I have not yet had the time to listen to your links regarding U2, so I'll reserve the right to change my mind after I do so, but to my ears, Bono is not a strong singer or lyricist and sets himself up for ridicule by delivering very weak lyrics with a tone of unironic sincerity that veers into bathos all too readily. "Wild Honey" is the best example of this I can recall. His singing in recent tv appearances has not sounded very good at all, although nowhere near as bad as Dylan for the last 5 years. U2 have always made music in boldface with little subtlety, even in their most lyrical moments--they are not a bar band but a stadium band and the vocals generally reflect this need to register obvious emotions to mass audiences. Joshua Tree might be their most lyrical album, and I used to like it quite a bit, but I ultimately found it sentimental and too self-conscious, mostly in the vocals I suppose, to sustain my interest. Bono always sings about himself, no matter what the subject--his feelings about the subject are the real subject on display, which is why I mention bathos. I like the musicians well enough, but I don't find the Edge all that thrilling a guitarist any longer. The band generally sounds awful when venturing into r&b/rap/hip-hop territory, unlike say The Clash on Sandinista who managed to expand their punk sound quite effectively for an album.

My only issues with U2 are musical. Bono seems like a fine citizen trying to use his celebrity in humane ways. They can all play rather well in their chosen rock style. But I'm not a good audience sample, as I haven't cared much about rock music in decades. I think rock music mostly remains a music of youth, and few artists or bands have sustained long and vital careers in the genre without doing some serious incorporation of other more mature musics into their work. Aging rockers like U2 too easily drift into self-parody and appeal to a sort of narcissistic nostalgia in listeners (even those young enough to not have much to be nostaligic about) for a time when rock music threatened to matter more than peanut butter or shiny new cars or any other output of consumerism.

My issue with the Doors is the material mostly and to a degree the singing. I find their music not at all "timeless" but merely an artifact of a particular era that no longer moves me or interests me. I sold whatever Doors albums I owned years ago. I remember liking their first album, Morrison Hotel, and half of L.A. Woman when I was in high school, but even when Morrison was alive I really disliked much of their post-debut output

But whatever the merits/flaws of the music of the Doors or U2 or Deep Purple or most of the name bands cited here, I don't think any of them have gotten such uncritical overpraise as has Bob Dylan for the last few years. I wish Dylan would retire and turn to writing or being a disc jockey or running a motorcycle driving school or something that requires no singing at all. He's just devaluing his legacy more with every tour and every mangled, gargled vocal. It's the worst singing I've ever heard. Ever, by anyone. Too sad even to be comical, too dreadfully mannered to qualify as music, and it reflects quite badly on all that he has done and makes me far less interested in even his very best music. How anyone could not be saddened by the spectacle of this old man struggling to find a word or a note in song after song just amazes me.

Who wrote it? Albert?

Your mum.

Film Actors Guild

nice, that's even better than the "name em and shame em" thread.

The Doors attract and repel me at the same time which is quite an accomplishment.

Early U2 was awesome. Then Bonos head imploded.

He has a really pretty wife and girls though.