What is U2's songwriting process like?

[HBK-79]

Hey guys. I'm not a musician or a songwriter. So I've been curious about something. I hope someone would know more than I do.

Does the band write songs together from start to finish?

Or do Bono and Edge do all the songwriting, and then have Larry and Adam add their parts in order to flesh out the final arrangement?

I ask this because all of U2's musical composition is always credited to U2, while all of Pearl Jam's musical composition is usually credited to one or two members of the band.

What goes on behind the scenes when U2 is coming up with songs for an album?

Why is Pearl Jam's allotment of songwriting credits different from U2's?

Thanks guys.

 

[AndrewCowley]

Does the band write songs together from start to finish?

Not usually. Bono and Edge are the main men in most cases. But overall the process is slow, painstaking, iterative, full of self doubt and lacking in instinct. Hence the ridiculous delays between albums and the churning through of producers.

 

[lemonfly]

Not usually. Bono and Edge are the main men in most cases. But overall the process is slow, painstaking, iterative, full of self doubt and lacking in instinct. Hence the ridiculous delays between albums and the churning through of producers.

Plus, it would probably help if all four of them were in the studio together for a prolonged period of time (I.e five or six months - not in blocks of four or five weeks, before drifting off to attend to their various hobbies).

 

[jeevey]

There's a fair bit about their writing process in U2 At the End of the World by Bill Flanagan. It's a great read, hugely entertaining and and can be had on Amazon for just a few bucks.

 

[U2DMfan]

What goes on behind the scenes when U2 is coming up with songs for an album?

Why is Pearl Jam's allotment of songwriting credits different from U2's?

Thanks guys.

Pearl Jam has five songwriters in their band. And they are much more likely to bring in essentially completed songs (musically). I know McCready has done that with songs like Given to Fly. He basically wrote a whole piece of music, Eddie wrote some lyrics to it and the rest of the band did their part.

Edge has done the same thing in U2 but the songs go through so many changes that they are probably enough different from where they began, that it would have made sense to credit the whole band in most cases* anyway. And U2 don't begin with partially completed songs that often. Usually it's a melody or chord progression that has to be built up quite a bit. That said, they all take equal credit regardless because that's how they are.

*-Larry and Adam don't contribute that much to the skeletons of the song (chords, etc.) but add flourishes to what changes otherwise. Their equal credits are due to their pals Bono and Edge not being dicks about it. Part of the reason they have worked so well with Eno and Lanois over the years is that E and L bring in more song ideas to start with. Whereas U2 basically only has two songwriters in the band that can make those 'skeletons' and yet they always have those other two voting down their material. Hence, long studio sessions full of second-guessing and always trying to please Larry.

 

[digitize]

There's a fair bit about their writing process in U2 At the End of the World by Bill Flanagan. It's a great read, hugely entertaining and and can be had on Amazon for just a few bucks.

That's a marvelous book. Everyone here who hasn't read it should.

 

[jeevey]

Probably that should be on the welcome to interference sticky! Good synopsis, U2DMfan.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Torturous?

 

[brooklynmike]

That's a marvelous book. Everyone here who hasn't read it should.