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"I'm the only person I know who takes off his sunglasses to keep a low profile." -- Bono, 2002 |
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"I'm the only person I know who takes off his sunglasses to keep a low profile." -- Bono, 2002 |
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Column: off the record..., vol. 9-345
@U2,
February 08, 2009
If you missed out on hearing the 30-second snippets from No Line On The Horizon on the Wal-Mart web site, I think you missed a preview of something that could be very special. I sure liked what I heard, but it's really impossible to tell anything from just 30-second clips. I remember back in 2000, when I heard ... was it a 45-second preview of "Beautiful Day" that was posted on U2.com? or maybe it was just 30 seconds ... either way, I remember thinking it was, well, crap. And that song has gone on to become one of U2's classics, and a song that I love. Maybe the biggest difference is that "Beautiful Day" clip was from the end of the song. The clips posted on Wal-Mart's web site were mostly from the beginnings/early parts of the new songs. And they sounded pretty darn good! I'm all geeked up for this album, more so than I was even a few days ago. But I'm in a very strange place right now with U2, and my relationship to U2. It seems like every time they do something -- release a single, release a video, perform on TV, etc. -- I'm scared that they're gonna suck, or that I'm just flat out not gonna enjoy it. Have you ever felt that way? Have you ever been in that place? I mean, I don't expect to like everything they do; that would be pretty odd. But my attitude about hearing new song snippets and watching new videos is as many parts nervousness as it is excitement. Not sure why. Fear that their best days are behind them? Concern over things like Larry's comments in Q magazine that it's so much different for them now -- they don't hang out as much as friends, "it's not four guys taking on the world" together? Don't know. Maybe "Get On Your Boots" should get all the blame. If you like or love it, that's cool. But I find it completely forgettable. And trust me, I've tried to get into it and like it -- I listened and listened and listened when it first came out. But it does nothing for me, even now -- even after a live performance at the Grammys. (They should can the guy/gal in charge of the audio mix, by the way.) I think Boots is the first U2 song since "Numb" where the video is better than the song and the live version of the song. :-) Speaking of the Grammys, I really wish I'd been able to get into Radiohead 10 years ago, or whenever it was that I bought OK Computer. That probably wasn't the best choice to be anyone's first Radiohead album, huh? I listened to that album time and time again, and never got into it. But I loved the passion and risk I saw on stage during their performance tonight. If you've been following the Bruce Springsteen/Live Nation/Ticketmaster stuff lately (and you should be -- Sherry's been writing about it on our blog: here, here, and here), you might find this interesting: Ticketmaster Responds To Springsteen, Fans. This is the part that interests me most - a promise from Ticketmaster to not send buyers to TicketsNow during popular on-sales:
If you're saying, Wait, Matt, U2 is gonna be using Live Nation this year, not Ticketmaster -- not necessarily true. Another old blog post from Sherry contains a tip from an industry insider that Live Nation will partner with Ticketmaster for the U2 ticketing. By the way, the Idolator blog hints that Bono is "likely to speak out in favor" of the Live Nation/Ticketmaster merger if/when it happens. That will put Bono in agreement with exactly 0.00% of U2 fans, and maybe 0.01% of general music fans. And you thought it was ugly when Paul McGuinness spoke out against Radiohead's In Rainbows experiment, and blamed ISPs for the music industry's problems? Just wait for the backlash if Bono starts talking up the Ticketmaster/Live Nation merger as a Good Thing. Us U2 fans are gonna have some 'splainin' to do.... Speaking of backlash, U2 - A Diary received a one-star review on Amazon.com a few days ago from someone using the name "Toscano Barga" -- which isn't the guy's real name, but I'll be mature and leave that out. Members of our old forum may recognize the "Toscano" name: It's someone who was banned from our forum three times. So I guess this "review" is my payback. Pettiness is ugly, isn't it? U2 apparently plays indirectly into the storyline of a new movie called Taken. Here's a recent review that explains what it's all about. And, on a semi-related note, my wife told me a few minutes ago that tonight's episode of Brothers & Sisters (on ABC, I think) ended with "Running To Stand Still" playing quietly for about the last 2-3 minutes of the show. And finally, you Brian Eno-loving, iPhone-using U2 fans may want to check out the Oblique Strategies iPhone app. Sounds cool, but the reviews aren't real great. It apparently doesn't choose a card randomly, which pretty much defeats the purpose altogether.
See ya next time... (c) @U2, 2009.
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