New Album Discussion/Speculation Continued...

[ChargedVT]

I think we all would agree the band did originally plan to have the album out this year. They all said it in the press. One of Bono's interviews was brought forward so as not to interfere with publicity.
Something happened about mid year to screw it all up.

 

[LUNEDEMINUIT]

Jimmy lovine showed up at Electric Lady studio in June.That's what happened

 

[mikal]

U2 should have a picture of a chicken on their next album cover.

 

[ChargedVT]

Okay, I can certainly see this happening since he did the same thing with NLOTH didn't he?
But geez it's so frustrating... Bono harps on about being relevant. Releasing an album after 5 years is not going to help with that. Especially IF (and I did say IF) they scrap 3 years of work.

 

[lemonfly]

I can hear a champagne cork popping...Steve Lillywhite is celebrating a lucrative tinkering assignment for Dublin's finest

 

[LUNEDEMINUIT]

Maybe the party on the roof of electric Lady studio was a "Thank you DM for the effort"

 

[chrissybaby]

If, and it's a big IF, they have shelved the DM stuff in it's original form I'll be genuinely gutted.

The boxset in 2030 will be EPIC!!!

I want to hear from DM.

 

[beachball]

I still have the feeling Bono is bluffing.

They went on a bicycle trip to Christiania, where they were given soccer shirts with their own names on them. The guy who gave them the shirts said to tv2 that they were here in Denmark celebrating Adam's bachelor party.

I thought they were keeping quiet so he can have some time free before they start all the promotion.

Now I'm not so sure, but what could he say if they had decided not to talk album release .

 

[ChargedVT]

Just one more thing. If they are "nearly there" why aren't they working at the moment? Bono is doing his usual galivanting, who knows where the others are. Yeah, really lost in the music. I'd like to think March is still likely but who the hell knows.
Sorry, but this sort of thing does get to you...

 

[mikal]

Just one more thing. If they are "nearly there" why aren't they working at the moment? Bono is doing his usual galivanting, who knows where the others are. Yeah, really lost in the music. I'd like to think March is still likely but who the hell knows.
Sorry, but this sort of thing does get to you...

That's the big mystery. At least in 2008 they were actively working on the album when they pushed it back.

 

[Rich79]

Someone who heard the album probably jokingly said "It's good, but where are all the hit singles?" and the band and management didn't get the joke. Subsequently, this has caused them to go back to remove some of their most adventurous songs ever in favor of a hastily-put-together "Hola! Let me in the Sexy Sound" (aka - Vertigo part III) and "Sometimes You Can't go Crazy on Your Own Tonight without the Crumbs From my Table".

That's my theory.

 

[purpleoscar]

I'm pretty sure many songs are complete but they are obviously having trouble getting 10 or 11 tracks together that they are confident will make a great album. Then you have to factor the long tours, Africa, and vacations and it makes sense for the long delays.

 

[chrissybaby]

Big hooks!

 

[mikal]

I'm pretty sure many songs are complete but they are obviously having trouble getting 10 or 11 tracks together that they are confident will make a great album. Then you have to factor the long tours, Africa, and vacations and it makes sense for the long delays.

They should just write songs about their vacations. We'd be in for a triple album!

 

[purpleoscar]

I'm sure by December we'll get another year end update. Danger mouse is taking a break from U2 to work on other bands and will probably return. I'll be shocked if he doesn't return.

It'll be interesting to see interviews with Lanois and others if the final product is better than what they heard in June.

 

[Van Cleef]

I think we all would agree the band did originally plan to have the album out this year. They all said it in the press. One of Bono's interviews was brought forward so as not to interfere with publicity.
Something happened about mid year to screw it all up.

Something happened, yea. They saw they didn't strike gold. And they saw they don't really care that much anymore.

Now they will keep forever jamming trying to find 10 real reasons to exist in 2014.

 

[2861U2]

Maybe the party on the roof of electric Lady studio was a "Thank you DM for the effort"

I could be wrong, but didn't people like Lillywhite and Gavin hear the songs AFTER this party? If this was in fact a "good effort" party, it would seem kind of cruel for them to tweet and tease us like that if they had any knowledge that the songs weren't going to see the light of day.

 

[ChargedVT]

We can guess and make scenarios as much as we like but the fact is, we don't know what's happened, and aren't likely to find out. We'll continue on in the dark, like always.
What about the tour rumours we've heard? Surely they aren't all bollocks?

 

[bedouin fire]

What scares me the most in this interview is not what bono talks but the way he talks. After listening to the whole thing (which by the way is a great interview during the initial 19 minutes), the u2 part is definitely the part where he uses less passionate words, he just looks like he is in automatic pilot mode not giving a shit about what’s (not) going on within the band. I got the feeling that there’s no album at all neither too much will of it.

In fact, this cannot be a surprise at all… an album just don’t fall of the sky, it would require the four band members together in a studio for several weeks/months and over the last two years we have been seeing reports almost on a weekly basis of band members (mostly bono but not only) in all kind of events/appearences/hollydays just everywhere in the world except reports of the 4 band members together in a studio with a producer and a recording team (exception of the exception goes for the 2/3 weeks in the electric lady at ny, which I think it was mostly for the Sunday Bloody Sunday and the This Is thing). I think there was not yet enough studio sickness that an album would take. Having this said, I believe that there may be a pack of ideas and scratches for songs but there’s still a long road to go for what we used to call an album, I just hope that in a near future they find the will (or the guts) to go through it.

 

[BWU2Buffs]

This thread should be re-titled -- "New Album Discussion - Misery Loves Company"

 

[Registered Dude]

See y'all later

 

[Zoo Lemon]

They're rich and in their 50's.

I agree with this. And by the way, if they offer a product that's artistically worth of all this wait, I don't care of some other months passing. Anyway, call me dreamer and all that, but I don't see ANY clue of the scrapping-work-done-with-Danger-Mouse. To me it sounds more as an in-passing confirmation to what we already knew - i.e. early 2014, at most late Spring. Especially if there's a tour kind of planned for 2014! Just my thought anyway.

 

[AndrewCowley]

Losing faith. Go into the studio. Record songs. Release album. How hard can it be?

 

[ChargedVT]

I agree with this. And by the way, if they offer a product that's artistically worth of all this wait, I don't care of some other months passing. Anyway, call me dreamer and all that, but I don't see ANY clue of the scrapping-work-done-with-Danger-Mouse. To me it sounds more as an in-passing confirmation to what we already knew - i.e. early 2014, at most late Spring. Especially if there's a tour kind of planned for 2014! Just my thought anyway.

Hopefully you're right. Let's remember, Larry told someone they were looking to have it finished by end of year when he was at that baseball game.
It seems clear to me though that the tour will now start around the middle of the year.

 

[AndrewCowley]

No clue of scrapping the Danger Mouse work? You think not releasing it isn't a clue? I mean, they have no history of this now, do they? Delays are step one in the tried and trusted scrapping regime.

 

[Van Cleef]

Am i the only one not seeing a march release at all?

 

[AndrewCowley]

Yes, Bono's interview is vague enough such that we can't even assume a March 2014 release.

 

[ChargedVT]

Yet he stressed the words "NEARLY THERE".
Are we to believe this, or is it more hollow talk?

Larry said the plan was to hopefully release 2 albums in quick succession (Though nobody here actually believed that) yet obviously they can't even make up ONE album.

 

[Zoo Lemon]

It seems clear to me though that the tour will now start around the middle of the year.

Yeah that's the way I see it.

And do you know how these words by Bono sound to me? To me, with that "lost in the music" phrase, it sounds like he rather wants to underline the band is believing in what they're doing and finding some sort of lost passion - which may be true or just a rose-tinted saying -, rather than define plans of any kind. All this, in the context of an interview which wasn't about the next projects in first place. That's why I'm kind of optimistic. Maybe I'm wrong, who knows.

 

[digitize]

This interview caused me to downgrade what I believe are the chances of an early 2014 release. Trouble is, if the DM work is being scrapped, I can see a release being as late as late 2015 or early 2016. That's a doomsday scenario, and I don't expect it, but I guess it's possible.