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Future Music: How One Band Helped Change Ireland
A review of the documentary ‘A Sort of Homecoming’.
The 2023 documentary A Sort of Homecoming with U2's Bono and The Edge (and David Letterman of all people) is extraordinary and poignant. Sure, you have to like U2 at least a little bit already and not be a Bono hater, of which there are many. But the film goes well beyond fanboy worship, it explores history, creativity, and friendship in rich and surprising ways.
I suppose it’s reasonable to ask: how could a band that’s been around for more than four decades be related to the notion of ‘future music’, music that can take us forward? Especially since even many of their fans don’t think they’ve made any decent work in the last 20+ years.
It’s not the songs of late, like them or not. The critical takeaway is how U2 was central to influencing Ireland’s future at a pivotal time. Proving the power of the arts to literally reshape society. As Bono says in the film:
“We’re around as Ireland moves from black and white into color. The country was trying to identify itself. Who are we? Are we buying this myth we’ve been sold? Or are we going to be something more extraordinary?”
These days Ireland is a rare bastion of liberalization, with deeply ingrained Catholicism on the wane. But it…
