U2's quest for the 'perfect pop song' -- new album talk continued

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Good post, i pretty much agree. I still think it's possible that they're doing something... unusual with dangermouse which results in dabbling, but your argument makes more sense. And it makes me more hopeful about the fate of the dangermouse sessions in general.

As i said earlier, i really hope i'm wrong. But the lack of real news doesn't bode well for me. Muse and the Killers have albums out this autumn, and they already have their singles out. When were ATYCLB and HTDAAB actually announced? If it was later than july of those years, maybe i'm worrying over nothing.

The cynic in me just thinks the lack of any 'big' news lately means a 2012 album is unlikely. It makes sense that they wouldn't have worked with dm for so long, and still be working with him, if they weren't on to something... but, i guess i'm just worried about expecting a new album, considering we've been let down pretty much twice a year since 2009 :huh:
 
shitty that we've heard from two separate people (Norah Jones and Cee Lo) that Danger Mouse was wrapping things up with U2. shitty that these quotes came a year apart.
 
I really want to believe, but it is U2, we have been burned being optimistic too many times. If it comes out this year, great what a bonus - I'm not holding my breathe though - usually we have at least heard from the band that they are 'working on an album' - don't think we've heard that even yet since the tour finished? Just quotes about 3 eeks in the studio and Edge spontaneously combusting. I would expect by the end of July we will have some provisional song titles, a musical direction, or at elast confirmation of some sort that an album is likely to be out this year.
 
U2DMfan said:
You don't dick around with someone else's professional time. That's sort of the idea here.
Maybe and I stress MAYBE, Lanois and Eno but even then, they have their own lives and careers as well. Also take note that Chris Thomas lasted all of 6 months with U2 before they (in their words) "wore him out".

It doesn't take that long to record music, people. It really doesn't. The difference between an album in Fall 2012 and an album in Fall 2013 all comes down to confidence in the material.
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That's what I keep wondering about; doesn't Danger Mouse have other things to do? If they really are lacking confidence and second-guessing themselves (which seems to be what slows them down), how long is he going to put up with that before he throws in the towel? I hope he can get them to stop doubting themselves and release something this year.
 
U2DMfan said:
I'll make this simple.

From December 2001, U2 began recording the follow up to ATYCLB.
They didn't hire Chris Thomas until around January 2003.
What did they do for the year in between? They dabbled.
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They didn't start writing in 2001; the tour ended just before Christmas. They went home, took some time off for the holidays, then rehearsed and prepared for the Super Bowl show that came on Feb 3rd. So that's at least Feb 2002 before they really got down to the business of writing -- which basically consisted of six weeks in a disused nightclub. And even then, according to U2 By U2, the only real material that emerged from those jams (aside from "All Because of You") were "Hands That Built America" and "Electrical Storm," both of which got claimed for the Best Of that came out in the autumn of 2002, and which required its own attention (track list selection, remastering, supervision of the video remasters, publicity, etc). My guess is they jammed till the spring, then Island said "we want to release another 'Best Of' to capitalize on your new-found relevance (andalsotojustifythatcrazydealwemadeforthreebestofs)," the band agreed, and attention shifted through the summer and fall to the Best Of. So there wasn't a lot of dabbling -- there was a lot of other stuff to distract them.

It doesn't take that long to record music, people. It really doesn't. The difference between an album in Fall 2012 and an album in Fall 2013 all comes down to confidence in the material.
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But U2 doesn't make much of a difference between writing and recording. As Eno summed up back in 1991, a couple of weeks of jamming comes up with some very promising beginnings. And then the writing starts in earnest. A song can be tagged as "mix the bastard," and then suddenly they deconstruct it and start all over.

And lastly, yes, there is plenty of material and plenty of reason to believe they are fired up. And by "they" maybe that only means Bono and Danger Mouse but that might be enough if Bono can win the arguments and sell the rest of 'em on a Big Idea.
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Given that Bono wanted the band to release the (inferior) Chris Thomas sessions in 2003, he's not always right. The material (which includes the arrangement, tempo, etc) wasn't there in 2003. HTDAAB may not be the strongest U2 album, but it was certainly stronger than the album they wanted to release a year earlier.
 
Bono records duet with wife | Musicrooms.net

Bono has recorded a duet of Lady Gaga's 'Telephone' with his wife Ali Hewson.
The U2 frontman unveiled the version of the song at his daughter Eve's 21st birthday party in Las Vegas on Saturday (07.07.12), where it was played to assembled guests including music mogul Jimmy lovine and Wilmer Valderrama.

Bono himself introduced the track - originally performed by Lady Gaga and Beyonce Knowles in a 'Bonnie and Clyde'-themed video - before sending two bottles of Dom Perignon champagne to his daughter's table at the party at 1Oak nightclub at the Mirage hotel.

According to the New York Post newspaper, other guests at the event included 'Transformers' director Michael Bay and basketball star Kobe Bryant, while rapper Fabolous gave a shout out to Eve and dedicated a song to her.

It was the second-leg of celebrations for Eve, who earlier in the day had enjoyed a dinner with family and friends at Tao Las Vegas.

However, Bono did not celebrate too hard on Saturday, as the day after he attended Cirque du Soleil's 'Love' show at The Mirage - which is based on the music of The Beatles - where he met performers and posed for pictures alongside his wife Ali.
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Stop having fun Bono! Get back to the studio! :giggle:
 
I'm confused by all this worry.

TUF = 1984
JT = 1987

I forget the exact months of release, but this was close to 3 years between albums - and this during the supposed "peak" of their careers. I knew one person who said that he though U2 had disbanded as they hadn't released anything after TUF.

You can go through U2's history and see they have a pattern of 3 to 4 years between studio only releases after TUF. Sure, there are some exception (half-live R&H and "Zooropa"). U2 often filled those gaps with singles, experimental work, Best Of releases, collaborations with other artists, lots of touring, etc. So they stayed in the news. But this time is not all that different from the past.

I'd only be worried if we are having this same conversation next year as that means it won't be until 2014 when U2 release (if they release). At this point, it's "business as usual", IMO.
 
It may seem like a lot of down time before they release the next album, and honestly, it is. But while it's been over 3 years since the release of No Line, it also is only 12 months since the end of the 360° Tour. So if a new album doesn't come out until later in 2013, that's only a bit over 2 years of U2 down time.

Between the end of the Vertigo Tour and the release of No Line, there was 3 years (save for the run of shows in the Pacific), only supplemented with U218 and the 2 new songs on that.

I'm not too fussed about it, to be honest. I just really hope they're not overcooking whatever they're working on.
 
nathan1977 said:
They didn't start writing in 2001; the tour ended just before Christmas. They went home, took some time off for the holidays, then rehearsed and prepared for the Super Bowl show that came on Feb 3rd. So that's at least Feb 2002 before they really got down to the business of writing .
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I don't pull shit from my ass.


U2 Are Back in the Studio Again

December 20, 2001


Irish supergroup U2 are back in the recording studio again -- just a couple of weeks after finishing their mammoth world tour.

The "With or Without You" band are already recording in a rundown nightclub in the south of France, not far from singer Bono's holiday home.

Bono says, "We've started our album and it's going to blow your mind. It's real punk rock, with some great guitar sounds and some beautiful melodies. The band is so tight coming straight off tour.

"I think we've really hit form. We were here to write a ballad, but we just keep knocking out these hard rock tunes."
 
U2 Planning a 'Digital Application'

Let the hype machine start....

U2 has hired Blitz, a Los Angeles-based digital advertising agency, to create some kind of "digital application."

The Los Angeles Times let the cat out of the bag a couple days ago in an article about Southern California ad agencies that are working heavily in the web and mobile space. You can read the full article here; the brief U2 mention is on page two:

Blitz currently is working on a digital application for the Irish rock band U2.

Blitz's website also lists U2 on its Clients page.

In an Irish Times interview last year, Bono talked about U2's next album having some kind of app version.

Earlier, he was using an iPad with the Achtung Baby songs and videos on it. "That's probably what our new album will look like," he says. "I've been talking about this for the past four years.

"Our last album was the first album to be made available as an app with BlackBerry devices, but it didn't work: the functionality was not what it could have been. New formats are going to happen. I'm always banging on about this. The app format brings you back to that world of gatefold sleeves, of being able to read lyrics – and [now of] being able to play the album at home on your plasma TV."

Prior to that, there was also app-related talk in 2010 while U2 was on tour in Europe. An Italian newspaper included this quote from an unspecified band member:

We are planning to release our next record as an application. Today, with laptops, iphone and ipad music can go back to being a visual phenomenon.

Based on the LA Times article and the appearance of U2 on Blitz's client page, it appears those quotes are going to come to fruition. But when is still anyone's guess.
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So lets look at the connotations:

- They have been talking about an album as an app for a long time
- The developers couldn't do a great deal with the app without CONTENT
- Surely they learned their lessons with Linear regarding significantly changing the content to the detriment of the film (in this case the app)

This COULD be exciting news. It COULD mean we have album on the way to being completed....

It also could just be them spending the money 'just in case'
 
Forgot to mention - U2 could genuinely be making a concerted effort to withhold information (apart form the usual Bono snippets) given the disasters that were the beach clips and the leaking of NLOTH (and HTDAAB).
 
Hype. I will be surprised if it delivers extra content or any real value for money. Will just be whatever they release in hard copy format repackaged. Or very close to it. I'd be happy if they made concerts available for download.
 
AndrewCowley said:
Hype. I will be surprised if it delivers extra content or any real value for money. Will just be whatever they release in hard copy format repackaged. Or very close to it. I'd be happy if they made concerts available for download.
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I think you missed the point there...

No-one cares if the app has extra content... The point is that an app is BEING DEVELOPED - it could mean that an album is closer than we realise.
 
Hmmm, interesting- I think the agency wouldn't want to develop much if the release isn't coming soon- the app world is changing so fast, a cutting-edge app now would probably be pretty lame in a year. No use in creating ideas with today's technology if they're not planning a release until fall 2013. I'd say if it's anything more than just initial get-to-know-you talks, we'll be seeing something soon.
 
You don't necessarily need content for an app to be developed. You need a concept, which they probably have by now, you need some song titles and they probably have those too. But you don't actually need content until the very end.
 
LadySpinHead said:
Hmmm, interesting- I think the agency wouldn't want to develop much if the release isn't coming soon- the app world is changing so fast, a cutting-edge app now would probably be pretty lame in a year. No use in creating ideas with today's technology if they're not planning a release until fall 2013. I'd say if it's anything more than just initial get-to-know-you talks, we'll be seeing something soon.
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This.

And if it were just initial talks, it probably wouldnt have even go to this stage of reporting. It could have, I am trying hard not to get too optimistic, but this is a pretty good sign
 
AndrewCowley said:
You don't necessarily need content for an app to be developed. You need a concept, which they probably have by now, you need some song titles and they probably have those too. But you don't actually need content until the very end.
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No, but if the app itself relies on lyrics, photos 'getting back to the days of the gatefold sleeve' - surely the shell exists and the 'development' of that is so minimal it doesn't even warrant conversation?

I think at the very least the fact that they have approached a company to develop on app says they themselves think it is close.
 
dan_smee said:
No, but if the app itself relies on lyrics, photos 'getting back to the days of the gatefold sleeve' - surely the shell exists and the 'development' of that is so minimal it doesn't even warrant conversation?

I think at the very least the fact that they have approached a company to develop on app says they themselves think it is close.
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All cool. I'm just negative about the new album, that's all. Poos me that it takes them so long. Maybe this is a positive sign.
 
I've said it before and I'll say it again, every single time I've waited for a U2 record to come out, a U2 record has come out.
 
AndrewCowley said:
All cool. I'm just negative about the new album, that's all. Poos me that it takes them so long. Maybe this is a positive sign.
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Yeah, no worries. I myself have been pretty down on it given an album has been 'just around the corner' since early 09 (SOA mentioned like 2 weeks after NLOTH was released).

This is the first bit of news since then that actually looks like it could mean something is happening for real.
 
Interesting, could be for a new album, or just another greatest hits cd...
... or something really boring, like a 'u2-trivia' app for iphones. I'm betting that last one to save myself the disappointment :shifty:
 
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