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Where’s the edge? Bono thinks music has ‘gotten very girly’, and it’s turning off young males

‘Hip-hop is the only place for young male anger at the moment – and that’s not good’

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Bono (left) and The Edge (right) of Irish rock band U2 perform in Milan, Italy, on December 7. Photo: EPA
Tribune News Service

Teenage boys out there who are looking to channel their anger somewhere productive but can’t because the music industry is just so feminine, Bono feels your pain.

The U2 frontman shared some insight into the state of music with Rolling Stone, and explained that he believes a revolution may soon be on the horizon because boys need somewhere to put their rage.

“I think music has gotten very girly. And there are some good things about that, but hip-hop is the only place for young male anger at the moment – and that’s not good,” he said.

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Bono – who said the idea of a rock ‘n’ roll revolution was first suggested by his son, Elijah – added that music helped him escape his own rage as a kid.

“When I was 16, I had a lot of anger in me. You need to find a place for it and for guitars, whether it is with a drum machine – I don’t care. The moment something becomes preserved, it is f****** over,” he said. “You might as well put it in formaldehyde. In the end, what is rock & roll? Rage is at the heart of it.”

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The Irish rocker, 57, also alluded to a near-death experience, though he chose not to elaborate, instead simply calling it an “extinction event.”

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