U2 and the Religious Impulse Take Me Higher [Hardcover]

U2 and the Religious Impulseexamines indications in U2's music and performances that the band work at conscious and subconscious levels as artists who focus on matters of the spirit, religious traditions, and a life guided by both belief and doubt.

U2 is known for a career of stirring songs, landmark performances and for its interest in connecting with fans to reach a higher power to accomplish greater purposes. Its success as a rock band is unparalleled in the history of rock 'n' roll's greatest acts. In addition to all the thrills one would expect from entertainers at this level, U2 surprises many listeners who examine its lyrics and concert themes by having a depth of interest in matters of human existence more typically found in literature, philosophy and theology.

The multi-disciplinary perspectives presented here account for the durability of U2's art and offer informed explanations as to why many fans of popular music who seek a connection with a higher power find U2 to be a kindred spirit. This study will be of interest to scholars and students of religious studies and musicology, interested in religion and popular music, as well as religion and popular culture more broadly.

Scott Calhounis Professor of English at Cedarville University, USA. He created and directs the U2 Conference and Studies Network. He is a curator forU2: Made in Dublinat The Little Museum of Dublin, and has edited two volumes of scholarly writing about U2. He's been a staff writer since 2004 for @U2, for which he has written numerous articles and interviews about U2.

List of Figures
Contributors
Acknowledgments
Foreword
Introduction: U2's Sacrament of Sound(Scott Calhoun, Cedarville University, USA)
Part One: Meet Me In The Sound
1. Edge, Ring Those Bells : The Guitar and Its Spiritual Soundscapes in Early U2(Henrik Marstal, Danish Institute of Popular Music/Rhythmic Music Conservatory, Denmark)
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