Refining Idea
So i have decided to pick a song from each album that represents a scenario or experience within the band's trip/tour of America between 1985-1989. With this in mind, i am going with a vector style approach with the American flag being a counter part for each of the song selections. Have done some research on each song below and highlighted what could be incorpated into each poster
Bad - Wide Awake in America
Bad is a song about heroin addiction, it is considered a fan favourite, and is one of U2's most frequently performed songs in concert. A performance of the song at 1985's Live Aid was a career breakthrough for the band. The version included as the opening track of the Wide Awake in America EP and is frequently chosen for airplay by radio DJsahead of the studio version. The EP’s centerpiece, Bad – a song about heroin addiction whose lyric inspired the collection’s title – would become a staple of their live set, particularly after a remarkable extended performance at Live Aid in 1985. The EP’s title is inspired by the chorus of Bad, with its refrain, “I’m wide awake, wide awake, I’m not sleeping”. Bono had mentioned at a 1987 concert in Chicago that Bad is about a friend of his who died of a heroin overdose and also about the conditions that make such events likely to repeat themselves.
Angel Of Harlem - Rattle and Hum
Inspiration for the material on Rattle And Hum was drawn largely from U2’s fascination with the USA. As kids growing up in Dublin, America seemed a world away - a country where anything was possible. Years later U2 would see another side to American life where poverty, crime and despair were all too common. During the Joshua Tree tour of the US in 1987 the band became increasingly inspired by the raw intensity and emotion of these musical genres, which contrasted sharply with the bland manufactured sound of many of current bands at that time. Angel of Harlem is the second single from U2’s 1988 album, Rattle and Hum. The lyrical content of the song refers to various New York landmarks, such as Harlem. It also refers to jazz-related history including Billie Holiday herself “Lady Day” which is where Bono heard Holliday on WBLS at the beginning of their 86’ tour in NYC and was inspired.
In God's Country - The Joshua Tree
The Joshua Tree is the fifth studio album by the famous U2, and was released on 9 March 1987. Originally the album was to be called ‘The Enduring Chill’, but the name ‘The Joshua Tree’ was chosen after the band took a trip to the Death Valley area of California where Joshua trees are common. The whole desert image was consciously chosen for its spiritual and mysterious qualities, which it was felt would complement the album perfectly. Bono actually compared the desert landscape to many European town centres which are becoming ghost-towns in the present day. The album is influenced by American and Irish roots music and depicts the band’s love-hate relationship with the United States, with socially and politically conscious lyrics embellished with spiritual imagery. Inspired by their American tour experiences, U2 had released their fourth single In Gods Country from the album in Novemeber 1987 for North America only. Bono has stated that he originally didn’t know whether the song was about Ireland or America, but eventually dedicated it to the Statue of Liberty. The song characterises the United States as a desert rose, a siren whose dress is torn in “ribbons and bows”. The lyric speaks of a lack of political ideas in The West which Bono later contrasted to the revolution in Nicaragua where he had travelled during the recording of The Joshua Tree. In God’s Country had “cinematic” lyrics and sound reference to the desert in accordance with the band’s wish for The Joshua Tree to have a sense of location.
