Rock and roll legends U2 memorialize 50 years, continue making music for international audience

The historic band U2 just recently celebrated 50 years of being a band on Sept. 25. The Irish legends originating from Dublin have truly transcended rock and roll.

The four piece have been going strong since 1976 and are also one of the only bands in rock and roll history to have kept the same lineup throughout their entire career. Soon releasing their 16th studio album “Carnival De Luz,” fans are celebrating their longevity and dedication to their craft. 

Many of the new generation’s introduction to U2 was an incident hard to forget; the controversial free download of their album “Songs of Innocence” in 2014. This was a PR stunt forged between the band and Apple that mostly backfired in their face due to the album feeling “forced” onto people. This unironically might have been one of U2’s most iconic moments. 

Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Colorado in 1983 has got to be one of U2’s greatest performances. This concert was partnered with a live album “Under A Blood Red Sky”. Nothing beats the electronic stage presence of frontman Bono with his fellow bandmates “The Edge,” Adam, and Larry having the time of their lives at one of the coolest music venues in the world. On the topic of cool music venues, U2 were also the first band to play at The Sphere, the now renowned music venue in Las Vegas. They have built quite the career for themselves. 

Something significant about U2 is their advocacy and political impact on the world. Originally, their music had bold themes specifically surrounding Irish history. For example, their famous song “Sunday Bloody Sunday” is about a tragic massacre that happened against unarmed Northern Ireland civil rights protesters. Throughout the years, U2 had since moved onto speaking on politics around the world, including the United States. U2 was featured in “XXX.” by Kendrick Lamar (“GNX”) which is a critique song on the American government and the violence in our country. Bono is also a substantial activist for fighting against AIDS, co-founded a brand called “RED” in 2006, and helped generate $800 million for the Global Fund. 

As far as the music goes, U2 are one of its kind. U2 has 24.4 million monthly listeners on Spotify. Throughout these 50 years, the band has enjoyed experimenting with their genre. They have dabbled in alternative-rock, dance-rock, pop-rock, and even punk-rock. I guess after 50 years you would get quite bored of making the same kind of songs over and over. One might as well experiment. 

A favorite album and recommendation I have to anyone who is curious about U2 would have to be “War.” There is something so special about listening to “New Year’s Day” for the first time. The tracks “Surrender” and “Like A Song” are also on the list of personal favorite rock songs of all time. “The Best Of 1980 – 1990” album would also be a great introduction to the band. It would be difficult not to love the classics. Regardless, as U2 is about to have 16 studio albums released, a new listener is guaranteed to at least enjoy something they have out.