What U2’s ‘THE JOSHUA TREE’ Taught Me About Change

by Kurt on August 23, 2013

A few decades ago, when I was in my teens, I was a HUGE fan of U2. Massive. Followed their every move. Bought all their singles and albums. Went to concerts. Wore the t-shirts. And had posters on my bedroom walls.

U2’s music shaped my life back then. With fabulous songs such as Sunday Bloody Sunday, New Year’s Day, and I Will Follow. The music was beautiful, the lyrics were deep. I’d been playing in a few rock bands myself since I was 15 or so, so I had a deep appreciation of what they –guys from more or less my age; just a few years older really– were doing and had achieved.

Then came March 1987 – release of ‘The Joshua Tree‘, their 5th album. I remember it well. I’d anticipated the release of the album for months. It was a well-kept secret. They’d been recording for more than a year. U2 would deliver something new, bigger and better than ever. Breaking the conventions. Changing their familar sound. We, fans, had no clue what that meant. (In those day’s there was no internet, so no way you’d know what a band was really working on. There was only vinyl, or cassette tape. The coolest thing at that time, a fan could get his hands on was a so called ‘bootleg’; an illigally taped recording at a concert, sold ‘below the counter’ and at 3x normal prices, at record stores; I had a few. This is how old I am -LoL).

I was the first in the record store, and remember driving back home on my bicycle at record speed.

Then came the big moment. Playing the record. I can still visualise myself, sitting in our living room, alone, listening to it, my hands in my (long) hair. Eager to call my U2-fan-buddies for a ‘debrief’ (that would be a long one, let me tell you) …

It was a shock.
It was a disappointment.
I didn’t understand.
I didn’t recognize it.
It didn’t “feel” like U2.
I questioned the why.

They had already pulled a minor stunt like that with their album THE UNFORGETTABLE FIRE. Not again! But this – I thought at that time – was far, far worse. Way too much of a swing. I didn’t accept it! One Tree Hill, as a song, stood out from that Album. It was the proof that they were on a new path. I didn’t get it. It wasn’t rock anymore. Not the way U2 defined rock. In my opinion they had slipped away.

Years later, I started changing my point of view. There was some appreciation for what they’d tried. Today, I qualify One Tree Hill as one of the most beautiful pieces of music U2 has ever written, and ‘The Joshua Tree‘ one of my favorite albums of all times. It was bold and daring to change dramatically back then, but it was a change for the better. Because U2 decided to reinvent itself, time and again since then, they are still around! I see that now. And …they are still big today, despite being a band from the eighties and rock being a dinosaur genre. By contrast, their rival Simple Minds stuck to their sound and genre, and hence faded away; like most rock bands from those days. [I also realise that many of the young marketers reading this article will probably have no feel or appreciation for U2 or Simple Minds altoghether. You have to be born in the 70ies or 80ies to understand what i’m talking about. Oh well – tough luck – my message below still holds].

My take-aways, and learnings on CHANGE, from this:

  • In our minds, we seem to do a linear projection of today into the future. When change happens, it deforms that straight line and we are in shock.
  • We are creatures of habit, and we protect ourselves, our lives, the security we have for family, income and such, with routine. Anything that goes against that, is an attack on our life.
  • And so, one will always challenge things that go against the norm, against the habit, against what is known, against what has always been. It’s natural.
  • You have to know, understand, and appreciate the above – it takes time; a few grey hairs help 😉

and then, when change comes…

  • You have to “sit on” change for a while. Change ALWAYS takes time. And if everyone from the first instance starts working against change, it will actually take longer; potentially making it worse.
  • You have to assume that it might shape things for the better. That it will be ‘ok’. That the one who makes the change happen actually thought it through
  • So: let go, step back, accept, and roll with it. <unless, to undermine completely what i just said, the change is completely and utterly idiotic : then FIGHT HARD>

Thanks for stopping by and reading this article! Let me know what you think – here, on twitter (@kurtfrenier), on facebook, or on LinkedIn. Kurt.

{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }

Kurt August 28, 2013 at 8:10 am

Interesting perspective and comment from a good friend of mine, Guy De Smet:

Couldn’t agree with you more.

Change is often born in “pain”, wanting to do more and better. Remember the opening lines on Joshua Tree: “I want to run, I want to hide … I want to tear down the walls that hold me inside … I want to reach out and touch the flame … Where the streets have no name “.

Lines born in pain and confusion … Time for something new, with open minds.

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