10 Rock Stars That Completely Changed Their Genre
7. U2
At the start of the '90s, a band like U2 should have been dead on arrival. After making one of the most pompous rock documentaries ever pressed to cinema with Rattle and Hum, the idea of these guys settling into their groove in the era of grunge felt like it should have been one of the greatest faceplants of the modern age. And then these cheeky Irish lads come through with one of their best records in Achtung Baby.
Moving to Berlin to seek inspiration, a lot of the sounds on this record feel almost eerily precise, almost to the point where Bono and the Edge feel sterile from one track to the next. As much as this kind of thing should feel off putting, the execution is nearly flawless, as Bono plays up his more lavish sensibilities to become the walking caricature of what a rock star is supposed to be.
Aside from the gimmick, the lyrics are also fairly compelling, with Bono reflecting about how humans are not willing to connect with each other anymore, replacing the earnest emotion for just blase acceptance of love. Although someone like U2 don't have any right playing the ironic card in this day and age, Achtung Baby found a way for the world's biggest band to roll with the punches as the alternative nation rolled in.