Respect Your Elders

Radiohead guitarist Ed O’Brien pays lip service to U2 in the current issue of Spin magazine. He especially enjoys discussing U2, who appear to be Radiohead’s third-biggest musical influence (the first two being the Smiths, whom all five members love unequivocally, and the Pixies, from whose records Jonny Greenwood learned how to play guitar). For the most part, the other four members don’t talk about mainstream rock.


“I’m interested in bands as beasts,” O’Brien says. “I’m interested in U2 and the Rolling Stones and Neil Young & Crazy Horse. I love the dynamic of musicians working together and all the voodoo shit that comes with it. It’s a complicated thing to do over the expanse of time, which is why I respect U2 so much. Don’t get me wrong — I adore the Stones, but they haven’t made a good record since 1972. Exile on Main Street was the last great Stones album. But U2 have been at it for 20 years, and that song ‘Stuck in a Moment You Can’t Get Out Of’ was amazing. And that’s after 20 years. That’s when the Stones were making Still Life.”

8 thoughts on “Respect Your Elders

  1. Ed O’Brien is pretty slick. He manages to both praise & criticize the Stones in the same breath. =) I can’t agree with him 100%, but at least he knows the score where U2 is concerned. =D

  2. Ed O’Brien is pretty slick. He manages to both praise & criticize the Stones in the same breath. =) I can’t agree with him 100%, but at least he knows the score where U2 is concerned. =D

  3. So many bands & artists have declared respect for U2…just imagine what a tribute album with an all-star line-up like Radiohead, R.E.M., Coldplay, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Oasis, Elvis Costello, No Doubt, Garbage, Travis, Bruce Springsteen, Manic Street Preachers, Billy Corgan, Live, Our Lady Peace,B.B. King…just imagine…

  4. So many bands & artists have declared respect for U2…just imagine what a tribute album with an all-star line-up like Radiohead, R.E.M., Coldplay, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Oasis, Elvis Costello, No Doubt, Garbage, Travis, Bruce Springsteen, Manic Street Preachers, Billy Corgan, Live, Our Lady Peace,B.B. King…just imagine…

  5. Um…it’s just a bunch of guys sitting around talking about music. Sometimes I have to listen to music (mainstream or otherwise) for the purpose of having fun and not for the purpose of impressing others or myself.

  6. Um…it’s just a bunch of guys sitting around talking about music. Sometimes I have to listen to music (mainstream or otherwise) for the purpose of having fun and not for the purpose of impressing others or myself.

  7. Nice to know they decided to come down from their high perch and talk about mainstream rock, no doubt for the edification of the masses…I’m with you rob, funny thing is, when Exile came out, all of these 1972-equivalent morons sniffed and said, well, I guess it’s sort of good in a way, but it’s not the Stones–idiots in every generation. I get a kick out of watching the parallels between how the Stones were treated at varying levels in their career and how U2 are treated as they reach those same points. When the Stones were u2’s age, everything written about them had some derogatory hook about playing rock and roll in their 40s, but you don’t get that about u2. And now the Stones are breaking ground by taking it into their 60s and taking the heat for it, and when the time comes, U2 will have it easier because the ground has been broken before them. And u2 will break new ground that will pave the way for great bands that come after them, wherever they may be. Perspective, baby, perspective.

  8. Nice to know they decided to come down from their high perch and talk about mainstream rock, no doubt for the edification of the masses…I’m with you rob, funny thing is, when Exile came out, all of these 1972-equivalent morons sniffed and said, well, I guess it’s sort of good in a way, but it’s not the Stones–idiots in every generation. I get a kick out of watching the parallels between how the Stones were treated at varying levels in their career and how U2 are treated as they reach those same points. When the Stones were u2’s age, everything written about them had some derogatory hook about playing rock and roll in their 40s, but you don’t get that about u2. And now the Stones are breaking ground by taking it into their 60s and taking the heat for it, and when the time comes, U2 will have it easier because the ground has been broken before them. And u2 will break new ground that will pave the way for great bands that come after them, wherever they may be. Perspective, baby, perspective.

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