U2.com has posted some extracts of the special edition of the deluxe version of NLOTH.
These special editions feature some very fine behind-the-scenes photography from the recording period of 'No Line' - handwritten versions of songs as they evolved for instance - and a series of intriguing interviews with Catherine Owens, a long-time friend of the band who directed the 'U23D' movie.
LARRY ON DRUMMING
C So, just to go back a little, is your prep time in the studio akin to Edge's prep time, where he spoke about getting back to Malibu and being on his own with the music, do you have a similar relationship with the music?
L Hmmm... drumming is, I think, quite different, being on your own with the music would not be the same for me as it would be for Edge. Drumming is a visceral, violent discipline and for those who are not specialized in the field, like me (I am a street drummer, I have had a few lessons here and there), there is nothing romantic about this relationship. It is pure violence and that is the way I like to have it! (big smile). Now, that said, when you are working with the band, occasionally you have to bring flowers...
ADAM ON PLAYING
C So, in terms of how you would see the bass player's role and what you bring into any given situation, is your focus on where Edge is going or where Bono is going? Obviously, you and Larry are a team in a certain way...
A In situations where it is one, two, three, go, as it often is at the early stages of the record, the bass department has a few different jobs to do. First and foremost, I am trying to support what is going on so that things can fly. Then when there are bits of audio real estate, where something needs to happen, those are my little opportunities to pop things in on a creative level. That was very much true for 'Being Born' and 'No Line on the Horizon'. There were moments, like on a bird's first flight, where you don't want to drop the ball, you want to support everyone else, for example as Larry is settling on a drum part and Edge is trying to figure out his chords, Bono may be trying some new vocal range, you want to help keep all of this up in the air...
EDGE ON SONGWRITING
C When you are in a situation where you are presenting something musically to everybody, is that nerve wracking? Do you get attached to the pieces before you present?
E I can't really get too attached to anything I offer up or the collaborative process would be too difficult. I really have to kind of see my song ideas as orphans. Just let them go, and see which ones survive. I can come up with something I think is brilliant, but if it doesn't get Bono, Adam or Larry excited, and unless they can add to it, then it is never going to go anywhere. Sometimes I have to let go of what I think are gems, grit my teeth when something I have spent ages on is torn apart and thrown in the dustbin in front of my eyes. But you know the best ones always survive, and if you are going to be too precious about your personal work, then don't be in a rock 'n' roll band.
BONO ON LYRICS
C Do you call these characters your muses? Have you allowed these characters to invade you or have you invaded them?
B Now that's a very good question, who is invading who? Hmmm, I don't know, but if you want to talk about "Being Born", well, I'm not sure why it's called 'Being Born', but it's about this character who is going a bit AWOL. Who takes a road trip, who just takes off to rediscover who he is and to refind his first love. In my head, the traffic cop is from Morocco, he is certainly African-French, he heads down through France, through Spain towards Cadiz. He's heading for a little place near Cadiz, a little surfing town called Tarifa. At night, when the sun goes down, you can see across the water to the hills of Africa. Africa and Europe are only eight miles, thirteen kilometres, from each other. The real important thing to know about this song is the sense of speed and this kind of primeval drive to get back to your essence... The engines roar, blood curdling wail / Head first then foot / Then heart set sail. As you know from our DNA's point of view, Africa is where we all come from, so I suppose I relate in some strange way to this feeling of Africa as home, I really do, and I'm not the only European that does. Especially somewhere like the Masi Mara in Kenya, which local legend claims to be the Garden of Eden. I've been brought to tears by the sheer beauty and scale of the natural diversity of this place. Sorry, I digress...
source:www.u2.com
