More new U2 album discussion!

[Globo14]

Now, if Headache is right about the teleprompter, then that changes things.
I don't blame him for using a teleprompter. I really don't. But if he can't get them right even while using one? Wow.

Even if there is a teleprompter, it only does any good if Bono is stationed at his mic stand. He tends to stray away from it quite a bit (unless he's "playing" guitar).

There are pros and cons of the teleprompter. The cons are obviously the integrity and the sad fact that he doesn't trust himself to know his own lyrics. However, with a teleprompter, they can put up the lyrics of any song if they ever feel like pulling out a rare track.

It is interesting about him flubbing the lyrics to the warhorses. There's a difference between changing/improvising a line and totally forgetting the lyric, and Bono has done his fair share of both.

 

[PhilsFan]

It's not an "if." He absolutely has a teleprompter. It's been visible for at least the last two tours if you're at an angle behind Bono.

 

[zoopop]

Looking at these 'varied setlist' rumors I don't U2 would attempt to do what bands like Pearl Jam or Bruce Springsteen do.

I saw one of my favorite bands last yr at Red Rocks, My Morning Jacket, & they played 2 consecutive nights with no song repeats. Both shows were over 3 hrs.....it was the most epic thing I've seen live.

But I could see U2 nailing 35-40 songs before the tour starts and putting those songs in random order every night. And of course they would add more songs as the tour moves on. For example, Streets or One will probably be played at every show, but One could open one night & close another.

And U2 could promote this about the tour. U2 have conquered all when it comes to 'stage production'. Bands haven't even come close to topping ZooTV, Popmart, or 360. There is no reason for U2 to push themselves anymore doing that. But they could put focus on the songs again and do random setlist. They could even have great lighting & effects to go with it too. Lighting tied w/ computers has come a long way & easily compliments random shows. Look at Radiohead last year.

With the age of social media & the web U2 would be driving fans across the world about what they played on a certain night or in what order. Didn't Zooropa throw twitter in a frenzy last tour? Anyone who was at the Anaheim 2 show last tour knows how crazy it was when the busted into Streets like the 5th song in. It was refreshing and exciting! And I'm sure the band took notice.

 

[Globo14]

One opening? No thanks.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

It's not an "if." He absolutely has a teleprompter. It's been visible for at least the last two tours if you're at an angle behind Bono.

Vertigo.

Even Larry has a teleprompter at this point, and he doesn't even sing.

I sat behind the stage at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25th Anniversary Concert, and even Bono's cheesy canned speeches were on the teleprompter.



Is what it is.

Even Springsteen uses one. He takes requests from the audience every night and will play any song in his catalog at any time... but yea, he has one.

And jimmy crack corn and I don't give a fuck. If it means I'm gonna get note rarities, give em all teleprompters!

Eddie Vedder doesn't use one, yet... which I find insane... But I did see him pull out a music stand and a handwritten lyric sheet simply because he wanted to cover Jersey Girl in Newark and wanted to make sure he got the words right. It was great.

Only makes it worse that U2 never change the setlists... They have zero excuse.

 

[jeevey]

Why do they need an excuse? If we love the music then why does it matter if they use a teleprompter?

 

[Babyface82]

Alan Cross - A Journal of Musical Things - Deconstructing More Crazy U2?Rumours

 

[cbanksy9]

Apparently in an article mainly about Mick Jagger, Bono says the band is in a "deep black hole" making a new album "very isolated" from the rest of the world. Says the album could be out within the week, or the year, no clear date set.

 

[popacrobat]

alan cross is a good troll. but he could stand to do more homework.

"ITEM 2: Some German guy I've never heard of posted here that the first single from the new album will be released August 19. "

if he just clicked the link, he'd see that the German article cites the very much non-German tweet as its basis. all of that is just old news with silly analysis.

also, i believe Vertigo was released to the radio on Sept. 23, 2004. we heard it way earlier than November, and the iPod commercial was everywhere, especially during the 2004 MLB playoffs.

 

[BloodRedSky2k5]

alan cross is a good troll. but he could stand to do more homework.

"ITEM 2: Some German guy I've never heard of posted here that the first single from the new album will be released August 19. "

if he just clicked the link, he'd see that the German article cites the very much non-German tweet as its basis. all of that is just old news with silly analysis.

also, i believe Vertigo was released to the radio on Sept. 23, 2004. we heard it way earlier than November, and the iPod commercial was everywhere, especially during the 2004 MLB playoffs.

The November 8th 2004 date referred to in the Wikipedia article refers to Vertigo's physical single release in the UK.

 

[popacrobat]

that's all well and good, but the rumor that he cites is that the song will be released to the radio the week of august 19, not a physical copy of the single release. so it's apples-to-oranges.

 

[AcrobatU2Pop]

Didn't Alan Cross announce that NLOTH leaked like 2 weeks before the actual leak?

 

[popacrobat]

he probably did. he's been pretty sketchy, and he was really pushing the Manhattan and fake tracklist rumor really hard a few weeks back. he just wants people to click his page and recognize his name and frequent his blog. he is not an insider, he knows nothing and his "blog" when it comes to U2 is no different than interference.

 

[AcrobatU2Pop]

PS. It would never happen, but imagine Washed Out opening for U2.

I highly recommend their new album.

 

[PhilsFan]

Why do they need an excuse? If we love the music then why does it matter if they use a teleprompter?

No, an excuse to change up the sets.

The only reason U2 has rigid setlists is because Bono is lazy about rehearsing.

 

[LuckyNumber7]

Teleprompters don't bother me at all. Well... for a two or three album band maybe... but honestly idc. If a teleprompter means I get to hear Bad before its too late so be it.

 

[BigMacPhisto]

Didn't Alan Cross announce that NLOTH leaked like 2 weeks before the actual leak?

NLOTH was actually out on Napster Mobile for about a month before it came out. The worst part is that the statistics showed that dozens of people had quietly downloaded it and not said anything about it.

 

[popacrobat]

I thought it was only a week on Napster mobile prior to the Universal leak being found

 

[BigMacPhisto]

I think the city residency rumor is likely. The band wouldn't shut up about wanting to play arenas towards the end of the last tour and there was one show where Bono asked the crowd if they'd dig an arena tour with a lot of b-sides and rarities played. Between the band's many hits and songs from the new album taking up 1/3 of the setlist every night, it wouldn't be unreasonable to think they could do three setlists full of 2/3 different songs.

Staples:

- I Will Follow
- Out of Control
- The Electric Co.
- Gloria
- New Year's Day
- Sunday Bloody Sunday
- 40
- Pride
- Bad
- The Unforgettable Fire
- Where The Streets Have No Name
- I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
- Running To Stand Still
- Bullet The Blue Sky
- Desire
- Angel of Harlem
- All I Want Is You
- The Fly
- One
- Mysterious Ways
- Zoo Station
- Ultra Violet
- Until The End Of The World
- Even Better Than The Real Thing
- Zooropa
- Stay
- Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me Kill Me
- Miss Sarajevo
- Beautiful Day
- Walk On
- Stuck In a Moment
- Elevation
- In A Little While
- Vertigo
- Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own
- City of Blinding Lights
- Miracle Drug
- All Because Of You
- Original of the Species
- Yahweh
- Love and Peace or Else
- No Line On The Horizon
- Magnificent
- Get On Your Boots
- Crazy Tonight (Remix)
- Moment of Surrender
- Breathe

That's just a rough list of 47 songs that were played regularly (and with ease) on the last two tours. If 8 songs a night are taken up by the new album, then they need to have about 16 more for each of the three nights. That's enough right there without even them digging up the usual deeper album cuts, b-sides, etc. They're very capable of pulling this off, especially if they're doing these songs once every three nights.

At least, let's hope they do that. It was annoying as hell at the early Vertigo shows to go to back-to-back nights with a whopping two songs changed. If they do things like in the past, we'll simply get the same 20 songs all three nights with a few swapped out. It's frustrating to go to three shows and all you really accomplish from seeing the last two is about another half hour of material (6-8 other songs).

 

[BigMacPhisto]

I thought it was only a week on Napster mobile prior to the Universal leak being found

Whatever it was, those were some smug-ass fans that kept it themselves. I think the original number was somewhere around 30 or 70 downloads from that service.

 

[ChargedVT]

I'm guessing the album announcement will come between 2-3 weeks from today. Despite that, when I check this site every morning I hope to see that there are 10 new pages in this thread, which would indicate something newsworthy has happened.

 

[2861U2]

Check out @tkenad's Tweet: https://twitter.com/tkenad/status/360215185430036481

Some dude claiming to have heard 'the new u2 song'.. I sent him a tweet..

He tweeted again just a little while ago:

"In response to the new #U2 song I've got a guy, that's how I heard it. #awesome song. probably said too much already."

 

[Registered Dude]

We gotta be so close... within the month.. new music. I'm leaving the doubt behind.

 

[david]

It feels so bizarre that new U2 music may be just around the corner. Maybe that's because the No Line era still seems to incredibly recent to me.

It seems so distant to me. Probably because in the time since NLOTH came out I moved twice, started a new job, got married and then separated and even saw U2 live. Its been four long years in my life.

 

[LuckyNumber7]

We gotta be so close... within the month.. new music. I'm leaving the doubt behind.

If a U2 single drops in August I might have my own little parade for it.

 

[purpleoscar]

If this guy is not lying then the single is done and the band are putting the finishing touches on the rest of the album in the "black hole" where they are "isolated".

 

[LuckyNumber7]

"Done" means nothing in the land of U2. Somewhere out there there is a shelf with a bunch of dusty old U2 albums that were "done."

Ill believe it when I see it.

 

[lemonfly]

Bono's neo-mullet thingy haircut will soon be gracing the video for the new single. Neo-mullet thingy haircut suggests an edgy, experimental rocky number a la The Fly #graspingatstraws

 

[BigMacPhisto]

Bono's neo-mullet thingy haircut will soon be gracing the video for the new single. Neo-mullet thingy haircut suggests an edgy, experimental rocky number a la The Fly #graspingatstraws

Eh, you wouldn't be off, actually. I'm sure they're going to want a head-turner for the first single. It'll be something different.

 

[popacrobat]

All I want is for somebody to protect this house until the single drops. And to help me do it. Is that so much to ask?