U2’s Dark Night of the Soul

by Ned Lannamann
Creativity and commerce have always had a touchy relationship. During the frustratingly infrequent occasions when they do get along, everything seems to make a little more sense. But there are only a handful of times when the biggest musical act in the world is functioning at the peak of its artistic powers: The Beatles did it in the mid-’60s, Stevie Wonder in the ’70s, and Beyoncé in the last few years.
U2 managed it in the early ’90s, and the Irish qua