Thu Oct 23 2008 by Lucas Jensen
Radar reports that The New York Times editorial page will have Bono penning columns for it in 2009; he’ll do six to ten (that’s an oddly vague commitment) pieces for the Gray Lady next year. (Radar also teases the possibility that this could mean the sacking of Sarah Palin fetishist Bill Kristol, which is a deal I would gladly take.)
Biases up front: I’m a huge U2 fan, and I think that Bono, despite his arrogance, is a saint, a musician who puts his money where his mouth is and works really hard for the things he believes in, like the AIDS crisis in Africa and forgiveness of Third World debt. (We need some of that in the First World, come to think of it.) These articles could be thoughtful think pieces about the geopolitical issues. I’ve seen him on the Today shows of the world sounding like he knows what he’s talking about. Unfortunately, I’ve also seen him pontificate at awards shows like some godforsaken beat poet-warrior robot that only speaks in bluesy non-sequiturs. Which is why I’m worried that these NYT pieces might end up looking lke this:
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Mon Oct 13 2008 by Maura
As Matos mentioned earlier this month, the Seattle radio station KEXP decided to mark its annual membership drive by counting down its listeners’ 903 favorite albums–and they’d better realize that however much Radiohead is currently in their playlist, it’s not nearly enough, as four albums by that band are in this list’s top 20. OK Computer tops the list; The Bends is No. 9; Kid A is No. 11; and In Rainbows squeaks into No. 20. Where it’s right behind The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust and Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. (You know what I love about Internet polling? The perspective all of the people who care enough to vote on these sorts of things seem to have.) Anyway, the top 50–as well as Nos. 900-903–are after the jump. Take notes on it, as this Thom, Win, Kurdt, and Bono-heavy list will surely calcify into The New Classic Rock Orthodoxy sometime within the coming decade.
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Fri Oct 10 2008 by Dan Gibson
There’s nothing like a glowing profile in Billboard to make a guy look good, and the mag’s “exclusive” interview with Universal Music Group Chairman/CEO Doug Morris is no exception. His office is presented in “modest statements” (if you consider a drawing by Bono “modest”), and he’s too focused and centered to give himself any credit for his accomplishments. Still, despite the series of totally softball questions, Morris dropped a few gems. Or doozies.
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Thu Oct 2 2008 by Maura
Earlier this week, MTV Europe announced the nominations for the European Music Awards, and I got halfway through a post about the nods before I got completely, utterly bored. Duffy’s Rockferry as a potential Album Of The Year? A shoehorned-in nod for the huge-in-Europe 30 Seconds To Mars? Well, apparently I wasn’t the only person on the Internet to be a bit underwhelmed by the nods, because in an effort to rally the troops via the employment of a meme that died six months ago, MTV has decided that Rick Astley–he of the Internet gotcha known as the “Rickroll”–should be one of the potential winners of the “Best Act Ever” award. And to further ensure that Internet attention would be forthwith, one of the other nominees is the way-more-popular-online-than-in-real-life German act Tokio Hotel. Yes, that’s for the best act ever, and not of that three-month period during sophomore year when you wrote in your journal a lot and thought hard about life’s unfairness. The full slate of potential all-time winners after the jump.
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Mon Sep 29 2008 by Maura
As rumored last month, Bruce Springsteen and the… More »
Tue Sep 16 2008 by Dan Gibson
OK, this brand-new feature might be one that will run “every so often” more than “weekly,” but who better to kick it off: Bill Drummond of the legendary KLF will be reading from his new book 17 in London this Thursday. (Theoretically, anyway.)
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Thu Sep 4 2008 by rtelfairm
Because I’m assisting our Idolators from a location far from the shmancy “Mac” computers at the Idolator flophouse, I don’t have access to the macro that brings up the “the next album from [blank artist] has been delayed until [blank date]” template for quick-posting. So I guess I’ll just have to write this up by hand: According to Bono, the next U2 album–previously scheduled for release later this year, and a major component of UMG’s 2008Q4 business plan–has been delayed to some vague date in “early 2009″.
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Mon Aug 18 2008 by Maura
Over the weekend, some enterprising U2 fan decided to sit outside Bono’s beach house in the south of France–not because he wanted to stalk the philanthropic frontman, but because dude was giving the immediate area near his house a listening party of sorts, blaring material from his band’s new… More »
Fri Aug 1 2008 by Kate Richardson
If you dislike Bono, it’s probably for one or more of the following reasons: 1) he writes epic, yet somehow quite boring music; 2) that heinous iPod commercial; 3) he (allegedly) misrepresents Africa in his (allegedly) misguided attempts at AIDS relief. If you subscribe to the latter, there’s now an online petition pledging “a ton of money to fight AIDS” if–and only if–Bono retires from public life.
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Thu Jul 10 2008 by Maura
“Which pop superstar asked friends to hide them from Bono at an event as they were terrified of being roped into his Red scheme?” Well, it’s definitely not Bob Dylan… More »
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