DEAR BONO: I APOLOGIZE (SORT OF)

A couple of weeks ago, I had a post called "Dear Bono: Shut up." I was kind of bummed about a quote of his cited to UK publication The Sun where, in an interview about  the 20th anniversary of U2's Achtung Baby, he said, "We've been on the verge of irrelevance for the last 20 years, dodged, ducked, dived, made some great work, I hope, along the way – and the occasional faux pas."

 I had a problem with that statement, as U2's music from the past twenty years means a lot to me, up to and especially including "Moment Of Surrender" from their latest album, No Line On The Horizon.

But in a cover story with British magazine Q, Bono had a similar quote (maybe The Sun nicked it?). The rest of the quote says "Lots of people have U2 albums -- why they would want another one is a reasonable question.  I don't know if it's possible for us to make something current that is meaningful, not just to our audience but to the times we live in. But that's kind of the job for me and I'm not ready to give it up.  I think it's unlikely that we'll pull it off, but then, so has the last 20 years been unlikely."

For some reason, I feel a little less annoyed by seeing his quote in this context.  I can understand wanting to transcend the fanbase to do something that resonates with everyone.  On the other hand, if Bruce Springsteen retired because he'll (probably) never match the reach of Born In The U.S.A., we would never have gotten The Rising, We Shall Overcome or Magic.  Or look at Bob Dylan: he doesn't care at all what the larger culture likes or doesn't.  If he did, and retired because he didn't have any more songs like "Blowin' In The Wind" or "Like A Rolling Stone" or "The Times They Are A' Changin'" or "Hurricane" or "Subterranean Homesick Blues" in him, we would never have gotten Time Out Of Mind or "Love and Theft" or Modern Times or "Things Have Changed" or Together Through Life. What a shame that would have been.

In the Q feature, the band touch on the different albums they are working on, and I really look forward to hearing what they do with Danger Mouse. Based on the stuff that he has done with The Black Keys, I think he has to potential to craft a great, funky album around some cool songs.  Of course, U2 has to come with the songs.  Hopefully DM will be able to tell them to return to the drawing board if the songs don't measure up.  I have faith that they've got at least another great album in them.  And what is U2 about, if not faith?

P.S. Q put together a great Achtung tribute, Ahk-toong Bay-Bi.  It was available with the magazine in Europe, and is available to buy on iTunes. With artists like Nine Inch Nails, Garbage, Depeche Mode, Patti Smith, Damien Rice and Jack White, it's really worth a listen.

#20YRSAGO: U2 - ACHTUNG BABY (+ boxset review!)

The first post in my #20yrsago series -- celebrating some classic albums that came out in (or around) 1991 - was Chris Whitley's debut Living With The Law. Now, I'm going to write about an LP that is a little more well known (but both albums have involvement from Daniel Lanois, so there is a common thread).

I don't know that my mind has ever been as blown as it was when I first turned on U2's Achtung Baby. Yeah, I've been knocked out by many artists the first time I heard them... but by an artist who I had been following for years?  I have never been so surprised by a group's "new direction" as I was when I put Achtung Baby into my CD player.

This was, of course, before the web, and I don't think that I knew too much about what U2's "new direction" would be like.  In the years since, The Edge has often talked about performing encores on U2's last '80s tour with opener B.B. King and then going back to his dressing room and listening to KMFDM. But I didn't know about any of that at the time.

There were hints.  On the 12" of Rattle and Hum's "When Love Comes To Town," their collab with B.B. (a song which marked the peak of their explorations into American roots music), the B-side was a cover of Patti Smith's "Dancing Barefoot" as if to remind us of their post punk roots.

But the next new release by the band was a cover of Cole Porter's "Night and Day," from the Red Hot & Blue collection, the first CD compiled by the Red Hot organization.  I saw the video on MTV.  U2 still looked like their Joshua Tree selves - Bono with no shades, no makeup, long hair, The Edge with long hair and the doo-rag.  But they didn't really sound like U2.  It was darker, funkier, and synth-ier.  It reminded me a bit of Depeche Mode.

U2's 360 TOUR RETURNS TO NJ

Giants still walk the earth, and I'm not talking about a sports team.  Last night, U2's concert at the New Meadowlands Stadium was one of the best concerts I've ever seen. I've seen lots of U2 shows: I've seen every tour since 1985.  This may well have been the best one.

For the past twenty years, I've felt that the band have had a hard time aligning their two sides: the rootsy, earnest Joshua Tree guys and the edgier, darker guys who chopped that tree down with Achtung Baby. Put another way: their '80s material didn't always fit into their shows in the '90s, and then in the '00s, post-All That You Can't Leave Behind, it sometimes felt like the '90s material didn't totally make sense in their sets.  On the 360 Tour, everything seems to work. Their gigantic stage is a visual assault with both heart and mind. I saw the earlier part of the tour, and this time the show was even better.

Clearly, Achtung Baby was on the band's collective mind: they are about to release a 20th anniversary edition of that album, and they opened up with four songs in a row from the LP: "Even Better Than The Real Thing," "The Fly," "Mysterious Ways" and "Until The End Of The World." The songs sounded better live than they ever have: they've lost some of their techno sheen, replaced by a roaring garage rock sound. When those songs first came out, they sounded like a real departure from "rock" music, but last night they all sounded like stadium anthems.

Speaking of anthems: from there they went into "I Will Follow," which still sounds so fresh. I've never gotten tired of this song. It struck me that this must be so much fun on "Rock Band," especially on drums. Listen to this song, you'll understand why U2 should have been called The Larry Mullen Band. His playing is so cool, but he doesn't try and call attention to himself.  You notice it if you're paying attention.  Larry and Adam Clayton really held it down last night: Adam sounded more funky and aggressive than ever.  He's probably getting more girls than ever (Bono remarked that he still thinks that being in the band is a "great way to meet girls"). You can hear it in his playing.

It's the end of the tour, and they've dropped a few songs from No Line On The Horizon. But they did play "Get On Your Boots" (which doesn't really work for me, it always struck me as an attempt to repeat the similar but cooler "Vertigo," which they also played), the remix of "I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight" (also didn't really work, but they segued into "Discotheque," which is a much better dance jam), and "Magnificent," which is a classic.

There were some of the colossal hits: "Pride (In The Name Of Love)," "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," "One," "With Or Without You" and "Where The Streets Have No Name." All were incredible as always.

On this tour, they've brought back "Walk On," one of my favorites.  They have Amnesty International volunteers on stage with candles in honor of recently freed Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi, (read more about her here). Aung San Suu Kyi addressed the audience via video after the song.  It's one of those powerful moments that U2 pull off so well.  Another moment was astronaut Mark Kelly's video intro to "Beautiful Day," where he floated flash cards with the lyrics before the song, and then quoted Bowie: "Tell my wife I love her very much: she knows." How could you not get a lump in your throat! Kelly read some of the lyrics during the song also. He is already home from his space mission, but still, wow. That moment could have overwhelmed the song, but it didn't.  "Beautiful Day" is that rare rock song about, well, beauty... but played with Zeppelin-esque power.  And last night's performance was righteous, as was the performance of its album-mate, "Elevation," which followed.  I know The Edge isn't a typical "guitar hero," his playing is so rocking while also being zen. Like Larry's drumming, you never feel like The Edge is trying to call all the attention to himself.

Some surprising '90s moments: "Miss Sarajevo" and "Zooropa," both of which were excellent. Bono even sang Pavarotti's part of "Sarajevo," and pretty much pulled it off.  He was in amazing vocal form, and of course, was incredible as a frontman (a great moment came when he read a setlist from a U2 show from The Fastlane, 30 years earlier).  Also, "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me" from the Batman soundtrack was great, proving that not all of U2's superhero collaborations aren't disasters.  Although the folks at Marvel Comics probably weren't psyched that "Hold Me" made the playlist ("How about 'Rise Above 1?').

The show ended with No Line On The Horizon's "Moment Of Surrender." My opinion: it holds up with the band's best songs.  Check it out if you haven't.  It's a soul music classic.

And that's the way the show was supposed to end. But Bono says "One more!" And so it was that they launched into "Out Of Control." A song I've always loved and have never seen them perform in the 26 years I've been attending U2 concerts. It's amazing that they are still surprising me after all that time, both with old classics and with their ability to continuously add to their catalog, already bursting at the seam with an embarrassment of riches.

(a few other notes: the show was opened by Interpol, a very Joy Division sounding band, who are no match for Muse, who opened last time. The top photo here was taken by my lovely wife, and the second photo is by my dear friend Ashmi, follow her on Twitter.)

LARRY MULLEN (SLIGHTLY) ONE-UPS BONO AND THE EDGE

I'm not a big fan of the Seth McFarlane TV shows: Family Guy, American Dad or The Cleveland Show. I watched the first two minutes of the first episode of Family Guy and thought it was a Simpsons knock off. I realize that that isn't totally the case, and a lot of people who I respect watch it, but it just isn't my thing, and neither or his other shows.

But I may have to check out The Cleveland Show: Larry Mullen has recorded two seperate characters for upcoming episodes: a mobster and a bad Elvis impersonator. Apparently, he is such a big fan that he reached out and asked to be involved. The BBC reports that besides Mullen, Kanye West, Will.I.Am and David Lynch (!) have also recorded guest spots for the show.

So, even though I'm not a huge Cleveland Show fan, it sure beats the Spider-Man musical that Bono and The Edge are involved with!

BEST OF THE '00s: U2

At the start of the '00s, U2 were in a weird place.  In the early '90s, they reinvented themselves in as radical a way as any other rock band ever had. Going from the Americana-influenced ernestness of Joshua Tree and Rattle & Hum, they returned as jaded techno-fuelled rock stars who didn't take much seriously with Achthung Baby. On paper, it would seen like a disaster, but as we all know, it worked incredibly well.  (For a pretty amazing analysis of the album, check out the 33 1/3 series book that features the album).

Some may argue that they took that approach too far on Zooropa and especially Pop. Actually, I felt that Pop was a bit misunderstood: the lyrical matter of the album is actually pretty heavy, it's just that they led with the single "Discotheque" and the tour was kind of a kitch-fest.  Moving in the millenium (everyone used to use that word all the time), they stripped down and went back to basics.

Actually, before they released their new album, they did a few new songs on the soundtrack to The Million Dollar Hotel, which was produced by Bono (and who did a few solo tracks on it). That film was a bit of a mess, and was Bono's first and last real foray as a filmmaker (unfortunately it didn't deter him from being involved in what may be Broadway's biggest ever flop, Spider-Man). The songs were stripped down and a good sign of where the band was going.

When they released All That You Can't Leave Behind in 2000, they were back. Four classic singles, "Beautiful Day," "Walk On," "Elevation" and "Stuck In A Moment That You Can't Get Out Of." Plus great album tracks like "Kite" and "In A Little While." It was a classic. When they hit the road, it was on a simple stage, with a heart-shaped track that went into the audience, allowing some fans to actually watch the show from inside the stage. After 9/11, they seemed to be one of the only bands, if not the only band, that mattered. Their performance of "Walk On" at the America: A Tribute To Heroes telethon was classic, and their halftime show at the Super Bowl that year was the best ever.

The follow-up, How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb, wasn't quite so powerful, but was still a great album, and "Vertigo" was an undeniably great single. And "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own," which Bono wrote for his father, was one of their most emotional moments. There was another great tour, which was shot for the concert film U23D. That era also saw two cool U2 collaborations: they recorded an incredible version of their classic "One" with Mary J. Blige, and also with Green Day on a cover of punk rock band The Skids' "The Saints Are Coming" (which they performed at the New Orleans Saints' first game back in New Orleans aftre Katrina). They also did a great cover of John Lennon's Instant Karma for a Lennon tribute by the same name (a benefit for Amnesty International), a single released only in Ireland and featuring lots of Irish stars, "The Ballad Of Ronnie Drew." And they did a great Christmas single, a cover of Greg Lake's "I Believe In Father Christmas."

Their latest album, No Line On The Horizon, is good but not great - but the tour has been mindblowing. And U2 are one of the only bands -- if not the only band -- who I feel like can still crank out a classic after more than thirty years together.  I think they've been disappointed by their favorite bands, and they don't want to be the band that does that. On the other hand, as Neil Young sings in "Thrasher," "they had the best selection, they were poisoned by protection," and when you have multiple homes, millions in the band, etc., it's hard to grab that hunger that you sometimes need to create a classic. It's even harder when you are in a band (as opposed to a solo artist).

Some people have a problem with rock stars as activists: I don't. I respect Bono for being involved in the One campaign or Project (Red), or The Edge 's involvement in Music Rising. I think it is a logical extension of the music, and  I also think it fuels them in some way.  I mean, if all you do is make music and enjoy your millions, I don't know if you still have that fire. At least with U2, they have the audacity (of hope?) to try and make the world a better place through their music. Not many bands still do that - and not many bands still can.

More Best Of The '00s: Bob Dylan
Willie Nelson
Aimee Mann
Jeff Tweedy
David Johansen
Levon Helm
The Beatles
Jim James

COMING TO BROADWAY: GREEN DAY'S AMERICAN IDIOT

According to Playbill (not a source I often quote), Green Day's American Idiot is coming to Broadway. The show was originally staged in Berkley, California, by Tony winning director Michael Mayer. It was supposed to only be in September, but due to popular demand, it was extended through November!

So, to those of you who think I am hating on Broadway because I've been complaining about Bono and The Edge's involvement in the ill-fated Spider-Man musicial... well, I'm not anti-Broadway (not that I go very often!). I just think that the idea of a Spider-Man musical is a "naff" idea as the Brits say (i.e. silly, corny). And U2's Larry Mullen agrees - Bono wanted to have U2 record the album of Spider-Man songs that he and Edge wrote, and Larry, thankfully, said "Over my dead body" or something like that.

Back to Green Day, they've just released an iTunes exclusive 6 track live EP, Last Night On Earth: Live In Tokyo. They sound like superheroes on the album, and I mean that (in this case) as a compliment.

MY SPIDER-SENSE TELLS ME THIS WILL SUCK

This week, they're holding casting calls for the Spider-Man musical, featuring songs penned by Bono and The Edge. I've heard that there may be a U2 album of songs that they wrote, but I don't think Larry Mullen wants anything to do with this ridiculous project. He's the guy who always keeps it real anyway. 

U2 IN Q

No surprise that U2 would grace the cover of Q magazine, as they are starting to promote their upcoming album, No Line On The Horizon. In the issue, Larry Mullen kind of complains about Bono's political activism. I think it's fair to say that the non-Bono members of the group get irked when they are working on a new album, and Bono has to go take a meeting at the U.N. or for the One campaign or for (RED). I get it, but the guy genuinely wants to make the world a better place, and he has used his celebrity and his charisma to do it for twenty years now (although he certainly has his critics who think that he should just shut up, and that celebrities and rock stars should stick to their day job). I myself am not of that mind, although I can sympathize with a band who want their singer around all the time.

But more than that, he mentioned cringing when seeing pictures of Bono with Bush and Tony Blair. I guess if you're in Bono's position, you can't be a die-hard progressive and not meet with Bush - he was the most powerful man in the world, and what are you going to do, wait until his term ends to meet with a more sensible, caring, intelligent president? People are dying every day. Still, as a U2 fan, and I'm sure for U2's drummer, it hurts seeing photos of Bono with Bush.

The quote from the magazine: "Tony Blair is a war criminal and I think he should be tried as a war criminal. Then I see Bono and him as pals and I'm going, 'I don't like that.' Do I think George Bush is a war criminal? Probably -- but the difference between him and Tony Blair is that Blair is intelligent. So, he has no excuse."

Amen. I think Bono has enough sense to realize that all three of his bandmates, and probably most of his family and friends, feel the same way. Happily, Bono's next event with an American president will be the concert honoring Barack Obama on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.