Next week I will deliver a lecture in my Religion & Popular Culture class entitled “The Gospel according to U2.” Readers of this blog know that I am a huge U2 fan and I am looking forward to this lecture.
I am also looking forward to receiving my copy of U2’s latest DVD, U2: Vertigo 2005 – Live From Chicago which should be coming in the mail soon. U2 is a great live band and I’ve enjoyed all of their DVDs, though my favourite is probably Rattle & Hum, though Elevation is also quite good. I also quite like their collection of music videos, The Best of 1990-2000. Here is a sampling of their videography, starting with their most recent:
- U2: Vertigo 2005 – Live From Chicago. Buy from Amazon.ca – Buy from Amazon.com
- U2: Elevation 2001 – Live From Boston. Buy from Amazon.ca – Buy from Amazon.com
- U2 Go Home: Live from Slane Castle, Ireland. Buy from Amazon.ca – Buy from Amazon.com
- U2: Rattle and Hum. Buy from Amazon.ca – Buy from Amazon.com
- U2: Best Of 1990-2000. Buy from Amazon.ca – Buy from Amazon.com
There have been a number of books over the years chronicling the Irish rock band. I would highly recommend Stockman’s book (My good friend Bob Derrenbacker is allegedly mentioned in the preface of the revised edition). Some of my favourites include:
- Steve Stockman. Walk On: The Spiritual Journey of U2. Revised Edition. Revelant Media, 2005. Buy from Amazon.ca – Buy from Amazon.com
- Michka Assayas. Bono: In Conversation with Michka Assayas. Riverhead Books, 2005. Amazon.ca – Amazon.com
- Hank Bordowitz. The U2 Reader: A Quarter Century of Commentary, Criticism, and Reviews. Hal Leonard, 2003. Buy from Amazon.ca – Buy from Amazon.com
- Raewynne J. Whiteley, and Beth Maynard. Get up off your knees: Preaching the U2 Catalog. Cowley Publications, 2003. Buy from Amazon.ca – Buy from Amazon.com
- Dianne Ebertt Beeaff. A grand madness: Ten Years on the Road with U2. Hawkmoon Publications, 2000. Buy from Amazon.ca – Buy from Amazon.com
UPDATE: My good friend Bob Derrenbacker has highlighted some additional U2 resources. He mentioned the November RollingStone interview with Bono (for the print version see here; for an MP3 of the interview see here). He also noted another very recent book that I wasn’t aware of:
- Robert G. Vagacs. Religious Nuts, Political Fanatics: U2 in Theological Perspective. Cascade Books, 2005. Buy from Amazon.ca – Buy from Amazon.com