Inspiration might come to rockers from where they might least expect it. In Bono’s case, his muse was hidden a classic rock track he had never really paid attention to. The U2 frontman discussed his dream, including AC/DC, and how that dream inspired him about the future of rock while chatting with BBC’s Zoe Ball.
“Oh, the unreasonable guitar album,” said Bono jokingly after being asked about the band’s upcoming record, which he had previously described as ‘unforgiving.’ “In the future, guitars are going to chase these pop songs off the charts, that’s what Edge sees, I’m not going to mess with him. I, myself, had a vision this summer.”
He continued, “I really did; I had a vision. I was dreaming; we were on holidays in France, and there were really cool people staying. It had been a late night. I go to bed, everyone then falls asleep. The next thing, they are woken up by this wild, squealing, extraordinary, jagged sound.”
“They were very upset; they were people of great taste,” recalled the U2 icon. “They wanted to call the airport; they wanted to leave. I stayed in bed, and in the dream, I just turned away, and I got Ali [Hewson, Bono’s wife] to pull the plug, and the song that caused such chaos at high volume turned right up was the song I never really paid attention to in my life.”
The song Bono dreamed about was a timeless icon of rock. The musician revealed, “It was, indeed, AC/DC’s ‘Highway to Hell,’ which I now realize is one of the greatest songs ever written. It reminds me of what unreasonable guitar is capable of, and it also has brilliant lyrics; because it’s about all the losers and all the rejects. It goes, ‘All our friends will be there / we’re on a highway to hell.”
Many psychologists and psychiatrists have proposed that dreams reflect our subconscious feelings and thoughts. Thus, it’s perhaps safe to say that the AC/DC had subconsciously influenced Bono since it ended up playing at full blast in his dream, although he had never paid attention to it in real life.
The rocker stressed that he now believes ‘Highway to Hell’ is one of the greatest songs in music history, and it is clear that it inspired him about the future of rock music. Many rockers believe that the music industry is currently focused on producing marketable hits rather than well-produced instrumental songs. So, AC/DC might have inspired Bono to create this unreasonable U2 guitar album.
