U2's quest for the 'perfect pop song' -- new album talk continued

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super fly guy said:
Yeah,but you could just say they were all alternate versions. Hopefully U2 go down this route,as opposed to demo's we have already heard.
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I hope not. I love Bon Jovi (I know, I know), but that CD is fucking awful.
 
they do a good job of reworking songs live. I'd enjoy a session of them playing stuff like Ultraviolet, The Fly, Last Nite On Earth, Miami, Bullet, etc in their live incarnations. They real transform songs live. They build them with new ideas that really change the songs into something brilliant, yet different. This band doesn't get enough credit for that.

They've done this before to spectacular result:

Please
Gone
Even Better Than The Real Thing
Walk On
 
for what it's worth.. someone on the atu2 boards spotted Danger Mouse at a Dublin pub..

he's still there.. and I'm betting it's not to work with the Corrs
 
Better Danger Mouse than "DM" cause with this bloody "DM" i instinctively think of DEPECHE MODE.
 
I think they're gonna be done by the end of July for a fall 2012 release date.
They can't occupy that much of Burton's time.
So either they continue to work after he leaves, or they let loose of it.
And if they continue to work after he leaves, the longer they go, the more likely they will hammer the DM right out of it. So what would be the point?
Besides this, they'll want a Fall release regardless. So you're talking Fall '12 or Fall '13.

Anything other than Fall 2012 is a bad thing - across the board.

I know they finished both ATYCLB and HTDAAB roughly around July 1st (give or take ten days). So it would stand to reason that they are on target for that kind of model. And even that's using the old archaic model. There's no reason they shouldn't hit the Fall-release window if they are using the old model or certainly a newer model.

A surprise single could be put out at any time over the next 5-6 months.

This year folks.
That's not blind optimism (certainly not coming from me) that's just reasoning.
I don't see it happening in any other way that isn't a huge fat negative.
 
Registered Dude said:
I see DM, I think cough syrup..
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Not that i don't love Depeche, but when i see DM here all the time i always think: U2 and Depeche working together?? Great! Then i remember it's that Danger Mouse..

Didn't know about the cough syrup hehehe
 
U2DMfan said:
This year folks.
That's not blind optimism (certainly not coming from me) that's just reasoning.
I don't see it happening in any other way that isn't a huge fat negative.
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Agreed with pretty much everything you said.

I still think there's time for a last minute freakout in late July, early August, ala summer 2008, which, like you said, could only be a negative.

They've been working with Danger Mouse for over a year now, right? And if not for Spider Man, they probably (almost certainly) would have released something last year. It's not a good sign if it takes much longer than this year to get this done.
 
Isn't it possible that they just haven't made that much progress? This is what i suspect with Bono seemingly spending more time going around the world than in the studio.

I think given it hasn't been that long since the last tour, and that they're rich enough to hire out a studio indefinitely, and that they're probably insecure enough right now to hold off on releasing anything until it's juuuuust right (rather than a spontaneous release), a fall 2013 release is not just plausible, but more likely than 2012.

Plus, they worked with Danger mouse from the summer of 2010 (at least) to spring 2011, and they scrapped that supposed mid-tour album. I could certainly see them working during 2012, not making much progress (or not wanting to - choosing to just playing around and see if they can find a new direction before they commit to an album, hence rumours of not just danger mouse, but also redone and the one-direction songwriters), and then only starting real work on an album in early 2013, for a fall release.
 
That sounds more likely. Even Bono recently mentioned an awesome bassline almost as though it wasn't yet part of a whole song. That is just a little speculation on my part though.
 
Yeah, reminds me of last summer when he said "We have some great songs with danger mouse... some of them still need vocals... and guitar... and drums and bass... but still!"
(Or something along those lines)
So hey, if they have the bass down, that's progress! Now just 3 more summers for the rest of the band :wink:
 
JamietheEdgefan said:
Isn't it possible that they just haven't made that much progress? This is what i suspect with Bono seemingly spending more time going around the world than in the studio.

I think given it hasn't been that long since the last tour, and that they're rich enough to hire out a studio indefinitely, and that they're probably insecure enough right now to hold off on releasing anything until it's juuuuust right (rather than a spontaneous release), a fall 2013 release is not just plausible, but more likely than 2012.

Plus, they worked with Danger mouse from the summer of 2010 (at least) to spring 2011, and they scrapped that supposed mid-tour album. I could certainly see them working during 2012, not making much progress (or not wanting to - choosing to just playing around and see if they can find a new direction before they commit to an album, hence rumours of not just danger mouse, but also redone and the one-direction songwriters), and then only starting real work on an album in early 2013, for a fall release.
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If they very nearly had an album completed last year, and simply needed more time in the studio with Danger Mouse that they couldn't have thanks to Spider Man, why would they need to start over entirely from scratch?

Maybe they'd drop North Star off the potential album as a consequence, but that it wasn't available to be voted on U22 despite being played quite often is some what telling to me that they plan to release it at some point in the future -- whether on the next Best Of or on the new album.

I would not say that the previous work with Danger Mouse was scrapped just because it wasn't released. I think that's reading too much into the fact that nothing was release, when it was simply a time issue. Bono and Edge couldn't be in two places at once.

So, if they just started getting back into the studio this spring and early summer, then they can complete what they meant to last year. I don't think it's going out too far on a limb to say that there's a fairly strong possibility they could release something this year. It makes little to no sense to sit on songs for two to three years.
 
You're right, there's no reason to believe they started from scratch. Maybe i'm just being cynical... but then again, nothing i've seen in the news makes me think they've made significant progress. The last article mentions Bono saying that he doesn't know when, or even if, the new material will be released, which doesn't sound too promising to me:

Exclusive: Bono on "Spiderman", Mitt Romney, U2, Ireland, the undocumented, and more | Irish News and Politics spanning the US, Ireland and the World | IrishCentral
"But Bono isn’t putting a timeline on when the music will be finished, or even if it will see the light of day. If the band isn’t completely thrilled with the end result it will go nowhere."

(Although, i suspect it's possible that this is part of Bono's 'will they/won't they' attitude towards u2 making any more albums, a continuation of "We'd be happy to end on No Line", "Does the public even need a new u2 album?", "It has to be something special" etc - i.e. he could be playing up the uncertainty as a way of saying the next u2 album isn't a given, it's something special)

And whilst i agree sitting on songs for two or three years is crazy, i think it's possible that they'll take those songs and work and rework them like they did to some material on NLOTH (didn't SuC go through 6 versions?).

I think it's possible they didn't release a 2011 album because they just didn't think the songs were good enough, and are now second guessing themselves so much that it's taking them literally years to release anything. I've said it before - after the (relative) failure of NLOTH, i'd bet that u2 are more interested in making the 'perfect' comeback than making a quick one.
 
One problem with that method is that they might become bored with their work after a bit of time. Songs may have accumulated over the past three (or more) years that now seem like old news to them. Much of this material may never see the light of day, no matter how good it really is.

Also the fact that they discounted material that Eno liked quite a bit in favor of a few songs that made the cut makes me hope Songs of Ascent will come out in some form.
 
You know what? One of you jst call me when the new album gets released. Can't handle all this "in an interview" and speculation. Seriously what are hey doing that they can't put an album out/actually work on new music? Taking out the thrash? Washing the car? Cleaning the garage? They're musicians, not normal people. Put the pint down and get back in the studio.


:gah::sad::sad:
 
U2DMfan said:
I think they're gonna be done by the end of July for a fall 2012 release date.
They can't occupy that much of Burton's time.
So either they continue to work after he leaves, or they let loose of it.
And if they continue to work after he leaves, the longer they go, the more likely they will hammer the DM right out of it. So what would be the point?
Besides this, they'll want a Fall release regardless. So you're talking Fall '12 or Fall '13.

Anything other than Fall 2012 is a bad thing - across the board.

I know they finished both ATYCLB and HTDAAB roughly around July 1st (give or take ten days). So it would stand to reason that they are on target for that kind of model. And even that's using the old archaic model. There's no reason they shouldn't hit the Fall-release window if they are using the old model or certainly a newer model.

A surprise single could be put out at any time over the next 5-6 months.

This year folks.
That's not blind optimism (certainly not coming from me) that's just reasoning.
I don't see it happening in any other way that isn't a huge fat negative.
Click to expand...

You may not respect my opinion, but I agree 100%!
 
jay canseco said:
One problem with that method is that they might become bored with their work after a bit of time. Songs may have accumulated over the past three (or more) years that now seem like old news to them. Much of this material may never see the light of day, no matter how good it really is.
Click to expand...

Bono did say that they've gone through a lot of songs. Edge also mentioned that objectivity is hard in the studio and you need to get away from the music to judge it better. Just because they are excited about the music doesn't mean they won't change their minds after a break from the studio. A lot of stuff is going to be discarded.

Bono said in the Spiderman interview that they only had 13 melodies with no lyrics or instruments. The early stuff with DM was considered to be just demos worked on with The Edge. I think the band are in later stages (the farthest possible stage at this point I would expect is the "baby" version of Achtung Baby in development). Bono said that he knew the band had something good when everyone stopped complaining, which I would assume that there are some complete songs. It's hard to gauge now that the band aren't supposed to talk about specifics. Are they trying to surprise the majority of U2 fans (non-interferencers)? I'm sure if Bono starts talking about song titles then we are only a few months away.
 
Or maybe they finally learned their lesson about too much hype and are playing it a little closer to the vest this time around.

Could be why Danger Mouse has been so tight-lipped himself.
 
lazarus said:
Or maybe they finally learned their lesson about too much hype and are playing it a little closer to the vest this time around.

Could be why Danger Mouse has been so tight-lipped himself.
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A part of me would like to see a new album and new direction come out of left field without Rolling stone interviews and song titles. The last time that happened to me was when Zooropa came out.
 
lazarus said:
Or maybe they finally learned their lesson about too much hype and are playing it a little closer to the vest this time around.

Could be why Danger Mouse has been so tight-lipped himself.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I think so too. What better hype for a new U2 song this time around than no hype? Just release it out of the blue, or very close to it, and it'll generate much more buzz online, twitter, radio stations than the long, drawn out hype machine.
 
JamietheEdgefan said:
Isn't it possible that they just haven't made that much progress? This is what i suspect with Bono seemingly spending more time going around the world than in the studio.

I think given it hasn't been that long since the last tour, and that they're rich enough to hire out a studio indefinitely, and that they're probably insecure enough right now to hold off on releasing anything until it's juuuuust right (rather than a spontaneous release), a fall 2013 release is not just plausible, but more likely than 2012.

Plus, they worked with Danger mouse from the summer of 2010 (at least) to spring 2011, and they scrapped that supposed mid-tour album. I could certainly see them working during 2012, not making much progress (or not wanting to - choosing to just playing around and see if they can find a new direction before they commit to an album, hence rumours of not just danger mouse, but also redone and the one-direction songwriters), and then only starting real work on an album in early 2013, for a fall release.
Click to expand...

I don't think you're crazy for thinking 2013. I don't think anyone would be crazy for thinking that. I just sense something different. Besides, you're looking at this from a very U2-ey lens. It is a two way street.

Brian Burton, unlike (let's say) Chris Thomas, has people lined up at his fucking door. He doesn't need U2. Maybe he wants them as bad as they want him but he's not going to just dick around and let them do more of this insecure and hesitant silliness. I honestly believe that. I think he wants a confidence commitment from them as well. That's how you respect another artist or producer.

If you don't see what I mean, think about what a lack of progress would mean to Burton. That U2 is not trusting him enough to carry these ideas to fruition.
If they weren't working well together or it was highly frustrating and they were hitting roadblocks, U2 would move on and so would he. Every indication is that their sessions with Burton have been fruitful.

And:
1) Bono is not needed in the studio all the time or even close to it. 2) They don't have to hire out a studio, they own their own studio. HQ 3) This isn't a spontaneous release, they've been working on it for up to 3 years. 4) Who said they scrapped anything? Allow me to pull my best BVS and ask you to actually prove that. 5) They have always started 'serious' work on an album ONLY when they have hired the producer. And they have done that.
 
Very good point about DM. Eno and Lanois are old members of the team who are perfectly content to just sit back and work at the pace they're used to. Burton DOES have other shit to do.

The decision to work with such a hot, of-the-moment artist shows a certain level of bravery and immediacy on the band's part. It was a step in the right direction, but yes, it remains to be seen whether or not they'll follow through with it.

A delay will mean only one thing: compromise, and ultimately, stagnation.
 
I really hope Danger Mouse can make them to release it in time. A fall 2012 album would probably be better than a fall 2013 album, and I'm talking about the quality.
 
U2DMfan said:
Brian Burton, unlike (let's say) Chris Thomas, has people lined up at his fucking door. He doesn't need U2. Maybe he wants them as bad as they want him but he's not going to just dick around and let them do more of this insecure and hesitant silliness. I honestly believe that. I think he wants a confidence commitment from them as well. That's how you respect another artist or producer.
Click to expand...

hey, his wallet might not mind the 18 months of dicking around..
 
U2DMfan said:
I don't think you're crazy for thinking 2013. I don't think anyone would be crazy for thinking that. I just sense something different. Besides, you're looking at this from a very U2-ey lens. It is a two way street.

Brian Burton, unlike (let's say) Chris Thomas, has people lined up at his fucking door. He doesn't need U2. Maybe he wants them as bad as they want him but he's not going to just dick around and let them do more of this insecure and hesitant silliness. I honestly believe that. I think he wants a confidence commitment from them as well. That's how you respect another artist or producer.

If you don't see what I mean, think about what a lack of progress would mean to Burton. That U2 is not trusting him enough to carry these ideas to fruition.
If they weren't working well together or it was highly frustrating and they were hitting roadblocks, U2 would move on and so would he. Every indication is that their sessions with Burton have been fruitful.

And:
1) Bono is not needed in the studio all the time or even close to it. 2) They don't have to hire out a studio, they own their own studio. HQ 3) This isn't a spontaneous release, they've been working on it for up to 3 years. 4) Who said they scrapped anything? Allow me to pull my best BVS and ask you to actually prove that. 5) They have always started 'serious' work on an album ONLY when they have hired the producer. And they have done that.
Click to expand...

Ok, this does make me feel better about a 2012 release. I really hope you're right :up:

(And for the record, by 'scrapped' i didn't mean binned material, i just meant they binned plans to release a 2011 album)

I hope all this news means they have made good, committed progress with danger mouse, but the cynical side of me thinks it's possible they'll pull a rick rubin/chris thomas and end up moving on. I agree danger mouse, given he's in high demand, might not stay around for another year to indulge a u2 release, but i could (cynically) see u2 being ok with that, and taking their jam sessions and re-working them with eno or someone in 2013. But you're right, if they're working with danger mouse now, they must be at least intending for a late 2012 release.

I had been worried that lack of news = lack of progress, but as someone else pointed out, it could be an anti-hype attempt. If there is a 2012 release, then Bono saying he's not even sure the material will see the light of day just last month would be a good way to make such a release even more surprising. But if by autumn 2012 they tell us how they're still "lost in the music" and that 2013 is more likely, i'll take that comment by Bono to be more likely to mean they just... hadn't made enough progress.

Anyway, here's hoping my cynical approach is wrong and 2012 is the release date. I want you to be right (obviously) :D
 
Edge claimed last fall that an album release this year is a 50/50 shot.. we shouldn't rule it out, but let's not bet on those odds.
 
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