• When I was a kid and I’d sing songs I remember my uncles singing… rebel songs about the early days of the Irish Republican Army. … We sang this and it’s fair to say it’s folk music.
• U2’s Bono • Defending his support of a South African protest song called “Shoot the Boer,” seen as an attack on white people in South African (“boer” is considered a slur), by noting that the Irish Republican Army had violent protest songs, too! (He sang a couple bars of a violence-promoting Irish “folk song” while talking.) The song is the center of major controversy, with the leader of South Africa’s Youth League, Julius Malema, in a legal fight over whether the song is hate speech or not. Based on the criticism the human-rights figurehead has gotten, it may just be. if it weren’t for the Spider-Man musical, this would be the dumbest thing he’s done lately. source

• As protest songs go, the U2 hit has been very effective. One of the band’s earliest and most-well-known hits, the most affecting lyric in the entire song is “how long, how long must we sing this song … how long, how long …” Today, Bono and company got their answer, as Britain finally acknowledged that Bloody Sunday – a key conflict with Northern Ireland – was the fault of their government. Some pop culture math for you guys:

About the conflict

• 38 number of years since the
  historic incident took place source

• 13 people were killed during the incident; another died months later
• 14 more people were injured (not counting the man who later died)
• 5,000 number of pages in Britain’s latest report on the incident

• » What happened? During a civil rights march in Derry, Northern Ireland, soldiers that were part of the Parachute Regiment opened fire on a number of civilians. The British government  – which initially said in a discredited 1972 report that the victims were armed with weapons and bombs – has long been criticized for the incident, which led to years of conflict and disruption in the region.
• » Today’s findings: In a new analysis, the British government found that the civilians had done nothing wrong, were fired on first, didn’t have any weapons, and weren’t even provoking the soldiers before they fired. Representatives for the soldiers say many things were overlooked, but that hasn’t stopped David Cameron from offering an apology.
• » What happens next? Despite the long passage of time, the soldiers involved in the incident could still be prosecuted for murder or lying to the inquiry, giving the report some real bite.

How long did U2 sing this song?

• 28years since they first played the song live (12/01/1982) source

• 682 number of times they’ve played the tune live
• yes they played the song in Belfast back in 1982
• yes they have dedicated the song to other things

• » Key performance: During a performance in Denver in 1987, Bono spent much of the song railing against Irish-Americans who didn’t understand the nature of the conflict: “I’ve had enough of Irish Americans who haven’t been back to their country in twenty or thirty years come up to me and talk about the resistance, the revolution back home. And the glory of the revolution, and the glory of dyin’ for the revolution. Fuck the revolution! They don’t talk about the glory of killing for the revolution.” (There’s more, be sure to read the full quote.) The brutal ripping of those railing against Northern Ireland, immortalized during “Rattle and Hum,” was so perfect that it led to the band not playing the song for a number of years.
• » Will they sing it again? Good question. Strangely enough, they’ve yet to release a statement regarding the song which literally was their meal ticket for a number of years and did more to draw attention to the incident than any other single entity. Bono must be having an off day. He was recently injured and stuff.

Footnote: A lasting message

• That’s an incident, the most famous incident in Northern Ireland and it’s the strongest way of saying how long? How long do we have to put up with this? I don’t care who’s who – Catholics, Protestants, whatever. You know people are dying every single day through bitterness and hate, and we’re saying why? What’s the point?
• U2 drummer Larry Mullen • Pointing out in a 1983 interview that the message of the song isn’t just limited to Northern Ireland and the events of that day. “Let’s forget the politics, let’s stop shooting each other and sit around the table and talk about it,” he said. Say what you have to about U2, but they’ve certainly lived this message, no matter how rich Bono has gotten and how reflective his shades are. source

• Perhaps movie moguls will succeed where musicians and their moguls have failed so far, and rally America to defend the most creative economy in the world, where music, film, TV and video games help to account for nearly 4 percent of gross domestic product.
• U2 lead singer Bono • Regarding file-sharing’s danger to the content industries. As crazy as this quote is, it starts out even crazier: “But we know from America’s noble effort to stop child pornography, not to mention China’s ignoble effort to suppress online dissent, that it’s perfectly possible to track content.” This guy is just as arrogant and full of it as the glasses and haircut (and crappy recent music) suggest. He compared file sharing to child porn and free speech. source

• Did this disappoint you, or leave a bad taste in your mouth? You know, this video seemed out of place a few years ago, when it first became popular, when Bank of America was still riding high. Now, with the company still paying back TARP funds, living down its unpopular purchase of Merrill Lynch and famously charging absurd fees, it’s just sick. Ethan Chandler of Bank of America took U2’s message of comradery and twisted it into a message of greed. Way to miss the point. source

• Bono has the midas touch sometimes. Tonight U2 will present Burma’s pro-democracy leader with a pretty special award in Dublin – Amnesty International’s Ambassador of Conscience Award. The only catch is she’s still in Burma, still on trial for violating the terms of her house arrest and will most likely still land in jail. But, *fingers crossed*, this’ll make them think twice about pulling any major jerk moves. That’s what Amnesty International is hoping anyway. source

• Tie to Apple U2 famously was featured in a series of iPod ads a few years back, to the point that many fans tie them to the iPhone-maker. We think Bono should always wear white earbuds.
• Tie to Palm Bono has a state in a company, Elevation Partners, which owns a huge chunk of Palm, which has an awesome phone, the Pre, coming out soon.
• Tie to RIMOn top of that, the band has Blackberry makers Research in Motion sponsoring their next tour! You guys wrote “One,” not “Three.” What the heck?! source

• 4.2 their rating of “No Line on the Horizon.” We agree. source

• five days amount of time the band will perform on David Letterman’s talk show to promote their new album, which kinda sounds like Bloc Party.
• March 2-6 the dates Bono will grace Dave’s stage. It’s OK; Letterman has high tolerance for people who wear sunglasses inside. source

• How it’s like Spoon First thought when listening to “Get On Your Boots”: Well-placed handclaps, anyone? Yeah, that’s totally Spoon’s territory, as is the random fleeting sound. And the verse totally sounds like Spoon’s “Finer Feelings.” Yeah. Spoon is totally the biggest influence on rock music right now.
• How it’s like Of Montreal That whole paisley chorus/bridge-going-paisley thing is such a staple of Of Montreal, and they did that whole twelve-songs-at-once thing on last year’s Skeletal Lamping, which was easily 2008’s strangest indie-rock album. U2 wants a piece of that uber-hip Elephant 6 pie.
• How it’s like Bloc PartyBloc Party is the most U2-like band of the naughts, so it’s inevitable that it sounds like a driving Bloc Party song to some degree. But this doesn’t sound like U2. No, this sounds like U2 playing Bloc Party playing U2. Which is weird. Bono, be yourself again! Get your edge back, Edge! source