HelloAngel
ONE love, blood, life
By Jake Olsen
2004.12
Listen to any song from U2's 11 studio albums and you'll experience sounds that can best be described as cinematic—soaring lyrics, panoramic guitar riffs, dramatic bass and passionate rhythms. It's little wonder that filmmakers have used U2's music to help punctuate over 50 films. Whether borrowing a track from a studio album or commissioning a band member to create an original tune, movie makers have given the members of U2 opportunities to experiment on its own sound, collaborate with other performers, sharpen their skills as solo musicians and expand from a local hit into a mainstream phenomenon. In fact, tracing U2's movie history is like watching the band rocket into stardom, each album garnering U2 more credibility with filmmakers. The marriage of U2 and movies has spawned more than an occasional soundtrack single, it also has led to an entire album devoted to "original soundtracks," not to mention a feature-length film penned by Bono himself.
U2's soundtrack efforts naturally didn't start out that grandiose. It wasn't until after the band's first two studio albums found local success that filmmakers on the other side of the pond took notice. The French film "They Call It An Accident" remixed "October" for use in its soundtrack, compiled by Steve Winwood in 1982. That same year U2 went Hollywood with the use of "I Will Follow" in "The Last American Virgin".
Two albums and two EPs later, U2 was ready for its first big film assignment. In 1986 The Edge was tasked with creating the entire soundtrack for the French/British film "Captive." A damsel-in-distress film about a kidnapped woman who is subjected to various forms of abuse, "Captive" demanded dark, ambient mood music, and The Edge delivered. A sampling of tracks from this album plays like anything but trademark The Edge guitar work. Rather, this was electronica, devoid of any lyrics except in the movie's theme song, "Heroine," sung by a young Sinead O'Connor. The Edge, nicknamed the "scientist of the band," got to play in the lab and mold sounds that would appear on U2 albums almost10 years later.
The next year was a big one for U2 and its fans with the release of "The Joshua Tree", U2's first international No. 1 album. Dubbed a classic by fans and critics alike, the album featured tracks that would appear in the movies for the next 15 years—"With or Without You," "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," "Where the Streets Have No Name," "Trip Through Your Wires" and "In God's Country." "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," in particular, struck a chord with a variety of filmmakers, appearing in no less than four films, including 1994's "Blown Away" and 1999's "Runaway Bride".
1988 saw the band release rockumentary and studio album "Rattle and Hum". An homage to America's rock 'n' roll roots, the film and album alike chronicled U2's journey down memory lane, with tributes to Billie Holliday, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan and honorary New Yorker John Lennon. According to www.the-numbers.com, "Rattle and Hum" grossed an estimated $8 million in the United States, almost double the take of the band's first Hollywood appearance, "The Last American Virgin."
U2's massive mainstream success raised more than a few eyebrows. The band's music began to appear in more and more movies, from the mainstream "Scrooged", starring Bill Murray, to the indie flick, "Powwow Highway". The latter film combined U2's talents with those of Robbie Robertson, a half-Jewish, half-Native American songwriter for the tune, "Sweet Fire of Love." Far from mainstream Hollywood, this British film dramatized life on a Native American reservation in the central United States. By 1990, it was clear U2's music was popular enough to be taken seriously by mainstream Hollywood looking for a broad appeal, yet U2 was avant-garde enough to appear in independent films driven by a social conscience.
By the time the new decade dawned, U2 was in the middle of a massive reinvention. The world's first taste of the band's "new" sound would not be on a new studio album but in a film by Wim Wenders, who used "Until the End of the World" in his film of the same name before the song appeared on the band's 1991 album "Achtung Baby". That the band would select a Wenders film to debut its new sound spoke of U2's regard for Wenders. His use of a U2 song in every subsequent film, including "Faraway, So Close!", spoke likewise.
"Achtung Baby" went multi-platinum in the United States and netted Grammys for Best Rock Album for a Duo or Group and Producers of the Year for Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno. The early ‘90s would launch U2 on its most lucrative stint with Hollywood, as filmmakers binged on the band's catalog. Between 1990 and 1995, U2 songs appeared in 20 films, mostly mainstream movies like "Reality Bites", "Fearless", "Milk Money" and "Batman Forever". Oddly enough, many of these filmmakers selected songs from "The Joshua Tree," reflecting nostalgia for U2 of the past, as the band released "Zooropa" in 1993 and further distanced itself from its earlier work.
From a Hollywood standpoint, the early ‘90s were also very prolific for Bono, who penned seven original tunes during this time period, including the hypnotic, driving rhythm of "In the Name of the Father", co-written with Gavin Friday and Maurice Seezer, and the theme for "Goldeneye", performed by Tina Turner and co-written with The Edge. "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me" from "Batman Forever" brought the band additional recognition as well as a parody, "Numb Me, Drill Me, Floss Me, Bill Me," by mock-master "Weird Al" Yankovic.
By 1995, it seemed that the marriage of U2 and movies was a match made in heaven. The band released a new album, "Original Soundtracks 1", but not as U2. Released under the name Passengers, "Original Soundtracks 1" marked the biggest departure from the signature U2 sound ever. Gone were the soaring riffs and melodies. Fans who read the credits and bought the album found instead ambient electronica, heavily influenced by producer Brian Eno and sounding like The Edge's previous experimentation on the "Captive" soundtrack. The band wisely chose the name Passengers so as not to confuse the fans, who were already confused enough by the fact that "Original Soundtracks 1" featured soundtracks for fictional movies. The liner notes, written by Ben O'Rian and CSJ Bofop (both pseudonyms for Brian Eno), create descriptions for both real and fictional movies, some bordering on hilarious. This raw experimentation didn't resonate with fans, and the album peaked at only No. 76 on the charts.
Indeed, the album also failed to resonate with some of the band members. Larry Mullen's distaste for the project is now legendary. In one interview Larry said, "There's a fine line between interesting music and self-indulgence. We crossed it on the Passengers album." Bono later retorted, "Larry just didn't like it because we didn't let him play the drums." Regardless, the album features two songs that were welcomed into the U2 canon, "Your Blue Room" and "Miss Sarajevo."
In 1997, U2 fused its collaborations, experimentations and latest influences into "Pop". This album capped what had been the band's "new direction" and exhibited synth beats and loop influences of the dance club scene. Here are strong evidences of the band's earlier experimentation with ambient music and electronica. The bluesy, lounge-act sounds of "If You Wear That Velvet Dress" and "Please" hearken to the Passengers' "Miss Sarajevo" and "Your Blue Room." The album debuted at No. 1 on the charts, but remains one of the most maligned albums by U2 fans.
Not surprisingly, with a fan base in jeopardy of defecting, movie deals begin to taper off. U2's songs appeared in seven films between 1997 and 2000, versus the 19 of the preceding three years. Movie projects did keep the band busy, though on solo projects and collaborations. Bassist Adam Clayton and Mullen conspired to create two versions of the "Mission: Impossible" theme, while The Edge and Bono collaborated with The Eurythmic's David Stewart to create music for "Cookie's Fortune". For the tunes, "A Good Man" and "Patrol Car Blues," Bono and The Edge dove headlong into blues sounds that left almost no traces of trademark U2.
March 2000—the world had survived the dreaded Y2K scare and U2 fans were still seven months away from "All That You Can't Leave Behind". Although the band was busy in the studios preparing for this return-to-roots effort, Bono had been dividing his time. He clearly was not done experimenting in new media, for Mel Gibson's Icon Productions released "Million Dollar Hotel". Directed by Bono's pal Wim Wenders and written partly by Bono himself, the film earned Outstanding Feature Film at the German Film Awards, The Silver Bear at the Berlin Film festival and howls of derision from critics and U2 fans alike. What some viewers saw as an "art film in the worst sense of the word" and "rubbish," others saw as "adorable, romantically sad, visually beautiful." The worst damage, however, was wrought by the film's star, Gibson, who described it as "boring as a dog's ass." The death knell for "Million Dollar Hotel" had rung. The film went on to make just $52,000 stateside.
In spite of the critical and commercial drubbing, Bono and U2 treated the world to two new songs on the soundtrack—the haunting "Ground Beneath Her Feet" (written by Salman Rushdie) and the bluesy "Stateless." Bono wrote three other tunes for the soundtrack with collaborators Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno and produced every track on the record.
Within the year, U2 had redeemed itself with "All That You Can't Leave Behind." This album proved to be a renaissance, both for U2 and its fans. It reminded everyone of the energy and passion that had made U2 great in the first place, without rehashing old sounds. Ultimately, it brought a message of hope that resonated so profoundly with the world especially after 9/11. The album earned a total of seven Grammy awards, including back-to-back Record of the Year nods for "Beautiful Day" (2000) and "Walk On" (2001). After the commercial and critical success of ATYCLB and the subsequent Elevation Tour, Hollywood once again beat a path to U2's door. Between 2000 and 2004, U2 songs appeared in nearly 20 movies, including high-profile flicks like "Tomb Raider", "Mr. Deeds" and "Moulin Rouge".
It's been four years since U2 has released a studio album but somehow it doesn't seem that long. After all, the band has stayed in the limelight through best of albums, live DVDs and soundtrack efforts. In addition to the added benefits of keeping U2 in the public eye, soundtracks afford the band opportunities to take risks it can't take on studio albums. Last month, the band released "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb" to reviews that are almost diametric. While some critics consider the album to be among U2's best works, others have remarked "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb" "is easily the most mainstream and the most mellow U2 album that the band has ever crafted." These critics imply U2's risk-taking days are over and seem to imply U2 has lost its edge but changing their opinion may only a soundtrack away.
Information for this article was taken from The Internet Move Database, Amazon.com, onthefringe.org, IGN and U2Wanderer.
2004.12
Listen to any song from U2's 11 studio albums and you'll experience sounds that can best be described as cinematic—soaring lyrics, panoramic guitar riffs, dramatic bass and passionate rhythms. It's little wonder that filmmakers have used U2's music to help punctuate over 50 films. Whether borrowing a track from a studio album or commissioning a band member to create an original tune, movie makers have given the members of U2 opportunities to experiment on its own sound, collaborate with other performers, sharpen their skills as solo musicians and expand from a local hit into a mainstream phenomenon. In fact, tracing U2's movie history is like watching the band rocket into stardom, each album garnering U2 more credibility with filmmakers. The marriage of U2 and movies has spawned more than an occasional soundtrack single, it also has led to an entire album devoted to "original soundtracks," not to mention a feature-length film penned by Bono himself.
U2's soundtrack efforts naturally didn't start out that grandiose. It wasn't until after the band's first two studio albums found local success that filmmakers on the other side of the pond took notice. The French film "They Call It An Accident" remixed "October" for use in its soundtrack, compiled by Steve Winwood in 1982. That same year U2 went Hollywood with the use of "I Will Follow" in "The Last American Virgin".
Two albums and two EPs later, U2 was ready for its first big film assignment. In 1986 The Edge was tasked with creating the entire soundtrack for the French/British film "Captive." A damsel-in-distress film about a kidnapped woman who is subjected to various forms of abuse, "Captive" demanded dark, ambient mood music, and The Edge delivered. A sampling of tracks from this album plays like anything but trademark The Edge guitar work. Rather, this was electronica, devoid of any lyrics except in the movie's theme song, "Heroine," sung by a young Sinead O'Connor. The Edge, nicknamed the "scientist of the band," got to play in the lab and mold sounds that would appear on U2 albums almost10 years later.
The next year was a big one for U2 and its fans with the release of "The Joshua Tree", U2's first international No. 1 album. Dubbed a classic by fans and critics alike, the album featured tracks that would appear in the movies for the next 15 years—"With or Without You," "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," "Where the Streets Have No Name," "Trip Through Your Wires" and "In God's Country." "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," in particular, struck a chord with a variety of filmmakers, appearing in no less than four films, including 1994's "Blown Away" and 1999's "Runaway Bride".
1988 saw the band release rockumentary and studio album "Rattle and Hum". An homage to America's rock 'n' roll roots, the film and album alike chronicled U2's journey down memory lane, with tributes to Billie Holliday, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan and honorary New Yorker John Lennon. According to www.the-numbers.com, "Rattle and Hum" grossed an estimated $8 million in the United States, almost double the take of the band's first Hollywood appearance, "The Last American Virgin."
U2's massive mainstream success raised more than a few eyebrows. The band's music began to appear in more and more movies, from the mainstream "Scrooged", starring Bill Murray, to the indie flick, "Powwow Highway". The latter film combined U2's talents with those of Robbie Robertson, a half-Jewish, half-Native American songwriter for the tune, "Sweet Fire of Love." Far from mainstream Hollywood, this British film dramatized life on a Native American reservation in the central United States. By 1990, it was clear U2's music was popular enough to be taken seriously by mainstream Hollywood looking for a broad appeal, yet U2 was avant-garde enough to appear in independent films driven by a social conscience.
By the time the new decade dawned, U2 was in the middle of a massive reinvention. The world's first taste of the band's "new" sound would not be on a new studio album but in a film by Wim Wenders, who used "Until the End of the World" in his film of the same name before the song appeared on the band's 1991 album "Achtung Baby". That the band would select a Wenders film to debut its new sound spoke of U2's regard for Wenders. His use of a U2 song in every subsequent film, including "Faraway, So Close!", spoke likewise.
"Achtung Baby" went multi-platinum in the United States and netted Grammys for Best Rock Album for a Duo or Group and Producers of the Year for Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno. The early ‘90s would launch U2 on its most lucrative stint with Hollywood, as filmmakers binged on the band's catalog. Between 1990 and 1995, U2 songs appeared in 20 films, mostly mainstream movies like "Reality Bites", "Fearless", "Milk Money" and "Batman Forever". Oddly enough, many of these filmmakers selected songs from "The Joshua Tree," reflecting nostalgia for U2 of the past, as the band released "Zooropa" in 1993 and further distanced itself from its earlier work.
From a Hollywood standpoint, the early ‘90s were also very prolific for Bono, who penned seven original tunes during this time period, including the hypnotic, driving rhythm of "In the Name of the Father", co-written with Gavin Friday and Maurice Seezer, and the theme for "Goldeneye", performed by Tina Turner and co-written with The Edge. "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me" from "Batman Forever" brought the band additional recognition as well as a parody, "Numb Me, Drill Me, Floss Me, Bill Me," by mock-master "Weird Al" Yankovic.
By 1995, it seemed that the marriage of U2 and movies was a match made in heaven. The band released a new album, "Original Soundtracks 1", but not as U2. Released under the name Passengers, "Original Soundtracks 1" marked the biggest departure from the signature U2 sound ever. Gone were the soaring riffs and melodies. Fans who read the credits and bought the album found instead ambient electronica, heavily influenced by producer Brian Eno and sounding like The Edge's previous experimentation on the "Captive" soundtrack. The band wisely chose the name Passengers so as not to confuse the fans, who were already confused enough by the fact that "Original Soundtracks 1" featured soundtracks for fictional movies. The liner notes, written by Ben O'Rian and CSJ Bofop (both pseudonyms for Brian Eno), create descriptions for both real and fictional movies, some bordering on hilarious. This raw experimentation didn't resonate with fans, and the album peaked at only No. 76 on the charts.
Indeed, the album also failed to resonate with some of the band members. Larry Mullen's distaste for the project is now legendary. In one interview Larry said, "There's a fine line between interesting music and self-indulgence. We crossed it on the Passengers album." Bono later retorted, "Larry just didn't like it because we didn't let him play the drums." Regardless, the album features two songs that were welcomed into the U2 canon, "Your Blue Room" and "Miss Sarajevo."
In 1997, U2 fused its collaborations, experimentations and latest influences into "Pop". This album capped what had been the band's "new direction" and exhibited synth beats and loop influences of the dance club scene. Here are strong evidences of the band's earlier experimentation with ambient music and electronica. The bluesy, lounge-act sounds of "If You Wear That Velvet Dress" and "Please" hearken to the Passengers' "Miss Sarajevo" and "Your Blue Room." The album debuted at No. 1 on the charts, but remains one of the most maligned albums by U2 fans.
Not surprisingly, with a fan base in jeopardy of defecting, movie deals begin to taper off. U2's songs appeared in seven films between 1997 and 2000, versus the 19 of the preceding three years. Movie projects did keep the band busy, though on solo projects and collaborations. Bassist Adam Clayton and Mullen conspired to create two versions of the "Mission: Impossible" theme, while The Edge and Bono collaborated with The Eurythmic's David Stewart to create music for "Cookie's Fortune". For the tunes, "A Good Man" and "Patrol Car Blues," Bono and The Edge dove headlong into blues sounds that left almost no traces of trademark U2.
March 2000—the world had survived the dreaded Y2K scare and U2 fans were still seven months away from "All That You Can't Leave Behind". Although the band was busy in the studios preparing for this return-to-roots effort, Bono had been dividing his time. He clearly was not done experimenting in new media, for Mel Gibson's Icon Productions released "Million Dollar Hotel". Directed by Bono's pal Wim Wenders and written partly by Bono himself, the film earned Outstanding Feature Film at the German Film Awards, The Silver Bear at the Berlin Film festival and howls of derision from critics and U2 fans alike. What some viewers saw as an "art film in the worst sense of the word" and "rubbish," others saw as "adorable, romantically sad, visually beautiful." The worst damage, however, was wrought by the film's star, Gibson, who described it as "boring as a dog's ass." The death knell for "Million Dollar Hotel" had rung. The film went on to make just $52,000 stateside.
In spite of the critical and commercial drubbing, Bono and U2 treated the world to two new songs on the soundtrack—the haunting "Ground Beneath Her Feet" (written by Salman Rushdie) and the bluesy "Stateless." Bono wrote three other tunes for the soundtrack with collaborators Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno and produced every track on the record.
Within the year, U2 had redeemed itself with "All That You Can't Leave Behind." This album proved to be a renaissance, both for U2 and its fans. It reminded everyone of the energy and passion that had made U2 great in the first place, without rehashing old sounds. Ultimately, it brought a message of hope that resonated so profoundly with the world especially after 9/11. The album earned a total of seven Grammy awards, including back-to-back Record of the Year nods for "Beautiful Day" (2000) and "Walk On" (2001). After the commercial and critical success of ATYCLB and the subsequent Elevation Tour, Hollywood once again beat a path to U2's door. Between 2000 and 2004, U2 songs appeared in nearly 20 movies, including high-profile flicks like "Tomb Raider", "Mr. Deeds" and "Moulin Rouge".
It's been four years since U2 has released a studio album but somehow it doesn't seem that long. After all, the band has stayed in the limelight through best of albums, live DVDs and soundtrack efforts. In addition to the added benefits of keeping U2 in the public eye, soundtracks afford the band opportunities to take risks it can't take on studio albums. Last month, the band released "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb" to reviews that are almost diametric. While some critics consider the album to be among U2's best works, others have remarked "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb" "is easily the most mainstream and the most mellow U2 album that the band has ever crafted." These critics imply U2's risk-taking days are over and seem to imply U2 has lost its edge but changing their opinion may only a soundtrack away.
Information for this article was taken from The Internet Move Database, Amazon.com, onthefringe.org, IGN and U2Wanderer.
