U2

[cotis]

U2 have announced they'll play at the Montreal Hippodrome on July 16th. In order to fit the estimated 80,000 people at the concert U2 are shelling out 3 million dollars to build a temporary open air stadium. It will take 2 months to build and one to tear down once the show (s) are over. Tickets go on sale for the concert this Saturday at noon throught the Bell Centre Box office (514) 790-2525 or 1-877-668-8269) or www.geg.ca. They'll run you between $30-$250 a seat.

That's awesome that they are building that. Not a huge U2 fan but you got to respect that.

[jarmo]

There'll be a new U2 track called Invisible available for free on iTunes starting tonight at 6pm until tomorrow 11:59pm.
Bank of America will be donating $1 for every download?up to $2 million?to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.




/jarmo

[jarmo]

For anyone with an iTunes account, the new U2 album Songs of Innocence is now in your account for free.

If you can't see it, check your iTunes preferences under the Store tab and make sure the box next to "Show iTunes in the Cloud purchases" is checked.




/jarmo

[faldor]

For anyone with an iTunes account, the new U2 album Songs of Innocence is now in your account for free.

If you can't see it, check your iTunes preferences under the Store tab and make sure the box next to "Show iTunes in the Cloud purchases" is checked.




/jarmo

Wow, that's pretty cool! I'd imagine that's only for a limited time?

[GeorgeSteele]

For anyone with an iTunes account, the new U2 album Songs of Innocence is now in your account for free.

If you can't see it, check your iTunes preferences under the Store tab and make sure the box next to "Show iTunes in the Cloud purchases" is checked.




/jarmo

Wow, that's pretty cool! I'd imagine that's only for a limited time?

No, I think it's permanent.  Basically, the album is free.  Insane.  Even more insane, this has barely made a blip in mainstream media.  Although I think U2 has been mailing it in since Pop, they are still rock royalty.  So for them to put out an album for free and still fly so far under the radar speaks volumes about the state of the music industry and how devalued music has become in our current culture.  Sad.

[rebelhipi]

For anyone with an iTunes account, the new U2 album Songs of Innocence is now in your account for free.

If you can't see it, check your iTunes preferences under the Store tab and make sure the box next to "Show iTunes in the Cloud purchases" is checked.




/jarmo

Wow, that's pretty cool! I'd imagine that's only for a limited time?

No, I think it's permanent.  Basically, the album is free.  Insane.  Even more insane, this has barely made a blip in mainstream media.  Although I think U2 has been mailing it in since Pop, they are still rock royalty.  So for them to put out an album for free and still fly so far under the radar speaks volumes about the state of the music industry and how devalued music has become in our current culture.  Sad.

Its free for a month or so. After that they release it on vinyl ect.

POP is my fav U2 album!

[jarmo]

Yes, it'll be out in October on physical formats.

It's free for people using iTunes. Because Apple bought it for all their iTunes users. Wonder if they got a bulk discount? 


I think there might be less media attention to this because it just came out of the blue without any kind of promotional campaign. It must "hurt" some of these people that everybody got it at the same time. There were no exclusive first listens and so on for the media. No interviews prior to its release and so on....




/jarmo

[Eazy E]

Yes, it'll be out in October on physical formats.

It's free for people using iTunes. Because Apple bought it for all their iTunes users. Wonder if they got a bulk discount? 


I think there might be less media attention to this because it just came out of the blue without any kind of promotional campaign. It must "hurt" some of these people that everybody got it at the same time. There were no exclusive first listens and so on for the media. No interviews prior to its release and so on....




/jarmo

Well, I'm not sure that's the case.  The media made quite a big deal when Beyonce released an album out of the blue - at least enough noise for me to be aware of it happening & I've certainly never purchased a Beyonce album.  So it's unfortunate that U2 could do something similar and not get nearly as much coverage... even if they don't get the pre-release hype articles & interviews, they would still want to get clicks on their websites for reporting about the surprise album.

... but more importantly, is it any good?  I am off to find out.

[GeorgeSteele]

Yes, it'll be out in October on physical formats.

It's free for people using iTunes. Because Apple bought it for all their iTunes users. Wonder if they got a bulk discount? 


I think there might be less media attention to this because it just came out of the blue without any kind of promotional campaign. It must "hurt" some of these people that everybody got it at the same time. There were no exclusive first listens and so on for the media. No interviews prior to its release and so on....




/jarmo

Looks like Apple shelled out $100 million for this.  http://www.billboard.com/articles/business/6251220/guy-oseary-interview-u2-apple-deal-songs-of-innocence

Interesting that former Interscope record exec Jimmy Iovine is now an Apple employee.  Maybe he can work out something similar for Guns!

[GeorgeSteele]

Had a few listens to the album... like the 3 previous albums, kind of uninspired and formulaic IMO... but even still, if you're a U2 fan in general, it is damn hard to dislike a lot of the songs on this album. 

Their music may be the equivalent of a loaf of bread these days, but it is still very good fucking bread. 

[tim_m]

I signed up for Itunes just to get it but i haven't had a chance to listen yet.

[GeorgeSteele]

I think I've listened to the new album enough times to have a sense of where I think it ranks (low, but still not bad).  Here are all U2 albums ranked and the songs on those albums I like best.


1.  Unforgettable Fire (A Sort of Homecoming, Wire, Unforgettable Fire, Promenade, Bad, Elvis Presley and America)

2.  Boy (I Will Follow, Twilight, An Cat Dubh, Out of Control, Electric Co)

3.  Achtung Baby (One, So Cruel, Fly)

4.  Pop (Mofo, Gone, Please)

5.  Zooropa (Zooropa, Lemon, Stay)

6.  Joshua Tree (Streets, One Tree Hill, Exit)

7.  War (New Year's Day, The Refugee, 40)

8.  Rattle and Hum (Love Rescue Me, All I Want is You)

9.  How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (Vertigo, Yahweh)

10.  Songs of Innocence (Every Breaking Wave, California)

11.  All That You Can't Leave Behind (Elevation, Kite)

12.  October (Gloria)

13.  No Line on the Horizon

[jarmo]

Interesting that you rank Pop that high up.

Achtung Baby is my personal favorite. Easily.

Not sure how I'd rate the post Pop albums. They're all kinda uneven.....




/jarmo

[GeorgeSteele]

Interesting that you rank Pop that high up.

Achtung Baby is my personal favorite. Easily.

Not sure how I'd rate the post Pop albums. They're all kinda uneven.....

/jarmo

Not many share my love for Pop.  Even Bono has dumped on that album.  But I find it to have a very intense, raw sound... some of those songs get very much under my skin, in a good way.  Plus, I loved Edge's playing on that album.  I think that was the last album where he stepped outside of the parameters of the expected sound of U2.

I love Achtung Baby too, but I think the popularity of that album has a lot more to do with what it accomplished in terms of catapulting the band into a permanent level of stardom that few bands have ever touched.  After Joshua Tree and Rattle and Hum, the band was huge but I think people were tiring of U2, particularly Bono in general, along with the feeling that the band hadn't really done anything especially musically interesting on those albums (even though the song quality was excellent, if that makes sense).  I think every big band has been in that position and the choice is to either play it safe or take a risk with a new sound.  I don't think any band of that stature had ever taken as big a leap from what they were doing before as U2 did with Achtung Baby.  That something that was so different from what it offered in the past could resonate so deeply with so many of its fans, plus adding so many new fans... I don't know of any other band pulling that off ever. 

I think the band stopped taking those risks after Pop, but even still, I like a good number of songs on those albums. 

[rebelhipi]

Ill make one too I havent heard the unforgetable fire album so i wont include that one.


1. POP (Mofo,Gone, discotheque, wake up dead man, staring. i find every song greatly good,only u2 album that does that to me) George Steele your not alone

2. Zooropa (Lemon, crashed car, Zooropa, Numb)

3. Achtung Baby (Until the end, zoo station, the fly, even better, mysterious

4. Best of 1980-1990 B-sides ( Endless deep, spanish eyes, three sunrises)

5. Rattle and Rum (all i want is you, bullet in the blue sky, silver and gold)

6. War (new years,  sunday)

7. Joshua tree (the hits)

8.Original soudtracks 1

9. October (gloria , i fall down)

10. All that you cant leave behind (elevation, stuck in a moment)

11. How To dismantle (vertigo, yahweh)

12 Boy, No line, songs of innocence are a tie becauce i havent listened to them that much the song no line on the horizon is one my fav u2 tracks i will follow and raised by wolves are other highlights.

[GeorgeSteele]

Nice list, it didn't occur to me to include the B-Sides and Passengers albums... I would have those somewhere in the middle of the pack.  From the B-Sides, I love Spanish Eyes and Party Girl.  Original Soundtracks was a bit too far out there for me, though I liked Blue Room and Slug a lot.  Miss Sarajevo is also a very good song, and Pavarotti sings incredibly on it, but I found his participation in that song to be more about Bono's ego, so it was a bit irritating in that sense.  Much like when he had sung that duet with Frank Sinatra a few years before that. 

[jarmo]

I think there's hints of that Pop essence on latter albums, but you're right, they became more concerned with the "classic U2 sound" instead of taking chances....



/jarmo

[rebelhipi]

I think there's hints of that Pop essence on latter albums, but you're right, they became more concerned with the "classic U2 sound" instead of taking chances....



/jarmo

I remember when How to dismantle a atomic bomb came out. It was a kind of ''Oh, a new u2 record, i wonder what did they invent this time''  Thats long gone now. They kinda stopped being relevant during that period.

I agree that After POP they changed completly. Just to compare the Popmart tour with the awesome techno intros and remixes, mirrorball lemon, alter egos ect. and two years later became the most serious pop-rock band in the world.

[rebelhipi]

Nice list, it didn't occur to me to include the B-Sides and Passengers albums... I would have those somewhere in the middle of the pack.  From the B-Sides, I love Spanish Eyes and Party Girl.  Original Soundtracks was a bit too far out there for me, though I liked Blue Room and Slug a lot.  Miss Sarajevo is also a very good song, and Pavarotti sings incredibly on it, but I found his participation in that song to be more about Bono's ego, so it was a bit irritating in that sense.  Much like when he had sung that duet with Frank Sinatra a few years before that. 

Well the b-sides includes so many of my fav u2 tracks so i had to I tought that im crazy for liking party girl! its bad ass . I only heard the passangers album once a few weeks ago, but i remember that it impressed me. Its surely a record that has a lot to discover.

Now im itching to find the unforgettable fire in my record shop. the title song is awesome. I also forgot how good how to dismantle is, now that im listening to it.

[GeorgeSteele]

 Well the b-sides includes so many of my fav u2 tracks so i had to I tought that im crazy for liking party girl! its bad ass . I only heard the passangers album once a few weeks ago, but i remember that it impressed me. Its surely a record that has a lot to discover.

Now im itching to find the unforgettable fire in my record shop. the title song is awesome. I also forgot how good how to dismantle is, now that im listening to it.

Based on your list, we seem to like a lot of the same U2 songs, so I'm pretty sure you would like Unforgettable Fire.  Bad is a U2 classic, such a great song.