U2 personal show charts calculator
Oh, the wonders of technology. U2-vertigo-tour.com have created an application that lists the shows you’ve seen and which U2 songs you have heard live: check out their personal show charts calculator. I was surprised to learn that with 50 shows under my belt, I’ve been subjected to Pride ‘only’ 45 times. Funny, it feels like more than that…
Bono advertises his thievery
In the current issue of Billboard magazine, musicians and actors pay tribute to legendary crooner Tony Bennett, who celebrated his 80th birthday earlier this month. Many of the musicians who collaborated with Bennett on his Duets: An American Classic album, which will be released on September 26, placed advertisements in the magazine to congratulate him on his successful career and wish him happy birthday. Bono, who sings with Bennett on the song “I Wanna Be Around” on Duets: An American Classic, took out a full-page ad that reads the following:
Tony,
Trying to sing with you was a humbling if not humiliating experience.
You’re like a house you can’t break into, at least
not by force. You can run at the door, but the doors
are locked…you can bang on the windows…
I got into the House of Bennett, but
only as the cat burglar…looking to steal a place in
this incredible legacy.
I’ve had the pleasure of singing with you, and for you…
I broke in through the bathroom window, up a
drainpipe…I’m not leaving.
Bono
Is “Fresh Blood” needed?
Since there seems to be a bit of a lull as far as U2 is concerned at the moment, we decided to drag up an old article and maybe add a little more discussion.
The article, which originally appeared in the New York Times, speaks of the organisers of Ozfest and their quest for fresh blood. More interestingly, it goes to explain how all the big audience pullers these days (U2, Madonna and Metallica to name a few) are all the same bands that were big audience pullers 10 years ago. While there are newer bands such as Coldplay or the Killers emerging, these bands simply don’t seem to have the same crowd pulling abilities as a band like U2.
“It feels to me like a lot of people have their heads in the sand. More people are focused on the fact that they’re having a hard time selling tickets this summer than are focused on the fact that they may not have anything to sell tickets to in 10 years.”
And that specifically is an interesting view that may have some truth in it. It’s undeniable that bands like U2 or Madonna easily sell out complete stadiums, but who’s there to take their place. Much as we’d like to see U2 go on forever, realistically, there will be a time when they call it quits. And then what? Is there a future for stadium concerts, or concerts at all and will any band ever be able to live up to U2?
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U2 News Links
- U2 Fan Survey 2012: Third Set of Results Available May 23, 2012The third set of results from the 2012 U2 Fan Survey is now available, and it takes us through your votes on U2's albums and songs. As a reminder, the survey was open from April 5th through April 30th. We received completed responses from 3,530 fans in 79 countries this year, both of which are down from 2010. We think that's likely due to the band […]
- A Look at My U2 Framed Album Cover Wall (PHOTOS) May 22, 2012How would you like to have a wall in your house covered with perfectly framed U2 album cover art? You could just have your favorite U2 albums on the wall or, like me, you could go all the way and put every U2 album on display in order — like this: That’s one of the [...]This is a post from the @U2 blog.A Look at My U2 Framed Album Cover Wall (PHOTOS) […]
- The Resource Miracle May 22, 2012[Note: This essay appeared in the May 28, 2012, edition of TIME magazine.] It's become the go-to cliché of modern economics. Natural resources are a "curse." When a nation is over-reliant on one or two commodities like oil or precious minerals, corrupt government ministers and their dodgy associates hoard profits and taxes instead of properly […]
- Bono Pays One More Tribute to Steve Jobs May 22, 2012Bono made an appearance via video tonight at the Webby Awards, contributing to a tribute to Steve Jobs. A host of tech legends and celebrities each paid tribute to Jobs in five words or less, a Webby Awards tradition. It looks like Bono’s contribution was recorded within the past week, but that’s just a guess. [...]This is a post from the @U2 blog.Bono Pays […]
- Billboard Music Awards: U2 Top Touring Artist May 21, 2012Gestern Abend wurden in der MGM Grand Garden Arena von Las Vegas die Billboard Music Awards 2012 verliehen. U2 wurden dabei - wie bereits im Jahr zuvor - in der Kategorie Top Touring Artist ausgezeichnet. Neben U2 waren in dieser Kategorie auch noch Bon Jovi, Taylor Swift, Take That und Roger Waters nominiert. ... […]