the press. Bono had his new look in gear, highlighted by a black leather jacket and yellow tinted sunglasses. "It’s going to be an expensive show and we are prepared to spend on it," he told a reporter. "It costs a fortune to look this trashy."

The danger in all this tongue-in-cheek stuff is that for one thing, a good deal of the record-buying public may not get the joke and, moreover, if a band records tacky music, well then, just what have they done? Possibly, made a bad record. We’ve included the band’s current single "Staring at the Sun" on this page. You be the judge.