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"For a lot of bands it seems to be all important to get their single into the Top Ten. I guess we've always felt ourselves to be more of an albums band anyway." -- Edge |
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"For a lot of bands it seems to be all important to get their single into the Top Ten. I guess we've always felt ourselves to be more of an albums band anyway." -- Edge |
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Column: Off the record..., vol. 9-366
@U2,
July 12, 2009
I can't help it. I've been reading the blogs, the Tweets and the Facebook updates; I just couldn't hold out. It's U2 tour time and my appetite to see a show seems to be building on a daily basis. Every report I read about a show has me thinking "me too!" But being from Australia, unfortunately, there are no shows on the horizon (pun intended). So I'm taking matters into my own hands: if the band won't come to me, I will go to them. Not willing to risk an Australian no-show, like we had for the Elevation tour in 2001, I'm once again getting on a plane and heading to the other side of the world to see my favourite band. I did the same in 2005 to see them play at Croke Park and it was totally worth it. It was my first trip overseas and gave me the perfect opportunity to see a bit of the big wide world and notch-up another U2 show at the same time. So when the U2 360
tour was announced earlier this year I told my long-suffering, U2-tolerating, husband that we were going to see the band play somewhere in the northern hemisphere and, to narrow down the choice of venues, we should pick the next best place in the world to see them play, outside of Dublin. Our answer? New York City! So I'm counting down the weeks until we "touch the ground at JFK" and see U2 on September 24 at Giants Stadium ... 11 weeks to go!
In a bid to fill that U2 show-shaped hole, I recently went and saw my first ever performance by a U2 cover band. And they rocked! My friends think it is pretty strange that a crazy U2 fan like me has never gone to see a covers band, but I guess I just felt like nothing would ever come close to the U2 live experience and that the whole thing would be a waste of time and effort. But a few weeks
ago I decided to give it a whirl and headed off to a less than salubrious venue in the 'burbs to see a foursome called "Achtung Baby."
Has No Line on the Horizon received much airplay in your home town? I've been really surprised by the lack of play it has been getting on my local radio stations. I think I heard "Get On Your Boots" twice in March and I've heard "Crazy Tonight" about three times over the last fortnight and then only because the station I was listening to was running a U2 related competition.
"Magnificent" didn't even seem to make it on to radio play lists over here. Why do I care? Well, I guess the fact that U2 isn't being played on the radio leaves some people with the impression that NLOTH is a dud. And that's just not the case. I remember being at high school when Achtung Baby was released and feeling so excited and proud when it became the big album of the year -- the album everyone was listening to and that every radio station was playing. U2 were über cool. But I know it's not all about that. I guess there's just a part of me that likes to see the band get recognition for good work. And I really think this album has some great songs that should get played on the radio and exposed to a wider audience. "No Line on the Horizon," "Magnificent," and "Moment of Surrender" are right up there in my favourite U2 song list and probably provide the best start for an album that we've seen since Achtung Baby. It's just a shame that I don't get the chance to hear any of these songs on the radio while I'm at work, which means there's no cranking up the music and treating my colleagues to a little taste of NLOTH.
© @U2, 2009.
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