From Amazon.com PJ20 review:

I like Bono's modesty.

U2 have no mystique whatsoever and even less agency or ability to change music.

a statement like that from him just reeks of insecurity and desperation to belong to a group of bands that are younger, a lot more relevant and most of all, far more capable of being interesting than U2 have a hope of ever being at this point.

sure hope this book doesn't have a bunch of celebrities blowing smoke up PJs ass. the Lance Mercer PJ photo books essays by Bruce and Townshend did this with a lot more class and a lot more fittingly than vox pops from Bono and the Olsen Twins could ever hope to.

Not change music Dime, change the world with music. That's a pretty crucial distinction.

U2 don't have the power to do either, other than perhaps 'Groundreaking' deals with massive corporations setting precedents to pollute the whole idea of rock and roll and mystique.

i don't know that U2 has mystique, but they can be larger than life in a way that pearl jam, REM, and radiohead can't.

is this some kind of irish thing I should just back away slowly from?

U2 had that mystique thing going...they fucked it up in the 2000 with their latest records, bono approaching bush and other right wing politicians, their desperation to be bigger , bigger, to make enormous amounts of money,,,
bono reminds me of that old people with money who want to be relevant by buying the latest iphone, whatever artist is selling a lot he goes to say " he is soo good" , jay z , rihanna, lady gaga...it doesnt matter ,,,
i remember the edge telling in an interview , i think it was the year 2000, that he wanted the pearl jam route, he wanted to stop trying to be " the best and bigger band in the whole universe" to just be a good rock and roll band.

Ireland is pissed at U2 right now for tax evasion.

Bonos companies share in facebook was valued at a billion the other day. and they moved their operation and therefore income outta Ireland. We're hugely pissed at them the last few years.

I remebered that interview with Edge. and it's that lowkey supertight circle of people/employees and business ethic U2 is after. never gonna happen. I'm not sure they ever had mystique. ever. fact that were even talking about it is sorta silly. this is a band that still has cameras film their every move in the studio and on any band duties.
even after doing it fulltime for nearly four years. nothing in the least bit mysterious after a move like that.

u2 is certainly not mysterious, but they can be larger than life.

true. musically though? sometimes I guess.

I get comfort and laughs from the fact that the person on the world who wants to kick bono's head in is his drummer.

But they have mysterious ways.

You could argue Achtung certainly was musically larger than life, especially against the backdrop of that band and what their music sounded like during the eighties.

my favourite record and period of theirs. they were definitely more interesting at that point than at any other. the U2 by U2 book is a treasure for the ins and outs of it all.

I think I agree with every word of that.

wow..I just checked. the PJ book is 40 pages longer than the U2 book. cool. this is gonna be really something.

From here

This is a good read with some interesting tidbits about unreleased gems. For example, there's a studio version of "Baba O'Riley" that was recorded at the same time they did "Sonic Reducer"!

That's easy when the band was transitioning drummers - stuck Dave A on Sonic Reducer and Jack Irons on Baba, but Stone playing 2 riffs at once? Talk about skill!