Informed Speculation

It can’t always be easy playing second fiddle to the now-biggest rock star in the world, but it’s nice to see The Edge getting involved so publicly in resurrecting the music scene of the Gulf Coast:

Throughout the interview, The Edge’s knowledge about the situation in New Orleans blew me away. He spoke knowledgeably of the city’s inability to rebuild or get people back in their homes, the condition of the Lower Ninth Ward, the fact that emergency teams are still finding bodies, and of course, that most of the 2,500 professional musicians who call New Orleans home were uprooted and many had instruments destroyed in the flood.

Wearing his trademark knit cap, The Edge doesn’t waste words. In his mind, anyone who makes a living in professional music owes a debt to New Orleans and the Gulf Coast area. He argues jazz, the blues and the roots of rock ‘n’ roll can all be traced to this region.

He said he is aghast that the Lower Ninth Ward remains in horrible condition and that there are no signs of people being able to return to that area for years to come. He is well aware of Katrina fatigue — people who are tired of hearing about this story — but finds such an attitude insulting to the people victimized by the storm..

The Edge is shooting a documentary that he hopes will renew interest in the plight of the people here. And he’s continuing to raise money for Music Rising by lending his celebrity and money to the cause.

Kudos for doing more than just writing a check and issuing a press release. When I saw U2′s wonderful show at the Toyota Center in Houston in October, Bono made a point of paying tribute to Houston’s help with the Katrina refugees, and sang a couple of choruses of ‘Old Man River’ as a sort of acknowledgement of the power of the Mississippi. It sounded sincere then – and now I know that his sentiments were shared.

Just another reason why U2 is fast becoming, as they used to say about the Clash, The Only Band That Matters…