During this past week, U2 revealed the cover artwork for the upcoming retail release of Songs of Innocence. My first thought was “What are they thinking?”. If you haven’t seen it, the image is a touching picture of Larry and his 18 year old son, the former’s arms wrapped around the latter’s waist, with his […]
Read MoreWhy U2? #30 – U2’s Reactions to Criticism
A hot topic of conversation lately has been the backlash against U2 and Apple following the free release of Songs of Innocence. Of course, this is far from the first (or worst) time the band have been the focus of some negativity, and one thing that I really admire about the band is the way […]
Read MoreWhy U2 #28 – U2 and Technology
I’ve always loved the way U2 have been interested in technology. Back in the early ’90’s, the band used technology to set a new benchmark in tour hardware with the ZooTV tour and the multiple screens it took advantage of. The Pop*Mart tour of 1997 utilized the largest video screen ever assembled, while the most […]
Read MoreWhy U2? #27 – U2’s “Formula” For Success
Even before they could play their instruments, U2 had passion. In some early reviews that were published in NME magazine, our guys were even made fun of for this fact. I don’t remember the exact words, but some snarky writer wrote something like “U2 believes that the quality is directly proportionate to the passion.”, as […]
Read MoreWhy U2? – Reason #26 – It Ain’t Easy Being A World Famous Rock Star
It’s been a long time since the last U2 record. No Line on the Horizon was out in the first quarter of 2009, more than five years ago. Since then, we’ve gotten a couple of pretty great fan-club releases, the massive (or not, depending on what version you bought) Achtung Baby reissue set, and a […]
Read MoreWhy U2? – Reason #25 – The New U2 Album Release, And My U2 Freak Flag
I know that it’s a ways off yet – the fact is that we don’t even know for sure how far off it really is – but it seems like the release of U2’s looooong-awaited thirteenth long-player is finally starting to kinda sorta, maybe, hopefully, get close. I’m already so excited that I can’t stand […]
Read MoreWhy U2 – Reason #24
I’ll admit that products with the U2 name on them have been somewhat sparse over the last little while. Over the past 38 some odd years, U2 have been responsible for at least semi-regular releases, many of which have come in a plethora of formats and variations, giving collectors like myself a whole lot to […]
Read MoreWhy U2? – Reason #23
A good subtitle for this week’s article might be “Everything I Really Need to Know, I’ve Learned From U2”. I’ve made the statement often in my private life that U2’s career has closely followed the life of a human being – that a listener can track what it means to be a human being, through […]
Read MoreWhy U2 – Reason #21
Some of the happiest times of my life have been waiting in line to get in to U2 concerts. If they’re there hours before the show, saving their spot up-front, it’s a good bet that they’re pretty heavy into the band, and there’s something really special about being surrounded by people who (at least) approach […]
Read MoreWhy U2 – Reason #19
Like most obsessive fans, I get a thrill out of discovering hidden factoids or messages left by the object of my obsession – in this case, U2. Fortunately, they seem perfectly happy to oblige my willingness to pore over every note and pixel by providing lots of odd little bits for me to find – […]
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