New album in the works while in NZ and Australia

[nirniva]

Assuming you're being sarcastic with your well past the worn out point joke, there's a HUGE difference between a sound bite like "punk rock from Venus" and "percussive eighties Paradise Garage dance pieces".

One is pure hyperbole and doesn't really have a reference point (ie what the hell IS punk rock from Venus, anyways?). The other is nod to a time, place and style of music most born before about..1980?..can easily identify and recall.

I was just pointing out that the descriptions sound vaguely similar in terms of wording. Sorry if it came across the wrong way.

I'm gonna say this here just for the hell of it. I've thought for years about how awesome it would be if a major band recorded and mixed an entire album on an old four-track, then released it as a limited edition cassette with a xeroxed insert. Tape hiss and all. Then maybe a month later release it in other formats. U2 should do this.

I doubt U2 would be the kind of band to do this, but it would be awesome. Cassette tapes do seem to be making a minor comeback on some indie labels, so someone's interested in the format.

Great, I'd have to borrow my uncle's Impala just to listen to it...

Or download the inevitable semi-legal rip online...

 

[Yahweh]

The proof will be in the material...

I don't think U2 is capable of making a bad album but they are certainly capable of making an average album based on the standards they have set for themselves.

 

[gvox]

I was just pointing out that the descriptions sound vaguely similar in terms of wording. Sorry if it came across the wrong way.

Well didn't mean to bite your head off at all...but one description screams "WTF IS HE TALKING ABOUT" while the other elicits a sigh/smile and gives me something to hold out hope for

So I guess I don't think they sound similar at all in wording, to be honest.

 

[Mrs. Garrison]

Great, I'd have to borrow my uncle's Impala just to listen to it...

your uncle has an Impala?

Dude.... you are like.... soooooooooooo lucky

 

[The_Edge89]

I'm gonna say this here just for the hell of it. I've thought for years about how awesome it would be if a major band recorded and mixed an entire album on an old four-track, then released it as a limited edition cassette with a xeroxed insert. Tape hiss and all. Then maybe a month later release it in other formats. U2 should do this.

That is a cool idea actually!

For the record; I'd call this a strictly limited edition casette release
‘I’m Having Fun Now’ Available Today | Jenny and Johnny :: I'm Having Fun Now

 

[BVS]

your uncle has an Impala?

Dude.... you are like.... soooooooooooo lucky

 

[coolian2]

I'm gonna say this here just for the hell of it. I've thought for years about how awesome it would be if a major band recorded and mixed an entire album on an old four-track, then released it as a limited edition cassette with a xeroxed insert. Tape hiss and all. Then maybe a month later release it in other formats. U2 should do this.

see, i could listen to this in the car because i still use a cassette to listen to my ipod in the car....it would actually be safer for me.

 

[nirniva]

Well didn't mean to bite your head off at all...but one description screams "WTF IS HE TALKING ABOUT" while the other elicits a sigh/smile and gives me something to hold out hope for

So I guess I don't think they sound similar at all in wording, to be honest.

It's cool.

(For the record, "percussive eighties Paradise Garage dance pieces" does sound really cool. )

 

[mama cass]

I'm gonna say this here just for the hell of it. I've thought for years about how awesome it would be if a major band recorded and mixed an entire album on an old four-track, then released it as a limited edition cassette with a xeroxed insert. Tape hiss and all. Then maybe a month later release it in other formats. U2 should do this.

that would be cool! the cassette deck is the only thing working on my old stereo these days and i can only listen to cds on my computer at the moment lol

 

[TM]

I don't think U2 is capable of making a bad album but they are certainly capable of making an average album based on the standards they have set for themselves.

Bono needs a divorce, that would give us one hell of an album!

 

[Vlad n U 2]

I hope Larry drops a drumstick some time, that'll be enough for a dark and moody album.

 

[The_Edge89]

Any news on that rumoured "December single"?

Here's a quick reminder of what happened concerning Get On Your Boots:

• December 11th 2008: U2.com starts hinting about a video being shot in London.
• January 16th 2009: Get On Your Boots was officially confirmed as lead single.
• January 19th 2009: Dave Fanning holds the world premiere of the single.
• February 15th 2009: The single was released for digital download.
• February 16th 2009: A physical release of the single was made avaliable in stores.

Before this, we had unofficial reports regarding the title of the single, Anton Corbijn shooting a video in Cadiz (which evidently was Linear) and so on.
If there was a single coming out in the next couple of weeks, I assume we would have heard something else than a rather vague "preceded by a single" by now, right?
Then again, Get On Your Boots was officially confirmed just days ahead of the radio premiere so what do I know?

 

[mikal]

Any news on that rumoured "December single"?

Here's a quick reminder of what happened concerning Get On Your Boots:

• December 11th 2008: U2.com starts hinting about a video being shot in London.
• January 16th 2009: Get On Your Boots was officially confirmed as lead single.
• January 19th 2009: Dave Fanning holds the world premiere of the single.
• February 15th 2009: The single was released for digital download, with a February 16th 2009: A physical release of the single was made avaliable.

Before this, we had unofficial reports regarding the title of the single, Anton Corbijn shooting a video in Cadiz (which evidently was Linear) and so on.
Am I impatient or should we hear anything soon?

i highly doubt December at this point. we would know a little more right now. if the album actually comes out next spring, i would expect the lead single to premiere on the radio 2 months before the release. the last word we got was May, so then i would expect the single in March. this is a huge if though. i'm still not convinced that we get an album next spring.

 

[Earnie Shavers]

Definitely no chance of a single in December. Makes no sense for a May album anyway.

But as a massive skeptic, I would say that the chances of a Spring/May release would have to be looking very, very good. I would never put any hope in talk from any of them about a lot of new material (blah blah), looking to release it sooner rather than later (blah blah), early next year (blah blah) - but McGuinness saying that they're at a final stage of album done/clean it up/release deadlines certainly suggests that they've possibly crossed a magic line, beyond freak out-scrap it-delay-FUCK, SINGLES! etc etc etc.

 

[Earnie Shavers]

Also, watching the news from Sydney, noticed a couple of big time U2 fans in the local music media got to ask Bono a couple of questions after an event there. Would be very surprised if they didn't ask about a new album, so we might get a new vague quote to last us another 50 pages/three weeks pretty soon.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

december is an awful time to release a single. so many radio stations play nothing but nauseating christmas music 24/7 that it would get lost in the shuffle... at least in the states, and it's obviously very important to them that any potential single would sell well in the states.

so i'm gonna think that we either see something in january or early february, or we don't see anything at all until after the tour is over. they have a nice natural deadline with the start of the SA/NA leg. any new album, you'd think, would be out at least a month before those shows. i suppose they could release it in the small window between the SA & NA shows in april if they'd like. but if we don't see anything by then, i think that's it.

and if it gets to the point where the tour ends and they still haven't decided on what to release, who knows how long it'll be once they don't have any pressure to get anything done...

 

[nirniva]

I'm guessing they announce the single in late December and release it in mid-January, with a video following a month or so later.
(Of course, what they could do is put the single up for digital download with no hype in December and release it to radio in January, after all the Christmas music is done...eh, a man can dream. )

 

[mrex]

While I do buy a lot of music, I don't pay attention to release dates like I do with U2. Isn't it old fashioned to have the radio release weeks before the singleis for sale?

I know that personally, if I hear a song that I want to buy on the radio while driving, I go home and jump on itunes. If it's not out yet, I may lose interest. I think that they day singles hit, you should be able to buy them.

 

[trojanchick99]

You're right, usually the single will get premiered on radio, then you can pretty much immediately buy on iTunes. A lot of time they will tie it in to pre-ordering the album. If you pre-order the album you get the single immediately.

 

[Gonna Run 2 U]

Do people listen to the radio anymore? I wonder when it gets uploaded to youtube now

 

[subnet]

leadtimes, no matter what industry you are in are, typically are very short these days. it is very hard to manage in this just-in-time manner, but helps if you claim things are still in the works while having this all wrapped up already productione-wise with only promotional and partner relationships being worked on (ie ISV relationships, alternative release vehicles). so i would also be inclined to think that U2 would like to go this route too. they just need better management this time around. not to fault McG, but things need not be so stale or oldschool this time around.

 

[LemonMelon]

Or download the inevitable semi-legal rip online...

80 kbps WMA rip of a cassette recording of an already lo-fi record? It's the U2 comeback Pitchfork has been waiting for!

 

[SeeLoganRun]

80 kbps WMA rip of a cassette recording of an already lo-fi record? It's the U2 comeback Pitchfork has been waiting for!

If it's not Vorbis I'm sure Pitchfork won't be interested.

 

[nirniva]

80 kbps WMA rip of a cassette recording of an already lo-fi record? It's the U2 comeback Pitchfork has been waiting for!

YES.

As for the issue of singles, I think that their best approach would be to do something similar to what Coldplay did to promote Viva La Vida: release a somewhat "experimental" single for free online to show off the new direction, and then release a more traditional single to iTunes and the radio. EBW online and Mercy for radio, perhaps?

 

[nielsgov]

Coldplay... "experimental"

What?

 

[U2girl]

I don't think they really divide their material that way. I don't think any material would be off the table, either for another major look with someone else, or carrying over mostly as is. I think only overall direction determines that sort of thing. I'd think any song, any riff, any chorus, any lyric would be forever fair game, always evolving. Only the extremes would be ruled out of any particular project. I mean, they drag stuff over from years ago, albums ago, all the time.

Using Every Breaking Wave as an example of a complete song - they seemed really confident with it when it was held over from No Line as the centrepiece for SoA. So confident and seemingly 'happy' with it, that you'd have to think it remains to be almost a certainty for whatever comes next. I don't think they would either (a) not give it another look with DM just because it was previously 'Eno/Lanois' material, or (b) if they are really happy with it as it is (was) in it's Eno/Lanois form, I don't that would rule it out of contention for a mostly DM produced album. I don't think they would have a problem with 'offending' Eno/Lanois by scrapping their version and going with a DM version, and I don't think they would have a problem 'offending' DM by nudging a track or two produced by others onto 'his' album. Their history shows they have no problem pillaging the past regardless of the who and what involved, and that they're not at all afraid of a mix of producers and thus sound and feel on any one album. I would not at all be surprised to find the 'DM album' is actually only about 80% exclusively him, in one way or another. Or that the material on it originated from all over the place, many other sessions with many other people. Same as with almost every other U2 album.

Holding on to a song or two from the past, yes, it happens all the time. Taking a full album, worked on by your most trusted producing team, and putting it out to someone you've never worked with before, is another thing.

I still think SOA is out there - and not cancelled - in the back, waiting for DM album and the oonts oonts album to be released. I would guess Mercy is now the new EBW, the song they seem most excited about, given its live performances and especially the release on WAIE. Which of course opens up more questions...is it on the DM album ? Given its release, what is the lead single for DM album ?

U2 mostly tend to have one producer at a time when working on an album (Bomb and Pop being the notable exceptions). They have strayed from other producers, but never from Eno/Lanois. That's why I don't see SOA shifting from their Batman and Robin to anyone else.

 

[powerhour24]

I agree, and while we don't know much, from what we heard from Bono I didn't get any indication these sessions were to rework previous material, he said something along the lines of "the songs are coming quickly", which to me sounds like they're new tracks... of course the songs would come to them very quickly if they were simply rearranging/rerecording SOA material .

 

[nielsgov]

I just don't see when they'd release SOA if they release the Danger Mouse in May. When the tour is over? Then it's 2 years after the initial rumoured release date and also after another new album. It isn't very logical.
So I think SOA is dead and that some songs will be reworked onto other albums, including the new album.

 

[AEKU2]

I agree, and while we don't know much, from what we heard from Bono I didn't get any indication these sessions were to rework previous material, he said something along the lines of "the songs are coming quickly", which to me sounds like they're new tracks... of course the songs would come to them very quickly if they were simply rearranging/rerecording SOA material .

Im glad Bono said the songs "are coming quickly" and not that the songs "are in his eyes".

 

[The_Edge89]

I agree, and while we don't know much, from what we heard from Bono I didn't get any indication these sessions were to rework previous material, he said something along the lines of "the songs are coming quickly", which to me sounds like they're new tracks... of course the songs would come to them very quickly if they were simply rearranging/rerecording SOA material .

Lanois recently said they had enough material from Fez or at least the No Line On The Horizon sessions for a follow-up, while Bono specifically said they had 12 songs with Danger Mouse. So I think you might be right on track with that first trail you had going there.