LP13 There is no album - only lies

[last unicorn]

I agree with a lot of what Ernie is saying, but I don't believe they "booked" the Super Bowl and Fallon in advance if they didn't have a release date for that album. That would be crazy. And changing plans afterwards would be even more crazy. It's not like they said: Hey, we won't have an album to announce, so how about doing something for (RED), maybe we can at least use one song from the album that's ready now? I don't believe they would do it. Invisible for (RED) was in the works before any album release date discussion, maybe there were plans to announce the album release around the time Invisible was released, or maybe there was also talk about making Invisible the first real album single, but I don't think the (RED) thing was a filler. IMO, album and (RED) were two different things and U2 would never have tied the album announcement to the (RED) thing on the Super Bowl.

As for Fallon, as far as I know it was arranged in January. U2 knew there wouldn't be an album in March or April in January. I think Fallon, being a big fan, just asked them and they accepted, album or no album. But OF COURSE there is still the chance of an album announcement (release date, title, first single) on Feb 17.

 

[JOFO]

Fallon…

Probably: Edge listing influences you will not actually hear at all on the album,

Funniest thing EVER.

....and so true.

 

[KEVIN051269]

Ax - a discussion last week begged a question that possibly only you could answer for me.... Other than Nantes and Montreal what in your opinion is the best bootleg from TUF Tour???

Try Glasgow and Milan

 

[YBORCITY]

Try Glasgow and Milan

Thanks Kevin

 

[chork]

LA Times calling it a spring album here:


For director Mark Romanek, a new chapter, of a sort - latimes.com

 

[prbiker15]

In general..
Not a chance: U2 dropping a ‘surprise’ album.
More likely: They like the idea of a surprise album but don’t have the balls. Will try and make it as much of a ‘surprise’ as possible while still maintaining the standard big promo push pre-release that makes them feel safe and happy. Makes sense in light of their reluctance to talk about it (compared to the norm) and lack of lead in promo (e.g. trickles of stuff from the studio etc that we normally have by now). Keep it quiet until they absolutely must start talking.
Most likely: They had a March/April date circled on their calendars up until very late last year, and started planning accordingly. Got themselves a Super Bowl deal tied up, got themselves on the opening Fallon show, probably a bunch of other stuff, freaked out as usual and delayed the album so they can water down some parts, shoehorn some bullshit into some other parts etc etc but they couldn’t shut down or delay all aspects of their March/April planning and everything really is just thrown off a bit. It seems a bit weird and confused because it is.

Fallon…
Not a chance: Our album is called Invisible and it’s coming out tomorrow.
Maybe: Our album is called X, we’re almost done, and it will be out on June X.
Probably: Commitment to ‘it’ being out in June (ie in that situation, with such a wide audience, it won’t be a slip – if they say it, they mean it). But no name, no specific date, no further specific details. No new news. Then onto generic Bono-hype about it being the best thing ever, Edge listing influences you will not actually hear at all on the album, Adam and Larry looking around the studio for clues as to which country they’re currently in.

Fully agree.

 

[ahittle]

I think the ad came before the (Red) idea. "How do we do this without seeming too careerist? We can promote ourselves but also cure AIDS! Win-win!" You can call it disingenuous but at the end of the day, it's a success on several fronts.

The real money and public interest is in the tour. Maybe they announce the tour on Fallon with the album to be released real soon. Maybe you buy tickets and get the digital download. Something big is going to happen and maybe we're sweating the album too much.

 

[Earnie Shavers]

I thought about that. Not really sure if it works, but I guess it's possible. The deal Jay Z had with Samsung worked out so that as Samsung bought however many copies of it and then it was Samsung giving them away with phones or whatever, that they still counted formally as sales. Live Nation (or if Live Nation are too close for it to count, a 3rd party sponsor) could buy a couple of million copies of the U2 album, handing them a #1 spot, and then you get it when you buy your tour ticket (album and tour sales launching on the same day). That pushes the full album onto people who would normally only cherry pick a single or two - which U2 would like, for a few different reasons - and also means they essentially get repeat sales off all the U2 fans who are suckers and will go and buy a second, physical copy of the thing anyway.

Then…

Not all people who buy tickets bought the last album.
Not all people who bought the last album bought tickets.
All hardcore fans bought the album and the tickets.

Now…

All people who buy tickets now buy the album.
All people who buy the album but not tickets are still buying the album.
All hardcore fans who buy tickets are now buying the album twice.

 

[mama cass]

Then…

Not all people who buy tickets bought the last album.
Not all people who bought the last album bought tickets.
All hardcore fans bought the album and the tickets.

Now…

All people who buy tickets now buy the album.
All people who buy the album but not tickets are still buying the album.
All hardcore fans who buy tickets are now buying the album twice.

they should give you a job Earnie!

 

[ahittle]

I guess there hasn't been much official talk about an app release. At one point, they were all about that. Maybe it's been TOO quiet...

 

[Diemen]

Let's try for less Hitler talk in the next thread.