from what i've read about it, it seems like it's going to be a great
album. i'm really hoping for something different, a bit of a break
from the whole U2 being U2 thing they've been stuck on for a while.

some quotes lead me to believe it will be special though:

"It's going to be different in several ways, but I think it's similar from
one point of view, namely that it's going to push the known limits in the sound
arena, the way Achtung Baby did in the past."


"It's very sophisticated, rhythmically," said a coy Lanois. "I'm talking
high-grade and wicked. We've gotten to a place, a combination of myself and
(Brian) Eno, I think we've just done something that's never been done before.
The president of the company is singing like a bird."


Daniel Lanois tells the Canadian Press that U2's new album is "fantastically
innovative" and "some of their best work. He says he'll be joining the band for
10 more days of work later this month, but doesn't know when they'll be
done. "It has broken new sonic ground, and I think Bono's lyrics and vocal
performances are better than ever. I'm glad to see he's stepping up and talking
about what's on his mind."



"We're just finishing the vocals. Bono's in great form, singing fantastic,"
he says. Lanois adds this opinion of the album: "I think we can safely say it's
one of the great, innovative records from U2."


Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois are back in Dublin this week to continue work on
the new U2 album. Lanois told the Toronto Sun about the current material: "It's
very much hand-played but it's also electro."



"World music this is not," he says, though U2 fans will "feel the
difference". Polyrhythmic is the word he chooses with a self-deprecating
laugh. "U2 in dancefloor shock. Normally when you play a U2 tune, it clears the
dancefloor. And that may not be true of this. There's some trance influences.
But there's some very hardcore guitar coming out of The Edge. Real molten
metal. It's not like anything we've ever done before, and we don't think it
sounds like anything anyone else has done either."
color me excited

I bet it's going to sound like Bowie's Earthling.




I keed. I keed.


I can't wait to hear it.

Imago said:

NOOOO! please don't let it be anything like bowie's earthling



i'm hoping on a heavy, distorted zooropa vibe with loud guitars and
dark loopy electronics. mixed with excellent band playing and crisp
bono vocals to the front.

yay!

IstenSzek said:

I agree. That's what I'd like.
I never understood why my friends hated Zooropa. I loved it.
I just wish someone would hurry up and remaster the bitch (then again, it may have already been done and I'm just not aware )

Also, if they could throw in another iconic ballad I'd appreciate that.
I love "sing in the shower songs" ala Bono.

Imago said:

i don't think achtung baby or zooropa have been remastered yet, cuz
i would have been all over those.

imagine remasters for those albums with b-sides and outtakes

and on the really amazing side of the spectrum, that might actually
happen. it's not like U2 are prince or something.

IstenSzek said:

I bet it ends up sounding like Bowie's Earthling.

Imago said:

at least that's still better than prince's techno i guess

IstenSzek said:

Sometimes, Prince is such a dufus.

I swear, could you imagine how many special edition Purple Ipods would have flown off the racks if they contained unreleased vault material?
It would easily rival the U2 special edition iPod.

Prince seems to have no concept of advertising. If a venture doesn't bring him the big bucks right away, then it's a no go. Nevermind, it might generate excitement for future purchases (like kick ass Live Youtube videos, etc.).

Also, it would be nice for Prince to come into his albums with the same experimental mindset that U2 is employing. I'm sure Prince could dwarf U2 in the studio if he REALLY chose to tinker.

But, yeah--I've got high hopes for this one. Moreso than I've ever had for Prince in the last...erm 8 or 9 years.

Imago said:[quote]

IstenSzek said:

yeah, although i'm starting to doubt it a little these days. he's been stuck
in a rut for so long now that i think he's actually lost the plot. it's been
so long since he released truly jawdropping stuff that i think he just can't
do it anymore.

i listen to so much music these days that sounds interesting, fresh, full of
life and "different". it's like prince stagnated and doesn't incorporate any
of that into his music. he keeps going in circles and those circles are just
getting smaller and smaller.

how many times can you re-write dolhin, reflection, on the couch? they all
sound the same. every album has their own reflection now, or on the couch.
the subjects of his songs are tired and worn out, the sound if good but it
just doesn't breathe. there's no more depth in there, it's all just old and
tired. it's like 45 paintings. they're all good but they're all made with
the same 2 crayons. open up a new box of fucking crayons already prince!!



i wonder if i would say this to his face if he walked in here right now or
if i would listen to his cdr with some new songs (there would be another
"on the couch" or "satisfied" on it for sure and another "get on the boat")
and be a little starstruck fucker and gush over it.

i would probably gush. i'm a gusher.

Hells yea. I was hoping for a holiday 2008 release all year.

Imago said:

I did not like Zooropa. Still don't own it.
If the new album is more of that, I'll probably pass.
Even strong songwriting probably wouldn't save it.
"How to Dismantle . . . " was too personal for great songwriting.

IstenSzek said:[quote]

Imago said:

You big pussy!


I agree with everything up there except the fact that Prince can't do it again.
I think he's definitely up to it.
But what he really needs is for people around him to actually tell him when he sucks. And for him to actually hear them.

Plus he's old now. Rock N Roll is a young man's business in general. I mean, when a young person says something niave or produces something strange, there's a freshness to the energy. When an old person tries the same thing, and he doesn't get it exactly right, it ends up seeming desperate. So, it's not going to be as easy as it was for him before. The Rainbow Children could have been brilliant, and there are indeed flashes of brilliance in the album--but who the hell narrates a concept album? that's like watching a movie and all the characters vocalize internal thoughts constantly--annoying.

What I love about U2 is they're always trying to outdo themselves. They're not smug. That counts for alot.

I can't wait. Still no release date, which leads me to believe it'll be closer to November 2009 than Spring 2009.

Axchi696 said:

Great time to have them back...2009 looks like a great year for music..

"Earthling" was a great album and better than anything U2 put out post Achtung Baby. "All That You Can't Leave Behind" had some good songs but it was pretty pedestrian as a U2 record goes.

still looking forward to it in the back of my mind, but i stopped keeping up with it toward the end of last year when it kept getting pushed back. this info looks good!

errant said:

yeah it did get pushed back a lot. they scrapped an entire
recordingsession. i think they just threw away what they'd
put together up to that point and started over.

i hope they will get it released by feb/march though.

IstenSzek said:

it was with Rick Rubin wasn't it?

errant said:

IstenSzek said:

They did the same thing with How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb; they scrapped an entire album before going back into the studio with Lillywhite. It's becoming almost a tradition.

Imago said:

No. Only P's hardcore fans would buy that ipod, i consider myself one but would still debate that, i'd rather have real CD's, most 'fans' attending his gigs recently were casual music fans cause the gigs/music were cheap/free.

Prince is really not THAT popular these days.

And no, U2 are the most overrated band in the history of the world. Ordinary players, average singer. looking forward to my next dentist appointment more.

What's wrong with Earthling?

And this is great news! Hadn't heard any of this yet.

I had heard some really troubling rumors that Will.i.am was producing. Eek!

TRON said:

will.i.am producing thank god that was just a rumor

ps: earthling is well, hard to listen to imo. it's really ehm, well

IstenSzek said:

spit it out!

TRON said:

He thinks it sounds a bit like a Peter Murphy/ Will.I.am collaboration when they're both on acid.

i am ridiculously excited about this new record. personally, i loved atomic bomb (in my top 4 u2 records) and i have no problem with u2 doing u2...if ain't broke, ya know.

i get a little worried when i hear "achtung, baby" thrown around, though, because nothing will ever be as shocking and awe inspiring as that record (in regards to U2). the trilogy was U2 at their top game and they were desperate for street cred, image changes, sonic changes.

i did, however, get VERY excited when i saw eno with them in Morocco. that screams of potential!

sassybritches said:

Cosign to all that other than Atomic Bomb being top 4.

So your faves are their 3 main 90's releases?

TRON said:

in this order...

achtung, baby
pop
zooropa
atomic bomb

sassybritches said:

I have a hard time, but I know that Achtung Baby is definitely my #1 and Zooropa usually fits in at #2. Pop, Boy and Unforgettable Fire duke it out for third.