I got one friend who likes really good music, I went to Pearl Jam and I'm going to Bruce Springsteen with him. Other friends don't really like them but aren't bothered when I listen to them.
And I ''caught'' my girlfriend singing along to One and Beautiful Day. Now I only got to get her into the real good U2 songs
Depends on who I meet. Most younger kids I met say thier old, stale and out of fashion , others are tolerable of my intense U2 passion though they have other bands they feel as passionite about. Latley, it's been more of the latter for me. I do happen to know a close friend of mine from Ecuador whose also a giant fan of U2, though, so it's our personal goal to see them the next time they come to NY on tour.
If someone asks who my favourite band are I tell them but then I tell them others I like as well, so I guess that evens it out a bit - well I think it does, anyway. I've heard about the tax thing only a couple of times...but I'm not there for the tax issues.
Plus there's always heaps of other bands around - known and unknown to me - so who knows what I'm into at that time. At the moment I'm enjoying synth-pop. And if my friends don't like U2, so what - doesn't particularly bother me; I know what I like.