you two

Two articles pretty close in time frame:

Bono bad
Bono good

Have I mentioned that I hate Bono?

Well, hate is too strong a word I guess. I don't really hate Bono like I hate Dick Cheney or Kevin Federline. The worst I can say is that I dislike Bono very much and might think twice about braking if I saw him crossing the street in front of me.

It's hard for me to articulate why. Let's go over the relevant facts:

1.) Bono is the lead singer of the uber-famous pop/rock group U2, which has been around for 20 years, give or take, and has not only achieved incredibly popular fame, but mind-boggling critical acclaim as well. Quite a number of their singles and albums routinely make Top 500 albums/singles or what not lists.
2.) Bono unashamedly admits that he's a celebrity with a cause. In his case, it's trying to get rid of AIDS in Africa, as well as getting other more prosperous nations to forgive Africa's debt
3.) Bono is egotistical, with a highly inflated sense of his own self-importance. In other words, he's a rock star.

So, none of the above alone should cause me to dislike the guy. I mean, I like U2 songs. I consider "With or Without You", "One", "Running To Stand Still" to be pretty catchy tunes. And there's nothing inherently wrong with being a celebrity with a cause. After all, at least he's doing something with his fame. As for #3, there's lots of pompous rock stars that I don't mind - in fact, it's hard to be a reputable rock star without having some inflated sense of your own ego. And unlike Chuck Klosterman and Coldplay, no traumatic events involving a girl and a U2 song has ever happened to me.

So I can but conclude it's the combination of all 3 factors in the extreme. Having some pompous Irish rock star preach at me about poor starving kids in Africa just bothers me. I don't like how a.) he seems to imply that but for him, I would not be aware of said issue or that b.) when people go to U2 concerts, they want to hear "With or Without You" or bloody "Sunday Bloody Sunday," not made to feel bad about an issue they have marginal control over (note: I suppose I should feel the same about Chris Martin and his crusades for Free Trade Coffee, but damnit, I like "The Scientist" too much). Or maybe it's because "Vertigo" is one of the top 3 most annoying songs of the past couple of years, because of their goddamn ripoff U2 iPod (which I don't have, but am opposed to in principle -- you can get a bigger, non-branded iPod for less!), because of their holier than thou attitude, and because of the Brett Favre treatment they receive from the press.
Dah, but I've said too much. I think this best sums it up: http://www.theonion.com/content/node/43192

Note: Is there a worst possible gift to give than a McDonald's gift card?