Songs of Ascent VI and the Half-Blood Prince

[VintagePunk]

Tweeted by Lillywhite last night:

Sillywhite

hmm,, approaching 1500 followers.. what to do to get to the magic number ??????

My reply:

Give me info on the status of U2's proposed SoA, and I'll get you a whole U2 fan forum full of grateful followers.

No response. I tried, guys.

 

[Niceman]

Tweeted by Lillywhite last night:

Sillywhite

hmm,, approaching 1500 followers.. what to do to get to the magic number ??????

My reply:

Give me info on the status of U2's proposed SoA, and I'll get you a whole U2 fan forum full of grateful followers.

No response. I tried, guys.

I appreciate it!

 

[nielsgov]

so back on topic...i have pretty much prepared myself for a late 2011 release. that way, if the band surprises me with something sooner, i'll go all cock crazy.

What are you cocking about?

 

[subnet]

terrly lawless is back in berlin today

 

[Mrs. Garrison]

the old cock n balls routine

 

[Vlad n U 2]

When will they ever learn?

 

[powerhour24]

I honestly don't understand their ambivalence. Its not going to kill their career to release an experimental project, and if they did it in early summer it would get them back in the spotlight before the tour, release EBW and do a little promo then go out on the road behind it and NLOTH, hell make a package for SOA with the Rose Bowl DVD and you've got yourself double-promotion. You've got finished material set it free, finish this era, then worry about good-old-fashioned-songwriting next or post-360.

 

[The_Edge89]

terrly lawless is back in berlin today

No he's not. It's an automatic script on his website that refreshes daily. If it is not manually updated it will state he is still in Berlin. It's probably been that way since November?

Anyway, it might give us some interesting clues once he actually updates the script.

 

[U2girl]

I was talking about his guitar playing on the "Who's to say" verse, not the slide guitar. As trademark Edge as you're going to get. Even the band mentioned plenty of times that they're going back to their roots with ATYCLB.

Doesn't sound like trademark Edge.

And the band says a lot of things.

 

[The_Edge89]

I got some a news actually. It's not huge, but I'm kinda proud that that I can provide an exclusive, albeit slightly small piece of information.

I just came back from two weeks in Morocco. Recognise this place?

That's me in Riad El Yacout, Fez, I could never forgive myself I went to Fez and didn't track down the place where some of my favourite songs were born.

The owner was very friendly, and he told me this:

"They're coming back, you know."
"When?" I ask.
"In the spring, for 3 or 4 weeks."
"To record?"
Then he laughed, and said "I can't tell you that."
I don't know if that was because he didn't know or if he was just being cryptic, but I have viable information that U2 will go back to Fez this spring, possibly to record.

Photographic proof so you can see I was actually there. I trust this man to have told me the truth. Presuming they're going to record, returning to Fez means returning to the original SOA idea, no?

On another note, Fez was really amazing.

The way I see things they might be going there to:
1) Write or finish up material for Songs of Ascent
2) Do a photo-shoot
3) Play a live session for YouTube which Adam said they were considering before but ended up going for a live stream of the Pasadena gig.
4) Record a music video for an upcoming single (Moment of Surrender/Every Breaking Wave?)

Any other ideas?

By the way, why is the photo deleted? You didn't just fake that you went to Fez, did you?

 

[djerdap]

And the band says a lot of things.

Yep. U2 fans are even worse.

 

[God Part III]

By the way, why is the photo deleted? You didn't just fake that you went to Fez, did you?

Nah, it's just that my Flickr profile is meant as a place for photos taken by me, not photos of me. I didn't fake Fez

I hope they write songs there, but a live stream of NLOTH would certainly be incredible.

 

[U2girl]

Yep. U2 fans are even worse.

True.

 

[The_Edge89]

Nah, it's just that my Flickr profile is meant as a place for photos taken by me, not photos of me. I didn't fake Fez

I hope they write songs there, but a live stream of NLOTH would certainly be incredible.

Oh I see, it wasn't intended as criticism so I hope you weren't offended by my silly remark.

 

[Swan269]

This thread is now turned into this.....

 

[AEKU2]

This thread is now turned into this.....

Yep though i find it that there has been no news to speak of, i think this is like the calm before the tempest

 

[Swan269]

was hoping people would notice the "bulldozer"

 

[The_acrobat]

was hoping people would notice the "bulldozer"

HAHA!

Larry's favorite song from ATYCLB sessions... I wonder why it never saw the light of day.

 

[Tyagu_Anaykus]

Didn't it become "Elevation"? Or am I confused?

 

[Utoo]

Dude, I'm going back to the hot girls thread in Zoo Station

 

[Zoo_Fly]

Dude, I'm going back to the hot girls thread in Zoo Station

Why did nobody tell me this existed sooner????

Also, I was under the impression Bulldozer turned into Elevation as well.

 

[The_Edge89]

^ Wasn't that Busy Bee? I thought, I may be completely wrong here since my fandom only started post-All That You Can't Leave Behind release, that Busy Bee and Bulldozer were two different songs and only one of them became Elevation in the end?

 

[waynetravis]

Busy...Bee? U2 had a song called Busy Bee? Good lord

 

[The_Edge89]

^ I could be wrong, but I think that was what is was called. Wasn't it in the Beautiful Day video on some list next to Always too? Can't remember...

Anyway, Lanois seems to be busy (see what I did there? ) for the time being. I received this in my inbox:

For the last 10 months I’ve been dedicated to my new band, Black Dub. I see this project as an outlet for my most inventive work. The recordings are done and they sound great. We’re looking to have the first Black Dub album released in May, and then to hit the road on tour. I know many of you have seen the films on YouTube, and thank you for your kind comments – many more to come.

The Black Dub films are a fine example of our one camera, one shot philosophy. The camera captures musical magic as seen through the eyes of one individual – Adam Vollick. Through Vollick’s pure form we hope you will feel like a part of the band.

I very much appreciate any help in spreading the gospel of this new work. Encouragement is always welcome. See below.
-Daniel Lanois

1. Next week we're sending a free track to each newsletter subscriber (including you). Will you help us reach a few more fans by sharing this newsletter signup link? Main Lanois

2. The website for Black Dub (with films, stories, music, and more) is coming soon. Stay tuned. If you can't wait, check out the videos on YouTube - YouTube - OfficialDanielLanois's Channel

3. Three Black Dub shows in the next 10 days:
- Feb 13 at Spaceland in LA (Sold Out)
- Feb 14 at Spaceland in LA (Tickets - http://bit.ly/blackdubspaceland1)
- Feb 17 at The Bowery Ballroom in NYC (Tickets - http://bit.ly/blackdubbowery1)

4. Dan is on Facebook: "Daniel Lanois" | Facebook - please become a fan. On the Twitter? danlanois (danlanois) on Twitter

 

[Mrs. Garrison]

nice avatar, waynetravis, blue crack supplier from brand and broadway.

 

[powerhour24]

Black Dub doesn't come out until May? Lame.

 

[The_Edge89]

Black Dub doesn't come out until May? Lame.

I wonder how much of this talk about a June release for Songs of Ascent has to do with it? I mean if he postponed the release of his own project from January, March to May.

Then again, January and March were just rumours...

But it would be interesting to imagine that Lanois took some time from his project to spend with U2 if they for instance would go back to Fez in the coming months.

 

[PookaMacP]

I finally sat down to watch the (excellent) Brian Eno documentary that aired on BBC4 a few weeks ago and noticed that when chatting in his home studio at one point in the programme, Eno was joined by Steve Lillywhite in a discussion of what it means to be a producer, how the process works, etc. I presume someone has mentioned this already, but in case not I thought it an interesting piece of info at least, since, depending on when it was recorded, it might give us some idea of whether the two were working together on some new U2 stuff.

 

[BigMacPhisto]

4) Record a music video for an upcoming single (Moment of Surrender/Every Breaking Wave?)

Still have no idea why they didn't just officially release the MoS clip from the Linear film to music video outlets & YouTube. The band had practically everything ready for the promised fourth single and just decided to give up at the last minute.

 

[doctorwho]

see i think some will say that.

and it's not just about the sales. it's that U2 obviously wish they had a bigger single from NLOTH. i'd be surprised if they weren't a little nervous going on the 2010 tour without anything new. that's just how the band thinks post Popmart.

Now, now - U2 are far from unique.

First, the reason most bands tour is to support their album. Years ago, tours actually lost money, but the performances boosted the album and singles sales.

These days, with illegal downloads and file-sharing, clearly album sales can only do so much. U2's ATYCLB sold over 4M copies, which would have made it the best selling album last year. However, in 2000, those sales didn't even make it to the top 10. In contrast, these days touring has been a windfall for most artists - provided they can stage a successful tour (some artists have hit singles, but flop in concert).

Almost all touring artists want something to promote - that is, a reason to tour. This is true for the Stones, Madonna, Springsteen, and many new acts. Sure, maybe Billy Joel and Elton John perform without new material, but that tour is part novelty and they both know they are relying on their catalog. U2, as well as other artists, still feel they can be relevant and creative and they want their new work to be heard. In the case of NLOTH, I agree.

NLOTH sold well (in today's world) but not incredible (although, there were about 2 artists who fit the "incredible" description for last year, and even those two are well below the standards of 2000). Therefore, I can see U2 wanting a new album with a REALLY big hit song, ala a "Beautiful Day" or "Vertigo". For some reason, that just didn't happen with the singles from NLOTH.

Besides, while I adored the 360 tour, I would love to see/hear new songs performed!