Only Went There For A Week
Just FYI, several of the U2log.com editors are on richly-deserved holidays at the moment. November was quite the month for us (and for the rest of the U2 fan community), so a little bit of R&R seems more than appropriate now that the calendar’s ticked over. Anyway, if things are a little quiet ’round here over the weekend, then you know why. Don’t worry, we’re all compulsive ‘net addicts, so if anything exciting happens, we’ll cast our fruity drinks aside and tell the cabana boy to fetch us a WiFi-enabled latop. With an SPF factor of 15 or higher. (And the subordinate editors whose time-off requests were heartlessly denied by management are all still on duty.)
The Complete U2: It’s All Here
The iTunes Music Store digital box set, The Complete U2 (iTMS link), went up for sale today, and its tracklist is absolutely sensational — while some of the “rare and unreleased” tracks are in fact familiar, some are never-before-heard outtakes and new songs (!) from the ATYCLB and HTDAAB sessions. The box set also includes three live shows (Mexico 1997 as Hasta La Vista Baby!, Dublin Dec. 31 1989, and Boston 1981), all of the tracks from the early singles which have only been widely available on vinyl — “Another Day,” “11 O’Clock Tick Tock,” etc., with their b-sides — and the best part is, only the “rare and unreleased” tracks and the live shows are labeled as Album Only — everything else is up for grabs a la carte. So if you don’t have $150, but you’re burning for a copy of “Mofo (House Flavour Mix)”, then you know where to go! (Full tracklist of the rare-tracks bundle after the jump.)
The Arcade Fire – Funeral
If the phrase “indie rock” makes your skin crawl, and you feel an instinctive shock of revulsion, then congratulations, for you are my sibling. At times, it’s almost embarassing how mainstream my tastes can be. But good music is good music, and while The Arcade Fire couldn’t be more indie-rock if they tried — they’re like a French-Canadian Modest Mouse with Cat Power on occasional guest vocals, and they have a freaking accordion player — they’ve also recorded a really, really, really great album. I recommend Funeral largely because I think U2 fans would find a lot to love in it; the singing’s a bit reedy, but the music is always lush and unafraid to be expansive and epic — “Wake Up” gives even the biggest anthems on HTDAAB a run for their money — and lyrically, they’re startlingly poignant and extremely imaginative. And this is only their debut album — you’re likely to hear a lot more about them in the future.
So Beautiful Tonight – Brooklyn’s First-Ever U2 Show
U2log.com staff members Ruth Barohn and Chris Conroy both attended the Empire Fulton Ferry State Park performance in Brooklyn on Monday, November 22nd. The following is their report on the show — text by Chris Conroy, photography by Ruth Barohn.
[click on images for enlargements]
They were not even remotely kidding when they said U2′s appearance in New York City today would “stop the traffic.” Ask any of the poor schmoes who got trapped behind the band as they spent the afternoon rocking away on a flatbed truck, driving the length of Manhattan Island from Harlem to the banks of the East River. As U2 made their way across the Manhattan Bridge into the borough of Brooklyn, helicopters swarmed their position, and a crowd of some 3,000-plus New Yorkers gathered in Empire Fulton Ferry State Park went absolutely insane as they figured out who that strangely flamboyant little speck on the back of the eighteen-wheeler was. And you’d be surprised at just how recognizable the silhouette of the Edge and his guitar is, even from several thousand feet away.
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- 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. ... […]
- Column: off the record..., vol. 12-515 May 21, 2012It is that time of the year again when fans are anxiously awaiting the arrival of a new fan club CD and getting frustrated wondering when it will arrive. Given the past history of difficulties with these CDs, it is no surprise that people do get worried. The subscriber CDs started with U2.Communication, […]