New U2 Album in 2012?

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does DM really overproduce though? the eno/lanois sessions seem to get drawn out, and some people feel their raw efforts get wasted or lost as a result. my guess is it took them an additional 5 months to work out that french horn on the NLOTH album, and an additional 5 months for eno to hammer out all that additional synth. i doubt DM would allow the recording sessions to go to such great length, and instead persuade the band to come up with something more natural and raw. such is the case i find on some of the tracks on NLOTH, including FEZ-BB, and MOS.

it would be interesting to hear an album with no additional artist credits beyond LEBA. save for maybe some percussion elements from DM. so make that acronym BLEBA.
 
It's not about the producer, it's about their confidence and what they feel they need from this album. They went into No Line from a position of strength, but evidently in the end a conservative result possibly out of fear of losing their place. It fails them, while fitting what they thought was the formula, and now they seem a bit freaked and after CHANGE. I reckon that will be exceedingly hard for them. It's not 1991 and it's not going to be.

They should go into a loose/no pressure session over the summer and then find a way to drop some material from it onto something (film or whatever) to test the water. If it works and sits well, follow that path.

And No Line didn't perform badly because of when it was released, but because it was fronted by three terrible, contrived, dull singles in a U2-style that the masses are well and truly sick of.
 
Been reading the posts for the last few days. A few points I feel were well made, but passed over. Mostly though:

The holidays release is not the draw it was in 2009. Digital sales have well and truely out-gunned physical sales, and digital sales aren't often purchased as gifts. I don't think timing in the year is anywhere near the kind of factor it was in 2009.

Having said that, U2 are a fairly traditional machine, and would probably not consider too many modern influences on their release patterns.

I am foolishly hoping for a release this year. This quiet may be a sign that they are knuckling down to finish something off.
 
dan_smee said:
Digital sales have well and truely out-gunned physical sales.
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Not even close. In the UK, digital (whole) album sales accounted for 26% of the market in 2011. The biggest band in the world (that'd be Coldplay, kids) snatched the record digital % in their first week, with digital accounting for 40% of first week sales. Obviously when you factor in the picking and choosing of single songs it makes a difference, but when it comes to complete albums, hard copy still rules.
 
dan_smee said:
Having said that, U2 are a fairly traditional machine, and would probably not consider too many modern influences on their release patterns..
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Exactly. This is a band who, as far as we can tell from quotes, honestly believe relevance = radio hits.
 
I think U2 are going to try to manage the impossible. Make a great record that is;

A- a HUGE seller with lots of hits that appeals to the kids and the adults
B- a great artistic acheivement that oozes relevance for the critics and hipsters
C- something that both pushes new boundaries, but is still true to the legacy of U2.

And to be honest, I think they just might be able to pull it off. It'll take not only a great album with a great producer, but also a marketing genius. It's difficult, but it is possible to market a band of 50 somethings to teenagers... just need that right angle. That's for somebody better paid than myself to figure out.
 
The_acrobat said:
A- a HUGE seller with lots of hits that appeals to the kids and the adults
B- a great artistic acheivement that oozes relevance for the critics and hipsters
C- something that both pushes new boundaries, but is still true to the legacy of U2.
Click to expand...
I honestly could not give a flying f*** how relevant, popular, cutting edge, or boundary-pushing any new U2 music is from now until they die. I just want to hear some good tunes, preferably before I have grandchildren.
 
I'm not sure if this has been posted yet:

Our 10 Greatest Hopes and Fears for 2012 Pictures - U2 Plot Their Future | Rolling Stone

U2 Plot Their Future
Hope: U2's 2009 album No Line On The Horizon was an extremely ambitious record that sold millions of copies all over the world. Songs like "Moment of Surrender" and "Magnificent" rank with the band's best work, but the singles failed to connect with a mass audience and by U2's standards it was a disappointment. We hope that they realize that radio is unlikely to put any song they ever write into heavy rotation; instead, they should just focus on making another great record, and then hit the road on an arena tour that drops some of the old warhorses in favor of great songs from the past. How about "Acrobat," "Drowning Man" and "Numb"? "Pride (In The Name of Love)" is a great song, but enough's enough.

Fear: U2 tends to end each decade with a commercial disappointment, and then begin the new decade with an album that's the exact opposite of their last work. The failure of Rattle and Hum gave the world Achtung Baby and the failure of the (criminally underrated) Pop led to the back-to-basics approach on All That You Can't Leave Behind. They have spent much of the last two years working with a rotating cast of producers, including Danger Mouse and RedOne. We fear their primary focus is competing with Lady Gaga on the radio. It's a fight they're going to lose. Hey Bono, don't overthink this next record. Just make it great. It'll serve you better in the long run. Remember that awful charity single "Stranded" you cut with Jay-Z and Rihanna? Never do anything like that again.
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There's new article on U2.com that has Bono and Edge talking about new music and there was an interesting quote from Bono:

I played a couple of songs acoustically but earlier in the year both Edge and I played at the memorial to Steve Jobs and also at the Hollywood Bowl for the Bill Clinton Foundation. It’s quite something hearing our own songs, like Sunday Bloody Sunday or A Man and Woman, so stripped down and I think it showed us some clues for the future.
We’re working on three albums at the moment and we haven’t decided what order we’re going to put them out but ‘The Songs of Ascent’ have the kind of beautiful intimacy that we’re speaking of now. They fit into this moment, the mode of some of these artists that I was hanging out with on Christmas Eve.
Click to expand...
 
They mentioned Songs of Ascent?!! :shocked: I thought that got pushed to the wayside! I'm glad they haven't ditched that idea, because I bet it's going to be a beautiful album. And if people don't like it, then at least there are two others in the pipeline.

purpleoscar said:
I'm not sure if this has been posted yet:

Our 10 Greatest Hopes and Fears for 2012 Pictures - U2 Plot Their Future | Rolling Stone
Click to expand...

I agree so much with everything this article says. It even says they should play "Acrobat"! Did a member of Interference write this? :wink:

Someone show this to Bono. He needs to read it immediately, especially the parts about the radio.
 
The Songs of Ascent lives!!! :applaud:

I still hoped we'd hear whatever that was planned for that. Maybe we still will. :hmm:
 
Well I hope it's before the end of the world, so I can listen to it while the world goes to shite..lol:hyper:

But seriously nov 2012 would be cool!
 
Son of a... I keep trying to lower my hopes to avoid massive disappointment, but they keep reeling me back in..
 
I'll be listening to The Soft Bulletin as the world ends, with Race for the Prize repeated at the end. It feels like the happiest world-ending song ever. And then Do You Realise?? if there's enough time.
 
not to rain on any parades, but i just can't get excited about any quotes from the band anymore. we had so many "positive" quotes as early as late 2009 regarding the follow up to NLOTH and 2+ years later, none of them have come true.

i understand that at some point, the band will release a new album, but i'm not going to put any stock into quotes until an official press release comes out.
 
Rachel D. said:
They mentioned Songs of Ascent?!! :shocked: I thought that got pushed to the wayside! I'm glad they haven't ditched that idea, because I bet it's going to be a beautiful album. And if people don't like it, then at least there are two others in the pipeline.



I agree so much with everything this article says. It even says they should play "Acrobat"! Did a member of Interference write this? :wink:

Someone show this to Bono. He needs to read it immediately, especially the parts about the radio.
Click to expand...

:lol: I thought the same thing! And he's mentioning Pop being underrated too!

I'm intrigued that Bono still mentions the three albums going on. :hmm: I wonder if we're ever going to see all of them.
 
Yeah, I wouldn't pay any attention, especially when the quote - apart from referencing a recent event - could have been lifted from any point over the past three-four years, and when it's coming from Bono and he's name dropping 'Songs of Ascent'. Translation: This is pretty much the least likely scenario of all.

Also, every single fan on this planet should copy or print that Rolling Stone blurb and email or post it to the band. I also fear that the band/album of the past twelve months that they paid the most attention to, and that had the most impact on them, was likely Coldplay/Mylo. I'm not a Coldplay hater and that's a decent album, but if U2 (read: Bono) in their quest for 'relevance' (read: radio hits) see that album as a rough formula to follow...
 
mikal said:
not to rain on any parades, but i just can't get excited about any quotes from the band anymore. we had so many "positive" quotes as early as late 2009 regarding the follow up to NLOTH and 2+ years later, none of them have come true.

i understand that at some point, the band will release a new album, but i'm not going to put any stock into quotes until an official press release comes out.
Click to expand...

Completely agree, nothing to get remotely excited about for me.

Earnie Shavers said:
but if U2 (read: Bono) in their quest for 'relevance' (read: radio hits) see that album as a rough formula to follow...
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I'm a big fan of Mylo Xyloto, a big fan, but yeah, I see where you're going with that thought and it's not a happy place...
 
I'm really surprised that Songs of Ascent and the whole '3 albums' thing is still being talked about.

(Speaking of which, what were the 3 albums again? Was it Songs of Ascent, the Danger Mouse album and a Club album?)

But like a couple of others here, i don't think it means anything - i seriously doubt they'll actually release 3 albums in quick succession (i'd bet they will all combine into one), and if they really are competing with lady gaga and mylo xyloto, there's no way they're going to release solemn hymns which are even more NLOTHey than NLOTH was (i.e. songs of ascent). To be honest i think if they're still discussing songs of ascent and 3 albums, it probably just means they haven't focused on a release yet, and are still at the same stage of floating ideas around as they were last year when they last discussed 3 albums.

Nonetheless, Bono praising Songs of Ascent and the concept of intimate tunes is still pretty cool :up:
 
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