Happy New Year!!!

This has been a great year as regards U2 news, music and life!!! Hope 2010 brings hope,love and health to share with the people we love!!! And U2 music will still go on and on and on...

U2 Year in Pictures (Part 2)

2009= the year U2 decided to release their new album NLOTH after more than 4 years. Highly acclaimed (RS 2009 N°1 album), loved by fans and critics, though not a sales blockbuster, they showed the (rock and roll) world they´ve been together for 30 years and they still rock on!!!

Beginnings of March: the name of the tour was revealed: U2 360°. The only thing we knew was that it was going to be spectacular and huge. Date to start: June in Barcelona, Spain.



Bono starts writing articles for The New York Times regularly.he had already strted with "Notes from the Chairman",dedicated to the great Frank Sinatra.


"The Claw" starts disclosing in May. Videos of the construction.


First concert of the monumental 360° Tour in Barcelona. Critics acclaimed it.

October: The Unforgettable Fire, remastered.


October 25th , another landmark in the music and video scene: U2´s YouTube's live webcast from the Rose Bowl

November 4th: Commemorating the 20th Anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall, U2 played at the Brandenburg Gate.


18th November: Bono received the Ripple of Hope Award given by The Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights.
23rd November: A surprising announcement, U2 will play Glastonbury next year for the first time.

End of November: U2 appears in the Hall of Fame Show, to celebrate its 25th anniversary.


1st December: World Aids Day,Bono announces a partnership between NIKE, Inc. and (RED).



End of the year: awards and nominations galore!
International Band of the Year category in the annual NRJ Awards, France.
Triple Grammy Nomination:Best Rock Album,Best Rock Song, Best Rock Performance .
"Winter" noiminated for Globe and Oscars.
Rolling Stone magazine considered "No Line on the Horizon", best album of the year and "Moment of Surrender", best song of the year.


The year has been great for the band and their fans. 2010 promises to be the same or even better: new album (Songs of Ascent), another lap of 360° and many more countries to visit.

U2 Year in Pictures (part 1)

2009 has been undeniably U2 Year. There was so much U2 everywhere that we fans had to rush from one place to another, one website to another, one magazine to another to get the latest view.
Those moments are over (at least until the 2010 tours starts) and we can think of a review of what it was like.

18th January: "We are One" Concert; the Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial.


19th January : First single from awaited album: "Get on your Boots". Promotional video, click here.
26th February official release of "No Line on the Horizon" in Ireland.

Promotional gig starts.First they had a great interview at BBC Radio 1 with Jo Whiley and then U2 play in the roof of the BBC . That day was called "U2 Day at BBC". The "U2mania" had started.


March 2nd: U2 has a street with its name! New York´s Mayor Bloomber, renamed part of W. 53rd at Broadway "U2 Way"

Robert Hilburn Reflects on U2

The people from @U2 have made a great interview to Robert Hilburn, author of the book:
Corn Flakes with John Lennon And Other Tales from a Rock N' Roll Life. Robert Hilburn was an influential music editor and critic for the Los Angeles Times from 1970 — 2005. He ´s made many interviews to U2 throughout the years and the prologue to his first book was written by Bono.

Here are some excerpts:

TK: Bono wrote a wonderful introduction for you in this book. Tell me about how he was chosen for the job.

RH: I was so touched by what Bono wrote. I asked him to write the introduction because I have probably spent more hours talking to him about music as just about any other artist I’ve ever written about — not only hours during interviews but in wonderful “talks” after the formal interviews were over. I also was impressed by how eloquent he was in giving induction speeches for such artists as Bruce Springsteen and Bob Marley at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame dinners.

TK: Looking back on their entire catalog, what do you think is U2's strongest album? Why?

RH: I hate to say The Joshua Tree because it was so long ago — and the band has done so much great work since then. But Joshua Tree was the moment where everything came together for the band — the kind of explosion of heart and head and spirit that only happens once in a career. The Joshua Tree simply has the most memorable songs. As Bono has said, it truly feels that God is walking through the room when U2 performs “Where the Streets Have No Name,” and “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” is as compelling an anthem. At the same time, look at the other great songs — and the range of emotions involved: “With or Without You” and “Bullet the Blue Sky” and “Running to Stand Still.” Those are simply art of the highest order.

© @U2/Kokkoris, 2009.

To read the whole interview, click here

To read a review of the book, click here

source:www.atu2.com

Winter from "Brothers"

Golden Globe and Oscar Nominee for best song...

Full version of the film song...Little pearls you find in the net...

A New U2 Album for June

IRISH rockers U2 have delivered a late Christmas present to their loyal fans this weekend by promising to release a new album by June.

Speaking exclusively to the Sunday Independent at Leopardstown Races yesterday, U2 frontman Bono revealed the band had been working hard on new material in the run-up to Christmas and are hoping to have a new chart-topping album on shelves before the summer.

Speaking about the upcoming release, Bono described how the band had been putting in the hard work in the studio in recent weeks: "We are working away and we have a couple of yearlings in the stables that could really turn out to be thoroughbreds in the future," he said.

"As a band you are always trying to work on new material and we had some unfinished material from the last album.

"I would love to elaborate a bit more but unfortunately it is a democracy -- and sure isn't that the world that we live in?"

One person who had no problem elaborating, however, was U2 manager Paul McGuinness.

The legendary music mogul described how the world's biggest rock group are confident of having the album released by June.

"I have heard some of the stuff the guys have played and, yeah, it is great. Bono is always an optimist but he seems confident of getting a new record out by the end of the next six months. They're talking about June. By that time we will be ready to go back on tour and I think that will give it a different flavour."

Mr McGuinness also described how sales of concert tickets "have been incredible" for the band -- despite the current recession.

"Most of the shows left are either sold out or close to being sold out, which is terrific. We're defying gravity at this stage -- it's incredible."

He also took some time out to offer his support to bassist Adam Clayton following reports last week that he is involved in a court case with his former housekeeper who has allegedly misappropriated €1.8m.

"It is very upsetting for him, especially because it is someone that he trusted and let into his life and his home. I didn't council him or advise him or anything like that.

"For Adam to discover that someone he had trusted had let him down like that. . . well, it is disappointing.

"I suppose though that is life and it could happen to anyone. But I can't really say too much about it because of the legality of it but that the courts are dealing with it."

Meanwhile, speaking about his time off over Christmas, Bono said: "We have had a really great Christmas, very homely and lovely and we had a great time. In fact, we have just had the most amazing year."

The Irish rocker was continuing what has become an annual tradition for him an his pals, by spending St Stephen's Day at Leopardstown races with his wife Ali.

"I did have one bet today but it was more of a sentimental flutter for the year that is ahead of U2.

"I put some money on a horse called Happy Reunion but unfortunately it was no good so I can only hope that we will have a bit more success."

Also at the races was Dublin publican Charlie Chawke, racing magnate JP McManus, horse trainer Dermot Weld, betting boss Paddy Power, Robbie Fox, Johnny Ronan and Guggi.

Over 14,500 people attended the races, while the Tote brought in €404,752 on the day.

(c) Independent, 2009.

source:www.independent.ie

Bono's Christmas message - 'go RED'

Bono is sending out a festive message to fans, saying "go out and buy RED products."

The U2 frontman is encouraging us to help others who are less fortunate at Christmas.

Red laces are the latest addition to his charity merchandise. He has teamed up with footballer Didier Drogba and Nike for the initiative. Proceeds from sales go towards fighting HIV and Aids in Africa.

Bono said: "Go out and buy your RED products, it is the colour of Christmas after all."


To see the video, click here.

To buy RED Products , click here.



source:www.itn.co.uk

On Killing Bono

While Northern Ireland was in the grip of the Troubles in the late 1970s, something was happening south of the border which would have a global impact on music.

In 1976, a band was formed in Dublin after a young drummer posted on the school noticeboard looking for other musicians to join him. That band was U2.

Now a new movie is to reminisce about that time — from the unusual perspective of a rival band.

Filming will get under way in Northern Ireland next month on Killing Bono — a story about two Irish brothers chasing a dream of being rock stars.

Heading up the cast will be Brit actor Ben Barnes, star of The Chronicle of Narnia: Prince Caspian and The Picture of Dorian Gray. Barnes will be joined by Robert Sheehan, who starred in the Irish movie Cherrybomb.

Killing Bono is based on Neil McCormick’s autobiography ‘I Was Bono’s Doppelganger’. Barnes play Neil McCormick while Sheehan plays his hapless brother Ivan. Together they set up a band in Dublin in the late 1970s. Sadly for them, however, so do their classmates and rivals — and they go on to become U2.

The movie begins shooting in Belfast on January 11. The script is written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, who worked on The Commitments, while Nick Hamm will direct.

Castlewellan musician Joe Echo — who was recently nominated for a Grammy award for co-writing the Madonna track Celebration — will be providing the soundtrack for the film.

(c) Belfast Telegraph, 2009.

Bono Busking on Grafton St, Dublin

Bono, Glen Hansard, Damien Rice and Mundy made up the remarkable group, who joined other volunteers who were busking to raise money for the Simon Community. Hot Press caught them performing three songs, before the set finished, prompting a huge and sustained round of applause from astounded passers-by.

“That was incredible,” one stunned onlooker told Hot Press. “I was out innocently doing my shopping when I saw a crowd gathered. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I had a closer look – you might expect to see someone like Mundy doing something like this for charity, but there were three huge stars there, giving it loads. It really added to the Christmas eve atmosphere. The only problem is I had one more present to get but the shop is closed now!”


By the time the set was finished, Bono had dematerialised into the night air, but Hot Press chatted to Glen Hansard, who had clearly enjoyed the opportunity to return to his roots, in a reprise of his role in the Oscar winning Once. He signed autographs, had his picture taken with kids and chatted to fans.

Among other songs, the superstar buskers played Bob Dylan’s ‘Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door’ and ‘You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere’ and a version of Mic Christopher’s ‘Heyday’, which had hundreds singing along, with Glen Hansard – Mic’s best friend – leading the line. The crowds responded by donating generously, with one Grafton Street shopper happily handing over €50 for the privilege of having seen one of the most star studded busking sessions in aeons.

source:www.hotpress.com

I Believe in Christmas

A year ago U2 sang "I Believe in Christmas", a cover of the Greg Lake classic. Made in support of
Product (RED) to raise funds to fight killer diseases in the poorest countries, the single took you to the Christmas spirit with its magical atmosphere.

Do you remember it?

HAPPY CHRISTMAS!!!!

Adam Clayton takes action over €1.8m

Adam Clayton has secured a temporary court order restraining his former personal assistant from reducing her assets below €1.8 million after alleging she may have misappropriated funds in that amount.

The musician last month terminated the employment of Carol Hawkins, Crannagh Road, Dublin 14, after she confessed to using his debit and credit cards for her own use and for her family’s benefit, the High Court heard yesterday.

It appeared an apartment had been bought in New York and an investigation had also revealed some €900 per month was spent on a syndicate which maintained horses, the court was told.

Paul Sreenan SC, for Mr Clayton, Danesmoate Demesne, Kellystown Road, Rathfarnham, Dublin, secured the freezing order from Ms Justice Mary Laffoy yesterday evening against Ms Hawkins. The judge adjourned the case to Monday.

Mr Sreenan said the matter went back to September 2008 when Ms Hawkins – who worked as a housekeeper and personal assistant – had come to Mr Clayton and confessed she had misappropriated €13,000 of his money. He had dealt with this in “a compassionate manner” and had altered his financial arrangements accordingly and kept her on in employment.

However, counsel said it had since emerged that Ms Hawkins, without the authorisation of Mr Clayton, had used his debit and credit cards.

On November 19th last, when allegations were put to her, she had accepted the cards had been used and money taken without Mr Clayton’s authorisation but she had disputed the sums involved, Mr Sreenan said. Her employment had been terminated.

Certain matters had been referred to the Garda, counsel added.

Mr Sreenan said Ms Hawkins had denied she had bought a house, cars or jewellery. When it was suggested to her she had been withdrawing about €600 twice daily for a period of 13 months, she said she had used it as needed.

Mr Sreenan said an investigation by accountants concluded that sums of up to €1.8 million might have been misappropriated.

source:www.independent.ie

"No Line on the Horizon": RS 2009 Best Album

Rolling Stone magazine has chosen NLOTH as best album of 2009 .

1. U2 NO LINE ON THE HORIZON
Interscope

Aiming for rock glory, Bono, Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. explore dark places ("Moment of Surrender"), find modern twists on their classic anthems ("Magnificent") and uncover blindinglight soul ("Breathe"). The result was an album with a sense of drama that no one could match all year — more proof that a band that isn't busy being born is busy dying.



And "Moment of Surrender" as the best song of 2009.

1. "Moment of Surrender" BY U2


source:www.rollingstone.com

Artificial Horizon

Paid subscribers of U2.com have got e-mails announcing Artificial Horizon, the new CD for U2.com members. U2.com reveals a few songs on the CD:

* "Vertigo" - a Trent Reznor remix
* "Fast Cars" - a Jackknife Lee remix
* "Beautiful Day" - a David Holmes remix
* "Staring At The Sun" remix
* "City of Blinding Lights" remix
* "If God Will Send His Angels" remix

The site promises more details about the album "in the next few days."

Edge Talks to Hot Press

It seems our guitar master has done some interesting interviews lately.Here is the one published by Hot Press.

U2's Edge Warns Nobody Will Invest in Music

In an interviewed exclusively for the Hot Press Annual 2010, which takes a look back over the past ten years, ( U2’s The Edge predicts the demise of the record industry if current trends prevail and admits that he’s never heard of Jedward.

Reflecting on the impact of the internet on the music industry, the U2 guitarist sounds a grim warning. “There aren’t going to be any record labels in a few years if things carry on the way they are, because CDs – that industry is pretty much all over,” he says. “And because there’s no replacement right now that’s viable, it just means no one’s going to invest in music, which just means no-one is going to get tour support, record deals, publishing deals, all the rest, which is how every band since The Beatles have managed to get going initially. That feels like that this sort of parasitical medium will basically kill the host, which would not be good.”


Asked about illegal downloading, The Edge tells Hot Press, “You’re never going to stamp it out totally, and in some ways I don’t think anyone cares as long as the majority of transactions on the internet involve some sort of a fair payment to the people who have put their life into the work, and the companies that support them… It’s not even that important, relatively, for us, but for bands that are coming up.”


Asked about the view that the telecoms have “gotten away with murder”, Edge agrees. “I think they have. I think that they are distanced enough that they can hold up their hands and say, ‘It’s not us. We’re not doing anything’. But in the end, people are buying broadband access in order to get ‘stuff’, content of some sort… I think that the people who have been making it their life’s work to create that content have got a reason to be upset… for young groups, it’s important that this gets resolved.”


In a lengthy interview with the Irish rock bible, Edge also reveals to Hot Press that the Spiderman musical is ready to go. “We’re waiting for the word that our director, Julie Taymor, can start putting the show together. We’re told it could be any day. We’ve got new producers involved: Michael Cohl is coming in, to become an additional producer. So they’re busy working on raising finance and getting all that stuff in order.”


For the full interview, see the Hot Press Annual 2010

source:www.hotpress.com

"We are still capable of potentially doing our best-ever album"

The Decade in U2: The Edge Looks Back

The Rolling Stone editors picked eight stars — from Bruce and Beyoncé to Radiohead and U2 — who not only made the best music but also led the way as Artists of the Decade.


U2 ended this decade by playing to some of the biggest audiences of your career, in those stadiums, in the round. How has that affected the music — your connection to rock & roll in those dimensions?
It's only made possible because of the technology, the in-ear monitors. We can hear each other perfectly. Otherwise it would be an absolute disaster. Because of the in-ear technology, I'm right next to Larry, right next to Adam and Bono, in sonic terms. What about the connection between your head and what you play?
The only way the shows work for me is if I totally lose myself in the music. Everything else will flow from that. If I'm totally lost in the music, everything comes into alignment — my performance, my sense of everything that is happening musically and my ability to react to it. It's a case of not allowing thoughts, the conscience mind, to be engaged in the process. Keep the subconscious in control — you're in a more creative place. When you were making No Line on the Horizon, could you tell you were making an album with that possibility — that you could lose yourself in the music?
We did make an album with that character, because of the way it came together. A lot of times, we were playing in a room, and there was a particular moment when it all came together. That's what you're trying to achieve in a live context. [Brian] Eno said of those sessions, they were some of the most inspiring he had ever experienced, in all of the years he had been in a recording a studio. I know what he meant, because of the way we set up the sessions — the songwriting workshop, which then turned into the recording workshop. There were a lot of moments when it was so exciting, and it was all happening — the music was being invented in real time, in front of everyone's eyes. And the songs had an inner DNA, a real power and substance. They were true works, because of that. There was no opportunity to allow our fingerprints to be on the pieces.
Were U2 in this decade a different, even better band than they were in the '90s?
I hate to draw direct comparisons. We know more now, which is a great thing and a bad thing. So often, in the past, we would end up somewhere not knowing how we got there or what we were doing — and have to find a way out of a roadblock, like in our time in Berlin [recording Achtung! Baby]. We had a vague instinct for where we wanted to be, and the songs Bono and I were working on, trying to encourage Adam and Larry to get behind. They were rough sketches and very unimpressive sounding. But our instinct held out, and we eventually got there. Now we never need to be quite so vulnerable. We know how it works a bit better. Our strength is we waste less time now. It still takes a long time to finish a U2 record. But we don't end up lost, which we would have in the past.


You do go through periods of rebirth, like that stretch from The Joshua Tree through Rattle and Hum to Achtung! Baby. And it's a pattern that seems to repeat itself in each decade.

We are the band that is always looking for the thing that has never been done — or never been heard. That's partly because we get excited when something like that arrives. It's fruitful for us, but also people expect it. That's the U2 thing — we don't see what's going on and find a way to do it. We try to think of something that's never been done. Maybe it comes from the fact that we're still using a very simple array of sounds. What you foresee for U2 in the next decade? I can't think that things will change radically for us, because we are already enjoying being in the band. It matters to us that we still make music that connects, and we are still capable of potentially doing our best-ever album. It's not a foregone conclusion that our best work is behind us. That still makes it really exciting. It also makes you unique at this juncture in your career.
We get that. Sometimes I think, "Why has it been so difficult for people in the past to maintain that?" We're still learning. We're still ambitious creatively, in terms of where we can take the band. There's an awful lot there for us. Is that belief true for all four of you?
We all genuinely believe it. It's not arrogance. It's because we are still hungry. There's no reason why we can't do this. You think about other art forms and artists — filmmakers, painters, sculptors. It doesn't follow that your best work is done in your late twenties, early thirties, and then it's downhill. Unfortunately, that's the way rock & roll has panned out. But we don't buy that. Our only limitation is our ability to apply ourselves, to be hard-minded on our work. We push and push until we get to those special pieces of music, those lyrics. And it doesn't arrive on call. You can't turn it on. It needs time spent &38212; and time spent in the right frame of mind. There is no short cut. We end up, at a certain point, at the same place — the band in the room, trying to make something happen. And when it does, it's a magic thing. There is no denying it.

source:www.rollingstone.com

U2 in Wembley

U2 Live From Wembley, on BBC Radio Two. Monday December 21st, 7pm to 8pm. Presented by Chris Evans.

Radio 2 will broadcast a one hour selection of songs from U2's 360%deg; Tour at Wembley Stadium this past summer. U2 played over two nights at Wembley - this recording is from the Saturday show on 15 August, 2009.

Listen live or later via the BBC iPlayer

source: www.u2.com

Bono on the Globes, the Pixies, Colin Farrell and Spike Jonze

Interesting interview to Bono after receiving the news of the Globe Award Nomination for "Winter"by The Hollywood Reporter.

This is not new for you. This is number six!

Bono: [laughs] We’re often left waiting at the altar on occasions like this. It’s a big thrill. And more than that, because of our relationship with Jim Sheridan. It goes back to really the first year of our band’s life, we’ve known him that long. It’s a very special feeling. And it’s going to be tricky because people think of songs that are involved in movies like this as non-integral. And this is not the case here. But it’s gonna be hard to convince people of that. We were involved in the very earliest stages of this movie—before it was a script! When it was just Jim pitching it! He wanted a complex song for a complex character. And we wrote two—one that referred particularly to the brothers that was called “White As Snow,” and this is called “Winter,” one that is just really a more universal song about the experience of the armed forces in Afghanistan. “No army in this world can fight a ghost,” in an asymmetrical war. The brave men and women of the United States military have their work cut out for them.

How do you write these songs at the script stage?

Well, we were in songwriting mode, actually, when Jim first told us about “Brothers.” So we were actively looking for subjects. And I was trying to give myself a break from writing in the first person anyway. [laughs] I was bored, and I reckon our audience were bored hearing about my every whim and aspiration and fear. So I really jumped on the idea of trying to get into this guy’s head. I am so pleased it turned out very well. It’s had a few iterations. We did a kind of rock band version of it, we did an acoustic version of it. And even yesterday [laughs] I caught Edge—because we were supposed to be working on something else—I caught him working on an electronic version! [laughs] He’s very proud of it. We are very proud of it. Songs like this, if you’re a songwriter, don’t come about every year.

How do you choose when a project is right for you to contribute to in that way?

Sometimes we’ll do it just for the sheer thrill and the fun of it. So, we wrote a song called “Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me” for “Batman [Forever].” And we loved it! It was pure fun, you know? And then, with Jim it’s a little different, with Wim Wenders it’s a little different, we have an ongoing relationship with those two directors. And then I myself have a pretty close relationship with Neil Jordan, and I’ve worked with him. But there’s an intimacy in our relationship with Jim Sheridan, which only time can account for, really.

Honestly, how does something like this fit into your sense of accomplishment as a songwriter and all the things you do with your life?

You tend to take for granted your own world. It’s when you step into somebody else’s… And the Golden Globe people, they have a very sharpened sense of musical ambition. And they’ve been good to us before. I don’t know if that will happen again. But I got so excited the last time, I believe, I shamed myself and the TV network by uttering an expletive. [laughs] Should we ever, ever be fortunate enough to be in that position, I promise I will be on my best behavior. [laughs]

Yeah, right. I believe you. My kids are still trying to get over it.

Did you get them counseling?

Well, I’m glad we had a chance to talk, because I’ll take your apology now.

I actually genuinely do apologize. [laughs] There’s nothing cool about uttering an expletive. It’s one of the dumbest things I’ve ever done, and I’ve done a few dumb things, but it genuinely was an outburst of Irish joy!

At least you didn’t have a wardrobe malfunction, for Christ’s sake.

Well, exactly. God forbid! Though, I must say, I’ve been to the gym, and I think I’m ready for it.

There you go. Everyone will expect you to go up there and throw the f-bomb. Go up there and paint SOY BOMB on your chest and rip your jacket off. Where are you right now?

I’m in Manhattan. We’re in the studio.

Are you working on a new album?

Yeah. We really didn’t take a day off. We went straight from the stage, the Brandenburg Gate — we played a concert for the reunification of Germany, the anniversary of that — and the next day we went into the studio because we had this crescendo of excitement toward the end of the tour. We were playing better than we’d ever been playing. We thought, ‘If we could just get this down, if we could get this feeling into some songs…’ So that’s what we did.

Were you playing new material on stage? Or it was just the spirit of it?

Nope. Nope. It was just the way we were playing together. Because, you know, if you’ve been around a while, you have to know if the spirit is with you, so to speak. And something happened toward the end of the tour that was very, very special.

It’s like suddenly having great sex with your wife after 20 years.

Well, that, too, by the way.

In the studio?

Everywhere!

You guys have a hell of a process there. What are you listening to right now? Can I get a recommendation?

Noah and the Whale was the last sort of album I listened to. Kind of in the mode of Arcade Fire.

Arcade Fire opened for you guys, right?

We’ve had Arcade Fire play with us. We’ve had some incredible opening acts over the years, from the Velvet Underground to the Pixies. [VU] played with us in Paris.

A friend of mine just saw the Pixies the other night in DC. I was very jealous.

Oh, God. I’m not fit to tie their shoes. Really, one of the great American groups—really one of the top five. Yeah.
Your top five movies this year? Do you get out? Do you see many?

Oh, I haven’t seen so many… Actually two movies with Colin Farrell I’m going to name in my top five.

Come on! There are other films with non-Irish actors. You know that, right?

[laughs] Now, you can call this… what you like. But, he made a movie called “Triage,” which is about an Irish reporter who goes to Afghanistan, strangely enough. And then he made this magical little film with Neil Jordan called “Ondine.” A magical realist kind of a film set in west Cork. I really enjoyed both of those films. Now, what else did Colin make this year….? [laughs] I think he’s an astonishing talent. If they released “In Bruges” again this year, I’d also be raving about that. I think they should. Can you put that in anyway?
Sure, I’ll see what I can do. Good luck with the recording.

Oh, thank you.

And try to see some other international actors and work out there. Try to get out of Cork.

I’ll do my very best.

Have you seen “Where the Wild Things Are”?

I haven’t. My kids have. And I’m probably the number one fan in the world of Spike Jonze.

You have to see it. I was listening to the Karen O soundtrack last night, and it’s so brilliant in the way the movie captures the tortured emotions of childhood. I don’t know how he did it. It’s a really beautiful film.

You know, he’s a card-carrying genius. And one of them arrives every decade, if you’re lucky.

And to think he came out of doing skate videos. To think that he had this stuff in him.

I kind of always knew, actually. Yeah. He pitched an idea… [laughs] I’ll tell you this just as I go. He didn’t know I was calling him, I called him in his car because I had heard he was on his way to Warner Bros. I called him up as Bugs Bunny. And it kind of freaked him out a little bit. He’s going, [as high-pitched Spike]: “Who is this? Who is this?” And I’m going, [as Bugs]: “What’s up Doc? It’s Bono.” He said, “Bono?!?” I had never met him before, and I asked him would he make us a video. The song was called “Last Night on Earth.” And he called me back and he goes, “I got an idea! OK. Right. It’s like, you’re in a forest, the band are in a forest, and it’s lit like a rock video. You know those kind of lights late at night in the forest that they have in rock videos?” I said, “Yeah, I think I do.” “OK. The band are there: Larry… Adam… and Edge. And you’re in the rock video with the lighting. Now, there is an apartment—one of those kind of penthouse apartments that you see in rock videos. And Bono is wandering through on the phone, it’s late at night, looking at the window, like the rock video.” And I said, “Yeah, I got it. This sounds great so far, Spike.” And he says, “OK. You want to get to the point?” I said, “Yes.” “All right. It’s not Bono. It’s Jim Carrey.” [silence] “Jim Carrey is gonna play you. Do you like that?” [laughs] I said, “Yes, I do. You mean, I can take the day off?” And he says, “And he comes down from the apartment, he goes through the forest to find the band.” [laughs] I mean, look. Truly, a remarkable spirit. A nicely anarchic, nicely romantic figure in film.


J. A. Fernandez

source:http://riskybusiness.blogs.thr.com

Billboard´s Best of 2009

Billboard has published several list of "The Best of ..." where U2 is included.

"Top 25 Tours of 2009" finds U2 at the top.


#1-U2- Total Gross: $311,637,730 Number of Shows: 44 Total Attendance: 3,071,290 Number of Sell-Outs: 44


#1 - "Touring Artist of 2009"
#2 - "Touring Artist of the Decade"
#19 - "The Billboard 200 Artists of 2009"
#9 - "Digital Album Artist of 2009"
#87 - "Artists of the Decade"
#44 - 'The Billboard 200 Artists of the Decade"
#25 - "Top Rock Song Artist of the Decade"

All That You Can't Leave Behind
#68 - "The Billboard 200 Albums of the Decade"

How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb
#124 - "The Billboard 200 Albumsof the Decade"

No Line On The Horizon

#18 - "The Billboard 200 Albums" of 2009
#5 - "Top Rock Albums" of 2009
#12 - "Top Digital Albums" del 2009
#25 - "Top Digital Albums" de la década
#4 - "Top Alternative Albums" del 2009
#5 - "Top European Albums" del 2009
#18 - "Top Canadian Albums" del 2009

The Best of 1980-1990
#41 - "Top Catalog Albums" of the Decade

"Beautiful Day"
#90 - "Top Rock Songs" of the Decade

"Magnificent"
#96 - "European Hot 100 Singles" of 2009

"Get On Your Boots"
#99 - "European Hot 100 Singles" of 2009

More info:here

source:www.billboard.com

Winter Goes for the Golden Globe

The Golden Globes, presented annually by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), are among Hollywood's leading film awards and the band have said how delighted they are with the nomination for 'Winter' in the 'Best Original Song-Motion Picture' category.

'It's great to be nominated. Jim is a brother, a father, a friend and a foe - if you don't give him your best work... Working with him is always interesting, he pushes and we like to be pushed. We gave it our all on this one, so thrilled the HFPA noticed. The subject matter of Sheridan's 'Brothers' - friendship and familial relationships - is something we've explored a lot with Jim over the years and it's certainly pertinent now. Jim's film is right where we wanted to go.'

The nomination puts the band up against some other very fine songwriters when the Awards are announced in January. Also in the running are Maury Yeston for 'Cinema Italiano' in the film Nine, Paul McCartney for 'I Want To Come Home' in Everybody's Fine, James Horner and Simon Franglen for 'I See You' in Avatar and Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett for 'The Weary Kind' from Crazy Heart.

You can take listen to "Winter" here -

U2 won a Golden Globe in 2002 for 'The Hands That Built America', the track they wrote for Martin Scorcese's 'Gangs of New York'.


source.www.u2.com

Music Rising, Rising Again!

'Music Rising', the campaign, in which Edge has been a prime mover, dedicated to preserving the rich musical heritage of the Gulf Coast region has new look.

As well as the soundtrack of New Orleans, the site has some fine photography of the milestones in the campaign so far: from U2 and Green Day performing 'The Saints Are Coming' at the reopening of the Louisiana Superdome to Edge visiting the devastation in the region not long after Katrina hit.

In case you're new to Music Rising, it was launched to 'rescue the musical culture of the Central Gulf region of the United States from the destruction caused by the catastrophic hurricanes of the summer of 2005 by replacing the musical instruments lost or destroyed in the deluge.'



For more info, here.
Donations here.

source:www.u2.com//www.musicrising.org

More on "Spectacle" with Elvis Costello

SPECTACLE: ELVIS COSTELLO WITH... ' features one-on-one conversations with legendary performers and notable newcomers and the guest don't just talk, they also sing.'

Bono and Edge are guests for the first episode in the second series tonight which 'allows some of the most interesting and influential artists and personalities a rare opportunity to reflect on their work and jam with Elvis'.

Sounds good... particularly as we hear that Bono and Edge get to join Elvis and The Imposters to perform 'Alison' and 'Pump It Up'.

This is Elvis´s version of "Mysterious Ways" which served as way of introduction.

Elvis, Edge and Bono with a meshed up version of "Pump it up" and "Get on your Boots"

source:www.u2.com//www.scatterolight.com

U2: They were a rocketship waiting to take off!!!

TORONTO - Elvis Costello is opening the second season of his interview show with a bang or, more accurately, a Bono.

One-half of U2 - Bono and the Edge - will be the first guests when the second season of Costello's show, "Spectacle," launches this Friday (CTV, 10 p.m. ET).

The British-born, Vancouver-based Costello introduces the Dublin band as the "last rock stars" during the show, which he taped at Toronto's storied Masonic Temple.

The band performed album tracks ("Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of," "Stay (Faraway, So Close!)") and a lesser-known gem ("Two Shots of Happy, One Shot of Sad") which Bono says he wrote for Frank Sinatra. They then joined in a medley of their recent single "Get On Your Boots" with Costello's classic "Pump It Up."

Costello, meanwhile, adopted the tone of a carnival barker as he closed out a version of "Mysterious Ways" and introduced the rockers - Bono clad in a brown leather jacket and V-neck T-shirt, with translucent wraparound shades obscuring his eyes, Edge with a Western-style button-down shirt and ears tucked under one of his signature toques.

As they chatted, Costello was brought back to the first time he ever heard U2.

Elvis Costello and the Attractions were headlining the Rock on the Tyne festival at International Stadium in Gateshead, England. They were at the "back end up of our pop star moment," and U2 was among a group of bands who took the stage before him.

"They were a rocketship waiting to take off," Costello told The Canadian Press in a recent telephone interview from New York.

And yet, Costello wasn't quite sure what to make of U2, the group having then released only "Boy," with "October" soon to follow. What he knew was that the band's shimmering textures and cascading guitars represented something very new.

"It didn't sound like songs as I knew them and that's usually a good sign, if something's got a different approach," he said.

"People had the same impression of my stuff when I was coming up. It had a degree of structure that people could recognize, but some things didn't sound like songs I'm sure to other people."

It follows, then, that Bono and the Edge cited Costello as one of the band's primary influences, along with Krautrock innovators including Neu! and Kraftwerk.

Bono also reminisced about his formative years, when he caught Costello perform at the Stella Cinema in the Rathmines suburb of Dublin.

"You blew our minds and everybody who was there formed a band," Bono said.

"You should point out that the Stella, in Rathmines, only holds about four groups worth of people, it wasn't like a hugely big place," Costello responded.

For his part, he said he had no idea that his punky early efforts had such an effect on the band.

"That was something of a surprise," Costello said. "I didn't realize. I wouldn't have guessed that."

That mutual respect led to Bono soliciting Costello's help when organizing the Conspiracy of Hope tour for Amnesty International in 1986.

He called up Costello at 3 a.m. and asked him if he would join the tour. Costello said no. He struggles slightly now to explain why.

"I wasn't comfortable with, you know, I didn't really know how to go about getting on that stage," Costello said after considering the question for a moment.

"I don't think it really is to my credit that I couldn't do it, I just felt it wasn't the right thing for me. They have always understood better how to use the large-scale stage to address big subjects. And I maybe felt that my job was something different than that. That was my conviction then and maybe to a lesser degree now.

"I don't hanker after the big stage, or the big, broad statements. It's not like their songs lack subtlety or nuance, but I suppose I write different types of songs than they write."

But Costello's interview show has become something of a prominent stage for the 55-year-old musician.

"Spectacle" averaged 506,000 viewers during its first season on CTV, according to BBM Nielsen numbers provided by the network. That places it among the top 10 best-rated new shows in Canada last season.

His star-studded seven-episode second season will feature New Jersey rock stalwart Bruce Springsteen (whom Costello cites as one of his own influences), Sheryl Crow, Lyle Lovett, Neko Case, Nick Lowe and Canadian Ron Sexsmith.

Costello says he's feeling more comfortable as host now with a full season behind him.

"I don't doubt there's a little more fluency to it," he said, before adding: "Still, I can find fault with anything I do."

And yet, despite the program's success, Costello's not sure how much longer he will continue making it.

"No, not really, no," he said. "I think it's good to go into everything you do as if it's the first or last thing you're going to do."

"You have to take note of the fact that Season 1 was 13 episodes, and Season 2 was seven episodes. So maybe, if there were a Season 3, it would only be three-and-a-half episodes," he adds, slyly.

© The Canadian Press, 2009.

U2 360 Tour Profile

Interesting article (especially if you like and undersand technical stuff) about U2´s 360° Tour in MIX (Professional Audio and Music Production).

"The U2 360° tour that recently ended its first leg in the U.S. has taken the stadium show to a new level. The sheer scope of the production is mind-boggling. It took two years to design and develop, travels on 180 trucks, employs more than 400 people — including 12 system engineer/techs — and uses an astounding amount of audio and video gear. The best thing about the show is the communication and contact between the band and the audience provided by the 170-foot-tall steel structure perched over the stage."

"Originally inspired by the Theme Building at Los Angeles' LAX airport, the four-legged “spider” incorporates all of the lighting, some of the 12 manned cameras and spots, massive speaker arrays and a huge 360-degree vertically expandable LED video screen. And as ridiculous as it sounds, once the show starts, you forget it's there: Instead of being the elephant in the room, the structure focuses attention on the band and how they interact with the crowd, both near and far. The inner ring nearest the main stage gives more than 3,000 fans close proximity to the band, while the outer ring gives the band access to standing and seated concertgoers farther out. At different times during the show, The Edge, Bono, Adam Clayton and even drummer Larry Mullins Jr. use two moving bridges to perform between the areas and are followed by video and audio all the way."

Read more here.

source:www.mixonline.com

The Faces of Climate Change

Over 63,000 ONE members have signed ONE´s petition asking the Danish Prime Minister not to double count development funding and call it climate change funding. That’s an impressive number of people, and it’s worth taking a moment to remind ourselves exactly why bother.

ONE petitions governments and makes as much noise as possible because there are people who are already experiencing droughts and floods fueled by climate change, and lack the resources to adapt to these changing conditions. Here are the stories of those people.

Also, singer and ONE Campaigner Bob Geldof was in Ethiopia recently seeing all the changes that have taken place in the 25 years since the 1984 famine.That was the reason why he oranised Live Aid and Bono and Ali Hewson travelled to Ethiopia to work and see how people were affected. The trip moved them deeply and the rest is history!

Here he shares some of his thoughts on the impact of climate change he saw there:

25 years ago he helped spur the world into action over the then famine in East Africa. As well as finding out how much progress has been made since then, he saw first hand how climate change is threatening the development gains of recent years.

Join the fight against extreme poverty

source:www.one.org

RS´s "All -Time Greats"

Rolling Stone magazine shows the musical decade in its new issue with several lists that count down the best albums, songs, and U2 features in all of the lists. More than 100 artists, industry insiders, and journalists voted -- but none of U2 did so.

100 Best Albums of the Decade

Each voter was asked to list his or her 25 favorite albums and songs of the past decade, in order of importance. Ballots were tabulated and weighted according to a methodology developed by the accounting firm of Ernst & Young, under the supervision of the editors of Rolling Stone.

13 | U2: All That You Can't Leave Behind

Songs of the Decade

9 | U2 — "Beautiful Day"

36 | U2 — "Moment of Surrender"

Top Singles of the Decade

3- "Beautiful Day"

The Decade-End Readers' Poll :Top Albums of the Decade

15- "No Line on the Horizon"

The Decade-End Readers' Poll :Top Artists of the Decade

3- U2

Complete lists: here

Brothers

Bono and 'Brothers' director Jim Sheridan share a bond.

In 1977, an Irish teenager named Paul Hewson signed up for mime lessons at the Project Arts Center in Dublin. It marked the very last time that Bono, as Hewson is called today, made any serious attempt to stay silent onstage. Still, that class at the avant-garde drama collective did lead to an enduring friendship between Bono and Jim Sheridan, the arts leader who would go on to become Ireland's most celebrated filmmaker.

"We have this relationship with Jim that's alchemical," Bono said of the bond between the rock band and the six-time Oscar nominee, who so long ago ran a Dublin hot spot for acting, music and the arts. "The Arts Center was a sort of progressive theater group run by Jim and his brother, Peter, and all kinds of bizarre characters were there. I think the first time that we played as U2, it was at a thing called Dark Space, a 24-hour music festival in this sort of warehouse called the Project Arts Center. There's so much history for us.... "

The next chapter of that history is Brothers, Sheridan's wrenching film that features the haunting new U2 song "Winter," written specifically for the movie. The story finds its axis in family, war and redemption -- it's a sort of Best Years of Our Lives for the troops in this modern American Heartland era of Wal-Mart, hard-luck economies, YouTube and desert camouflage.

The movie, which opened Friday, tells the tale of the Cahill brothers, Sam (Tobey Maguire), who is a family man and a respected battlefield leader in Afghanistan, and Tommy (Jake Gyllenhaal), the family black sheep who is fresh from a stint in prison. Sam is married to Grace (Natalie Portman), who first mourns her husband when he is reported dead in combat and then finds out that he is alive. The Marine who comes home to her, though, is very different than the man she married and carries a dark secret back from the distant mountain ranges.

The film is a remake of the acclaimed 2004 Danish film Brødre, and Sheridan said he was initially reluctant to take "a very good film" and transport it to America, but he found in the story too many compelling elements to let the chance go by. Bono said he and the other members of U2 -- the Edge, Larry Mullen Jr. and Adam Clayton -- had been "fiddling around, improvising and trying to find something" in the same thematic territories.

"We saw the picture and we said, 'Oh, yeah,' that's exactly where we wanted to go," Bono said. "We quickly drew the character in 'Winter' and it's based -- in no literal way, you try not to do that -- on that moment in the film where [Maguire's character] is locked up, down in a hole. In my head, that character starts scratching a diary."

Some of the lyrics to "Winter": "Now I'm 25 / I'm trying to stay alive / In a corner of the world / With no clear enemies to fight / It's hot as hell / We're like butter on toast / But there's no army in this world / That can fight a ghost."

"The shards of imagery fit the film but don't attempt to mirror it," Bono said.

"If you're literal, you become part of the narration and that can be an irritation to the director," he said. "I think with this we tried to get to the essence of the story the loss of innocence and the reasons that people do put themselves in harm's way for the love of their country. That's a pregnant thought right now, isn't it?"

Movies were a huge influence on U2 -- no surprise for anyone who has watched their career focus on concert theatrics, grand narratives and potent visuals through music videos and photography. If there ever were a band that aspired to be both art house and summer popcorn, it's U2, but that doesn't even take into account the influence film music had on a group that has created soundscapes as different as the western sunsets of Joshua Tree and the Berlin siren wails of Achtung Baby.

Giorgio Moroder's Midnight Express score and the screen music of Nino Rota in Fellini films were key compass points for the band early on, as important in some ways as the Beatles and Ramones, Bono said.

"In Dublin, there weren't a lot of gigs, and going out to movies ... that's part of who we were growing up and the music we made," Bono said. "It's very easy for us to see things from a director's point of view because we think of it like that," Bono said.

The great treat for Bono was escaping his usual first-person approach to songwriting. "It is great to not have to dig up your own dirt and try to find diamonds in somebody else's ground."

The Edge agreed: "Jumping off someone else's work is always fun.... It can lead to all sorts of opportunities and, in this case, they came quickly."

It's paid off for them before. Their song, "The Hands That Built America," from Martin Scorsese's Gangs of New York, was nominated for an Oscar.

And it's not the first time a Sheridan film has featured the sound of old friends. The title track for In the Name of the Father was performed by Bono and Gavin Friday (another Dubliner from that same mime class' invisible walls). Friday and Bono also wrote "Time Enough for Tears" for In America.

Sheridan also added U2 directly into the story of Brothers -- in one pivotal scene, Grace and Tommy have a breakthrough in their trust and affection for one another while sharing a joint and listening to "Bad," one of the band's mid-1980s classics of epic swoon. Tommy makes a wisecrack, expecting Grace to be an 'N Sync fan; Sheridan said he didn't think twice about the inclusion of his old mates.

"It felt right as far as their life and marking time, their age and the story," the director said. "It fits, so that's what I used. Their music is a touchstone for a generation."

Despite that praise, Bono said he and his bandmates didn't have to stretch their arms to catch all the bouquets that Sheridan threw their way on the project. He was demanding, just the way they hoped, just as he always has been.

"It's like family, but that makes it sound too ... comfortable," Bono said with a chuckle. "It's not comfortable. Jim will push you and we like to be pushed. The film is about friendship and fraternal relationships and, by the way, when we're with Jim, we talk about little else."

© Los Angeles Times, 2009.

source:www.latimes.com

Elvis Costello gets the best out of musicians

"Spectacle: Elvis Costello With..."

There is a moment in the Season 2 premiere of "Spectacle: Elvis Costello With..." where the camera catches a look on the faces of a few people in the audience who are beginning to put together what Costello, in an improvised musical introduction, is getting at when he talks about rock gods of the past and the rare few in the last 20 or so years who have climbed the mountain. He's going on about four lads from Dublin, Ireland. Their smiles widen. One person mouths "wow" as Costello turns and introduces Bono and the Edge from U2 - his first guests on television's best music show.

Filmed at both the Apollo Theater in New York and the Masonic Temple in Toronto, "Spectacle" is the result of unique thinking and smart decision-making at Sundance - branching out to make a show that takes the time to take music and artists seriously. But mostly the show works because Costello is the ideal host.

Part interview, part jam session and periodically a ridiculously fun and rare romp through forgotten chestnuts, "Spectacle" is the kind of series that gives singers, songwriters and musicians their due - instead of adding them on at the end of a late-night talk show to sell an album or to make the show look hip.

The first two episodes of Season 2 prove immediately the diverse appeal of the show and Costello's sense of the moment. The jaded among you might think that another 12 seconds of Bono might, in fact, be 11 more than you can tolerate, but the U2 front man either gives up the posturing and cumbersome earnestness to tell old school tales about the band or Costello niftily guides him away from the soapbox. Either way we get a bit of musical history (U2 was once fourth on a bill headlined by Costello), some wonderful tales (especially one involving Frank Sinatra) and myriad songs. The audience, who didn't know Bono and the Edge were the guests, is clearly appreciative.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/12/08/DD0M1B0JLB.DTL&feed=rss.tgoodman#ixzz0ZCITe3Jb

source:www.sfgate.com

Bono: Vevo Is Rebirth of Music Industry

Online music video destination site Vevo launched tonight with an introduction by Bono, who forecast that the new site would strike a new paradigm in the music industry. “Friends, we are gathered here today to mourn the loss of a great old cash cow that was the music business,” Bono said. “But friends, we’re also here to celebrate new shoots, new life, and the birth of a new model for our industry.”
Taking a page out of Hulu CEO Jason Kilar’s playbook, Vevo CEO Rio Caraeff told the crowd at the company’s launch event in Manhattan that the new site would be all about the user experience. “If we focus on the fan, if we focus on the experience, the rest will fall in line,” Caraeff said. But then taking a page out the music industry’s playbook, he welcomed Mariah Carey, Adam Lambert and Lady Gaga to the stage. Let’s just say record labels don’t do humble very well.
Vevo will have a huge amount of video content at launch, as its owners control more than 80 percent of all music videos created. YouTube provides backend management for the videos and will also drive viewers to the new destination site.
The site will get rid of duplicate and low-quality uploads that currently plague YouTube, redirecting to the official highest-quality recording studio version on Vevo. High-definition videos are coming early next year, and synchronized lyrics are posted for as many videos as possible. Vevo videos are embeddable, though there doesn’t seem to be anyway for users to participate or mash them up beyond leaving a comment.
The company has future plans to make its videos available not just online, but on mobile and connected devices. “It’s not about building a destination site, it’s about building an experience,” Caraeff said. “It’s about putting out the best experience wherever people are.”
Universal Music CEO Doug Morris, who had the vision for the site and brought the team together, said that Vevo would be a boon for music lovers, artists, brands, and recording companies alike. And it marks a dramatic change in industry cooperation. “Major record companies are actually working together, and controlling their own destiny,” Morris said.
Vevo has seen a fair amount of interest from other content providers in the days leading up to tonight’s event. Yesterday, the company struck a licensing deal with EMI. And last week, the company announced a deal with CBS Interactive to bring content from Last.fm and more than 90 CBS radio stations to the site. In addition to the new content partners, Vevo has signed up a couple of big distribution partners. Both AOL and CBS were named as part of the “Vevo Music Network,” which will have embedded videos from the site.
Perhaps more importantly, Vevo has the support of advertisers and brands. The Universal Music Group-Sony Music joint venture is being referred to as the “Hulu of music videos,”and like Hulu, the site aims to better monetize video by giving it a clean, well-lit place. By moving their music videos off YouTube and onto the new site, the associated partners hope to create more value for advertisers that might be scared off by user-generated content.
Morris said brands are committing millions of dollars to Vevo before it has even launched. Key brand launch partners include AT&T, Colgate, Infiniti, McDonalds, Nikon, Sony, and Stoli, among others.
If successful, the companies involved in Vevo might be able to build a nice business from the ad-supported site, adding a much-needed additional revenue stream for a music industry that has been decimated by a drastic decline in sales of physical CDs that has not been matched by a rise in digital music sales.





source::www.newteevee.com