a list, part 1: super-awesome, highly recommended books about those old guys in u2

what the heck are you going to do with all those piles of money lying in front of you as the new year begins? (um, buy books?)

music and books. dork it up a little, people. some of my mensa-level blogging friends have helped me come up with a list of some great music-related books. yeah, um, but that list isn't coming until part 2.

first, this is part 1: and it's all about the u2. there are lots of bad u2 books out there people. a lot. i'm sure there are a few good ones that are missing from my list, as well. (do tell!)

these are the u2 books on my recommendation list:

U2 by U2,
by U2 with Neil McCormick
2005
the "full" story, as told by the band and manager paul mcguinness. quite weighty, with lots of photos of cute boys in the band.
some say u2 thinks too highly of themselves. i say "is that even possible?" in this book, the boys say they can't play their instruments, can't sing, can't write songs, and on, and on. their criticisms of their own songs in this book had me screaming at the book. (really). they think in god's country is no good for f*ck's sake! edge can't remember how he made certain sounds come out of his guitar and so he can't play when i look at the world live!? mcguinness with the no bullshit comments about certain tensions between the band and brian eno? revelation. baby larry almost getting kicked out of baby u2 for having a real job? whaaat!? but perhaps my favorite aspect of this book is bono's framing of his own life story with adam clayton playing the part of bono's conscience in love. a book packed with inane details best appreciated by psychos like us ardent fans.

Unforgettable Fire,
by Eamon Dunphy
1987
an authorized biography that u2 was pissed off about, the details in it were gathered over an eighteen-month period during which the author lived and traveled with the band members (but didn't let them read the book before he published it).
a lot of people avoid this book because it is an "unauthorized" authorized biography. it does contain a few (irrelevant) factual mistakes, but this two-decade-old book's analysis of certain things - bono and his dad's relationship, for one, is right on. there is some stuff in here that is partly based on rumor and innuendo, but when taken with a grain of salt, i think it offers an honest view of what people in the dublin scene around the band thought of them in the 80s - i.e., this is not just what they wanted to reveal of themselves. (please don't tell larry i recommended this!)

Bono in Conversation with Michka Assayas,
by Michka Assayas
2005
bono is seriously not stupid. he's also funny, acerbic and genuinely hot humble.
read it and you will agree. really. this is a whole book of bono Q&A. when this first came out, i thought it was the best thing ever. bono reveals personal stories, particularly about his childhood with his father and brother, and he explains and details his faith in a way that he never had before. in the 2+ years since it came out, many of these things have been rehashed and repeated, but i still think this is a fresh and fascinating read.

Killing Bono: I Was Bono's Doppelganger,
by Neil McCormick
2004
the author of this memoir went to school with the band and stayed friends with bono, and this funny and revealing story details the author's quest to emulate the success of the bono. imagine that.
this book is definitely not "about" bono, but it includes some priceless early days details. teenage u2 practicing the "batman" theme song in a school classroom - with our hero jumping off a school desk and yelling "batman!" to punctuate the tune's ending? that might be my favorite part. it offers a fly-on-the-wall look at some other early u2 moments, but the book is really about neil's lifelong desire to be his own rock star. it details his inner turmoil at watching bono the "good boy" become the rock star that neil's inner bad boy always wanted to be. and more than anything else i have ever read about bono, this book validated my obsession. neil's memoir humanizes bono, peels away his outer shell, and reveals him to be, at his core, someone quite heroic. it is a funny book, written with heavy doses of cynicism.

U2, The Best of Propaganda,
by Ian Gittins
2003
propaganda was the official U2 fan-club magazine from the early 80s up to 2000, and this is an anthology of sorts.
there are some gems of old interviews and fan recollections (early days concert reviews and encounters with the band) as well as a multitude of through-the-years quotes in which you can see u2 contradicting themselves, going full circle, and throwing shapes like nobody's business. it is because of an edge interview in propaganda that i own a book called "the man who mistook his wife for a hat." really. i think particularly for fans who were not yet obsessed (alive??) in the 80s, this is a must-have.

Walk On, The Spiritual Journey of U2,
by Steve Stockman
2001 / 2005 (reissue)
a book that attempts to explain the "dichotomy" that lies at the heart of u2 - rock 'n' roll and God.
this is a good introduction to u2's faith, and how it is revealed in their art. there are some broad generalizations, simplifications and assumptions in this book that i disagree with, but as a whole, the book opened my eyes. it put me on a path to be way more open to faith-based analysis of u2's work. (sometimes it's hard to remember that just a few years ago bono really was way more cagey about making public statements about his faith.) as with any genre, there are plenty of "u2 & religion" books out there written by people who you can tell just do not "get" the band, but this is not one of them. rather, this one helped me "get" certain things about the band a bit more. it is not my belief that you need to share the same faith as u2 in order to explore it.

U2 At The End of the World,
by Bill Flanagan
1996
flanagan is a great writer and a trusted friend of the band and the access he had for this book - public and private lives - makes for a very revealing read. this is an authorized biography that covers a 3-year period in the 90s.
some fans have "biblical" feelings for this book. it is a snapshot of a very short period in the band's career (zoo tv era). it reveals a side of the band that is very different from the one they currently present to the world. it is fun and even a little risque, and has lots of episodes where bono leads you right to the edge of the abyss leaving the reader to decide if he ever falls in. (jumps in?) but my absolute favorite parts of this book are bill flanagan's conversations with bono's father bob hewson. "your mother Christened you paul, and paul you're going to remain!" this book is very entertaining and very well-written. it is also basically centered around bono's idea of what the zoo tv era was about. intriguing and very open to misinterpretation.

okay, that's my u2 book list. what's on yours?

related:
part 2: the best rock bios
part 3: music-related books that heather likes
part 4: dr. bob k's list focuses on the beatles

~ happy new year!

bwa ha ha ha

(untrue) article: u2 plan acoustic album
yeah, that's not what bono actually said, but still, we love false headlines!

also: rod stewart to be knighted honored
bwa ha. ha. ha. the whole bono deal don't seem so special now, do it? oops, i take it back. (damn false headlines!) as arden points out in the comments, rod is not actually being knighted, he's getting a cbe, so you are still totally special, bono.

coming soon: the super-awesome, really unmissable this is called sarcasm must-read book list...

bbc radio special: bono

atu2's blog highlights some quotes from bono's recent interview with jo whiley which aired on bbc radio on Christmas day. bono even discusses unleashing his inner springsteen: "i'd like to strip things down; that's something i'd be very interested in at the moment."

**if bono were by some million to one shot not lying about "stripping it down" i would die. of happiness.** and no, i am not envisioning that "stripping down" thing literally. (well, dammit, maybe now i am a little.)

[mp3]
bono on bbc radio 1
this is an edited version from the bbc's website. it starts with a recap of some older audio interviews, and then cuts back to bono and jo whiley flirting conversing about "ickle bono" and not-so-ickle bono coming home to "kiss babies when they are asleep."

~ peace

purple shirt alert!

Why shouldn't things be A-OK for Bono? The U2 singer, who is getting an honorary British knighthood, hugs it out with a fan during a stroll in his hometown of Dublin on Tuesday. ~ people.com.

a list: things i looked at this year that i probably didn't need to

3
the back of tall, chatty, blonde heads at the ryan adams show in san diego
not entirely ryan's fault, but the show at the house of blues was pretty underwhelming. the crowd was so chatty. and tall. immediately afterwards i felt as though i would need to see ryan again because the not-so-greatness of the concert was maybe not his fault. but then he came to nyc and i had absolutely no interest in going to see him again. cry baby. (me or him? hmmmm...)

2
the good shepherd
this movie is like virtual ambien. despite her super self-important real life existence, angelina jolie the actress only interests me when she is doing drugs, having sex or beating people up. she does (pretty much) none of those things in this movie. and matt damon, the **star** of the film, is "boring on purpose." zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

1
lindsay lohan and britney spears' vaginas
i know i didn't have to look, but those things were hard to avoid!!

~ i really hope my mom does not read this post.

new hats: not nearly as exciting as new haircuts

edge and bono modeling some new headwear at the leopardstown horse races in dublin this week.

back with more of the list-type stuff tomorrow.

~ peace

a list: about the knight

tony blair says this

disgruntled british mps say this

my grandma says, "the sun never shines in ireland. and still, with the sunglasses..."

a list: the super-awesome, i'm totally right about all these, which probably makes you wrong (a little bit) - top 20 albums of 2006

the album i listened to the most this year was actually boy by a band called u2. they are pretty good. you should check them out. but please don't tell my grandma about the whole knight of the british empire thing.

wow. the bono can cause me to go off-topic so easily. what i meant to say is: there are a lot of new sounds from this year that i am told are really "the good." and a lot of "the good" i just do not "the get." poor me. so blah. blah. blah. here are 20 albums from 2006 that i enjoyed:


1
Forward Russia, Give Me a Wall
it has been suggested to me that the vocals are unlistenable. whaaat? this is dance punk on amphetamines. love the energy. and the guitar. spaztastic.
[mp3] nine
[mp3] twelve

2
Midlake, The Trials of Van Occupanther
harmonies, harmonies, harmonies. layered, atmospheric, guitary, classic, yet still innovative. dreamy.
[mp3] roscoe

3
Snowden, Anti Anti
fuzzy, grungy, but with that uplifting, icy guitar.
[mp3] anti-anti

4
Peter Bjorn and John, Writer's Block
musically diverse, catchy, percussive and intensely lovable. the drums are the lead guitar. think about it.
[mp3] the chills

5
Ben Kweller, S/T
i am certain that i will still be listening to this forever. and ever. front to back a classic singer songwriter's "album" album.
[mp3] penny on the train track

6
Muse, Black Holes and Revelations
epic, ambitious, angry and irresistible.
[mp3] assassin

7
Band of Horses, Everything All the Time
beautiful, melodic, sometimes sad, but never boring.
[mp3] weed party

8
Arctic Monkeys, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
this seems like it came out 2 years ago. the hype can't drown out the energy and ridiculous awesomeness of the guitar licks, punk rock beats and clever lyrics.
[mp3] i bet you look good on the dancefloor

9
The Kooks, Inside In/Inside Out
perhaps the most fun album of the year.
[mp3] she moves in her own way

10
Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Show Your Bones
i heart karen o.
[mp3] gold lion (acoustic)

11
Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins, Rabbit Fur Coat
melt your heart and rise up with fists = LOVE
[mp3] melt your heart

12
The Raconteurs, Broken Boy Soldiers
this could have been better, but i still loved it.
[mp3] level

13
The Sounds, Dying To Say This To You
eat your heart out blondie. it is impossible not to enjoy this noise.
[audio stream] painted by numbers

14
Tapes 'n Tapes, The Loon
everybody seems to have forgotten these guys. technically this came out in 2005? really? who cares? i love their straight forward rock 'n roll + synth style. it sounds even better live.
[mp3] insistor

15
Sam Roberts, Chemical City
straightforward rock with sonic twists. i'm a sucker for melodies and echoes.
[mp3] fall before you finish

16
Graham Coxon, Love Travels at Illegal Speeds
graham just buzzes through with that guitar.
[mp3] standing on my own again

17
Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man, Motion Picture Soundtrack
hearing edge's guitar underneath leonard's vocals on tower of song is surreal, but the wainwrights steal the show on this album of covers.
[movie trailer] leonard cohen: i'm your man

18
Wolfmother, S/T
rawk.
[mp3] dimension

19
Thom Yorke - The Eraser
fell short of what i had hoped for. a few too many blips and bleeps, but thom's forlorn vocal brilliance saves it.
[youtube] the clock

20
Neil Young, Living With War
someone had to put this album out.
[mp3] families

buy the music here / find blogged about mp3s here

after making this list and submitting it for the 12 x 12 poll, i realized i forgot mew and the editors, but whatever, i am sure they will survive. also, i liked the snow patrol album when it first came out, but then i soured on its sweetness. oh well.

catch ya after Christmas.

~ peace

a list: various shades of reality

things preventing me from getting my shiznit together enough to post the scatter o' light year-end, super-awesome, really unmissable this is called sarcasm, daily lists:

1. my totally criz-azy high-life party schedule

2. my really overbooked sexytime dance card

3. work week from hell in which ebenezer scrooge sits in an office near me

4. yer dog, it's eating my blog. help!!

5. woo hoo. this is a list. is it not?

i never lie.

this is the look that other people call obnoxious, but i tragically find it to be really hot. (guy on the left.)

photo from the november 13, 2006 issue of time magazine europe. the "60 years of heroes" issue. there is an article on bono and bob written by world bank president paul wolfowitz. read the article here. (photo via interference.)

related: i think i know when this photo was taken.

beginning tomorrow: the scatter o' light year-end, super-awesome, really unmissable this is called sarcasm, daily lists.

warped and bewitched

so muse sells out wembley stadium and then a few weeks later announce that they will open for my chemical romance in north america next spring. that's so funny.

i don't think it's lame or stupid. just business, i guess. funny business.

ah well, we can always hope dominic pulls a matt tong and collapses a lung or something.

[mp3] muse - assassin

[visit] muse

~ that's all

i'm changing my name

from here on in, please address me as kbpi fm 106. if you happen to be my property, please return yourself to me. immediately!



[mp3] little boy jr - mando diao
[mp3] local boy in the photograph - stereophonics

[visit] mando diao / stereophonics

super-important, really awesome sentences and scattered holiday sounds

correction: billie joe armstrong is the suxxx
it has come to my attention that we erroneously implied in a previous post that billie joe armstrong of green day is the "sexxx" when in fact we meant to say he is the "suxxx." deeply regret the mistake. it will never happen again.

coming probably not very soon: the scatter o' light lists. books you need to read. albums you need to hear. asses you need to see! and other non-objectified things.

'til then:

[mp3] just like christmas - low
[mp3] little drummer boy - the dandy warhols
[mp3] white christmas - the flaming lips
[mp3] o come, o come emmanuel - belle & sebastian
[mp3] when i get home for christmas - snow patrol
the above tracks are a sampling off of a ridiculous-good uk-import album from 2000 called it's a cool, cool christmas [buy it here].

[mp3] happy christmas (war is over) - u2
john lennon cover. live on the late late show (irish television), 1988.

[mp3] peace on earth/walk on - u2
live in baltimore, 2001, elevation tour. decent quality audience recording.

~ peace

the puzzle piece behind the couch made the sky complete

youtube: u2's window in the skies video
worship fest. featuring cameos from your favorite musicians. the first minute or so had me worried, but once the ramones kick in at the 1:12 mark, it takes off. the david bowie, thom yorke and george harrison cameos were my favorites. oh, and keith moon. and jay-z. and arcade fire. and morrissey (?!!) and oh, you get the point....


12 bloggers / 12 favorite albums
check out the "best of 2006" album picks that bruce and heather organized. even Jesus voted.


the edge's blog
edge writes the nerdiest blog posts ever on u2.com. you have to be a member to read them, but the zooitalia peeps have reposted his latest entry for all to see. there's a bit about wildlife in there. sheep dogs. snakes. spiders. and bono...


evan dando: pretty & happy
i saw the lemonheads friday night at irving plaza. it was a sing-along, hit-packed gig. a very fun time. even interactive. an hour and a half full o' the pop punk jangly hooks. that dando baritone, and the mopey-gorgeous lumbering persona. the songs sort of blend into one after a while, but the apathetic, loveable loser lyricism strikes a chord with me. evan is a 39-year old kinda-sorta grown-up now. scary.

a fan got on-stage to sing mrs. robinson. the guy knew no words, fell backwards, knocked over the mic stand, and got booed off the stage. there were two opening bands. hymns played folksy-rootsy rock. could be a grower. the other opener was vietnam. these guys are getting blogger buzz. they look like the manson family and they are a mix of a classic rock band and a noodley jam band. not really my speed. at all.

[read this] interview with evan
he gets into his semi-disastrous role in the mc5 reunion. pretty good read.

[mp3] the lemonheads - allison is starting to happen
live from glastonbury 1993. get the rest of that set @ rbally.

almost blows my mind, i look to the stars

the breeze blowing softly on my face, reminds me of something else. something that in my memory has been replaced, suddenly it all comes back.

[mp3] ash - girl from mars
live on radio 1

[mp3] corinne bailey rae - munich
editors cover. wow.

[mp3] the automatic - golddigger
kanye "evil knievel" west cover. quite unlike the original, to say the least.

the corinne bailey rae and the automatic tracks are from the 2-cd, 40 track, import cd radio 1: live lounge [buy it here].


these 2 are from some other place altogether:

[mp3] u2 - christmas (baby please come home)

[mp3] u2 - stateless
from "the million dollar hotel" soundtrack [buy it here]. this song sounds best when whispered in your ear by virtual bono.

going to see the lemonheads tonight. let's hope that doesn't suck....

~ happy weekend.

aaaw, look at the little guy

did you guys know that the dolphin in the photo above is named bono? (i might have made that up).

related: tall guy saves a dolphin / here's the bono

~ peace

**correction**
bono was on capitol hill yesterday
damn, he looks good. and he is not a dolphin. sorry for the error.

honolulu reprise

adam clayton photo by david iskra.




bono and edge photos by john telleria. more of john's honolulu pics are here. check out all his vertigo tour pics here.

youtube: who's gonna ride your wild horses
playing the keyboard: a fan that bono pulled out of the audience. honolulu, december 9. very worth watching to the end to see the fan's post-song excitement. awesome.

~ peace

the moz: intermediate

the moz. copper mountain, colorado.

i took this picture when i was on my snowboarding (for work, really!?) trip to copper mountain a few weeks back. i laughed so hard when i saw a trail named after the moz. somehow i can't imagine morrissey barrelling down a mountain.

[mp3] the smiths - panic (live)
from the 1990 live album rank. i still have it on cassette tape. the smiths were my favorite band when i was in high school. i used a morrissey quote in my senior yearbook. don't be alarmed—i also had a high school crush on a boy who thought he was bono. his name was jonathan and he had a tough time keeping up with the hairdos, i can tell ya that.

[buy] the smiths - rank

the bright blue light

aloha stadium, december 9, 2006. photo by micah hilario. check out micah's blog: some call me hilarious.

must-see clip:
youtube: rockin' in the free world
u2 with pearl jam's eddie vedder and mike mccready in honolulu. keep your eyes on the bono and the vedder doing the dancing at about the :30 second mark. moved by the spirit(s).

remember when i said i would stop posting about the u2 now that the vertigo tour is over? i lied.

~ peace

billie joe armstrong is the sexxx!

u2 guitarist the edge, green day singer billie joe armstrong, some other guy. photo from somewhere, sometime, someplace, hawaii. billie joe armstrong is the sexxx! it's true, dudes. i read it on the youtube comment section.

article: nme's u2 & green day cover story
in which bono answers this question: "kanye west said that 'george bush doesn't care about black people' after katrina. do you agree?"

related:

youtube: the saints are coming (live in honolulu clip)

youtube: the saints are coming official video

[itunes]
u2 & green day - the saints are coming
charity single.


~ music rising

i have so many dollars and they are all really, really, very clean

okay, so now that the u2 is done with the vertigo tour, it's just the return of "the blog that does not make the sense." oh, and probably lots of lists, too. the end of the year is when the cool bloggers make the lists, right? we're not the cool, but we know how to make the lists. book list. coming soon. music list. coming soon. what else? butt list? coming soon? maybe.



i accidentally washed my money at the laundromat last night. a curly haired guy thought it was funny. he had on a t-shirt with john lennon's face on it. and two hoop earrings. one in each ear. you better rock the face off the world if you are going to wear two hoop earrings.

i was staring at nothing when i noticed there were dollar bills in my wash. loads of them. i have no idea why, but it turns out there were 11 singles in my pants. somehow. being washed. pressed up against the glass. all sudsy like.

curly hair guy noticed and said "money laundering."

i realize that i should have laughed. but i didn't.

[mp3] evan dando - my idea
[buy] music

more of the u2 in hawaii

video / photos / u2 log

i want this poster

so my phone rang at 4:45 a.m. this morning and when i answered it, guess who was on the line? bono! he was in bonolulu. where else? singing all i want is you. awesomeness. (thanks so much for calling, shannon.)

article: u2 thrills the faithful
...one lucky audience member actually had the guts to get up on stage, position himself behind the edge's keyboard setup, and actually lead the band through an unexpected and impromptu rendition of the rarely played "who's gonna ride your white (sic!!!) horses." at song's end, he gleefully ran down the stage right ramp and leapt for joy back into the crowd....

aaaah, white horses. (chuckle).

u2 included the make poverty history version of rockin in the free world during the encore with members of pearl jam. green day's billie joe armstrong also came on stage during the encore for the saints are coming. pearl jam opened with a short set of a dozen songs. [u2 & pj setlists here]

hawaii: paradise and parking lots

our compadre shannon camera-phoned the above photos from bonolulu. she arrived in the aloha stadium general admission line at 5 p.m. on friday for saturday night's show. she is #370 in line. she didn't get much sleep, but did hear the band soundchecking window in the skies, love and peace or else, and rockin' in the free world (2x), and she said there is more security than you've ever seen so early at a show. more later...

article: stadium's become their second home
waiting in the general admission line.

blog: the trouble with political rock stars
semantics. the difference between politicians who act like rocks stars, and rocks stars who act like politicians.

youtube: u2 meeting fans in adelaide
**highly recommended awesome clip** this is a 2 minute news video from adelaide last month. edge, larry and bono talking to a reporter while they meet with fans. features some must-hear bono comments. the end is the best. just hanging.

[mp3] back to the life - spoon

[mp3] in the sun - joseph arthur

[buy] spoon / joseph arthur

crass rhymes with (something)

article: pitchfork - u218 singles review
U2 have fans as passionate as any other upper-tier rock act, but they also have more haters than any of the other entities currently competing for "best band in the world" status—not least because they're the only ones over 25 years old crass enough to make such a goal explicit.

article: review of live show by the changes
these guys clearly have a lot of raw talent, which translates into pulsating, anthemic songs. lead vocalist darren spitzer has the gravelly coyote howl of bono, and in many respects the changes sound like a more jangly version of u2.

bono. coyote. jangly. same sentence. (chuckle.)

[mp3] the changes - when i wake
[mp3] the changes - on a string
[mp3] the changes - when i sleep
[buy] the changes - today is tonight

i do not hear the bono. or the coyote.

article: ears wide open
robert hilburn talks with interscope gangster jimmy iovine about u2, bruce, patti smith, eminem, dre, gwen. blah. blah. new-to-me-photo. blah.



finally: gratuity

when the stars fall from the sky

blog: nastyboy reports from bonolulu
"walking into the lobby i ran into two guys from italy who saw my 'the larry mullen band' t-shirt and asked if i was here for the show."

aaah, freaks. (chuckle.)

U2, LIVE IN SAITAMA, JAPAN, NOV. 29, 2006
very decent audience recording

[mp3] window in the skies
[mp3] walk on
[mp3] bad
[mp3] the saints are coming
[mp3] angel of harlem
[mp3] one tree hill

the rest of the show is available for download at u2start.





photos from saitama courtesy of ruguogaosuwo. more on flickr.

u2 is finishing their tour on december 9. pearl jam has been in hawaii all week, playing their own shows prior to saturday's concert. pearl jam played a "secret" show last week to kick off the opening festivities for the quiksilver big wave invitational surfing competition, and have also played the last official show of their headlining tour.

article: vedder fuels pearl jam's tour-ending tour de force
playing what was easily the longest set by a mainland act in recent memory, the band satiated its most loyal fans saturday with almost three hours of new material, obscure favorites and legendary hits.

blur: liver, louder, better

britpop. art-punk. awesome. lame. whatever you call blur, i was always way more interested in graham coxon's guitar than damon albarn's voice. when i was a sophomore in college i hosted a terribly, awfully bad college radio show with a girl who lived next door to me in my dorm. she loved her blur cds. so. much.

every time we went on air, we played some blur songs. i wanted to play public enemy. and pearl jam. (it was a LONG time ago). our broadcasting career was short-lived. we pretty much could never agree on what to say or what to play.

blur is more interesting (to me) louder and live than they ever were on those silly cds.

BLUR, LIVE AT PEEL ACRES
tracks from bustin' + dronin' - the live tracks were recorded at john peel's home in suffolk, england.
[mp3] popscene
[mp3] song 2
[mp3] on your own
[buy] bustin' + dronin'

BLUR, LIVE AT THE BUDOKAN
tracks from live at the budokan, a 1995 japan-only release.
[mp3] end of a century
[mp3] it could be you
[mp3] girls & boys
[mp3] country house
[mp3] she's so high
[buy] live at the budokan

blur singer damon albarn is currently playing around with his new ensemble: the good, the bad and the queen.
[stream] kingdom of doom - the good the bad and the queen
[related] the good the bad and the queen (live tracks)

rumors of an actual blur reunion with graham back in the fold again are also stewing. meanwhile graham coxon's currently got a solo album out. it is really good. here are two tracks:
[mp3] standing on my own again - graham coxon
[mp3] tell it like it is - graham coxon
[buy] love travels at illegal speeds

finally, this blur cover i post with no shame:
[mp3] song 2 - my chemical romance

~ later

arcade fire: we don't give a fuck

arcade fire have donated one of their songs to the (RED) campaign for use in a television commercial. some of their fans are pissed. i love that band, but i think it is fair to say that some arcade fire fans probably think they can solve the world's problems mainly via typing bad words about bono on the computers that their daddies bought them. this article includes some choice fan criticism and the reaction from arcade fire's win butler:

"to some people (RED) seems crass and capitalistic, and i sympathize with that position, but in the first week of the campaign, (RED) has raised enough money for 10,000 women to have antiretroviral drugs for a year... money and medication which wouldn't have been there without a program like this," butler wrote on the band's website. "we don't give a fuck about the gap or american express, and we are in no way endorsing their products, but as long as scientists are developing drugs that you can give to a HIV-positive mother and her newborn baby to help stop the transmission of AIDS to the child, the money could be coming from the devil for all i care, as long as people are getting the medication."

the devil? hmmmmm. where have we heard that one before? the evil of the bono. knows. no. end.

related:
itunes is selling a christmas single by the killers to raise money for the (RED) campaign.

[itunes]
the killers - a great big sled

guitarist dave keuning talked about the song with the irish independent:

"we've supported u2 in the past, and talked to them, and they've come to see our shows in las vegas. bono did ask us to do something else for (RED) a short while back, but we didn't have time. but the best way for us to help is to do something that we are actually good at. and that's writing songs. we're no good at making commercials, or doing interviews, and i'm the first to admit that we aren't maybe as knowledgeable about the aids issue as we should be. but we do know how to do one thing, and that's making music."

brandon flowers also spoke about the song with mtv:

"we figured that if one-fifth of the people who bought sam's town buy the song, then we can raise something like $250,000 for (RED). to be honest, it's pretty much the first time we got to take advantage of our position, both in making the song so quickly and in helping people out," flowers said. "we wanted to help bono out, and what better way to do it than to do what we do best: write songs. plus, we're hoping we can bring back a little bit of the christmas spirit."

i had the opinion it was out of control

reuters video: u2 rock japan
from november 29. about 3 minutes long.

concert report: night 3 in japan

i'm back in the office today. work was much more fun last week.

c'est la vie.

ps ~ hey jay cutler: nice try

i was thinking to myself, this could be heaven or this could be hell

so i was reading through the u2 story in the january, 2007 issue of q magazine, and edge (click here for photo of guitar genius) had these thoughts to share about the next u2 album:

"will there be a new record next year? we hope, but we don't know. we've got about five or six songs that are in good enough shape that we feel strong about them, but not in good enough shape that we could record them."

"it's going to be a very melodic record. it's interesting to me that some of the artists who were really glossed over in the early period of the band's existence i'm starting to 'get' more and more now. people like the bee gees. you listen to their work now and think 'my god, how brilliant were they as songwriters?' but totally undermined by a lot of bad hair and living in los angeles or whatever."

"and some of the things that the eagles wrote - amazing songs. it's a new-found appreciation for pure melody. that seems to be what we're all interested in at the moment."

last thing i remember, i was running for the door, i had to find the passage back to the place i was before...

a few things i missed this week:

youtube videos:
bono interview
one on one with bono. talking politics on japanese television. it is slightly boring, so i suggest that you watch it while imagining that the japanese subtitles are actually making fun of bono, a la stephen colbert. also, the screen is split 3 ways, which means a triple shot of yer man's hairdo.

bono video - world aids day
"we're gonna win." short clip of bono on japanese television. it's possible the announcers are giggling at bono when he speaks a little bit of japanese.

u2 television performance
brief intro with edge giving life advice (!), plus performances of vertigo and window in the skies, with u2 playing to a backing track.

also: yer man met with the japanese prime minister last week. nice to see bono breaking out the purple "i mean business" socks.



finally: here are a few awesome pics taken by chas pope in saitama, japan last thursday. more of chas's photos are here.





~ peace

who are these bums?

from the latest issue of q magazine. i know the guy in the middle is jonathan ross, but who the hell are the other two bozos? (related: whateverness at the q awards).

next post: all you i can eat u2, japan edition.

ps ~ colorado, i miss you already. (especially you, jay cutler. really)