elfyx said:
They've had a lot of time and several different producers on this album and I'm sure that they have not only a lot of finished tracks to choose from, but also from a wide variety of styles and themes.
Thus, a few tracks here or there may have the ability to greatly alter the overall direction and feel of the album.
After working so long and hard on the album itself, you do this by stepping back and looking at the big picture. They're putting everything into perspective. Because they put so much of their heart and soul and passion into each album, I think this is a very important process for them whereas it may not be for some other bands.
And where better to do all of this than in their totally pimp pads in southern France? Certainly not back in the studio!!!
BTW, wouldn't one of u2's famous bashes be the coolest fucking party you would ever have been to?
I agree totally with this!
b-sides are nice of course, but do we have any reason to believe that the guys actually think about this when they plan what to include on an album?
I'm imagining they try to work out what the whole picture looks like...maybe even while recording sometimes. I think of the little snippets of stuff about recording achtung baby, and how they'd have certain buzzwords they wanted to stick to, certain ones they reaaally wanted to avoid.
It sounds like maybe here they went more freeform, with edge driving it with guitar fireworks and maybe some darker emoting, and so now choosing the final tracklist is perhaps more work than it usually is?
I agree too with
catman ...I like "big girls are best" a lot, but it wouldn't work as a replacement for 'peace on earth' on atyclb!
I just love it when an album works as a whole so gorgeously, like atyclb did in a sort of broad brushstroke way, or better yet like achtungbaby did in a devastating-tight precise way...this point in their process might be really important to how the new one works, and given that they're saying it's big bold ideas, big tunes, emphatic stuff...it might be harder to work out how to present it best.
So, why not head away from the studio, to where they can sit back and imagine listening to it floating finished on the breeze, or think of what exact playlist they'd be totally thrilled to be having parties for?
Didn't that fanmeeting story also include bono saying to fan something like "it's never finished" of the new album? And laughing in agreement when the guy suggested that this is how he feels about all their albums? I think their perfectionism serves them well!
I'd love to see some of that wrangling process though...bono trying to come up with good spins on how his pet track fits in and the others responding?! *then* maybe they could convince him too of the value of b-sides, those delicious serendipitous leftovers...convince him that he can prove the merits of his tune by selling lots of the singles they slap it on b-side of.
cheers all...
Just one step closer to completion! 
Martha! 
