Songs of Experience - a review

Just over a week ago, U2 released their fourteenth album, (and companion album to 2014s Songs of Innocence) Songs of Experience. It's been on fairly regularly since then. I'm not going to tell you where it fits in their cannon. It's too soon for that, and to be honest I am not sure I really want to do that, given the emotional reaction I had to the album.

I wasn't really prepared for the album to hit me as much as it did. Listening to You're the Best Thing about Me; The Blackout, Get Out of Your Own Way and American Soul didn't give me a clue it would have such an impact.

Listening to the album the whole way through changed all of that. From 'Love is All We Have Left' to 'Thirteen (There is a Light)' what struck me is how the album impacted me emotionally.

The album has been billed as a series of letters to Bono, to Ali and his kids, to America and to us as fans. The songs are among the most personal Bono has written. Another theme about the album is living in light of your mortality.

Three songs also deal with the refugee crisis - American Soul, Summer of Love and Red Flag Day.  Each of these highlights it from different angle - American Soul calls the US to be a sanctuary for those fleeing conflict. Summer of Love tells how Bono is thinking about the West Coast (not in California) but the West Coast of Syria. Red Flag Day focuses on deaths at Sea.  That three track section packs so emotional punch.  (Love this post from atU2's Sherry Lawrence about those songs).

Given where I am in life, the album is in many ways exactly what I needed to hear, spoke to my concerns for the refugee as mentioned above, and just how I feel.  Last year, I was diagnosed with cancer, and am more acutely aware of my own mortality, and trying to focus on what really matters, including the legacy I will leave. Love is All We Have Left grabs me because that's certainly how I feel

Musically it touches all the buttons - there is shimmering soundscapes which build and fall, and there is also grungy guitar and powerful basslines.  I also really love how the album has used musical and lyrical elements from Songs of Innocence. The most notable are Lights of Home and Iris (Hold Me Close); American Soul and Volcano; and 13 (There is a Light) and Song for Someone.  I highly recommend listening to both albums back-to-back, each album adds depth to the other. Much like Blake's collection of poems did. 

There's a lot I love about the lyrics of the album, to me they're among the more personal Bono has written.  The real standout is 'The Little Things that Give You Away' - I could post a lot of the lyrics, but this bit as the music builds packs a powerful punch

Sometimes i wake at four in the morning / where all the darkness is swarming / and it covers me in fear /// Sometimes I'm full of anger and grieving / So far away from believing / That any sun will reappear / Sometimes / The end is not coming / It’s not coming / The end is here / Sometimes

They played The Little Things a few times on their tour for the Joshua Tree, but to me, this version is much better than the live version they played then.

Thinking about the album as a whole, that songs that stand out are 'Love is All We Have Left', 'Get Out of Your Own Way'; 'The Little Things that Give You Away', Landlady, Thirteen (There is A Light).

Get Out of Your Own Way, was written as a message to his kids, but in a recent interview Bono also highlighted it as a message he needed to hear. Likewise there is a message in it which I needed to be reminded of.

Landlady is a beautiful love song to Ali (though, I'm not so keen on the title).

Thirteen (There is a light) is a perfect ending to the album. I have the version with the bonus tracks, but I often stop listening here. I doubt they will close their Experience and Innocence shows with this song, but it would be so fitting.  

I love how given all the crap that's going on in the world (and in my life) the note the band want to highlight is Love, Joy, and Light, the album is about fighting and believing, not grieving.

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A couple of asides - on the bonus tracks; I love the St Peters String Mix of Lights of Home - I almost prefer it to the version on the album. Book of Your Heart is a great song, but there's nothing on the album I'd sub out for it. The remixes of You're the Best Thing About Me and Ordinary Love are good but not great, I prefer the acoustic version of You're the Best Thing About Me. 

The second aside is that with this album reaching number one in the US, U2 have become the first band to have a number one album in the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s and 2010s, an amazing testament to the band.

I'm looking forward to hearing what this collection of songs sounds like live - and what songs they are paired with from the back catalogue.

December - 33

One of the albums I've been excited about hearing all year, finally arrived in my email box yesterday.  It's due for release on September 30. I gave it the old school treatment, while I don't yet have a CD book to finger through. I put earphones on, turned off the lights and let the music speak to me.

The album in question is December's '33'.  The album is a collection of U2 songs. They're more than covers,  they've been given a breath of freshnes.  I just love Ails voice, she brings the earnestness and passion you know from Bono. There's a refreshing thing about hearing these songs, sung by a female vocalist and stripped back a little.

The album doesn't contain the band's biggest hits, but rather a collection of deeper cuts from their catalogue, including God Part II (R&H), Surrender (War),  and a couple of my favourites Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses (Achtung Baby) and Bad (The Unforgettable Fire).  Along with those there's the beautiful Promenade, the powerful Surrender, and the fan favourite Where the Streets Have No Name. The album also includes A Sort of Homecoming, Invisible, I Fall Down and Ultra Violet (Light My Way).

It's a collection made by a group of people who clearly both know and love the band with songs from throughout the bands history. I'm excited to hear their own new music shortly, and hopefully a volume 2 of U2 covers down the track. The album is out on September 30 and you can order it from here.

My Musical Journey with U2

I have been meaning to write this post for sometime, and given March has been 'U2 month' (thirty years since The Joshua Tree, and twenty since Pop) it seemed like the perfect time to write about what the band means to me. 

I am fairly sure the first I heard of U2 was listening to Rattle and Hum in a friends car heading down to a church camp. The version of I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For really struck me.

In 1991 U2 released Achtung Baby for the first time and was totally blown away by both the music and lyrics. The taped copy I owned is now worn out from being played so much.

The first CD I bought with my own money was a recording of their Dublin concert during the ZooTV tour (28 August 1993). In hindsight I wish I went to the Sydney show. 

After the Passengers album I was more excited for new U2 music. Pop was the first album I really got into and was really excited when it was released. I joined the mailing list Wire and read what I could about the album and the tour. I remember tracking down singles for If God would Send His Angels. I loved the B-sides too - Slow Dancing (w Willie Nelson), Edge singing and playing Sunday Bloody Sunday on his own. Not to mention North & South of the River.

After Pop and Achtung Baby I explored U2's back catalogue. The Unforgettable Fire became another of my favourite U2 albums.

PopMart was the first time I saw the band live. It was just a special show. I'll have to post my thoughts about the concert too. The two lasting memories of that night were hearing the first notes of Bad and the performance of One.  Bad has always been one of my favourite songs so it was awesome to hear them play it live. The second moment was at the end of the concert when Bono dedicated One to Michael Hutchence, the band turned off the lights and the screen and played illuminate by an electrical storm. That moment highlighted to me what a special band they were. and how Bono was able to create extraordinary moments out of nothing.

How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb is the only album I queued up at midnight to buy. I was pretty excited for the album after hearing Vertigo  I sat in bed reading through the booklet and listening to the album through headphones.  For me, it would be one of the strongest albums in terms of the song-writing. I love Edge' solo in Miracle Drug, just magical.

During the Vertigo tour, I saw U2 overseas for the first time, watching shows in Miami and New York, before seeing them play in Sydney on my birthday.

Each of the three shows was memorable in different ways - Miami for Miracle Drug, Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses and 40, New York, for Original of the Species and Bad, Sydney for Kite. 

The band is the soundtrack to my life, with a song for every occasion. Songs of faith, doubt, love, political songs, and some fun romantic songs too, Wild Honey for example :). 

I have often see I Still Haven't Found as a theme song, I love the restlessness in it 

What I really love about the band is the timeless nature of their songs - their music is as relevant (or more relevant) than when they recorded it. So for me its hardly surprising the band is performing shows to celebrate 30 years since the release of The Joshua Tree. It is not a tour based from nostalgia, the album hasn't aged, and the themes are as relevant today as they were when the album was released in 1987.

Other songs, are reborn due to historical events - Please during 2001 and during the last tour Bullet the Blue Sky, Zooropa and Where the Streets Have No Name were used to speak about the refugee crisis, which worked perfectly. 

I can't think of another band who would have handled playing New York after 9/11 and Paris last December as well as U2. The class of U2 showed when they brought on The Eagles of Death Metal to play with them (and play one of their own songs) and the respect they showed to the victims. 

My favourite albums change, but at the moment, its Achtung Baby, Pop, and The Unforgettable Fire (with How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb  just missing out).  They are the albums I keep coming back to.  

The other great thing about U2 is being introduced to great new artists, that I may not otherwise have heard. Also through reading interviews and books I have also found new artists or films.

Pop- 20 Years on ....

March is a big month for U2, in 1987 The Joshua Tree was released. In 1997 U2 released Pop, what was then and still is now one of my top three U2 albums.

A favourite both in terms of the song writing and the music which was unlike anything U2 (or perhaps anyone) had done before. I vaguely recall hearing Discotheque prior to the album release. 

After the album was released I joined the U2 fan email list WIRE so I could find out more about the album and tour. It was the first tour I followed, and eventually the first time I saw the band live. It was also the first time I made an effort to buy each single. The highlights being a new mix of If God Will Send His Angels, Slow Dancing (w/ Willie Nelson) and live versions of Please and Staring at the Sun and the stunning acoustic version of Sunday Bloody Sunday from Sarajevo sung by the Edge.

Back to the album, I recall being struck by the lyrics the first few times I listened to the CD. It was one of the deeper albums U2 have written. The standout tracks for me were If God Will Send His Angels, Staring at the Sun, If You Wear that Velvet Dress and Please. The album still resonates with me as much as when I first heard it, primarily because the songs have not aged, Please is as relevant now as when it was written.

PopMart was the first time I saw the band live. It was just a special show. The two lasting memories of that night were hearing the first notes of Bad and the performance of One.  Bad has always been one of my favourite songs so it was awesome to hear them play it live (complete with snippets of Waltzing Matilda).

The second moment was at the end of the concert when Bono dedicated One to Michael Hutchence, the band turned off the lights and the screen and played illuminate by an electrical storm. That moment highlighted to me what a special band they are. and how Bono was able to create extraordinary moments out of nothing.

It still bothers me that U2 seem to have forgotten the album exists. With only Gone, Discotheque, Please and Staring at the Sun played in concert since the PopMart tour. PopMart is up there as my favourite tour. I would have loved to see at 20th Anniversary Edition of Pop complete with another PopMart show and other remixes from the era. 

The Joshua Tree - Thirty years on

I don't recall the first time I heard The Joshua Tree. I have a vague recollection of hearing I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For on my sister's radio. I have a stronger recollection of hearing the Rattle and Hum version during a car trip down to the South Coast. I know the first U2 album I bought was Achtung Baby. The first album I was really excited about was Pop. I know I explored the U2's back catalogue between the two albums, but I can't tell you when I first heard it. 

The Joshua Tree is an almost faultless album. I can't just listen to one or two songs, I have to play it right through, which is exactly what is intended

Where the Streets Have No Name is the best opening track to an (maybe any) album. The way it starts, builds in intensity before easing off is just magical.

I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For is a great song, and in some ways became my theme song. I love the restlessness in the lyric.  I know that Bono talks of it being a song from doubt, but I've always seen it as a song of or from faith. 

Even though the album is now thirty years old, the themes the album wrestles with are still present today. One of my favourite lyrics is In God's Country, 'We need new dreams tonight'.  I can't help but look at Australia (and America) and say where are the dreamers, where are those who would lead and guide us to be all that we can be, as people or as a nation.

The other songs which have resonated with me Running to Stand Still (about Heroin), Red Hill Mining Town (feel this song is so relevant in Australia as our manufacturing industry suffers and the mining boom ends), One Tree Hill (on the death of a friend), Mothers of the Disappeared (political prisoners).

Listening to it recently, I am valuing Trip Through Your Wires more, it's the song that lightens the mood, and prepares you for the second intense wave of emotion.

Speaking of emotion - With or Without You is just a magical song, and it goes to another level when the band plays it live, with the 'Shine like Stars' and 'Love Will Tear Us Apart' snippets. 

The album's strength is show in the songs left off the album - Walk to the Water, Luminous Times (Hold on to Love), and Spanish Eyes. Each of these are powerful and emotional songs and deserve to be more well known. I'm hoping, but not expecting, we'll see and hear some of these in the tour later this year.

U2 - Ten Songs

Building from my post about REM and Jars of Clay. I thought it only natural to post my 10 songs from U2. A little caveat, I'm not saying these are the best U2 songs, simply my favourites, at the moment. I've kind of cheated, including a track which combines Bad and Where the Streets Have No Name

1. A Day without me [Boy]

Young, earnest, going to take on the world.  That's how the early U2 sounds, and this track is a classic example. 

2. Drowning man [War]

Intensely personal song, addressed to Adam when he was going through a tough time, and has beautiful images of friendship, ending with quotes from Isaiah 40:31. 

3. The Ground Beneath Her Feet [All That You Can't Leave Behind]

One of the more romantic songs Bono has written. The song was co-written with Salman Rushdie. Salman Rushdie wrote a book with the same name worth checking out. 

4. Stay (Faraway, So Close!) [Zooropa]

Just love the video clip for this one, and not to mention the powerful lyric 

'And if you look, you look through me And when you talk, you talk at me And when I touch you, you don't feel a thing'

5. Staring at the Sun [Pop], [this version, Popheart]

Pop is one of my favourite U2 songs, and I really love how they reinvented the song as an acoustic number during their PopMart tour.Highlights the beautiful harmonies between the voices of Bono and The Edge. 

6. Please [Pop], [this version popheart]

I loved the album version of the song, but it gained a life of its own when played on stage, first on the PopMart tour, then when Bono and the Edge played it acoustically on the third leg of the Elevation tour.  

7. Love is Blindness [Achtung Baby] 
Quite possibly my favourite U2 song, and at the moment, the version from London in 1992 (May31). Love how Bono adds two of Yeats poems to the end of the song (September 1913; and Aedh Wishes For The Cloths Of Heaven). 

8. One [Achtung Baby], [this version, Miss Sarajevo, single] 

Easily my favourite version of this song. I love the depth the orchestra adds to the song. Along with the harmonies of Bono and The Edge.

9. Bad/Where the Streets have no name [The Unforgettable Fire, The Joshua Tree], [this version, Electrical Storm single]

Almost perfection. Two beaut songs melded into one, with a snippet of 40 the connection. Love how Bono quotes Psalm 116 over the introduction of Where the Streets Have No Name. Both songs are really powerful on their own - I get chills when ever I hear the introduction to 'Bad, but the two songs together is magical.  

10. Kite [All that You Can't Leave Behind], [this version, Window in the Skies single]

Picked this, because it was one of the highlights of the Vertigo tour, This version was recorded on my birthday, at the concert I went to in Sydney. 

Just love these lyrics...

'Who's to say where the wind will take youWho's to know what it is will break youI don't know which way the wind will blowWho's to know if the time has come aroundI don't wanna see you cryI know this is not goodbye'

Songs of Innocence - U2

Was so stoked when I heard you could download the new U2 album for free from the i-tunes store. Given the response I had to their 2009 album, 'No Line on the Horizon', I was a little bit nervous before I listened to the new album for the first time. 

A few observations, 

• it is Adam and Larry's album, they really drive the songs. 

• The album is a tour of the Dublin they grew up in, and perhaps the most personal album they have recorded to date.  Songs on Bono's mother, their musical influences, and growing up in Ireland. 

• The lyrics are certainly among the strongest Bono has written. 

• It will be interesting to see the form the tour takes, its seem certain that it will more intimate than the last few.  Would love to hear these songs, played with in orchestra. 

Will be interesting to see how Songs of Experience compliments the album, when (yes I am an optimist) it is released).  On that point, U2 have recorded a musical version of the introduction to Blake's 'Songs of Experience collection', and you can find it on the deluxe edition of the remaster of 'The Joshua Tree'. (Would love to see it being played as the intro or outro on the tour, but I suspect that's unlikely). 

My favourite songs:

Every Breaking Wave, Song for Someone, The Troubles (ft's Swedish singer Lykke Li), Raised by Wolves. 

page turners ...

Recently read ..
Musicophilla - Oliver Sacks - found this to be a fascinating read about how our brain interprets music.
Post-birthday world - Lionel Shriver - about the nature of choice.

Currently reading..
Mao's Last Dancer - Li Cunxin - really enjoyable read .. almost done.
March of the Patriots - Paul Kelly - I've been taking my time reading this, but its a good look about PM's Keating and Howard time and the links between them.

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And U2 resumed their tour today .. here's the songs they played, a few surprises...

Bad...

Bad (from The Unforgettable Fire) is one of my favourite U2 songs, and this performance, from their Vertigo tour, was one of the highlights of the two shows I saw in the US.

More U2 Wordles

I recently posted a Wordle of U2's latest CD. This site here has 'wordles' of
all of their albums. Quite enjoyed having a look at it.

No Line - Wordle

[via U2 Sermons]

I have to admit that this is a great picture of what No Line is about.

On the Horizon

Given that I've had U2's new CD playing for a while my impressions have settled and I thought I'd post my thoughts. I have to admit, that after hearing the lead off single, I was not so optimistic or enthusiastic about the album. I shared these thoughts with the sales assistant, who slightly improved my mood by saying it wasn't all that bad, and sometimes people want to tear down bands like U2.

Onto the album, overall, I think No Line On the Horizon is a reaction away from 'How to Dismantle', and 'All that...' in the same way that All that was a reaction away from Pop. The album is perhaps a little bit more uneven than most, one of the highlights being Bono's character sketches in White as Snow and Cedars of Lebanon, while perhaps equally disappointing was Bono's impersonation of the Office IT guy as he earnestly implores us to "restart and reboot ourselves'

Even after two weeks or so, I have to admit that I don't get "Get On Your Boots" (perhaps Vertigo II), perhaps a fun, joyous piece, but its filler on the album. The tracks that stood out on my first listen are Crazy Tonight (the worst bit of the song is the title), White as Snow, Cedars of Lebanon. In spite of its lyrics I do have a soft spot of for Unknown Caller (reminiscent of Walk On). I do look forward to hearing the translation of some of these songs as they begin their tour in June.

All in all, I would say its growing on me but not their best. For me, Pop, Achtung Baby and The Unforgettable Fire have held that title. 

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I really found this post interesting, made up of lyrics from the album, in the order they appear. [h/t U2 Sermons]. Also from U2 sermons, was this post about contradictory comments about the album (and No-Line does seem to have created more diverse responses than other U2 albums).

On happiness in the e-world

So evidence that perhaps blogging does make us happier..

The researchers found support for deeper self-disclosure from bloggers resulting in a range of better social connections. These included things such as a sense of greater social integration, which is how connected we feel to society and our own community of friends and others; an increase in social bonding (our tightly knit, intimate relationships); and social bridging — increasing our connectedness with people who might be from outside of our typical social network.  [Read more here]

 But, then again points made in the comments valuable too - is there, and does there need to be, a control group of non-bloggers. The comment I made with the piece yesterday holds true here too - blogging will imapct some negatively, and some positively, why do we need to extraplolate to the whole population and think about casuality. Even though its perhaps makes the article more fun.

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And in other news .. apparently its now 3 days to there is a line on the Horizon, and sadly, the U2 Conference has been postponed :-(

U2 Conference - The Hype and The Feedback

So, I wrote last year some time about a conference being held this year about U2, their music, and their influence. The draft schedule of papers has been published here. The accepted papers cover a range of fascinating topics from the evolving performance of Bullet the Blue Sky live, including U2 in liturgy, and Bono's social activism and finding Jesus in the music of U2. Sound like a  fascinating conference and I'm looking forward to reading more about the conference - hopefully some papers, and keynote addresses will be made available online once the conference is finished.

Get on your boots

So, the new U2 song has arrived.  

First impressions: "What?" .  It remains a little bit hard to make sense of the lyrics (even for Bono).  
Music: it seems a little bit edgier than U2 are normally, evolution more than revolution. The question remains, is this the typical or atypical track for the album.

Listen for yourself at U2's website.. the new album is out during March.

[new] line on the horizon..

Perhaps old news  now.. but here's part of the announcement via U2.com.

"Get On Your Boots, the first single from U2’s new album No Line On The Horizon, will be released as a digital download on February 15th with a physical format to follow on February 16 through Mercury/Universal.

Produced by Brian Eno, Danny Lanois and Steve Lillywhite, sessions for No Line On The Horizon began in Fez, Morocco, and continued at the band’s Dublin studio, New York’s Platinum Sound Recording Studios, and London's Olympic Studios ... the album will be released on March 2nd (March 3rd in the US)."

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Some Musical Fun ..

Via a U2 mailing list -- The Wiggles do U2

:: Corrected Link

Pause

Been a busy few weeks ... especially given that Fi and I are going to head away for a holiday this week, and we're heading to Canberra for As wedding.  It will be so great to have some time away to unwind, and to recharge. I have not been to Japan before so it will be great to be able to see a different corner of the world, together.

Friday afternoon, I went and heard one of Australia's former Foreign Ministers (now Director of the International Crisis Group), Gareth Evans speak as part the Sydney Ideas series (run by University of Sydney. He spoke about the Responsibility to Protect; which is a doctrine about the responsibility of the global community to act to protect citizens of countries under specific conditions (More info here).

One of the points I found interesting is how the language changed from "the right to intervene" to the "responsibility to protect". Whether the global communities have the will to act to prevent another Rwanda at some point (even as, in Darfur, and in Congo we see similar mass killings carried out) remains to be seen.

Been doing a little bit of reading over the weekend. I loved this piece from the New York Times, about the 'If Only' moment we all have when we just miss (or catch) a bus. In a theory of time that I have, I'm fairly convinced, that even if we slightly changed one event; we would not change the end-point; that is, if Lee Harvey-Oswald was not in the picture, JFK would still have been assassinated.

Also, given that its just over a week to go before the US Election I thought I'd post a couple of things, the first being a quote from a speech that Obama gave in Virginia which in some ways explains why I like him, how he speaks to how we can change the world in which we live - not to a perfect world, but simply too a better one.

At a defining moment like this, we don't have the luxury of relying on the same political games and the same political tactics that are used every election to divide us from one another and make us afraid of one another. With the challenges and crises we face right now, we cannot afford to divide this country by class or region; by who we are or what policies we support.

There are no real or fake parts of this country. We are not separated by the pro-America and anti-America parts of this nation - we all love this country, no matter where we live or where we come from. There are patriots who supported this war in Iraq and patriots who opposed it; patriots who believe in Democratic policies and those who believe in Republican policies. The men and women from Virginia and all across America who serve on our battlefields may be Democrats and Republicans and Independents, but they have fought together and bled together and some died together under the same proud flag. They have not served a Red America or a Blue America - they have served the United States of America.


We have always been at our best when we've had leadership that called us to look past our differences and come together as one nation, as one people; leadership that rallied this entire country to a common purpose - to a higher purpose. And I am running for President of the United States of America because that is the country we need to be right now.


This country and the dream it represents are being tested in a way that we haven't seen in nearly a century. And future generations will judge ours by how we respond to this test. Will they say that this was a time when America lost its way and its purpose? When we allowed the same divisions and fear tactics and our own petty differences to plunge this country into a dark and painful recession?


Or will they say that this was another one of those moments when America overcame? When we battled back from adversity by recognizing that common stake that we have in each other's success?


This is one of those moments. I realize you're cynical and fed up with politics. I understand that you're disappointed and even angry with your leaders. You have every right to be. But despite all of this, I ask of you what's been asked of the American people in times of trial and turmoil throughout our history. I ask you to believe - to believe in yourselves, in each other, and in the future we can build together.


Together, we cannot fail. Not now. Not when we have a crisis to solve and an economy to save. Not when there are so many Americans without jobs and without homes. Not when there are families who can't afford to see a doctor, or send their child to college, or pay their bills at the end of the month. Not when there is a generation that is counting on us to give them the same opportunities and the same chances that we had for ourselves. 


We can do this. Americans have done this before. Some of us had grandparents or parents who said maybe I can't go to college but my child can; maybe I can't have my own business but my child can. I may have to rent, but maybe my children will have a home they can call their own. I may not have a lot of money but maybe my child will run for Senate. I might live in a small village but maybe someday my son can be president of the United States of America.

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Another piece from Focus on the Family, outlining how the US would change under an Obama presidency caught me eye, the piece was written as a letter from a Christian four years from now, about how attitudes to religion have changed society. (The letter is available here)

And the token U2 reference: here's a speech given by Bono at a  Women's Conference recently.

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How to know your a tragic...

... when you see something like the below, and go wow~! this sounds cool.

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U2: The Hype and The Feedback (May 13-15, 2009) is the first conference to examine U2's considerable catalog of music as well as their influence in the areas of the music and entertainment industry, popular culture, humanitarian relief and the global politics of peace and social justice.
We invite proposals for papers, presentations or panels on any topic relating to the music, work or influence of U2 that would appeal to an audience of scholars, students, journalists, musicians and intellectually curious U2 fans.
We encourage proposals from established or independent scholars; faculty, graduate or undergraduate students; journalists, critics, musicians and fans.
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I'll be keeping tabs on this for sure.. not that I could go though.

New U2 .... November (maybe)

I've read a few reports, that the new U2 album is 'likely' to be released in November, if it is the case, we're seeing a trend's emerging ... Beautiful Day was released just after the Sydney Olympics; Vertigo just after the Athens games., and (if this is true) after Beijing .. so mark down 2012 for the follow-up.

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