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Bono

Date: Dec 18 2006

Intro

1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.

2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

Ever since they put out their first album in 1979, U2 has been destined for greatness. The Irish rock band developed an international following in the 80s and continued to please fans into the 90s.

In recent years, the band has mobilized their fans to take action on international political causes. Bono in particular has been on the forefront of the movement to raise awareness about the AIDS epidemic in Africa.

Listen to Logan and Toby talk about Bono and the band.

Dialog

1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.

2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Logan

Toby

Logan: I hear U2... I mean they have… Bono always seems to be in the spotlight with any kind of political position or …which is great, you know, ‘cause he has the money and the power to discuss it and he has so many fans world-wide, that… they’re gonna listen to anything he says, so…

Toby: I loved them when they were, you know, just getting popular, in the eighties, and I had War. I had Boy. Those albums are phenomenal. And I think I saw them when they were on tour with Joshua Tree. So that was, like, 1988 or something! Um, and I just thought Bono was a total egomaniac. So now, in recent years, I feel like either he’s grown out of that, or he’s figured out a way to use it.

Logan: To disguise it as something else. Yeah, he… I really like… of that, of all the members in that band, The Edge is…

Toby: Yeah.

Logan: He’s the one who turned me on to ‘em. When I saw that video of him with the hat, and he just sits there and sings the entire song and people play with his face and put on different costumes on him, that’s what really… I didn’t know who U2 was. I was too young, so that… I think I was, like, 12 or 13 years old and that’s what really got me into U2.

Toby: Yeah.

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Discussion

Logan is right. Bono is often in the spotlight, not as a musician, but as a spokesperson for political causes.

Toby was a big U2 fan back in the 80s. Even though she thought they were an awesome band, she thought Bono was a little conceited. But now, he’s putting his ego to good use.

Logan got into U2 when the video for Numb came out (in 1993). He thought The Edge was really cool.

Do you listen to U2?

What do you think of Bono’s political activism?