| November 19th, 2004 12:29 AM |
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| Poplar |
I listed to it on the U2 website. Great stuff, can't wait till Monday to give it a REAL listen. Jesus, Vertigo is just scorching! It makes me shake.
And as for the Clinton Library, it seems like the most tasteless one to include a replica of the oral office.
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| November 19th, 2004 02:13 AM |
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| Bloozehound |
The least Slick Willie could of done is got a real American to serenade his ass at his event, says alot about him, but I suppose Springsteen and Fogerty might be ashamed to show their faces, then again, they probably don't look too good right now, their faces are probably all red and puffy from all the crying |
| November 19th, 2004 02:35 AM |
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| FotiniD |
I've read the thread and I still don't understand - why bother so much if Bono did sing? What's the real issue here?
Puzzled  |
| November 19th, 2004 07:34 AM |
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| Some Guy |
Fulsome Praise for Clinton at Library Opening
Irish Times, November 19, 2004
Conor O'Clery
President George W. Bush may have felt he had stumbled upon a convention of Democrats in the heart of "Republican-red" America when he opened the William J. Clinton Library in Little Rock, Arkansas, yesterday.
But the audience of 30,000 people, including top names in the Democratic Party and countless "friends of Bill," gave the President a warm reception as he paid a generous tribute to his predecessor as an able, energetic and compassionate American.
The high point of the ceremony, held in pouring rain, was a performance by Bono who, accompanied by the Edge, sang "Sunday Bloody Sunday" in a tribute to President Clinton's peacemaking in Northern Ireland.
The opening of the $165 million glass and steel library became one of those "only in America" political events where bitter foes come together to honour each other with southern-style courtesy. Former presidents George H.W. Bush and Jimmy Carter and their wives mingled easily with the current first couple and the two-term president who less than six years ago was facing impeachment. Former president Gerald Ford is ill and did not attend.
The four first ladies present, Laura Bush, Hillary Clinton, Barbara Bush and Rosalynn Carter, made their way first to the open-air stage carrying umbrellas, like four friends out for lunch, as the trumpets of the U.S. Air Force Band played "Ruffles and Flourishes." Then their husbands, without umbrellas, strolled together through the rain as the band played "Hail to the Chief." They sat in a row, with George W. Bush, an arm on the back of Chelsea Clinton's chair, occasionally chatting amiably with Bill and Hillary Clinton.
In a series of speeches, the most fulsome praise for Mr. Clinton came from the president he defeated in 1992. George Herbert Walker Bush said that Bill Clinton won the White House through "sheer tenacity and gifted intellect" and always remained "the man from Hope who lifted himself and his family up and touched the lives of millions." Clinton was the "Sam Walton of national retail politics," he said, referring to the founder of Wal-Mart. "He made it look easy, and oh how I hated him for that."
Bill Clinton had been a little hard on his son during the recent campaign, but he had "forgiven him for that," concluded the former president, who stopped to give Hillary a gallant kiss as he returned to his seat.
The current president praised Mr. Clinton as an able and energetic American who had led the country with great optimism and had a great affection for the American people, an affection which was returned. He recalled the remark of a seasoned Arkansas politician who, when asked to account for Clinton's political success, replied: "He'll look you in the eye, he'll hold your baby and he'll pet your dog all at the same time." Clinton was so resilient, said Mr. Bush -- in the vaguest of references to the impeachment episode -- that his staff had a saying that "if Clinton were the Titanic, the iceberg would sink."
As he retold the story of how Bill Clinton met Hillary Rodham at university (Hillary told him that if they kept staring at each other they may as well get to know each other's names), Clinton reached for his wife's hand and seemed close to tears.
Bono then appeared, in purple shirt and clutching a giant green umbrella, and the four presidents and four first ladies got up to stand in a huddle of unlikely fans to watch as he sang the Beatles' "Rain." The U2 lead singer thanked Mr. Clinton for what he did "for the peace that is so nearly there" in Northern Ireland. "Many people made a lot of sacrifices for that peace," he said. "Bill Clinton didn't have to, he chose to."
Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush swayed together to the strains of "Sunday Bloody Sunday" (about Bloody Sunday in Derry in 1972) and the U2 song from the film The Gangs of New York.
Taking the microphone, Bill Clinton thanked Bono for singing about Northern Ireland. In his peacekeeping there and in Bosnia, "even when we fell short, we kept pressing forward," he said. He congratulated President Bush on his re-election and made an indirect plea for the Bush administration to seize the chance of peace between Israelis and Palestinians. "Mr. President," he said, turning to Mr. Bush, "I hope you get to cross over into the promised land of Middle East peace."
America, Mr. Clinton said, had two great dominant political strands -- conservatism, which drew lines which should never be crossed, and progressivism, which broke down barriers that should never be there. Hillary had all the power in his family now, he said, and Chelsea's life had given meaning to the second most important job he ever had. "I love you both so much. Thank you."
Also at the ceremony were Al and Tipper Gore and John Kerry and Teresa Heinz Kerry, four plane-loads of Congress members from Capitol Hill and Washington's diplomatic corps, including Irish ambassador Noel Fahey.
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| November 19th, 2004 07:35 AM |
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| Factory Girl |
test |
| November 19th, 2004 07:44 AM |
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| glencar |
Good Gawd, Babs Striesand's face looks like it's sliding off her skull. When will all the plasticity stop? BTW As usual with Bubba, there's a whiff of scandal about who paid for this library. The Washington Post had an editorial in yesterday's edition about how Marc Rich (the infamous pardoned swindler) and other zeroes gave moolah for this unattractive library. |
| November 19th, 2004 02:23 PM |
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| telecaster |
quote:
Gazza wrote:
Bizarrely enough, my mothers maiden name was Telecaster...
..Bono Telecaster no less
Oh sure, the tel.....what! Telecaster?!?!?
Holy Crap! Gazza was she part of the O'Telecaster clan
that was thrown out of Ireland and came over here?
Could it be possible...
I think it is......
Daddy!
Pappa we have so much to talk about and catch up on
Where have you been all these years and why did you leave us? |
| November 19th, 2004 03:51 PM |
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| mac_daddy |
quote:
glencar wrote:
Good Gawd, Babs Striesand's face looks like it's sliding off her skull. When will all the plasticity stop? BTW As usual with Bubba, there's a whiff of scandal about who paid for this library. The Washington Post had an editorial in yesterday's edition about how Marc Rich (the infamous pardoned swindler) and other zeroes gave moolah for this unattractive library.
with you up to the end - the library sturcture is striking and gorgeou... |
| November 19th, 2004 11:47 PM |
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| mac_daddy |
U2
****
"How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb"
(Interscope)
A feeling is so much stronger than a thought," Bono declares in "Vertigo," the deliciously dizzy opening track on U2's triumphant new album, and the song is, indeed, pure feeling � an adrenalin rush that, like a classic Bruce Springsteen road anthem, makes you want to roll down the window and let the wind blow back your hair.
As Bono suggests, there's nothing in the lyrics that explains why you should feel so uplifted � the song's strength comes solely through the glorious self-affirmation in the Edge's glittering guitar lines, the rhythm section's driving beat and Bono's impassioned vocal.
But the reason U2 is a rock band for the ages is that Bono usually backs the musical feeling with purpose and thought, and in the rest of the album, "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb," he explores epic themes, from faith to family, with such indelible grace that the CD stands with "The Joshua Tree" and "Achtung Baby" as one of the Irish quartet's essential works.
Seventeen years ago, U2 spoke about spiritual thirst in one of its signature songs, "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For." It offered the comforting belief that time will provide all the answers. Now, the older, more philosophical Bono realizes that there are mysteries in life and faith that may never be solved, and the heart of the album deals with adjusting to that.
"Original of the Species," a father's message to his children, may be the album's defining song. In the key lines, Bono, a father of four, sings of a day when he can't solve all their problems or guarantee their destiny:
Baby slow down
The end is not as fun as the start
Please stay a child somewhere in your heart �
I'll give you everything you want
Except the thing that you want.
"Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own" is equally personal � an absorbing ballad with ties to "One," the 1991 hit that was in part a look at a father's inability to reach out to a son dying of AIDS.
"Sometimes" grew out of Bono's own attempt to mend bruised feelings with his own dying father; after shows on a 2001 concert tour, he flew out to be by his father's hospital bedside in the final days. The Edge's normally active guitar flickers gently as candlelight in a windy cathedral as Bono sings about those nights of restless farewell:
And it's you when I look in the mirror
And it's you that makes it hard to let go.
"One Step Closer" is also about Bono's father, focusing on the struggle to retain one's faith after such a painful loss, with Adam Clayton's caressing bass lines and Larry Mullen's delicate drumming framing the disheartening lyrics:
I'm 'round the corner from anything that's real
I'm across the road from hope
I'm under a bridge in a rip tide
That's taken everything I call my own.
Perhaps prompted by the death, Bono's other observations on family have an urgent edge as well. The silky ballad "A Man and a Woman" is a sweet tale of marital devotion that cuts deeper than normal pop music. Expressing a lasting need, he sings, "I could never take a chance / Of losing love to find romance."
Through it all, "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb" is a celebration of life � with another ballad, "All Because of You," serving as a prayer of gratitude.
The only clumsy thing about the album is its title, which sounds like something better suited for a peacekeeping website. It's enough to make even U2 loyalists fear that Bono's increasing activism, in campaigns ranging from AIDS funding to erasing Third World debt, has finally led him to use his music as a bully pulpit. The album's weakest moment is "Crumbs From Your Table," an uncharacteristically obligatory-sounding reminder about man's duty to help his neighbor.
Elsewhere, there are echoes of Bono's social concerns, such as "Miracle Drug," which sees hope in the intersection of religion and science, where some see only ethical conflict. In moments such as these, his views are expressed with such humanity and conviction they don't sacrifice U2's artistry.
In the end, the lyrics make this a remarkably personal album from such an unusually public man.
It's a long way from 1987's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" to "Original of the Species," a journey from adolescence to maturity, and few bands have made it with their creative vision so fully intact. The inspiring thing about "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb" is that the four musicians don't even seem winded.
Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor) to four (excellent). The albums are released unless noted.
Robert Hilburn, pop music critic of The Times, can be reached at [email protected]. |
| November 21st, 2004 01:53 AM |
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| LadyJane |
Throw me off the Board,,,but "Vertigo", to me, has an "I Will Follow" feel...and THAT song, in my mind is a rock n roll classic, to my generation at least. 
Bono MAYBE a twat...but I like his voice. There I said it. Feel free to attack me...............what? oh yes...I HAVE had a few.......but I will admit that I like U2...always have...
LJ.
[Edited by LadyJane] |
| November 21st, 2004 03:44 AM |
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| gypsy |
Hey LJ! After you and I got off the phone, I put the TV on SNL, and Bono was singing "I Will Follow." I started singing along, and that idiot I'm shacked up with said "I thought you hated Bono." I guess I don't hate him as much as I thought. I like the older stuff. There! I said it! Damn!
You guys make gypsy cry like baby! |
| November 21st, 2004 09:57 AM |
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| mac_daddy |
i saw the snl stuff, too...
vertigo and i will follow were actually pretty sweet. that other song kinda sucked...
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| November 21st, 2004 11:47 AM |
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| Snappy McJack |
Don't get me wrong here, but I do like twats. It's just that I can't stand Bono. |
| November 21st, 2004 03:16 PM |
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| Taptrick |
would that be O'Telecaster or McTelecaster?
Padraig O' Dubhir
Patrick O' Dwyer
Patrick Dwyer
Patrick
Taptrick
~ |
| November 21st, 2004 10:03 PM |
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| Soldatti |
U2 Set to Explode Worldwide
LOS ANGELES (Billboard) - U2 has sold more than 120 million albums worldwide and won 14 Grammy Awards during the course of its 27-year career, so you would think that there would be a level of ease that comes with a new release.
Not so, says the Irish band's longtime manager Paul McGuinness.
"There is absolutely no resting on our laurels," he tells Billboard. "I say to people we have to break the band every time we put out a record."
And this is with an album that McGuinness expects to debut at No. 1 in "32 or 33 countries."
"How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb" comes out Nov. 22 internationally on Island, and Nov. 23 in the United States on Interscope, which is initially shipping 2.2 million copies.
The only stumbling block that might keep the album from entering The Billboard 200 at No. 1 is labelmate Eminem's new set, "Encore." However, McGuinness expects the advance of the street date for "Encore" from Nov. 16 to Nov. 12 to work in U2's favor.
ALWAYS ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT
Early reports that this is the best effort from the band -- Bono, the Edge, Larry Mullen Jr. and Adam Clayton -- since 1987's "The Joshua Tree" suit McGuinness just fine.
"The group's always trying to beat their previous best," he says. "They went into (their career) to do it as long as they could be great and then stop. They're like a championship holder. They hold the title, and they're not going to give it away. If someone wants to come and take it away, they'll have to fight them for it."
But this time at least, McGuinness feels that the job is a little easier since the band is coming off 2000's "All That You Can't Leave Behind," which sold 11 million copies worldwide and snared several Grammy Awards.
"With that record's launch, we were coming off a comparative flop," he says, referring to 1997's "Pop." "Mind you, it still did 7 million, but in our terms, that's not very good."
"Pop" sold 1.7 million copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. "All That You Can't Leave Behind" sold 4.3 million Stateside.
Key to continuing U2's success is taking the record to "young recruits," as McGuinness refers to them. "If we can't break at modern rock (radio), we would regard this as a failure."
No such worries. "Vertigo" has topped the Billboard Modern Rock chart for four weeks, the Heritage Rock Chart for six weeks and Billboard Radio Monitor's Triple-A chart for seven weeks. All this is in addition to debuting at No. 1 on the U.K. singles chart.
Interscope is also reaching out to the teen audience by advertising on such youth-oriented outlets as MTV, MTV2, Fuse and various extreme-sports programs, label marketing executive Paul Kremen says. It also hired teen marketing firm Moxie to distribute 25,000 stickers to high schools and coordinate other grassroots efforts.
The album was serviced to radio via digital download Nov. 11. The band and the label will look at radio's reaction to the album to aid in picking subsequent singles. Unlike "Vertigo," which was the first single worldwide, McGuinness says he expects the next few singles to vary by market.
APPLE AT THE CORE
The core of the early push centered on a promotion with Apple Computer that launched with the Cupertino, Calif.-based company featuring "Vertigo" in its ubiquitous iPod/iTunes TV commercial.
"Apple is spending $20 million worldwide on the U2 commercials," McGuinness says.
Kremen believes that the Apple ads, which feature the band performing in silhouette, "helped create a really quick appetite" for the song, especially among U2's upper demos. "What ignites them is multiple impressions," he says. "And Apple gave us that. We could never afford that on our own." The "Vertigo" single was available exclusively through iTunes in the United States.
Additionally, the Apple/U2 partnership includes a special-edition iPod, available in mid-November. The black iPod, which holds 5,000 songs and costs $349, features a red click wheel and is laser autographed by U2's four members.
Another component of Apple's deal is a digital collection of more than 400 U2 songs, including about 25 previously unreleased or rare tracks. The digital set, which includes the new album and an elaborate PDF artwork file, sells for $149 on iTunes. However, the special iPod includes a coupon for $50 off the set.
The relationship between U2 and Apple could lead to the group's shows being available for download from the iTunes Music Store. The band's worldwide tour starts March 1, 2005 in Florida.
U2 is paying as much attention to traditional retail as to online sales by offering three editions of the set. The CD in a standard jewel case, or "the paperback version," as McGuinness calls it, retails for $13.98 in the United States. A deluxe CD/DVD package, with a documentary and five videos on the DVD, sells for $24.98, while the premium, limited-edition version (175,000 copies), which combines the CD and DVD with a hardback U2 book, is $39.98. The 70-page book carries artwork, paintings and graphics by the band.
"We thought one of the reasons the music business was losing out to peer-to-peer file sharing was that people had stopped making the record and its packaging a beautiful object to entice people back to the stores," McGuinness says.
Despite the effort, U2 was not able to keep the album from leaking to file-sharing services two weeks prior to its release. McGuinness and Interscope talked about moving up the in-store date but opted not to. "We thought, 'Let's not panic,"' McGuinness says. |
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