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"I am still amazed at how big, how enormous a love and mystery God is -- and how small are the minds that attempt to corral this life force into rules and taboos, cults and sects." -- Bono, foreword to They've Hi-Jacked God |
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"I am still amazed at how big, how enormous a love and mystery God is -- and how small are the minds that attempt to corral this life force into rules and taboos, cults and sects." -- Bono, foreword to They've Hi-Jacked God |
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Column: off the record...,vol. 9-386
@U2,
November 29, 2009
It's Thanksgiving time in America, and while most think of the holiday as a time to watch football, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, and Punkin' Chunkin’, it's also turning into a tradition that U2 is on the television. In 1992, FOX broadcast Phillips D.C.C. Presents U2: ZooTV Live. This show included William S. Burrough's "Thanksgiving Prayer." In 1993, the ZooTV: Live from Sydney show was available through Pay-Per-View. The next three years, members of U2 were all a part of the MTV European Video Awards, which were televised around Thanksgiving. In 1997, Showtime aired PopMart: Live from Mexico City the weekend after the holiday. 1998 brought them to The Late Late Show for the Omagh tribute. Bono received the "Free Your Mind" award at the MTV European Video Music Awards in 1999. In 2001, U2 performed on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. In 2002, Bono was on an NBC television special Elvis Lives, and CBS broadcasted U2's Beautiful Day concert special. In 2004, they were on Saturday Night Live. This year, HBO broadcasted The 25th Anniversary Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Concert. While there have been many other releases and radio appearances around the Thanksgiving season, it seems like fans can usually count on U2 being on TV at some point during the holiday week. I enjoyed watching the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame edited concert. Cranked up the volume, made sure our HD DVR was in record mode, and settled in to watch the historical event. I found the crystal clear audio a real delight. Maybe it was just me, but I found that the audience wasn't that into being at a concert. Granted, they were standing for the sets, but the people the cameras picked up on were just relatively motionless. At least everyone was clapping along during "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For." The production crew did an excellent job in editing together "Because the Night" because you couldn't tell that it took multiple takes to get that song right. Did anyone catch the nod to "Mothers of the Disappeared" during "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For?" It was ever-so-subtle at the very beginning of the song. Were you taken by surprise as much as I was the announcement of U2 headlining the 40th Anniversary Glastonbury Festival? I am in agreement with Neil McCormick's sentiments on why U2 are doing it. As the festival sold out weeks before the U2 announcement was made, U2 will certainly be performing to a sea of different faces. I was a bit taken aback that U2.com wasn’t able to secure Glastonbury tickets for its fan club members, especially after Paul McGuinness made his comments about how this is the only U2 concert date in the U.K. Then again, Glastonbury is usually broadcast on the radio, so hopefully it'll stream like the Sheffield gig earlier this year. We all know that U2's YouTube broadcast of the Pasadena show brought over 10 million views for the live broadcast. A month later, you can view 11 of the 24 songs from the show through U2Official on YouTube. Many of the fan-favorites are missing from the viewing list, which makes for an interesting ranking of the remaining songs. Here is the current list of songs available in order based on number of views (as of 11 pm EST on November 29):
While it's hard to draw direct conclusions to this data, I find it to be quite interesting that the show-stoppers are at the top of the list and the four at the bottom are all from the new album. Admittedly, "The Unforgettable Fire" is the first video that plays when you visit the U2Official site, so that would explain the view number being so much larger than the others. However, what's especially disappointing is to see the first single from No Line on the Horizon so low. And finally….a bit of U2 history you might have missed or want to revisit. Have a great week! © @U2/Lawrence, 2009
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