Songs of Songs, Books & Fat Puns - New Album Discussion #8

[lazarus]

Especially this meatball hero.

Coincidentally Bono ate 2 meatball hero sandwiches for lunch each day he was in New York.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Interesting tidbits here:

https://mobile.twitter.com/u2songs/...=https://u2start.com/topic/12434/168/12977713

So apparently the sphere shows will be Acting Baby focused.

Also, sounds like a commitment to a new album beforehand?

I mean who could have guessed that

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Coincidentally Bono ate 2 meatball hero sandwiches for lunch each day he was in New York.

How many?

 

[DeVaul]

how many?

 

[Gonna Run 2 U]

What would Bono’s sandwich be if there was one named after him? Meatball parm? BLT? Sausage egg and cheese?

 

[DeVaul]

What would Bono’s sandwich be if there was one named after him? Meatball parm? BLT? Sausage egg and cheese?

I dunno but Adam’s would include blood sausage

 

[pacemaker]

Bonova Vox, cream cheese, capers and onions

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Reuben

 

[lazarus]

View attachment 13339

 

[JWR1992]

Songs of Songs, Books & Fat Puns - New Album Discussion #8

Emo Bono?

 

[U2387]

If there's one thing that has stuck with me so far during both the book and his appearances is that Bono is coming across more likeable as he has in a while. I obviously love the guy but I can see why so many people are turned off by him. He seems more humble and personal and just less annoying.

Totally agree!

I've been quite busy with life the last few weeks. Had a big thing 11/1 I was preparing for. So my only exposure to this SOS era if you will has been headlines. Until early Friday morning. I was about to leave work and I said "I'm going to this show in Boston, I guess I should watch that Colbert appearance."

I felt the exact same way from both Colbert and seeing the show. Bono seems to be making tremendous effort in showing who he truly is and I think he's done some thinking on what makes him come across as annoying to some people. That effort is only noticeable to people like us, I think. To people who haven't followed him closely, they would, I think, perceive him in a much warmer, down to Earth, authentic way without being able to put their finger on exactly why.

In other words, mission accomplished.

Don't get me wrong, I've never seen him as a pompous ass and I know from first and many secondhand experiences how normal of a guy he is.

I also feel like the first wave of the backlash 2006- after the heavy activism period and before 2014 (Apple)- was something he may have even accepted as a likely consequence of getting shit done. Meeting with Bush. Having every single business move he makes unfairly scrutinized. Which is very admirable.

He seems to suggest in the interview that the activism is very much moving to a different phase. It's obviously never going away (wrong guy for that), but almost like a founder/CEO of a business that works his/her ass off to get this idea and organization off the ground. Makes the relationships. Has to take a lot of time away from the rest of his life. Then once it's established, the maintenance is much easier. One, etc.... are all self sustaining organizations now. With lots of powerful people behind them.

As this happens, I think it will allow the trend of the long preaching segments going away from recent tours to continue. Which will in turn take a ton of wind out of the "Bono has a God complex" criticism.

I understand, please don't think I'm arguing with you in any way. It's tough for me too to see someone I admire age, all I was trying to say is that your own personal life can sometimes give you a different perspective on that. I think truth be told it's a visual reminder of one day (that's sooner rather than later now) losing them, and that's why it's tough to see too. If you're young you somehow think it will last forever, and before you know it it doesn't.

Could have lost him to that aneurysm, and we can see in the book and his interviews how that has changed his perspective.

Wow, did that just hit me hard!!! I thought a lot during the show about the reality that we're losing him sooner than later. It's just a reality. And certainly the aging is a visual reminder of that.... which there is nothing wrong with.

For what it's worth, seeing him up close last night, I think he looks the best he has post bike accident. A solid 8 years.

What really hit me is the part of your post I highlighted. I was an 18 year old college freshman in October 2005 when Bono hit that stage to "City of Blinding Lights" at my first U2 show in Boston. When you're that age, and watching a current, relevant super star who has become your hero the last few years, you don't even dream of considering the day it all ends. It took years of Bono aging and my own life experience to entertain the prospect of losing anyone I love in any serious way.

I think that helps explain why the only times I was overcome with emotion last night (during a very emotional show by design) were the performances of COBL. I thought of all the time and life that passed.

And how everyone there who was in the room in 2005, myself, my Mom, my aunt, Bono now had way less days ahead of them than they did back then.

If there was a theme of this show besides "this is my life, I want to share it with you" it was to me anyways, very obviously this: "NOTHING IN YOUR LIFE, INCLUDING THAT LIFE ITSELF, IS FOREVER!! Love the people around you, tell them as much, and do all you can with the time you have. It will be over before we know it. And when we least expect it."

Very clear theme of the "Songs of" era.

 

[super fly guy]

https://www.indiewire.com/2022/11/bono-new-u2-documentary-kiss-the-future-1234779585/

Not sure if this had been mentioned?

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

https://www.indiewire.com/2022/11/bono-new-u2-documentary-kiss-the-future-1234779585/

Not sure if this had been mentioned?

I hope the producers are on retaaaaaaaaaainer

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Emo Bono?

 

[pacemaker]

https://www.indiewire.com/2022/11/bono-new-u2-documentary-kiss-the-future-1234779585/

Not sure if this had been mentioned?

Well how about them Tim Apples

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

I loved the story on Colbert about Van Morrison ditching Bono on stage, cranky old Irishman

 

[david]

One thing I learned from Bono’s book is that people who don’t like U2 aren’t trying hard enough.

 

[Hollow Island]

The book left me with a question that I wish he’d addressed: is Edge a Zen Presbyterian?

 

[david]

 

[lazarus]

The Edge inducted The Eurythmics into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame last night.

I had forgotten Dave Stewart interviewed him and Bono on a short-lived cable show back in the mid-2000s.

 

[The John Tree]

The Edge inducted The Eurythmics into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame last night.

I had forgotten Dave Stewart interviewed him and Bono on a short-lived cable show back in the mid-2000s.

I remember that interview. I think it was around the time of NLOTH.

Bono discusses The Beatles and how many great songs and then says “…but I think we’ve got them on the run,” and the crowd - full of U2 fans - booed him!

 

[DeVaul]

I had forgotten Dave Stewart interviewed him and Bono on a short-lived cable show back in the mid-2000s.

Off The Record!
I was in the room. Quite an experience

 

[Hollow Island]

It took him 463 pages to say that America is an idea! Bravo, Bono! Bravo!

 

[ascender_RS]

I see Bono is struggling with his voice.... not a good sign after 2 or 3 dates? Hopefully its nothing and is just a cold...

 

[dan_smee]

Listening to clips from Beacon Theatre - in particular Beautiful Day, COBL and Storie for Boys, the more I’d love them to capture this vibe on record. I am increasingly convinced the clips from the audiobook are stripped down to be intimate for the book, and a good chunk of them are this lush and rich.

 

[pop_mofo]

I see Bono is struggling with his voice.... not a good sign after 2 or 3 dates? Hopefully its nothing and is just a cold...

I was there last night in Toronto and, while their were a couple of tracks, everyone I was with thought his voice sounded very strong.

Tbh, the odd Crack is something I appreciate. It's live performance and it is humanizing. But those are just my thoughts.

 

[womanfish]

I saw a quote from another interview the other day, and Bono was talking about the "rock" album and SOA. Saying that SOA is a meditative album that's about 70% finished, and then the rock album he used the line about unreasonable guitars, but also used the words very uncontemporary.

That gives me some real hope that we are talking about a loose, loud, unpolished sound for this. IF they can stop themselves from fucking with it before they release it I suppose.

 

[BEAL]

They went for that at the beginning of HTDAAB and they seemed to dislike the raw sound. Steve was the bandaid.

I hope it's Edge actually producing something memorable. Vertigo was a monster riff, but aside from that song he really hasn't hit anything memorable since.

Not that I expect a bunch of 60+ year old rock stars to play like they're 30, but Edge has always been so unique and was the top aspect of any new album I look forward to the most

 

[womanfish]

They went for that at the beginning of HTDAAB and they seemed to dislike the raw sound. Steve was the bandaid.

I hope it's Edge actually producing something memorable. Vertigo was a monster riff, but aside from that song he really hasn't hit anything memorable since.

Not that I expect a bunch of 60+ year old rock stars to play like they're 30, but Edge has always been so unique and was the top aspect of any new album I look forward to the most

Yeah, when it comes to riffs, they have been lacking since Vertigo. Boots actually has a cool riff, but was lost within the strange frenetic mess of the song. Miracle was decent too, but the song again was kinda so-so.
He has had some really good guitar tones on No Line and SOI, not so much SOE. So would be great to hear some memorable knockout riffs from the Edge. And then don't mess around with it and soften it and shine it up like Bomb.

 

[The John Tree]

This is all pretty classic Bono. I think it was Adam who said once that Bono hears an idea and, to him, it’s a completed song because he can hear it in his head, whereas Adam needs to wait to hear the actual finished song.

In this case, Songs of Ascent was “done.” Now it’s at 70%. And I have a strong feeling that remaining 30% is because they’re still chasing a radio hit - which is funny, considering everyone was very excited about him apparently saying they weren’t going to do that this time around (though I didn’t read Bono’s comment that way).

And the reason for the hold up? Another of Bono’s classic pre-album comments: it’s the Edge’s fault!

And of course, this statement really troubles me:

“The only thing the Edge wants to talk about right now is unreasonable guitar music. He’s just really fed up with the pop charts. So that’s U2s…”

Ugh. This band doesn’t do “unreasonable guitar music” very well. This is the same kind of talk we started hearing 20 years ago, in the early stages of HTDAAB. “Punk rock on Venus” and all that nonsense. They just don’t ever pull off the muscular riff rock I think he’s referring to.

The part about the pop charts confuses me even more. If the band thinks they can change the pop charts in their 60s after over a decade of not even coming close, then they are truly, truly lost.