Got My Deluxe CD / DVD Package of The Joshua Tree 20th Anniversary ,
cant explain this obsessive compulsive urge , but when ordering I immediately went to amazon-uk.com and ordered myself the vinyl package as well.
It arrived packaged sweetly via airmail.
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U2 3D Sparks True Fan-demonium @U2
January 22, 2008
By MICHELLE WATSON
U2 isn't on tour, but it sure feels like they are.
I've been looking forward to U2 3D for months, and I really started
getting jazzed a few weeks ago when I learned Indianapolis would have
a free sneak preview on Jan. 21. I marked it on my calendar; I told
all my friends; I made some new U2 friends, and we arranged to meet
before the show.
I knew I was in full tour-anticipation mode when I had a dream a few
days ago about being at the screening. All my @U2 friends made the
trip to Indy for the show. Sherry was driving in from Boston but took
the wrong exit about 40 miles east of the city. Tassoula had a fancy
GPS tracker on her cell phone, so we were guiding Sherry as we watched
her make her way west. Then I woke up and realized: Dude, you must chill.
But I'm not alone. My new U2 friend Pam said her husband kept trying
to remind her that it's just a movie, but then he realized she was in
her "full-on U2 obsessive dorkitude." So are we all, and we're proud
of it!
Pam, her friend Julie and my cousin Kim got together for drinks and
dinner before the show. Pam and Julie knew me by my "Love and Peace or
Else" T-shirt. I toyed with the idea of calling out, "Hello, hello!"
and seeing who hollered back with an "Hola!" but figured I should be
more subtle in public. Kim, who enjoys music in general but isn't a
huge U2 fan, humored us and listened to our stories. Or was it mostly
my stories? I fear that in my heightened state of "U2 obsessive
dorkitude," I may have dominated the conversation. Apologies, ladies!
One thing I love about U2 fans is that once you meet, it's as if
you've been longtime friends. When I later told my cousin that I had
just met the women we had dinner with, she didn't believe me. And I
can see why: We just fell into a natural rhythm of conversation as if
we were old friends who had lost touch for a while.
As we hurried across the street to the theater, Pam and I had the same
idea: shoot photos of the giant poster hanging outside. And the one
inside the door. Oooh, and there's another, even bigger one we can
pose with! And postcard-sized ones we can take home for our scrapbooks!
We entered the theater to the sounds of "Twilight." Now that's
something you don't get at a concert: a taste of that night's artist
before the show! They continued with Boy until showtime. As I bounced
in my seat singing along, I realized I was breaking a sweat. And for
someone who usually leaves her coat on in the theater because it's so
cold, that was a sign that I was seriously hyped.
As the screening's organizer, Indy Hub, welcomed us to the theater, my
heart was pounding with anticipation. It was no Arcade Fire, but I
knew that was the cue that it was almost showtime. When the lights
finally dimmed and small dots of color started to flicker on the
enormous screen filling my field of vision, I couldn't stop grinning.
And when the music kicked in, I couldn't stop bouncing. Hopefully I
didn't annoy the stranger to my right too much, but my cousin to my
left definitely got a kick out of it.
I admit I stifled a few urges to shout out an "Hola!" or "No more!" in
response to Bono, and it took all the willpower I could muster not to
reach out for his hand when it came toward me. But despite the tricks
my eyes were playing on me and the enveloping sound of the on-screen
audience that I often mistook for my neighbors in the theater, I
behaved as if I were in a theater and not among the sweaty throngs of
fans in Buenos Aires.
I still experienced some of the same reactions I've had at concerts. I
teared up as Bono hit the big note in "Miss Sarajevo." I got chills
during my favorite songs. I was grinning constantly, although this
time it was often at the intimate details I had never noticed when I
was one among thousands in an arena or stadium. And with the South
American fans seemingly within reach as they leapt from the screen, it
was easy to overlook the subdued reaction from the actual people
sitting around me.
Let me amend that: the actual people sitting around me, except for my
cousin and another friend. Kim was swinging to the music like I was.
And we were both laughing at Andrea, who was sobbing with joy through
half the movie. (I'm only laughing because I've been there, Andrea.)
While the movie isn't (even) better than the real thing, it certainly
is a good substitute for those long lags between tours. You know it
was good when a friend tells you a couple of hours later that you're
still grinning from your U2 high. And without the side effects of
ringing ears and aching feet!
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BEHIND THE CURTAIN AT U2 3D
January 21, 2008
posted by: m2
Some of you have already seen the film. Many others will be seeing it
soon. U2 3D is getting rave reviews from all quarters as a movie unlike
any other. That describes what we see on screen, and also what happens
behind the scenes. In Seattle last week, the Pacific Science Center
gave @U2's Tassoula Kokkoris an exclusive look at what has to happen to
make the movie come to life on the big screen. Tassoula's photo tour
and report is now available via the link below. Enjoy!
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U2's Bono visits Gates at Pentagon
Associated Press - January 23, 2008 2:43 PM ET
PENTAGON (AP) - He's been all around official Washington, and yesterday
Bono (BAH'-noh) added the Pentagon.
The U2 lead singer dropped in on Defense Secretary Robert Gates,
spending about 20 minutes inside the military chief's office.
Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell (moh-REHL') says the two
discussed all things Africa, from the military's new Africa Command to
the president's AIDS initiative. Press Secretary Geoff Morrell
(moh'-REHL) says the talk centered around how to get more civilians
involved in solving the continent's problems.
Morrell says he doesn't know why the hush-hush meeting was set and
doesn't expect there to be others, but says Gates was "happy to meet"
with Bono.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.
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"U2 3D" is a straightforward concert film with a high-tech twist,
translating the grandiosity of a U2 gig into the Imax 3-D movie
experience.
The band literally pops from the screen, so much so that it looks as
if the Edge's guitar is going to whack you in the head. All the
while, U2 cranks through hits from its Vertigo tour,
including "Beautiful Day" and "One," as tens of thousands of sweaty
fans go bonkers.
Good thing the movie's not in Smell-O-Vision.
The first step is to strap on a pair of polarized 3-D glasses, which
are sort of fly-guy style instead of those cardboard deals from "Jaws
3-D" of yesteryear. Then the collective musicianship and egos of U2
burst from a movie screen that's nearly six stories tall -- and in 3-
D to boot. With U2's music pumped through 5.1 surround sound, "U2 3D"
is epic to the point that it borders on sensory overload. "Vertigo,"
indeed.
The bulk of the footage was shot during South American shows,
including a concert in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The cameras get right
into the crowd at these packed stadiums, and the 3-D enhances the
sense of place. From fans' outstretched arms to the masses singing
along with "Pride (In the Name of Love)," "U2 3D" is a chance to
enjoy arena rock minus much of the claustrophobia.
There's no back story or behind-the-scenes footage in "U2 3D." Then
again, seeing backstage deli trays in 3-D wouldn't be too exciting.
So the band simply steps on stage and rocks in 3-D for about 84
minutes. But if there was anything particularly special about these
South American shows, we wouldn't know.
U2's performance is still powerful, and the sense of exaltation in
the band's music is heightened by the super-duper sound system. U2's
version of "Where the Streets Have No Name" is particularly
exhilarating, and while the band is getting all epic, it's easy to
forget how dorky everyone looks in 3-D glasses.
The directors don't lay the 3-D gimmicks on too thick. Apart from a
few animated touches and some superimposed images to maximize the 3-
D, "U2 3D" mostly lets the performances and music carry the film.
Here's a final tip: Always look at the screen straight on. It may be
tempting to lean on your sweetie during "With or Without You," but
the images get a bit blurry if your head isn't front and center.
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I saw the movie last night, it was incredibly good. The sound, the visuals, all impeccably done. The graphics added to the movie and there were enough different camera angles to keep it interesting too. I wouldn't have minded if it had gone on a little longer, the 85 minutes seemed to fly by.
the whole world will be different soon
the whole world will be relieved
U2 3D - More Than Rock 'n' Roll: U2 on Tour in 3-D Images
New York Times
January 23, 2008
By MATT ZOLLER SEITZ
The musical documentary "U2 3D," which stitches together three
performances by this Irish rock band during a recent tour of South
America, is not merely a technical landmark — shot entirely in digital
3D — but also an aesthetic one, in that it's the first Imax movie that
deserves to be called a work of art.
The person most responsible for the film's vision, Catherine Owens —
one of the movie's two directors, who is also in charge of production
design for the band's live shows — has brazenly ignored the usual
stipulations about making a 3-D film. She favors quick edits and slow
dissolves rather than long takes and hard cuts. Throughout, she layers
the screen with multiple planes of information: long shots and medium
shots of the musicians, images of the crowd, close-up details of
graphics from the big screen that the band performs in front of that
make the designs abstract and merge them with the performers.
The result is not a confusing mishmash of images but a
musical/experimental work that visually simulates the sensation of
thinking. The very idea of self-contained screen geography is
thrillingly reconceived.
The style of the film dovetails with the international, humanistic
vision that U2 has presented in songs and public statements for more
than 20 years. When the band performs its hit "One," the lyrics take
on new meaning.
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Microsoft and Dell go RED for Bono's AIDS charity
Thu Jan 24, 3:49 PM ET
Microsoft and Dell on Thursday joined U2 band front man Bono's "RED"
charity effort with a line of red personal computers.
Dell and Microsoft promise they will contribute a combined 50 to 80
dollars to The Global Fund to battle AIDS in Africa every time a "RED"
computer is sold.
Eighty dollars can pay for someone with AIDS in Africa to have more
than six months of life-sustaining antiretroviral medicine, according
to RED.
"The computer has revolutionized our lives," Bono said in a written
release.
"It's a truly beautiful idea that the purchase of a stylish PC can put
someone on lifesaving ARV treatment for six months."
Dell also unveiled a "RED" printer and said a portion of the selling
price will be donated to the charity the rock star helped create in
2006 to combine product branding power with raising money to thwart
AIDS in Africa.
Bono's RED alliance includes customized iPods from Apple, mobile
telephones from Motorola, and fragrance and jewelry from designer
Giorgio Armani.
In keeping with the charity's name, hip products designed with the
cause in mind are red or accented with the color.
RED partners have contributed more than 57 million dollars that have
been put to work combating AIDS in Rwanda, Swaziland, and Ghana,
according to the organization.
"The RED business model is a powerful way for consumers to use their
purchasing power to help bring about positive change in the world,"
said Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates.
"The combination of Microsoft, RED, and Dell means consumers can help
in the fight against AIDS in Africa by buying a great Dell PC that
comes loaded with the best version of Windows Vista."
Three Dell RED computers priced from 1,149 dollars to 1,599 dollars,
and a 149-dollar printer, will be available in the United States by
week's end and in more than two dozen other countries by January 31,
according to the companies.
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just saw it in San Fran!!! holy shit, that was amazing! at one point i thought bono was going to climb into my lap...not that i would have stopped him!
go see this if you can, its pretty mind-blowing. oh, and U2 fans are a pretty rowdy bunch, people were standing up and dancing in their seats. it was awesome!
January 26, 2008: In the new issue of Hot Press, the magazine says U2's new album is "likely to emerge in October" (of 2008).
January 19, 2008: During an interview with USA Today's Anthony Breznican, Bono and Edge played a new song that Bono called "No Line On The Horizon." On hearing it, writer Anthony Breznican says "heavy distortion fills the car," and later adds: "The song is rough, weaving between brutal guitar blasts underscoring the mellow title refrain." Edge explains that the song "It came out of a new distortion box that my guitar tech got."
Anthony Breznican, who interviewed Bono & The Edge at the Sundance Film
Festival last week for USA Today, has shared with us some of the
interview outtakes, which he posted on his Sundance blog.
Last week we posted the great interview he did for USA Today and in
case you missed it or would like to re-read it, we've posted the link
to it below the outtakes.
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U2 rocker Bono has given the Japanese Prime Minister an iPod in a bid to help end poverty in Africa. The singer was attending a meeting with former British prime minister Tony Blair and Microsoft mogul Bill Gates on Saturday (26Jan08) when he handed the gift to Yasuo Fukuda. But the Irish star was modest enough to refrain from adding his band's music to the mp3 device. Fukuda asked Bono whether his any of his tracks were preloaded onto the iPod, a quick-thinking Bono responded, "No, but you can download it," reports the New York Daily News.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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U2 rocker Bono has given the Japanese Prime Minister an iPod in a bid to help end poverty in Africa. The singer was attending a meeting with former British prime minister Tony Blair and Microsoft mogul Bill Gates on Saturday (26Jan08) when he handed the gift to Yasuo Fukuda. But the Irish star was modest enough to refrain from adding his band's music to the mp3 device. Fukuda asked Bono whether his any of his tracks were preloaded onto the iPod, a quick-thinking Bono responded, "No, but you can download it," reports the New York Daily News.
just saw it in San Fran!!! holy shit, that was amazing! at one point i thought bono was going to climb into my lap...not that i would have stopped him!
go see this if you can, its pretty mind-blowing. oh, and U2 fans are a pretty rowdy bunch, people were standing up and dancing in their seats. it was awesome!
people were holding up cell phones at the appropriate time too!!!
didnt the drum kit look sooooo good 3D. id see this again. WOW.
Van '98, Sea I+II '00, Sea '01, Sea II '02, Van '03, Gorge, Van, Cal, Edm '05, Bos I+II, Phi I+II, DC, SF II+III, Port, Gorge I+II '06, DC, NY I+II '08, Sea I+II, Van, Ridge , LA III+IV' 09, Indy '10, Cal, Van '11, Lond, Van, Sea '13, Memphis '14, RRHOF '17, Sea I+II '18, Van I+II '24
U2 manager wants illegal downloaders blacklisted
Times Online
January 29, 3008
By ADAM SHERWIN
Music fans who indulge in widespread illegal file-sharing should have
their web connections cut off by internet service providers, the
manager of U2 said.
Paul McGuinness, who has guided the Irish group to 150 million album
sales during their 30-year career, said companies such as Yahoo! and
AOL should be prosecuted if they fail to prevent illegal file-sharing.
Speaking at the Midem music industry convention in Cannes, Mr
McGuinness said: "A simple three strikes and you are out enforcement
process will see all serial illegal uploaders who resist the law face
a stark choice: change or lose your ISP subscription.
"In the UK, the Gowers report made it clear that legislation should be
considered if voluntary talks with ISPs failed to produce a commitment
to disconnect file-sharers. I'd like to see the UK Government act
promptly on this recommendation."
The UK Music trade body the BPI backed the call. Geoff Taylor, its
chief executive, said: "We have tried to persuade ISPs to implement
solutions that could avoid the need to take action against broadband
customers who use illegal peer-to-peer filesharing.
"For more than a year, we have been negotiating with them to enforce
their own terms and conditions about abuse of the account, but UK ISPs
refuse to do even that on any meaningful scale. The time has come for
ISPs to stop dragging their feet and start showing some
responsibility, by taking reasonable steps to counter illegal music
freeloading."
In France, President Sarkozy has backed the Olivennes initiative, by
which ISPs will start disconnecting repeat infringers this year. This
was a "brilliant precedent which other governments should follow", Mr
McGuiness said.
He argued that the recent Radiohead release of a download priced on
the honesty box principle had backfired. He said: "It seems that the
majority of downloads were through illegal P2P download services like
BitTorrent and LimeWire even though the album was available for
nothing through the official band site. Notwithstanding the
promotional noise, even Radiohead's honesty box principle showed that
if not constrained, the customer will steal music."
In 2004, U2 signed a deal with Apple to release a branded iPod in
exchange for a percentage of each device sold, but even Steve Jobs,
the Apple boss, had not grasped the scale of the challenge to his own
businesses, including the Walt Disney studio, presented by illegal
downloading.
Mr McGuinness said: "I wish he would bring his remarkable set of
skills to bear on the problems of recorded music. He's a technologist,
a financial genius, a marketer and a music lover. He probably doesn't
realise it, but the collapse of the old financial model for recorded
music will also mean the end of the songwriter.
"We've been used to bands who wrote their own material since the
Beatles, but the mechanical royalties that sustain songwriters are
drying up. Labels and artists, songwriters and publishers, producers
and musicians, everyone's a victim."
The manager predicted that Apple would reveal a wireless iPod that
connects to an iTunes "all of the music, wherever you are"
subscription service. "I would like it to succeed, if the content is
fairly paid for," he said.
U2 will release a new album in October, Mr McGuinness said, which
would be a collaboration with the producers Brian Eno and Daniel
Lanois. Unlike Radiohead, they are not seeking to leave their record
company. Mr McGuinness said that the band had a positive relationship
with Universal which would continue indefinitely.
Described as the "fifth member" of U2, Mr McGuinness negotiated a
valuable deal in the late Eighties that guaranteed the group ownership
of the master recordings of their albums.
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Bono has a date with Mumbai
Daily News & Analysis
January 29, 2008
By SHRIDEVI KESHAVAN
After Madonna's Mumbai sojourn, the next in the queue seems to be U2
frontman Bono. The legendary rockstar, who has been nominated thrice
for the Nobel Peace Prize thrice, has expressed his desire to come
down to Mumbai.
Bono spoke about his India visit to DJ Suketu, who met him in
Switzerland. Suketu was there to play for the World Economic Forum.
Bono was at the Forum as a social activist and lend his support to the
event.
"My agent Anurag and I were at a coffee shop and we saw someone who
looked like Bono sitting there. It was so difficult to get in touch
with him, so we thought that we'd just say a quick hello. But he
responded to our call, waved past his security guys and met us," said
Suketu.
Apparently, Bono was at the coffee shop preparing for a meeting with
Bill Gates. He has been involved with humanitarian and social issues
for a long time now and expressed his desire to come to India as he
supports the cause of AIDS and is a Goodwill Ambassador for the United
Nations.
"He was saying that India is very much in his scheme of things and
that he hasn't decided on the time because of his tight schedule. He
even went on to say that he would like to perform here (in Mumbai)
with his band (U2)," said Suketu, adding: "Bono loves Indian music and
is quiet interested in Bollywood. I had my laptop with me and I
compiled and presented him a CD with my Bollywood mixes then and there.
"He seemed like a really nice person and was more than happy to chat
up with us. My pulse was high and I had to go get some rest after I
met him because for me he's like God," said Suketu.
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Introducing U2, All Over Again
Irish Voice
January 30, 2008
by CAHIR O'DOHERTY
CATHERINE Owens, the Irish visual designer behind each of U2's
worldwide tours for the past 15 years, and the co-director (with Mark
Pellington) of U2 3D, the concert film about the celebrated Irish rock
band that's now playing, first began her work by shaping the look and
feel of the band's "ZooTV" tour in 1992.
In a real sense, Owens became a fifth member of the band in the early
1990s, because her background in multimedia (sculpture, video art,
sound design, photography) went on to serve as a powerful inspiration
for U2's subsequent "PopMart," "Elevation" and "Vertigo" tours.
Working closely with the band for years, Owens became familiar with
their artistic sensibilities, and that made her the natural choice to
direct U2 3D, the new concert movie about the band, and the first ever
film of their show in digital 3D.
This week she told the Irish Voice how the project got started. "The
band really are big fans of high technology, so when they got the
chance to film in digital 3D they jumped at it," she said.
"Having worked with them as their visual content provider for over 15
years now we already knew about their stage presence really well, we
know how they look on stage. I just knew the 3D medium would be a good
medium to reflect that show in."
3D may not be an entirely new medium, because we live in it after all,
but dispel any lingering memories of cheesy1950s era sci-fi 3D movies
and prepare to be dazzled. The fact is, 3D has entered the digital age
and the advance in the technology is literally stunning.
"We didn't commit to filming in 3D until we saw the test screening by
the company that makes the 3D cameras. They made a test with the NFL
for a Super Bowl game," she said.
"It looked amazing and that just clinched it. I could tell that if we
really made it ours we'd get what we wanted out of it."
As U2 played Buenos Aires, Argentina, Owens and her co-director Mark
Pellington called the camera shots from a control room where they were
looking at a bank of monitors. The filming process was exactly like a
2D shoot in most respects, with cameras directed at each of the band
members.
Owens made the decision at the beginning to focus exclusively on the
band's performance. There was no Spinal Tap intimate behind the scenes
shots of how many trucks it takes to carry the set, or the band
members arriving bleary eyed at another foreign airport.
"There's a fine line between shooting and ending up in the Spinal Tap
world. We really just felt like U2's live performance is their
strength, so why not play to it? We decided to leave all the story
telling to someone else," Owens said.
It was a wise decision. U2 3D rediscovers the genius of the band live,
so much so that at times it feels like a reintroduction.
The spell is never broken. The achievement is all the more impressive
because technically, 3D filming is grueling to film and edit. Added to
that are U2's own standards, which are high, because what might pass
in the normal world won't pass in U2 world.
"U2 are very hands on, they're very involved in the editing process
and they insist on signing off on everything," Owens reveals.
"We'd come to New York with scenes for their approval, for example. Or
we'd meet them at home in Dublin and we'd sit in their kitchen and get
a yes or a no. Bono is very tech savvy so we even sent him QuickTime
files to approve online. We ran the gamut of how you could possibly
sign off on these things."
Longtime band watchers will not be surprised to hear that U2 is a
democracy, not a kingdom. Creatively Bono and Owens have a fairly
strong connection, but once that conversation ends, U2 members Edge,
Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen kick in. The band are known to hold
strong opinions, but interestingly they never get involved in
conversations about the direction of Owens film.
"Bono doesn't get involved in directing at all. His only question to
me was the same as the entire band's — what direction can you give us?
My answer to that was just do what you normally do as a band, but do
it a little more consciously. That was all the direction they got."
The film is visually thrilling, raising the roof and reintroducing the
band to longtime fans and even to themselves. Bono and Edge have
commented that this is the first time they have really been able to
see themselves live, and Owens is quite sure that those observations
will follow them through to the next album. Conversations about the
next tour have already begun.
"In the few seconds were I see Bono at various events — before he gets
pulled away by five people — he's always telling me we've got to get
together, he's got loads more ideas about the next show. Meanwhile, I
would seriously suggest that anyone who's watching the new film should
dance in the aisles, if they're so inclined."
U2 3D is now playing in select cinemas nationwide.
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Bono Inc. Expands to Art
Wall Street Journal
February 1, 2008
By KELLY CROW
Rock Star Woos Artists For Big Charity Sale; A $7 Million Hirst
Rock star Bono is turning to the booming art world to help his
altruistic brand, (Product) Red, raise much-needed cash and cachet.
On Feb. 14, Sotheby's Red auction in New York will sell as much as $28
million of art donated by Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons, Banksy and five
dozen other top artists in a sale of a scale not usually seen in art
or charity fund-raisers. Offerings include a 9-foot-tall medicine
cabinet by Mr. Hirst estimated at up to $7 million; a red
balloon-animal sculpture by Jeff Koons estimated at up to $1.2
million; and a new Jasper Johns gray watercolor estimated at up to
$600,000.
[red slideshow]
The sale marks a shift in strategy for Red. Until now, the
two-year-old commercial enterprise has teamed up with companies to
license the Red logo on everyday products like $51.99 sneakers and $28
T-shirts, with between 40% and 50% of the profits going to the Global
Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, a Swiss foundation
spearheaded six years ago by former United Nations Secretary General
Kofi Annan.
Between March 2006 and March 2007, Red partnered with four companies
that generated $25 million in contributions. Since then, it has added
five new partners and generated $34 million in contributions. (Three
of those partners, Hallmark , Microsoft and Dell, are just now rolling
out their products.) One early partner, American Express, says it has
decided to not issue its Red card outside the United Kingdom.
Red's chief executive, Susan Smith Ellis, says the brand needs
"oxygen" and that the auction is one step in an effort to move
upmarket. The new Red Editions line includes a series of 39 red Zaha
Hadid "Aqua" tables priced at almost $60,000 each at boutiques like
London's Established & Sons. She hopes to line up other collaborations
with art stars like Mr. Hirst who can attract a well-heeled clientele.
"The difficult thing Red faces is that it tried to make charity trendy
for everyone," says Daniel Borochoff, president of the American
Institute of Philanthropy. "And in a down economy, you need
deep-pocketed supporters because the rest are worried about their
mortgages."
So far, Red's contribution to the cause is comparatively small. Over
the past six years, the Global Fund has attracted a total $18.4
billion and committed $10.1 billion for disease-treatment and
-prevention programs in 137 countries, with nearly all the money
donated by governments. Of Red's $59 million in donations, the fund
has made $42 million in AIDS-related grants to Africa.
Last year the major auction houses sold $12 billion of art. Yet
charity art auctions rarely raise more than $5 million apiece, auction
houses say. Sotheby's participated in over 300 charity auctions last
year that collectively raised over $150 million.
For the Red auction, Mr. Hirst says Bono invited him more than a year
ago to bring his family to the south of France for a vacation. During
their visit, the rock singer hired a boat, which the artist initially
considered a "generous" gesture. Then one night Mr. Hirst says Bono
"got me drunk, and at about 5 o'clock in the morning, he asked me if
I'd do this [auction]." Mr. Hirst agreed to donate his own work as
well as compose handwritten letters to induce 50 other artists to give.
Bono says he approached Mr. Hirst to steer the sale in part because
the artist, who last year covered a human skull with roughly $24
million in diamonds, is "not afraid of the big beast of commerce -- he
rides the back of it."
Some diplomacy was required to bring together traditional art-world
rivals. Bono and Mr. Hirst asked Sotheby's and the Gagosian Gallery to
market the sale together and conduct it on Valentine's Day. To do
that, the auction house had to push back a major auction of
contemporary art in London so that it wouldn't compete for bidders at
the Red sale in New York, even though rival Christie's is proceeding
with its London sale next week as planned. Gagosian and Sotheby's
funneled their invitations through a third-party mailing house because
neither wanted to share its client roster. The pair will split as much
as 10% of the auction's sales to cover administrative costs; the
remainder goes to the Global Fund.
Sotheby's and Gagosian are using the sale to showcase some of their
artists who haven't typically been seen in a New York evening sale,
such as Bernar Venet and an art team called Gelitin. Sotheby's is
privately brokering some sales of Mr. Venet's steel sculptures, and
Gagosian recently showed Gelitin in its London gallery.
Participating artists were allowed to suggest prices for their donated
works, but not every artist approached for the sale signed on. Bono
says Chris Ofili declined. (A spokesman for Mr. Ofili says the artist
had committed to another upcoming benefit.) Last week several pieces
by African artists were added as a gift from collector Jean Pignozzi;
only one African native, Yinka Shonibare, had been included in the
sale's original lineup.
Artist Antony Gormley in London says he is "inundated" by requests to
give art to fund-raisers. He accepted this time because he wanted to
help Africa and he hoped the auction would be "the art world's answer
to Live Aid." For Christmas, Bono sent a red iPod nano to Mr. Gormley
and each of the other participating artists. "I was very touched,"
says Mr. Gormley. His sculpture of a man, "Insider IX/Weeds II," is
expected to sell for up to $250,000.
Some see Red's high-end focus as proof that its business model needs
tweaking. "Red's success has been up and down, and the next round will
only get more complicated," says Russ Meyer, a chief strategy officer
who tracks Red for the branding firm Landor Associates.
Bono calls his start-up's performance "incredible" when compared with
sales of other products with nonprofit tie-ins. The Lance Armstrong
Foundation says it took nearly four years to sell $70 million of
yellow "Live Strong" wristbands at $1 a pop, and it has taken 25 years
for Newman's Own Foundation to pull in more than $200 million.
Unlike these nonprofits, Red faces market pressure to show growth. Red
charges an undisclosed licensing fee to companies to pay for its
16-person staff and London and New York offices. For the most part,
Red has relied largely on the marketing budgets of its partner
companies, which spent about $50 million in Red's first year, Ms.
Smith Ellis says. (Red's own annual marketing budget is under $1 million.)
Artist Marc Quinn in London says he has been following Red's
trajectory from afar, and agreed to donate "Red Sphinx," a
white-bronze sculpture of Kate Moss in a heart-shaped yoga pose with
red lips. It is estimated to sell for as much as $350,000. "Maybe this
will convince other companies to give away more than a few cents at a
time" to charity, he says. "I mean, we're giving away the whole thing."
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McGUINNESS: U2 AND UNIVERSAL ARE HAPPY TOGETHER
February 02, 2008
posted by: m2
Paul McGuinness has debunked the Fox News rumor that U2 might bail on
Universal Music and sell music through Live Nation. In an e-mail to
HITS magazine, McGuinness says: "This is untrue. As I said in my MIDEM
speech, U2 has an excellent relationship with Universal. We have
recently re-licensed both masters and copyrights to them." HITS goes to
say that U2 is believed to have four albums left on its current
contract with Universal. (Thx Lance)
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The Boston Herald reports that Converse is releasing new
limited-edition (RED) shoes designed by 100 different artists to
celebrate their hundredth year.
Who is one of their chosen designers? None other than The Edge.
No word yet on what the sneakers look like or when they'll be in
stores. Stay tuned to @U2 for details as they become available.
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U2 manager wants illegal downloaders blacklisted
Times Online
January 29, 3008
By ADAM SHERWIN
Music fans who indulge in widespread illegal file-sharing should have
their web connections cut off by internet service providers, the
manager of U2 said.
Paul McGuinness, who has guided the Irish group to 150 million album
sales during their 30-year career, said companies such as Yahoo! and
AOL should be prosecuted if they fail to prevent illegal file-sharing.
Speaking at the Midem music industry convention in Cannes, Mr
McGuinness said: "A simple three strikes and you are out enforcement
process will see all serial illegal uploaders who resist the law face
a stark choice: change or lose your ISP subscription.
"In the UK, the Gowers report made it clear that legislation should be
considered if voluntary talks with ISPs failed to produce a commitment
to disconnect file-sharers. I'd like to see the UK Government act
promptly on this recommendation."
The UK Music trade body the BPI backed the call. Geoff Taylor, its
chief executive, said: "We have tried to persuade ISPs to implement
solutions that could avoid the need to take action against broadband
customers who use illegal peer-to-peer filesharing.
"For more than a year, we have been negotiating with them to enforce
their own terms and conditions about abuse of the account, but UK ISPs
refuse to do even that on any meaningful scale. The time has come for
ISPs to stop dragging their feet and start showing some
responsibility, by taking reasonable steps to counter illegal music
freeloading."
In France, President Sarkozy has backed the Olivennes initiative, by
which ISPs will start disconnecting repeat infringers this year. This
was a "brilliant precedent which other governments should follow", Mr
McGuiness said.
He argued that the recent Radiohead release of a download priced on
the honesty box principle had backfired. He said: "It seems that the
majority of downloads were through illegal P2P download services like
BitTorrent and LimeWire even though the album was available for
nothing through the official band site. Notwithstanding the
promotional noise, even Radiohead's honesty box principle showed that
if not constrained, the customer will steal music."
In 2004, U2 signed a deal with Apple to release a branded iPod in
exchange for a percentage of each device sold, but even Steve Jobs,
the Apple boss, had not grasped the scale of the challenge to his own
businesses, including the Walt Disney studio, presented by illegal
downloading.
Mr McGuinness said: "I wish he would bring his remarkable set of
skills to bear on the problems of recorded music. He's a technologist,
a financial genius, a marketer and a music lover. He probably doesn't
realise it, but the collapse of the old financial model for recorded
music will also mean the end of the songwriter.
"We've been used to bands who wrote their own material since the
Beatles, but the mechanical royalties that sustain songwriters are
drying up. Labels and artists, songwriters and publishers, producers
and musicians, everyone's a victim."
The manager predicted that Apple would reveal a wireless iPod that
connects to an iTunes "all of the music, wherever you are"
subscription service. "I would like it to succeed, if the content is
fairly paid for," he said.
U2 will release a new album in October, Mr McGuinness said, which
would be a collaboration with the producers Brian Eno and Daniel
Lanois. Unlike Radiohead, they are not seeking to leave their record
company. Mr McGuinness said that the band had a positive relationship
with Universal which would continue indefinitely.
Described as the "fifth member" of U2, Mr McGuinness negotiated a
valuable deal in the late Eighties that guaranteed the group ownership
of the master recordings of their albums.
My respect for Paul Mc died a while back...as soon as I heard that about the fiasco about him offering ticket "packages" to sold out U2 shows at prices that were out of this world...he is/was U2's biggest scalper :(
dammit to hell! I had a perfect date planned for the 15th.. This girl I'm seeing is obsessed with u2 and I was gonna take her to see U2 3D but it got postponed till the 22nd... Whyyyy??
"Sooner or later you'll bare your teeth"
www.myspace.com/volinic
www.myspace.com/zane26 (band)
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If you missed Bono's appearance on Good Morning America today, no
worries. Our friends at U2exit.com have the clip online. It's an
interview with Bono and Damien Hirst which was done prior to
Thursday's wildly successful Product (RED) art auction in New York.
Use the link...
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The side-by-side release of "U2 3D" and "Hannah Montana & Miley
Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert" invites you to line up the pop
past and pop future in fascinating tandem.
It's routine wisdom to say that U2 is the greatest rock & roll band
of the past 25 years (depending on the day, I'd go with R.E.M., but
who's quibbling?), yet this raises a question: Will the next 25 years
produce a band with the passion and power, the transporting sweep, of
U2? The rise of the tween-fashionista mechano-pop juggernaut Hannah
Montana doesn't bode well.
I can't, offhand, think of an entertainer who could dignify the
prospect of a 3-D movie more than Bono. If he says 3-D is a noble
cause, that's good enough for me. I wasn't sure what to expect
from "U2 3D" -- the Edge tossing guitar picks into our faces -- but
the film, shot in South America during the band's Vertigo tour, comes
at us in images that are nearly sculptural. The 3D visuals envelop
you, majestically, and that effect fuses with the band's surround-
sound rapture to create a full-scale sensory high. "U2 3D" makes you
feel stoned on movies.
On this tour, U2 had cleaned away a lot of their stage bric-a-brac,
and what we're left with is great songs ("Pride," "One," the
incomparable "With or Without You"), plus a few duds ("Bullet the
Blue Sky"), as Bono, with his soaring message of global love, rules
the crowd like a hippie cult leader. The Edge doesn't just create
walls of sound -- he creates cathedrals of sound. It's hard to
imagine, in the digital era, downloading a band as monumental as this
one.
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U2 Hits The Studio In Dublin
February 19, 2008
Billboard
By JONATHAN COHEN
U2 has hit the studio in Dublin to continue work on its next studio
album with longtime collaborators Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois. "We're
going to try and break new sonic ground and deliver a masterpiece,"
Lanois tells Billboard.com. "The sleeves are rolled up. Bono is all
charged up with a lyrical angle."
As previously reported, U2, Eno and Lanois have spent time working on
new material on three prior occasions in France and Morocco, and
Lanois confirms the results are prolific.
"There's so much material," he says, referring to speculation that the
sessions could yield two new albums. "When you get Eno and I and those
guys in the room, before lunch there's like eight things."
"We've had some exciting beginnings via jam sessions," he continues.
"Now we will pick our favorite beginnings and say, 'OK, that's a
lovely springboard. Now what are we trying to say?' The springboards
are sometimes melodic, sometimes riff-based, but I can assure you they
are exciting."
There's no date yet for the project, which will be the follow-up to
2004's "How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb."
In other U2 news, the group has contributed to a new charity single,
"The Ballad of Ronnie Drew," proceeds from which will benefit the
cancer-stricken Irish artist of the same name. The track will be
available in Ireland only as a download beginning Friday (Feb. 22) and
week later on CD.
In addition to U2, "The Ballad of Ronnie Drew" features appearances by
the Pogues' Shane MacGowan, the Frames' Glen Hansard, Sinead O'Connor,
Andrea Corr, Damien Dempsey, Ronan Keating, Chris de Burgh, Gavin
Friday and members of the Dubliners.
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Comments
cant explain this obsessive compulsive urge , but when ordering I immediately went to amazon-uk.com and ordered myself the vinyl package as well.
It arrived packaged sweetly via airmail.
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@U2
January 22, 2008
By MICHELLE WATSON
U2 isn't on tour, but it sure feels like they are.
I've been looking forward to U2 3D for months, and I really started
getting jazzed a few weeks ago when I learned Indianapolis would have
a free sneak preview on Jan. 21. I marked it on my calendar; I told
all my friends; I made some new U2 friends, and we arranged to meet
before the show.
I knew I was in full tour-anticipation mode when I had a dream a few
days ago about being at the screening. All my @U2 friends made the
trip to Indy for the show. Sherry was driving in from Boston but took
the wrong exit about 40 miles east of the city. Tassoula had a fancy
GPS tracker on her cell phone, so we were guiding Sherry as we watched
her make her way west. Then I woke up and realized: Dude, you must chill.
But I'm not alone. My new U2 friend Pam said her husband kept trying
to remind her that it's just a movie, but then he realized she was in
her "full-on U2 obsessive dorkitude." So are we all, and we're proud
of it!
Pam, her friend Julie and my cousin Kim got together for drinks and
dinner before the show. Pam and Julie knew me by my "Love and Peace or
Else" T-shirt. I toyed with the idea of calling out, "Hello, hello!"
and seeing who hollered back with an "Hola!" but figured I should be
more subtle in public. Kim, who enjoys music in general but isn't a
huge U2 fan, humored us and listened to our stories. Or was it mostly
my stories? I fear that in my heightened state of "U2 obsessive
dorkitude," I may have dominated the conversation. Apologies, ladies!
One thing I love about U2 fans is that once you meet, it's as if
you've been longtime friends. When I later told my cousin that I had
just met the women we had dinner with, she didn't believe me. And I
can see why: We just fell into a natural rhythm of conversation as if
we were old friends who had lost touch for a while.
As we hurried across the street to the theater, Pam and I had the same
idea: shoot photos of the giant poster hanging outside. And the one
inside the door. Oooh, and there's another, even bigger one we can
pose with! And postcard-sized ones we can take home for our scrapbooks!
We entered the theater to the sounds of "Twilight." Now that's
something you don't get at a concert: a taste of that night's artist
before the show! They continued with Boy until showtime. As I bounced
in my seat singing along, I realized I was breaking a sweat. And for
someone who usually leaves her coat on in the theater because it's so
cold, that was a sign that I was seriously hyped.
As the screening's organizer, Indy Hub, welcomed us to the theater, my
heart was pounding with anticipation. It was no Arcade Fire, but I
knew that was the cue that it was almost showtime. When the lights
finally dimmed and small dots of color started to flicker on the
enormous screen filling my field of vision, I couldn't stop grinning.
And when the music kicked in, I couldn't stop bouncing. Hopefully I
didn't annoy the stranger to my right too much, but my cousin to my
left definitely got a kick out of it.
I admit I stifled a few urges to shout out an "Hola!" or "No more!" in
response to Bono, and it took all the willpower I could muster not to
reach out for his hand when it came toward me. But despite the tricks
my eyes were playing on me and the enveloping sound of the on-screen
audience that I often mistook for my neighbors in the theater, I
behaved as if I were in a theater and not among the sweaty throngs of
fans in Buenos Aires.
I still experienced some of the same reactions I've had at concerts. I
teared up as Bono hit the big note in "Miss Sarajevo." I got chills
during my favorite songs. I was grinning constantly, although this
time it was often at the intimate details I had never noticed when I
was one among thousands in an arena or stadium. And with the South
American fans seemingly within reach as they leapt from the screen, it
was easy to overlook the subdued reaction from the actual people
sitting around me.
Let me amend that: the actual people sitting around me, except for my
cousin and another friend. Kim was swinging to the music like I was.
And we were both laughing at Andrea, who was sobbing with joy through
half the movie. (I'm only laughing because I've been there, Andrea.)
While the movie isn't (even) better than the real thing, it certainly
is a good substitute for those long lags between tours. You know it
was good when a friend tells you a couple of hours later that you're
still grinning from your U2 high. And without the side effects of
ringing ears and aching feet!
© @U2/Watson, 2008.
[Note - to see the photo that accompanies this essay, please follow
this link: http://www.atu2.com/news/article.src?ID=4861]
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January 21, 2008
posted by: m2
Some of you have already seen the film. Many others will be seeing it
soon. U2 3D is getting rave reviews from all quarters as a movie unlike
any other. That describes what we see on screen, and also what happens
behind the scenes. In Seattle last week, the Pacific Science Center
gave @U2's Tassoula Kokkoris an exclusive look at what has to happen to
make the movie come to life on the big screen. Tassoula's photo tour
and report is now available via the link below. Enjoy!
read the full story >>
http://www.atu2.com/events/08/u2-3d/behind-the-curtain.html
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favorite song. that was stupid to cut out.
i cant wait to see this im so stoked.
12.9.06= Rockin In The Free World
Associated Press - January 23, 2008 2:43 PM ET
PENTAGON (AP) - He's been all around official Washington, and yesterday
Bono (BAH'-noh) added the Pentagon.
The U2 lead singer dropped in on Defense Secretary Robert Gates,
spending about 20 minutes inside the military chief's office.
Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell (moh-REHL') says the two
discussed all things Africa, from the military's new Africa Command to
the president's AIDS initiative. Press Secretary Geoff Morrell
(moh'-REHL) says the talk centered around how to get more civilians
involved in solving the continent's problems.
Morrell says he doesn't know why the hush-hush meeting was set and
doesn't expect there to be others, but says Gates was "happy to meet"
with Bono.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.
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January 23, 2008
By Chris Macias
"U2 3D" is a straightforward concert film with a high-tech twist,
translating the grandiosity of a U2 gig into the Imax 3-D movie
experience.
The band literally pops from the screen, so much so that it looks as
if the Edge's guitar is going to whack you in the head. All the
while, U2 cranks through hits from its Vertigo tour,
including "Beautiful Day" and "One," as tens of thousands of sweaty
fans go bonkers.
Good thing the movie's not in Smell-O-Vision.
The first step is to strap on a pair of polarized 3-D glasses, which
are sort of fly-guy style instead of those cardboard deals from "Jaws
3-D" of yesteryear. Then the collective musicianship and egos of U2
burst from a movie screen that's nearly six stories tall -- and in 3-
D to boot. With U2's music pumped through 5.1 surround sound, "U2 3D"
is epic to the point that it borders on sensory overload. "Vertigo,"
indeed.
The bulk of the footage was shot during South American shows,
including a concert in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The cameras get right
into the crowd at these packed stadiums, and the 3-D enhances the
sense of place. From fans' outstretched arms to the masses singing
along with "Pride (In the Name of Love)," "U2 3D" is a chance to
enjoy arena rock minus much of the claustrophobia.
There's no back story or behind-the-scenes footage in "U2 3D." Then
again, seeing backstage deli trays in 3-D wouldn't be too exciting.
So the band simply steps on stage and rocks in 3-D for about 84
minutes. But if there was anything particularly special about these
South American shows, we wouldn't know.
U2's performance is still powerful, and the sense of exaltation in
the band's music is heightened by the super-duper sound system. U2's
version of "Where the Streets Have No Name" is particularly
exhilarating, and while the band is getting all epic, it's easy to
forget how dorky everyone looks in 3-D glasses.
The directors don't lay the 3-D gimmicks on too thick. Apart from a
few animated touches and some superimposed images to maximize the 3-
D, "U2 3D" mostly lets the performances and music carry the film.
Here's a final tip: Always look at the screen straight on. It may be
tempting to lean on your sweetie during "With or Without You," but
the images get a bit blurry if your head isn't front and center.
© The Sacramento Bee, 2008.
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the whole world will be relieved
New York Times
January 23, 2008
By MATT ZOLLER SEITZ
The musical documentary "U2 3D," which stitches together three
performances by this Irish rock band during a recent tour of South
America, is not merely a technical landmark — shot entirely in digital
3D — but also an aesthetic one, in that it's the first Imax movie that
deserves to be called a work of art.
The person most responsible for the film's vision, Catherine Owens —
one of the movie's two directors, who is also in charge of production
design for the band's live shows — has brazenly ignored the usual
stipulations about making a 3-D film. She favors quick edits and slow
dissolves rather than long takes and hard cuts. Throughout, she layers
the screen with multiple planes of information: long shots and medium
shots of the musicians, images of the crowd, close-up details of
graphics from the big screen that the band performs in front of that
make the designs abstract and merge them with the performers.
The result is not a confusing mishmash of images but a
musical/experimental work that visually simulates the sensation of
thinking. The very idea of self-contained screen geography is
thrillingly reconceived.
The style of the film dovetails with the international, humanistic
vision that U2 has presented in songs and public statements for more
than 20 years. When the band performs its hit "One," the lyrics take
on new meaning.
© The New York Times Company, 2008.
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Thu Jan 24, 3:49 PM ET
Microsoft and Dell on Thursday joined U2 band front man Bono's "RED"
charity effort with a line of red personal computers.
Dell and Microsoft promise they will contribute a combined 50 to 80
dollars to The Global Fund to battle AIDS in Africa every time a "RED"
computer is sold.
Eighty dollars can pay for someone with AIDS in Africa to have more
than six months of life-sustaining antiretroviral medicine, according
to RED.
"The computer has revolutionized our lives," Bono said in a written
release.
"It's a truly beautiful idea that the purchase of a stylish PC can put
someone on lifesaving ARV treatment for six months."
Dell also unveiled a "RED" printer and said a portion of the selling
price will be donated to the charity the rock star helped create in
2006 to combine product branding power with raising money to thwart
AIDS in Africa.
Bono's RED alliance includes customized iPods from Apple, mobile
telephones from Motorola, and fragrance and jewelry from designer
Giorgio Armani.
In keeping with the charity's name, hip products designed with the
cause in mind are red or accented with the color.
RED partners have contributed more than 57 million dollars that have
been put to work combating AIDS in Rwanda, Swaziland, and Ghana,
according to the organization.
"The RED business model is a powerful way for consumers to use their
purchasing power to help bring about positive change in the world,"
said Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates.
"The combination of Microsoft, RED, and Dell means consumers can help
in the fight against AIDS in Africa by buying a great Dell PC that
comes loaded with the best version of Windows Vista."
Three Dell RED computers priced from 1,149 dollars to 1,599 dollars,
and a 149-dollar printer, will be available in the United States by
week's end and in more than two dozen other countries by January 31,
according to the companies.
Copyright © 2008 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved.
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sorry for yelling
go see this if you can, its pretty mind-blowing. oh, and U2 fans are a pretty rowdy bunch, people were standing up and dancing in their seats. it was awesome!
January 19, 2008: During an interview with USA Today's Anthony Breznican, Bono and Edge played a new song that Bono called "No Line On The Horizon." On hearing it, writer Anthony Breznican says "heavy distortion fills the car," and later adds: "The song is rough, weaving between brutal guitar blasts underscoring the mellow title refrain." Edge explains that the song "It came out of a new distortion box that my guitar tech got."
Festival last week for USA Today, has shared with us some of the
interview outtakes, which he posted on his Sundance blog.
http://www.atu2.com/news/article.src?ID=4876
Last week we posted the great interview he did for USA Today and in
case you missed it or would like to re-read it, we've posted the link
to it below the outtakes.
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Contact Music, January 28, 2008
U2 rocker Bono has given the Japanese Prime Minister an iPod in a bid to help end poverty in Africa. The singer was attending a meeting with former British prime minister Tony Blair and Microsoft mogul Bill Gates on Saturday (26Jan08) when he handed the gift to Yasuo Fukuda. But the Irish star was modest enough to refrain from adding his band's music to the mp3 device. Fukuda asked Bono whether his any of his tracks were preloaded onto the iPod, a quick-thinking Bono responded, "No, but you can download it," reports the New York Daily News.
(c) Contact Music, 2008
__________________________________________________________
New music from the Rogue Traders - listen now!
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Nice....thats cool.
people were holding up cell phones at the appropriate time too!!!
didnt the drum kit look sooooo good 3D. id see this again. WOW.
Times Online
January 29, 3008
By ADAM SHERWIN
Music fans who indulge in widespread illegal file-sharing should have
their web connections cut off by internet service providers, the
manager of U2 said.
Paul McGuinness, who has guided the Irish group to 150 million album
sales during their 30-year career, said companies such as Yahoo! and
AOL should be prosecuted if they fail to prevent illegal file-sharing.
Speaking at the Midem music industry convention in Cannes, Mr
McGuinness said: "A simple three strikes and you are out enforcement
process will see all serial illegal uploaders who resist the law face
a stark choice: change or lose your ISP subscription.
"In the UK, the Gowers report made it clear that legislation should be
considered if voluntary talks with ISPs failed to produce a commitment
to disconnect file-sharers. I'd like to see the UK Government act
promptly on this recommendation."
The UK Music trade body the BPI backed the call. Geoff Taylor, its
chief executive, said: "We have tried to persuade ISPs to implement
solutions that could avoid the need to take action against broadband
customers who use illegal peer-to-peer filesharing.
"For more than a year, we have been negotiating with them to enforce
their own terms and conditions about abuse of the account, but UK ISPs
refuse to do even that on any meaningful scale. The time has come for
ISPs to stop dragging their feet and start showing some
responsibility, by taking reasonable steps to counter illegal music
freeloading."
In France, President Sarkozy has backed the Olivennes initiative, by
which ISPs will start disconnecting repeat infringers this year. This
was a "brilliant precedent which other governments should follow", Mr
McGuiness said.
He argued that the recent Radiohead release of a download priced on
the honesty box principle had backfired. He said: "It seems that the
majority of downloads were through illegal P2P download services like
BitTorrent and LimeWire even though the album was available for
nothing through the official band site. Notwithstanding the
promotional noise, even Radiohead's honesty box principle showed that
if not constrained, the customer will steal music."
In 2004, U2 signed a deal with Apple to release a branded iPod in
exchange for a percentage of each device sold, but even Steve Jobs,
the Apple boss, had not grasped the scale of the challenge to his own
businesses, including the Walt Disney studio, presented by illegal
downloading.
Mr McGuinness said: "I wish he would bring his remarkable set of
skills to bear on the problems of recorded music. He's a technologist,
a financial genius, a marketer and a music lover. He probably doesn't
realise it, but the collapse of the old financial model for recorded
music will also mean the end of the songwriter.
"We've been used to bands who wrote their own material since the
Beatles, but the mechanical royalties that sustain songwriters are
drying up. Labels and artists, songwriters and publishers, producers
and musicians, everyone's a victim."
The manager predicted that Apple would reveal a wireless iPod that
connects to an iTunes "all of the music, wherever you are"
subscription service. "I would like it to succeed, if the content is
fairly paid for," he said.
U2 will release a new album in October, Mr McGuinness said, which
would be a collaboration with the producers Brian Eno and Daniel
Lanois. Unlike Radiohead, they are not seeking to leave their record
company. Mr McGuinness said that the band had a positive relationship
with Universal which would continue indefinitely.
Described as the "fifth member" of U2, Mr McGuinness negotiated a
valuable deal in the late Eighties that guaranteed the group ownership
of the master recordings of their albums.
© Times Newspapers Ltd., 2008.
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Daily News & Analysis
January 29, 2008
By SHRIDEVI KESHAVAN
After Madonna's Mumbai sojourn, the next in the queue seems to be U2
frontman Bono. The legendary rockstar, who has been nominated thrice
for the Nobel Peace Prize thrice, has expressed his desire to come
down to Mumbai.
Bono spoke about his India visit to DJ Suketu, who met him in
Switzerland. Suketu was there to play for the World Economic Forum.
Bono was at the Forum as a social activist and lend his support to the
event.
"My agent Anurag and I were at a coffee shop and we saw someone who
looked like Bono sitting there. It was so difficult to get in touch
with him, so we thought that we'd just say a quick hello. But he
responded to our call, waved past his security guys and met us," said
Suketu.
Apparently, Bono was at the coffee shop preparing for a meeting with
Bill Gates. He has been involved with humanitarian and social issues
for a long time now and expressed his desire to come to India as he
supports the cause of AIDS and is a Goodwill Ambassador for the United
Nations.
"He was saying that India is very much in his scheme of things and
that he hasn't decided on the time because of his tight schedule. He
even went on to say that he would like to perform here (in Mumbai)
with his band (U2)," said Suketu, adding: "Bono loves Indian music and
is quiet interested in Bollywood. I had my laptop with me and I
compiled and presented him a CD with my Bollywood mixes then and there.
"He seemed like a really nice person and was more than happy to chat
up with us. My pulse was high and I had to go get some rest after I
met him because for me he's like God," said Suketu.
© Diligent Media Corporation Ltd., 2008.
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Irish Voice
January 30, 2008
by CAHIR O'DOHERTY
CATHERINE Owens, the Irish visual designer behind each of U2's
worldwide tours for the past 15 years, and the co-director (with Mark
Pellington) of U2 3D, the concert film about the celebrated Irish rock
band that's now playing, first began her work by shaping the look and
feel of the band's "ZooTV" tour in 1992.
In a real sense, Owens became a fifth member of the band in the early
1990s, because her background in multimedia (sculpture, video art,
sound design, photography) went on to serve as a powerful inspiration
for U2's subsequent "PopMart," "Elevation" and "Vertigo" tours.
Working closely with the band for years, Owens became familiar with
their artistic sensibilities, and that made her the natural choice to
direct U2 3D, the new concert movie about the band, and the first ever
film of their show in digital 3D.
This week she told the Irish Voice how the project got started. "The
band really are big fans of high technology, so when they got the
chance to film in digital 3D they jumped at it," she said.
"Having worked with them as their visual content provider for over 15
years now we already knew about their stage presence really well, we
know how they look on stage. I just knew the 3D medium would be a good
medium to reflect that show in."
3D may not be an entirely new medium, because we live in it after all,
but dispel any lingering memories of cheesy1950s era sci-fi 3D movies
and prepare to be dazzled. The fact is, 3D has entered the digital age
and the advance in the technology is literally stunning.
"We didn't commit to filming in 3D until we saw the test screening by
the company that makes the 3D cameras. They made a test with the NFL
for a Super Bowl game," she said.
"It looked amazing and that just clinched it. I could tell that if we
really made it ours we'd get what we wanted out of it."
As U2 played Buenos Aires, Argentina, Owens and her co-director Mark
Pellington called the camera shots from a control room where they were
looking at a bank of monitors. The filming process was exactly like a
2D shoot in most respects, with cameras directed at each of the band
members.
Owens made the decision at the beginning to focus exclusively on the
band's performance. There was no Spinal Tap intimate behind the scenes
shots of how many trucks it takes to carry the set, or the band
members arriving bleary eyed at another foreign airport.
"There's a fine line between shooting and ending up in the Spinal Tap
world. We really just felt like U2's live performance is their
strength, so why not play to it? We decided to leave all the story
telling to someone else," Owens said.
It was a wise decision. U2 3D rediscovers the genius of the band live,
so much so that at times it feels like a reintroduction.
The spell is never broken. The achievement is all the more impressive
because technically, 3D filming is grueling to film and edit. Added to
that are U2's own standards, which are high, because what might pass
in the normal world won't pass in U2 world.
"U2 are very hands on, they're very involved in the editing process
and they insist on signing off on everything," Owens reveals.
"We'd come to New York with scenes for their approval, for example. Or
we'd meet them at home in Dublin and we'd sit in their kitchen and get
a yes or a no. Bono is very tech savvy so we even sent him QuickTime
files to approve online. We ran the gamut of how you could possibly
sign off on these things."
Longtime band watchers will not be surprised to hear that U2 is a
democracy, not a kingdom. Creatively Bono and Owens have a fairly
strong connection, but once that conversation ends, U2 members Edge,
Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen kick in. The band are known to hold
strong opinions, but interestingly they never get involved in
conversations about the direction of Owens film.
"Bono doesn't get involved in directing at all. His only question to
me was the same as the entire band's — what direction can you give us?
My answer to that was just do what you normally do as a band, but do
it a little more consciously. That was all the direction they got."
The film is visually thrilling, raising the roof and reintroducing the
band to longtime fans and even to themselves. Bono and Edge have
commented that this is the first time they have really been able to
see themselves live, and Owens is quite sure that those observations
will follow them through to the next album. Conversations about the
next tour have already begun.
"In the few seconds were I see Bono at various events — before he gets
pulled away by five people — he's always telling me we've got to get
together, he's got loads more ideas about the next show. Meanwhile, I
would seriously suggest that anyone who's watching the new film should
dance in the aisles, if they're so inclined."
U2 3D is now playing in select cinemas nationwide.
© IrishAbroad.com, 2008.
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Wall Street Journal
February 1, 2008
By KELLY CROW
Rock Star Woos Artists For Big Charity Sale; A $7 Million Hirst
Rock star Bono is turning to the booming art world to help his
altruistic brand, (Product) Red, raise much-needed cash and cachet.
On Feb. 14, Sotheby's Red auction in New York will sell as much as $28
million of art donated by Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons, Banksy and five
dozen other top artists in a sale of a scale not usually seen in art
or charity fund-raisers. Offerings include a 9-foot-tall medicine
cabinet by Mr. Hirst estimated at up to $7 million; a red
balloon-animal sculpture by Jeff Koons estimated at up to $1.2
million; and a new Jasper Johns gray watercolor estimated at up to
$600,000.
[red slideshow]
The sale marks a shift in strategy for Red. Until now, the
two-year-old commercial enterprise has teamed up with companies to
license the Red logo on everyday products like $51.99 sneakers and $28
T-shirts, with between 40% and 50% of the profits going to the Global
Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, a Swiss foundation
spearheaded six years ago by former United Nations Secretary General
Kofi Annan.
Between March 2006 and March 2007, Red partnered with four companies
that generated $25 million in contributions. Since then, it has added
five new partners and generated $34 million in contributions. (Three
of those partners, Hallmark , Microsoft and Dell, are just now rolling
out their products.) One early partner, American Express, says it has
decided to not issue its Red card outside the United Kingdom.
Red's chief executive, Susan Smith Ellis, says the brand needs
"oxygen" and that the auction is one step in an effort to move
upmarket. The new Red Editions line includes a series of 39 red Zaha
Hadid "Aqua" tables priced at almost $60,000 each at boutiques like
London's Established & Sons. She hopes to line up other collaborations
with art stars like Mr. Hirst who can attract a well-heeled clientele.
"The difficult thing Red faces is that it tried to make charity trendy
for everyone," says Daniel Borochoff, president of the American
Institute of Philanthropy. "And in a down economy, you need
deep-pocketed supporters because the rest are worried about their
mortgages."
So far, Red's contribution to the cause is comparatively small. Over
the past six years, the Global Fund has attracted a total $18.4
billion and committed $10.1 billion for disease-treatment and
-prevention programs in 137 countries, with nearly all the money
donated by governments. Of Red's $59 million in donations, the fund
has made $42 million in AIDS-related grants to Africa.
Last year the major auction houses sold $12 billion of art. Yet
charity art auctions rarely raise more than $5 million apiece, auction
houses say. Sotheby's participated in over 300 charity auctions last
year that collectively raised over $150 million.
For the Red auction, Mr. Hirst says Bono invited him more than a year
ago to bring his family to the south of France for a vacation. During
their visit, the rock singer hired a boat, which the artist initially
considered a "generous" gesture. Then one night Mr. Hirst says Bono
"got me drunk, and at about 5 o'clock in the morning, he asked me if
I'd do this [auction]." Mr. Hirst agreed to donate his own work as
well as compose handwritten letters to induce 50 other artists to give.
Bono says he approached Mr. Hirst to steer the sale in part because
the artist, who last year covered a human skull with roughly $24
million in diamonds, is "not afraid of the big beast of commerce -- he
rides the back of it."
Some diplomacy was required to bring together traditional art-world
rivals. Bono and Mr. Hirst asked Sotheby's and the Gagosian Gallery to
market the sale together and conduct it on Valentine's Day. To do
that, the auction house had to push back a major auction of
contemporary art in London so that it wouldn't compete for bidders at
the Red sale in New York, even though rival Christie's is proceeding
with its London sale next week as planned. Gagosian and Sotheby's
funneled their invitations through a third-party mailing house because
neither wanted to share its client roster. The pair will split as much
as 10% of the auction's sales to cover administrative costs; the
remainder goes to the Global Fund.
Sotheby's and Gagosian are using the sale to showcase some of their
artists who haven't typically been seen in a New York evening sale,
such as Bernar Venet and an art team called Gelitin. Sotheby's is
privately brokering some sales of Mr. Venet's steel sculptures, and
Gagosian recently showed Gelitin in its London gallery.
Participating artists were allowed to suggest prices for their donated
works, but not every artist approached for the sale signed on. Bono
says Chris Ofili declined. (A spokesman for Mr. Ofili says the artist
had committed to another upcoming benefit.) Last week several pieces
by African artists were added as a gift from collector Jean Pignozzi;
only one African native, Yinka Shonibare, had been included in the
sale's original lineup.
Artist Antony Gormley in London says he is "inundated" by requests to
give art to fund-raisers. He accepted this time because he wanted to
help Africa and he hoped the auction would be "the art world's answer
to Live Aid." For Christmas, Bono sent a red iPod nano to Mr. Gormley
and each of the other participating artists. "I was very touched,"
says Mr. Gormley. His sculpture of a man, "Insider IX/Weeds II," is
expected to sell for up to $250,000.
Some see Red's high-end focus as proof that its business model needs
tweaking. "Red's success has been up and down, and the next round will
only get more complicated," says Russ Meyer, a chief strategy officer
who tracks Red for the branding firm Landor Associates.
Bono calls his start-up's performance "incredible" when compared with
sales of other products with nonprofit tie-ins. The Lance Armstrong
Foundation says it took nearly four years to sell $70 million of
yellow "Live Strong" wristbands at $1 a pop, and it has taken 25 years
for Newman's Own Foundation to pull in more than $200 million.
Unlike these nonprofits, Red faces market pressure to show growth. Red
charges an undisclosed licensing fee to companies to pay for its
16-person staff and London and New York offices. For the most part,
Red has relied largely on the marketing budgets of its partner
companies, which spent about $50 million in Red's first year, Ms.
Smith Ellis says. (Red's own annual marketing budget is under $1 million.)
Artist Marc Quinn in London says he has been following Red's
trajectory from afar, and agreed to donate "Red Sphinx," a
white-bronze sculpture of Kate Moss in a heart-shaped yoga pose with
red lips. It is estimated to sell for as much as $350,000. "Maybe this
will convince other companies to give away more than a few cents at a
time" to charity, he says. "I mean, we're giving away the whole thing."
© Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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February 02, 2008
posted by: m2
Paul McGuinness has debunked the Fox News rumor that U2 might bail on
Universal Music and sell music through Live Nation. In an e-mail to
HITS magazine, McGuinness says: "This is untrue. As I said in my MIDEM
speech, U2 has an excellent relationship with Universal. We have
recently re-licensed both masters and copyrights to them." HITS goes to
say that U2 is believed to have four albums left on its current
contract with Universal. (Thx Lance)
m2
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Posted by: Tassoula
The Boston Herald reports that Converse is releasing new
limited-edition (RED) shoes designed by 100 different artists to
celebrate their hundredth year.
Who is one of their chosen designers? None other than The Edge.
No word yet on what the sneakers look like or when they'll be in
stores. Stay tuned to @U2 for details as they become available.
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My respect for Paul Mc died a while back...as soon as I heard that about the fiasco about him offering ticket "packages" to sold out U2 shows at prices that were out of this world...he is/was U2's biggest scalper :(
www.myspace.com/volinic
www.myspace.com/zane26 (band)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pyo2zVh4yw
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I was there...best show of any kind I've ever seen.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXnHKZYnmnc
Her lips say one thing,her movements something else.
posted by: m2
If you missed Bono's appearance on Good Morning America today, no
worries. Our friends at U2exit.com have the clip online. It's an
interview with Bono and Damien Hirst which was done prior to
Thursday's wildly successful Product (RED) art auction in New York.
Use the link...
watch the video at U2exit.com >>
http://www.u2exit.com/2008/02/bono_on_good_morning_america_-_video.php
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February 8, 2008
Pop of Ages
By Owen Gleiberman
Rating: A-
The side-by-side release of "U2 3D" and "Hannah Montana & Miley
Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert" invites you to line up the pop
past and pop future in fascinating tandem.
It's routine wisdom to say that U2 is the greatest rock & roll band
of the past 25 years (depending on the day, I'd go with R.E.M., but
who's quibbling?), yet this raises a question: Will the next 25 years
produce a band with the passion and power, the transporting sweep, of
U2? The rise of the tween-fashionista mechano-pop juggernaut Hannah
Montana doesn't bode well.
I can't, offhand, think of an entertainer who could dignify the
prospect of a 3-D movie more than Bono. If he says 3-D is a noble
cause, that's good enough for me. I wasn't sure what to expect
from "U2 3D" -- the Edge tossing guitar picks into our faces -- but
the film, shot in South America during the band's Vertigo tour, comes
at us in images that are nearly sculptural. The 3D visuals envelop
you, majestically, and that effect fuses with the band's surround-
sound rapture to create a full-scale sensory high. "U2 3D" makes you
feel stoned on movies.
On this tour, U2 had cleaned away a lot of their stage bric-a-brac,
and what we're left with is great songs ("Pride," "One," the
incomparable "With or Without You"), plus a few duds ("Bullet the
Blue Sky"), as Bono, with his soaring message of global love, rules
the crowd like a hippie cult leader. The Edge doesn't just create
walls of sound -- he creates cathedrals of sound. It's hard to
imagine, in the digital era, downloading a band as monumental as this
one.
© Entertainment Weekly, 2008.
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February 19, 2008
Billboard
By JONATHAN COHEN
U2 has hit the studio in Dublin to continue work on its next studio
album with longtime collaborators Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois. "We're
going to try and break new sonic ground and deliver a masterpiece,"
Lanois tells Billboard.com. "The sleeves are rolled up. Bono is all
charged up with a lyrical angle."
As previously reported, U2, Eno and Lanois have spent time working on
new material on three prior occasions in France and Morocco, and
Lanois confirms the results are prolific.
"There's so much material," he says, referring to speculation that the
sessions could yield two new albums. "When you get Eno and I and those
guys in the room, before lunch there's like eight things."
"We've had some exciting beginnings via jam sessions," he continues.
"Now we will pick our favorite beginnings and say, 'OK, that's a
lovely springboard. Now what are we trying to say?' The springboards
are sometimes melodic, sometimes riff-based, but I can assure you they
are exciting."
There's no date yet for the project, which will be the follow-up to
2004's "How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb."
In other U2 news, the group has contributed to a new charity single,
"The Ballad of Ronnie Drew," proceeds from which will benefit the
cancer-stricken Irish artist of the same name. The track will be
available in Ireland only as a download beginning Friday (Feb. 22) and
week later on CD.
In addition to U2, "The Ballad of Ronnie Drew" features appearances by
the Pogues' Shane MacGowan, the Frames' Glen Hansard, Sinead O'Connor,
Andrea Corr, Damien Dempsey, Ronan Keating, Chris de Burgh, Gavin
Friday and members of the Dubliners.
© 2008, Nielsen Business Media, Inc.
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