The Disciple
New Yorker
I take back my original feelings about it. Just listened on Apple Music and I dig it. I’m guessing it’s either the opening or closing credits for the film.
New Album Discussion 1 - Songs of..... - Unreasonable guitar album
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I take back my original feelings about it. Just listened on Apple Music and I dig it. I’m guessing it’s either the opening or closing credits for the film.
ferball415
Acrobat
[listening to Achtung Baby for first time in half-year, at all, on shuffle] -- I recommend listening to Achtung Baby on shuffle.
The John Tree
War Child
I actually like this version better than the SoE version. Never going to be my favorite song, but not bad.
mikal
Blue Crack Addict
Yeah way better than the album version.
it's got a little sleezy lounge singer vibe to it. i mean that in a good way.
is it ripped from the show and they killed the crowd noise, or is it a studio version? sounds almost like a soundcheck.
is it ripped from the show and they killed the crowd noise, or is it a studio version? sounds almost like a soundcheck.
The John Tree
War Child
I'm hearing more of a 'Stand By Me' vibe. I kinda wish they would have edited out the directions to the band.
They’re Lazy
TinKnight
Refugee
he can't keep getting away with this
my guess is that when we see the film that it'll make more sense why the directions are still in there.
i don't find it horrible. that's not to say i like it. i find it to be something worse than horrible... utterly forgettable.
The John Tree
War Child
I wish I could forget it. "Country Mile" is forgettable. "Your Song Saved My Life" is etched into my soul as the first U2 song I've ever truly hated and loathed and was angry listening to.
Country Mile is pretty terrible. It's amazing that they chose that as a first option to come out with the reissue.
Then again, Bruce just released Repo Man, so they can't all be winners
Then again, Bruce just released Repo Man, so they can't all be winners
RollingStone interview with Bono about his upcoming Apple+ movie
A few comments about the new album work
They're recording. Sounds like the "future", whatever that means.
When asked if there's a release date, "no"
Larry is fully healthy and over whatever injury issues he was going through.
Said while the band will piece together music using technology, there's something about capturing a band together in a room that they want to lean on for this record.
Probably no chance of a Pop 30-year release, says the irony of an album called Pop is there's no pop songs on it. Is proud of Popmart Mexico concert release
A few comments about the new album work
They're recording. Sounds like the "future", whatever that means.
When asked if there's a release date, "no"
Larry is fully healthy and over whatever injury issues he was going through.
Said while the band will piece together music using technology, there's something about capturing a band together in a room that they want to lean on for this record.
Probably no chance of a Pop 30-year release, says the irony of an album called Pop is there's no pop songs on it. Is proud of Popmart Mexico concert release
mikal
Blue Crack Addict
Haha yep that was my same reaction. Like I was legit pissed that they released a song that bad. I think about 2 minutes in was when I turned it off and tried to forget that I even heard such an awful song.
JamietheEdgefan
Refugee
You’re a Lifelong U2 Fan and Only Have Eight Minutes to Interview Bono — What Do You Ask?
Lifelong U2 fan Nick Newman had only i minutes to interview Bono: His Q&A ends with Bono calling him "a beautiful man."
www.indiewire.com
“Probably my favorite U2 song is from Wim Wenders’ film, called “Faraway So Close” — a song called “Stay.” And on the Passengers album there’s “Miss Sarajevo,” which features in “Stories of Surrender,” but “Your Blue Room” is… yeah. It’s very special. We just revisited that album in conversation with Brian Eno, who was our guide on those. We went in and spent some time in the studio over a period, and we’re straight back there.”
Just my reading of it, but it seems Bono’s saying Zooropa and even Passengers are to an extent informing current album sessions. So great to hear him namedrop ‘Your Blue Room’, IMO one of their best tracks of the 90s.
Trying so hard not to get my hopes up - but man, if they can actually pull of an album blending Irish folk with Eno atmosphere, without diluting it at the eleventh hour, that would be so cool.
elevated_u2_fan
Blue Crack Supplier
This is the part that scares me the most
Edge - “We spent countless hours with Brian, really loved the work we did together. At the end of the day we didn’t feel there was THE SONG, so we called in Teddy and he said hey, why don’t you guys just use one of my old hooks….and let’s get rid of the weirdness and just have a piano….”
elevated_u2_fan
Blue Crack Supplier
UUUUUUGGGGGH, that quote fills me with so much dread.
The John Tree
War Child
Man, we're just diametrically opposed on everything. I love Repo Man.
JamietheEdgefan
Refugee
Yeah, as excited by this sci-fi folk idea as I might be, I’m fully prepared for them to change course before the album is complete.
Every album since NLOTH at least (but probably further) has seen a change in direction and producer part-way through. I imagine, like clockwork, the same thing will happen here.
It could be, given their age, and open admission that they’re no longer a chart-topping band competing with today’s artists anymore, that they won’t second guess as much, in the pursuit of a hit single or the ‘quintessential big u2 song’ vibe, and that they’ll be a bit more confident in a single direction. They might feel a lot more unburdened now.
I could also imagine that part of getting back together with Eno after a 16 year break, and when their last project was a creative and strategic misfire, is that there might be a bit of more of an understanding/acceptance that this next album will be weirder and more daring by design, and simply not of the same philosophy of pop song crafting they did with Tedder.
This quote is interesting:
“U2 is this odd combination of… it’s this dialectical thing between experimentation, innovation, trying to get to feelings — more than stances, feelings — that haven’t been felt, and sort of connecting. It’s this almost contradictory impulse. David Bowie had it, too. It’s like: He wanted to be Picasso [Laughs] and he wanted to be Elizabeth Taylor. And when he was completely, equally driven, you got all this incredible music.“
Sounds like, at least for now, they’re a lot more in the headspace they were in 2007/8, of wanting to explore and have fun, rather than 2014, when it was all about songwriting, hits, and trying to reclaim the ‘biggest band’ reputation.
… nonetheless, by autumn 2026 (or whenever the next album comes out), I think it’s safer to assume things might change.
Every album since NLOTH at least (but probably further) has seen a change in direction and producer part-way through. I imagine, like clockwork, the same thing will happen here.
It could be, given their age, and open admission that they’re no longer a chart-topping band competing with today’s artists anymore, that they won’t second guess as much, in the pursuit of a hit single or the ‘quintessential big u2 song’ vibe, and that they’ll be a bit more confident in a single direction. They might feel a lot more unburdened now.
I could also imagine that part of getting back together with Eno after a 16 year break, and when their last project was a creative and strategic misfire, is that there might be a bit of more of an understanding/acceptance that this next album will be weirder and more daring by design, and simply not of the same philosophy of pop song crafting they did with Tedder.
This quote is interesting:
“U2 is this odd combination of… it’s this dialectical thing between experimentation, innovation, trying to get to feelings — more than stances, feelings — that haven’t been felt, and sort of connecting. It’s this almost contradictory impulse. David Bowie had it, too. It’s like: He wanted to be Picasso [Laughs] and he wanted to be Elizabeth Taylor. And when he was completely, equally driven, you got all this incredible music.“
Sounds like, at least for now, they’re a lot more in the headspace they were in 2007/8, of wanting to explore and have fun, rather than 2014, when it was all about songwriting, hits, and trying to reclaim the ‘biggest band’ reputation.
… nonetheless, by autumn 2026 (or whenever the next album comes out), I think it’s safer to assume things might change.
Just drop the technique of trying to write a Broadway hit. There were two things that really sent them on this new path, working with what's his name (chili peppers producer) and then writing for spiderman. Bono and Edge admitted that they really dug trying to write that show tune, and finding a perfect pop song.
You could say it was still experimentation for the band, but not every experiment is going to produce gold. With them being this old, and nearing the end, why not lean into the structure that got you here.
You could say it was still experimentation for the band, but not every experiment is going to produce gold. With them being this old, and nearing the end, why not lean into the structure that got you here.
There’s a clear straight line from “Picture This” to “Cedarwood Road”
Funnily enough provided a prompt for ChatGPT to come up with an Edge quote for the inevitable Ryan Tedder bastardisation. Chillingly prophetic....
"We always begin these records with the wildest intentions — bringing in someone like Brian, just to see how far we can push the envelope sonically, allowing the music to get to strange and beautiful places that we could never predict. But I suppose, somewhere near the end, there's this moment where we wonder if we’ve got that one song — the one that really connects. So, we might bring in someone like Ryan, who's, well… very good at making things immediate. It’s a strange alchemy, really — going from the abstract to the accessible. It reframes it in a way that gives the whole thing a certain clarity, something anyone can latch on to without quite knowing why " — The Edge, on U2’s upcoming album
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DancingBrft
The Fly
The scary part to me is that……they think that they are great at this “songwriting “, “gotta be played on an acoustic guitar” thing. Bono and Edge really think, for the last 15-20 years that that’s the path to greatness for them. I’m literally stunned that during all this time, they haven’t taken a step back and said “ok, we’ve written some good stuff this way”, but it’s not our strength. No shame in that, but they just can’t seem to get to that mindset. Or, the old way is just too much work and they don’t have the work ethic to go for it anymore
The John Tree
War Child
New Bono interview with Rolling Stone. New album talk (and some disappointing Pop talk):
The last album of new U2 songs was eight years ago. It’s the longest gap ever between albums. The fans are getting restless. What can you tell them to keep their spirits up?
Well, they’re right. And nostalgia is not to be tolerated for too long, but sometimes you’ve got to deal with the past in order to get to the future and to the present. To get back to now is our desire. Get back to this moment we’re in. We’ve been recording. And it sounds like future to me. We had to go through some stuff, and we’re at the other end of it.
How is Larry doing? Is he playing with you guys in the studio?
We’ve been playing in the room together, the four of us. And I can tell you he is completely through whatever storm of injury he’s been through. His playing is at its most innovative. He’s just all about the band. He doesn’t want to talk about anything else, which is kind of amazing.
By the way, being a band in a room where each individual musician has a role that’s singular and collective is so rare because music is assembled these days. And even some of our music we have assembled, and we’ll do that again, but to try and capture a moment of a rock & roll band in full flight is at the heart of this record that we’re making that we’ve recorded, but we are not finished.
Do you know when it might be finished?
No.
I’m getting the hook here, so I’ll end with a question about Pop. The 30-year anniversary is coming up. Will we get a Pop 30 box set?
Well, I never thought about that. Actually, I’m sure somebody clever has thought of that. But if they have, I’m not aware of it. And the film of the PopMart Tour in Mexico is one of the most extraordinary U2 shows ever. I love the imagery around that album. And the only thing that album wasn’t was pop.
www.rollingstone.com
The last album of new U2 songs was eight years ago. It’s the longest gap ever between albums. The fans are getting restless. What can you tell them to keep their spirits up?
Well, they’re right. And nostalgia is not to be tolerated for too long, but sometimes you’ve got to deal with the past in order to get to the future and to the present. To get back to now is our desire. Get back to this moment we’re in. We’ve been recording. And it sounds like future to me. We had to go through some stuff, and we’re at the other end of it.
How is Larry doing? Is he playing with you guys in the studio?
We’ve been playing in the room together, the four of us. And I can tell you he is completely through whatever storm of injury he’s been through. His playing is at its most innovative. He’s just all about the band. He doesn’t want to talk about anything else, which is kind of amazing.
By the way, being a band in a room where each individual musician has a role that’s singular and collective is so rare because music is assembled these days. And even some of our music we have assembled, and we’ll do that again, but to try and capture a moment of a rock & roll band in full flight is at the heart of this record that we’re making that we’ve recorded, but we are not finished.
Do you know when it might be finished?
No.
I’m getting the hook here, so I’ll end with a question about Pop. The 30-year anniversary is coming up. Will we get a Pop 30 box set?
Well, I never thought about that. Actually, I’m sure somebody clever has thought of that. But if they have, I’m not aware of it. And the film of the PopMart Tour in Mexico is one of the most extraordinary U2 shows ever. I love the imagery around that album. And the only thing that album wasn’t was pop.
Bono Breaks Down New Film, 'Stories of Surrender,' Teases U2's Next Album
Bono's new documentary, 'Stories of Surrender,' is headed to Apple TV. The U2 singer spoke with us about it, and what's next for the band.
www.rollingstone.com
OP
OP
dan_smee
ONE love, blood, life
I wish he would stop saying things that have me feeling positive… bigger let down coming!
All of them are quite expansive when describing the music, but very short and quick to shut down any comments about timeframes. I wonder if they have agreed to get through the film and promo and then pivot onto whatever the plans are for timing. Sure there’s scope to write and develop, but they’ve have 8 years worth of song ideas to bring into whatever context they are recording in. I still think they must know it’s been way too long and will get things moving. The focus is on recording and the sound of the band together - not writing from scratch
All of them are quite expansive when describing the music, but very short and quick to shut down any comments about timeframes. I wonder if they have agreed to get through the film and promo and then pivot onto whatever the plans are for timing. Sure there’s scope to write and develop, but they’ve have 8 years worth of song ideas to bring into whatever context they are recording in. I still think they must know it’s been way too long and will get things moving. The focus is on recording and the sound of the band together - not writing from scratch
There’s a quote from a friend interview with Bono, maybe on the making of JT dvd that came out like 2000 or so ?
He talks about WOWY being a weird song. It only sounds familiar now cause we’ve heard it so many times, but it was really different sound. And it went to #1
The uniqueness of the band has always been what hooked me. Even Edge signature delay ringing throughout the 80s…it was just different. Throw in the driving bass and Larry hammering the drums….it created such a sonic landscape.
Nowadays they seem to focus more on making a song as efficient as possible. 3 mins and as bubblegum as possible.
As you said their strength has never been breaking down the song to its root, their songs are the most basic ever….until you add in the effects, and trying to time it with the rhythm section. It’s almost as if them becoming better musicians has hurt their creative process.
I do not expect them to recapture some past glory. A JT, AB….what i want to hear from them now is a band that’s comfortable being themselves and not chase pop of the charts.
I think they still have a hit in them if they don’t try so hard to make it one
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