U2’s Songs of Trauma and Hope
Lexington Books (Verlag)
9781666930986 (ISBN)
In U2’s Songs of Trauma and Hope: “Between the Midnight and the Dawning", Ingunn Røysland and Charles Ivan Armstrong show that trauma is an important theme for U2. While this leads the band to confront extreme instances of grief and suffering, this does not prevent them to cross (in the words of their song “A Sort of Homecoming”) “the fields of mourning to a light that's in the distance.” Theories from trauma and memory studies are deployed in the examination of song lyrics and performances by U2, spanning from the early days of the band to more recent times. In their exploration of light and dark, of hope and trauma within the U2 catalogue, Røysland and Armstrong acknowledge the complexity of the songs, addressing different layers, including romantic as well as divine allegory. The authors also address the band’s troublesome lyrics, with an entire chapter devoted to “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” as well as the role of multidirectional memory and significant places, so-called lieux de mémoire, in U2’s dealings with a ranger of historical conflicts and crises. They further examine how music plays an important part in the path of healing from traumatic wounds, analysing the reception of the songs. Ultimately, it is suggested, U2 shows us how to get “through the night.”
Ingunn Røysland is teacher of English and German and currently teaches German at Skigymnaset, Hovden. Charles I. Armstrong is professor of English literature at the University of Agder.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Trauma, Trouble and The Light You Can’t Always See
Chapter 1: “How Long Must We Sing This Song?”: The Many Traumatic Faces & Meanings of “Sunday Bloody Sunday”
Chapter 2: “Love is Not What You’re Thinking of”: War, Peace, and Allegory in the 1990s
Chapter 3: “A Heart That is Broken is a Heart That is Open”: Traumatic Conflicts and Healing Confessions
Chapter 4: “Sweetheart, You’re So Cruel”: Trauma & Hope on Achtung Baby
Chapter 5: “Far Away, So Close!”: Multidirectional Memory, Spatiality, and New Media
Chapter 6: “Gonna Kick the Darkness ‘Till It Bleeds Daylight”: Healing Trauma with Songs of U2?
Conclusion: “At the Altar of the Dark Star”
References
About the Authors
| Erscheinungsdatum | 19.03.2024 |
|---|---|
| Reihe/Serie | For the Record: Studies in Rock and Popular Music |
| Co-Autor | Charles I. Armstrong |
| Zusatzinfo | 5 tables; |
| Sprache | englisch |
| Maße | 158 x 237 mm |
| Gewicht | 458 g |
| Themenwelt | Literatur ► Essays / Feuilleton |
| Kunst / Musik / Theater ► Musik ► Pop / Rock | |
| ISBN-13 | 9781666930986 / 9781666930986 |
| Zustand | Neuware |
| Informationen gemäß Produktsicherheitsverordnung (GPSR) | |
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