• by August 8, 2006

Three words: Monday, Bloody, Monday. Is it the day the music died? Et tu, Bono? The front man for U2, one of the most political, counter-culture bands to come out of the Emerald Isle, is now fronting for Forbes, a media company that unabashedly proclaims itself the "Capitalist Tool." You know, the one headed by Steve Forbes, a former Republican Party candidate for president of the United States. Yeah, the one whose former publisher and chairman was the late Reagan era Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger, former Reagan era Secretary of Defense.

And Bono, lead singer of what arguably is one of the greatest rock bands ever, and, which with the possible exception of Nirvana, may be the only really great one to emerge during the past 25 years.

Okay, so Bono has been rolling with some seemingly unlikely characters lately in his quest for world salvation. His pals include President George W. Bush, former Secretary of the Treasury Paul O'Neill, Canada's Prime Minster Paul Martin, and Brazil's President Lula da Silva. Nowadays, he hangs with heads of state, instead of plain old heads. We get it. You have to make friends to influence people. But backing a publishing enterprise that has been more preoccupied with corporate profits than human capital? Has he sold out? Is there a bona fide explanation for this?

Such deals are supposed to work the other way around. Celebrity humanitarians like Bono are supposed to lean on corporate titans to share the wealth, not contribute to their own personal one. Think Bill Gates and Warren Buffet - two of the richest men in the world - who are now happy to give it away, give it away, give it away now. All in the name of humanitarianism.

Could this simply be a financial play? If so, it seems to run counter to the private equity marketplace surrounding rock and roll bands. Recently, Courtney Love, widow of deceased Nirvana lead Kurt Cobain, sold 25 percent of the band's music rights to former record company executive. All in the name of Love.

Media industry equity firms are also eying the rock and roll sector. Investment banker Alan & Co., known for its annual retreat for media titans, is believed to be staging one for the music industry. It's code-named Walletpalooza.

Media industry banker Wilma Jordan, meanwhile, says her firm is taking a different tack altogether. Instead of underwriting rock and roll financing, Jordan's team is forming a band. Says Jordan, "We're going to call it, what else, 'The Jordan Edmiston Group.'"