Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley door pickup 10am - 7pm 3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
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  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
U2's the Joshua Tree: Planting Roots in Mythic America

U2's the Joshua Tree: Planting Roots in Mythic America

Morgan, Bradley

Hardcover

Pop/RockMusic ReferenceSongwriting

Publisher Price: $30.00

ISBN10: 1493061178
ISBN13: 9781493061174
Publisher: Backbeat Books
Published: Dec 1 2021
Pages: 216
Weight: 0.80
Height: 0.90 Width: 5.60 Depth: 7.30
Language: English

U2 planted the seeds for The Joshua Tree during an existential journey through America. As Irishmen in the 1970s, the band grew up with the belief that America was a place of freedom and prosperity, a symbol of hope and a refuge for all people. However, global politics of the 1980s undermined that impression and fostered hypocritical policies that manipulated Americans and devastated people around the world.

Originally conceived as The Two Americas, The Joshua Tree was U2's critique of America. Rather than living up to the ideal that the country was an idea that belongs to people who need it most, the band found that America sacrificed equality and justice for populism and fascism. This book explores the political, social, and cultural themes rooted in The Joshua Tree when it was originally released in 1987 and how those themes resonated as a response to the election of Donald Trump when U2 toured for the album's 30th anniversary.

The author juxtaposes the band's existential journey through America with his own journey connecting with his Irish roots by becoming a citizen in the age of Trump and places U2's and The Joshua Tree's relevance in context with the current political climate.

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