U2 - Idolator

liner notes

A Party Affiliation That Pretty Much Anyone Can Get Behind

I went to PS 112 in Astoria to vote this morning, and while the school's lobby was bake-sale-free, casting my ballot and walking to the subway put me in a good mood. The sun was shining, the air was crisp, and the promise of not being bombarded with election-related speculation was close on the horizon, at least until some idiot commentator utters the word "2012" while scrambling to fill space on whatever cable-news channel has given him airtime. Which is probably why I had Andrew WK's "Party Hard" in my head: Sure, it was barely after nine in the morning and I was on my way back to work, instead of heading out for the evening, but my heart felt right—like it was enjoying some wine, canapes, and total fucking raging. And isn't that what matters? A counterpoint party song, and a rundown of some notable stories that got lost in the Election Day shuffle, after the jump. More »

5:00 PM on Tue Nov 4 2008
By Maura Johnston
326 views, 11 comments

Latest by the rich girls are weeping: @Poubelle: Thx, that's what I was attempting to link to, yes! more »

taxonomies

Idolator's Guide To Condiment Pop Smears Ketchup And Miracle Whip All Over Your Stereo

During last week's discussion of Marmite artists—those artists that are so divisive, they force people to take sides, with no one left in the middle—Idolator commenter moomintroll wondered if we shouldn't try and find more ways to classify popular bands through their analogues to various condiments. Since we figured the safe space in the fridge inhabited by your ketchups, your mustards, and your molding bottles of Hidden Valley Ranch was as good a way to make sense of the current musical landscape as any, we invited her to flesh out her theory for us. It's after the jump! More »

10:00 AM on Wed Oct 22 2008
By moomintroll
1,881 views, 11 comments

Latest by moomintroll: @Thierry: Yeah, Timbaland is definitely in anchovy territory right now. more »

project x

Project X Would Do Anything For Love, But It Won’t Sing That

As part of Idolator's continuing effort to geekily analyze every music chart known to man, we present a new edition of Project X, in which Michaelangelo Matos breaks down top-ten lists from every genre imaginable. In this special Oct. 10 edition of his column—it is 10/10, after all—he breaks down some of the worst lyrics to reach the airwaves of British radio. More »

10:00 AM on Fri Oct 10 2008
By Michaelangelo Matos
592 views, 24 comments

corporate rock still sells

Celebrating 20 Years Of Modern-Rock Countdowns, From Siouxsie To Staind

Many people find it hard to tell the great from the godawful when it comes to 21st-century mainstream rock. To help figure out which is which, here's "Corporate Rock Still Sells," where Al "GovernmentNames" Shipley examines what's good, bad, and ugly in the world of rock and roll. This time around, he celebrates the 20th anniversary of Billboard's Modern Rock chart by cherry-picking some of its most oddly notable chart-toppers: More »

11:00 AM on Wed Sep 10 2008
By Al Shipley
1,132 views, 22 comments

delays

U2 Album Coming Out In October, Or On New Year's Day, Or At Some Other Undetermined Date

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". More »

2:00 PM on Thu Sep 4 2008
By Rob Murphy
554 views, 2 comments

Latest by Pete the Chop: Al's got a point. I think at this point, especially after what they feel happened with the release of "POP," the band is very keen on doing things at their own very comfortable, very drawn-out pace. more »

sorta-leak of the weekend

Bono Clearly Needs To Move Somewhere A Little More Remote

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 album for all neighbors to hear. In what could be seen as some of the best revenge on a bad neighbor ever, said snooper recorded the songs Bono was blasting and then put them up on the Internet. But was the taping as "illicit" as people thought? See, this whole "omg, I was just walking by and these new U2 songs happened to be playing" thing also happened back in 2006, although funnily enough, one of those "leaks" turned out to be a track by Albert Hammond Jr. Anyway, whether this is just a pre-pre-release publicity stunt for Bono (or Julian Casablancas?) or just the result of Bono thinking that he is, in fact, the lord of his domain, Vulture has kindly embedded all the "leaked" tracks for you to hear. Be warned: all the distortion and Dopplering were enough to induce vertigo. (And no, I'm not using that term as a clever reference.) [Vulture]

2:45 PM on Mon Aug 18 2008
By Maura Johnston
472 views, 6 comments

Latest by Silverfuture: @owenmeany: Not to mention the fact that he's standing next to a narcoleptic with flowers growing from her pits. more »

yay, activism!

Online Petitioners Still Haven't Found What They're Looking For

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. More »

1:30 PM on Fri Aug 1 2008
By Kate Richardson
355 views, 18 comments

nostalgia

Is There Anyone In Music Who Doesn't Wish It Was 1989?

Michael Jackson is collaborating with New Kids On The Block? Are they for real? Assuming he doesn't still think Donnie et al are still in their teens, the only reason he'd team up with a group he wouldn't have been caught dead with 20 years ago is that he really misses 20 years ago. And it seems he's not alone. We've got Sonic Youth filling most to all of their sets with Daydream Nation, Public Enemy taking a nation of millions back in time, Dinosaur Jr. reunited, R.E.M. showing off a drummer, My Bloody Valentine acting like ain't a damn thing changed, Lloyd and Lil' Wayne sampling "Ashley's Roachclip," and Pretty Ricky rocking giant shoulderpads. While it's no news that nostalgia can run in twenty-year loops, it's possible that no one who pushed product back in the day, and is still trying to do so now, wouldn't mind hearing it was 1989 again. Are any artists actually in a better state now than they were then? I could think of very, very few. More »

12:00 PM on Thu Jul 10 2008
By Anthony Miccio
834 views, 18 comments

Latest by DocStrange: In 1989, The Cure unleashed "Disintegration". In 2008, The Cure will release "The album we haven't bothered to name yet despite the fact we've already released two singles off of it and it comes out in two months". I'd rather have 1989. more »

311, we're ready to fight

311 Compare Themselves To Grateful Dead, U2, Phish, Your Mom

Chad Sexton, the diminutive drummer for 311, made sure to leave no sensibility unoffended when searching for the correct group to compare his stoner-friendly crap-metal ensemble to in a recent interview with MTV. "I think we have the same appeal as a band like the Grateful Dead. We have some Deadheads in the band, and when they stopped touring, Phish kind of took over for them, and maybe Dave Matthews Band has some of that same appeal as well. We can jam on our [songs] like those bands, but I'd say we're kind of a band between—and I'm not comparing us to these bands, but just in the level of status and accomplishment, and that they're still together—U2 and Phish. It's somewhere in the middle of that, and we're hoping to define that a little better over the next couple of years." While no one would call me a big U2 fan, I don't think its fair to bring them up when trying to explain what a concert draw your shitty band is. Wouldn't it have been more appropriate to place 311 between Phish and the Kottonmouth Kings? More »

12:00 PM on Mon Jul 7 2008
By Anthony Miccio
1,117 views, 13 comments

Latest by antistar2000: Thanks for pointing out how much they suck on so many different levels. I thought I was the only one who loathed their "funk rock". more »

alternate histories

Ten Artists Who Should Be Very Glad They're Not Axl Rose

The attention the media gives to Guns N' Roses and My Bloody Valentine may give young bands the idea that it'd actually be good for their legacy to record regularly for six years, then hold off for at least another 15 so that fan excitement can build and their myth can blossom. (Hey, if Sting and Joe Strummer had waited that long to record follow-ups to Synchronicity and Combat Rock, maybe people would have cared more about Brand New Day and Rock Art And The X-Ray Style!) So I looked at what would have happened to some of rock's most legendary figures if they, too, had waited 15 years to release new albums once their first six years of putting out records were done—and found that extended absences rarely make later projects look much better. More »

1:00 PM on Mon Jun 30 2008
By Anthony Miccio
1,733 views, 20 comments

Latest by DavidWatts: My favorite thing about this post was being reminded of BS 2000. That was back when I was duping CDs from my college radio station and trying to copy the CD art with a Sharpe. My BS 2000 was one more »

paul is dead (wrong!)

Bono Backs Away From Manager's Radiohead-Bashing Ways

Like U2's manager, Paul McGuinness, Bono firmly believes that all problems can be solved by haranguing people in power and pleading for charitable donations, rather than actually changing economic models. But one thing Bono won't do is dis Radiohead, one of the few successful bands with any critical cachet whatsoever. So when McGuinness decided to call the Internet release of In Rainbows a failure, Bono felt it necessary to send a letter to NME making clear that while their manager doesn't want the RIAA to consider these upstarts' hair-brained schemes, U2 thinks the band are "courageous and imaginative," etc., smooch smooch, let's photo op with Barack sometime. More »

9:30 AM on Mon Jun 30 2008
By Anthony Miccio
516 views, 3 comments

Latest by okiedoke: Those damned disintermediates. Darned damnable, I say. more »

maybe he can start a blog

U2's Manager Should Do More Managing, Less Talking

After starting up a firestorm of hot blogging commentary recently with his comments about the Internet and music, Paul McGuinness is at it again, this time pontificating about Radiohead's dramatic sales failure with In Rainbows. More »

11:30 AM on Tue Jun 10 2008
By Dan Gibson
1,001 views, 8 comments

little royalties in big china

U2's Manager Hectors ISPs And China To Give Bands More Money

Though record companies have grudgingly begun learning how to utilize the Internet, U2 manager Paul McGuinness still thinks yelling about how Internet service providers should do more to fight piracy and give bands a bigger cut of the profits is the way to go. "Cable operators, ISPs, device manufacturers, P2P software companies—companies that have used music to drive vast revenues from broadband subscriptions and from advertising," he told an audience in Hong Kong. "They would argue that they have been neutral bystanders to the spectacular devaluation of music. I don't believe that is true." He revealed the extent of his belief by comparing them to "shoplifters" and accusing them of "rigging the market." And don't get him started on China! More »

2:20 PM on Thu Jun 5 2008
By Anthony Miccio
235 views, 5 comments

Latest by Anthony Miccio: @KikoJones: B-b-but what if there was a "red" wireless plan? more »

we still haven't found what we're looking for

The Top Ten Not-Bonos

The social conscience and strident voice of Bono has influenced many a singer over the last few decades. The U2 frontman successfully melded the earnest social conscience of Bruce Springsteen with the self-glorifying pomp of European arena acts, realizing that both the Common Man and King Dick were below Jesus on the food chain. Sure there was precedent, but Sting is handicapped by his ego (and jazz bass), while Ian McCullough wanted to be a romantic poet/sex object more than the messiah. Here are ten singers who, at their best (or worst), have aspired to the Almighty's throne. More »

2:30 PM on Wed May 28 2008
By Anthony Miccio
1,486 views, 19 comments

Latest by prolixrush: Why isn't Ryan Adams playing guitar in that Late Show clip? Bizarre. Also, man, did he look smokin-ass hot with more meat on his bones. more »

the new model

U2 Signs With Live Nation, Forces World To Imagine What Bono Will Look Like In 2021

U2 has signed a 12-year-deal with Live Nation, handing their worldwide merchandising, digital and branding rights over to the concert-promotion behemoth. The size of the payoff was not announced, but it should be considerably smaller than the $120 million the monolith shelled out to Madonna, as the band will continue recording for Universal Music Group. But with the majors rushing to sign their acts to all-encompassing "360" deals in the face of dwindling music sales, "merchandise and licensing rights, sponsorship and strategic alliances, digital rights, fan club/Web sites and other marketing and creative services" may be the sweeter plums. Which would you rather own, the copyright to Bono's mug or the sequel to How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb?[Reuters / Photo: AP]

9:15 AM on Mon Mar 31 2008
By Anthony Miccio
484 views, 1 comment

Latest by okiedoke: No comment. more »

debunkings

U2 Will Not Be Pulling A Madonna Anytime Soon

U2's technologically averse manager, Paul McGuinness, rebuts earlier reports that his charges would be leaving Universal Music Group for a Live Nation payday: "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." Rumor has it that the band is in with Doug Morris and Co. for four more albums. [Hits / Previously; Photo: AP]

9:30 AM on Mon Feb 4 2008
By Maura Johnston
105 views, 1 comment

rumors

Is U2 Going To Leave Universal Music Group Behind?

Maybe, according to Fox rumormonger Roger Friedman. Word is that U2 is one of two outfits currently in negotiations for a deal with Live Nation that would be similar tothe 360-degree payday that Madonna scored last fall. The Bono-led band, which started out its career on Island Records and has put out records in the U.S. on Interscope, went triple-platinum in the States with its 2004 album How To Build An Atomic Bomb; Friedman's tipster is claiming that the band's contract with its label was either fulfilled by Bomb or the recently released remaster of The Joshua Tree. More »

2:45 PM on Fri Feb 1 2008
By Maura Johnston
807 views, 13 comments

Latest by Lucas Jensen: @Cos: POP was a "failure" that would be a success to most bands, as Dennisobell has pointed out. American Life was an out-and-out turd. more »

lambastings

U2's Manager Wants To Violate Your Privacy For Violating His Bank Account

U2 may have happily whored themselves out as iPod silhouettes, but their manager, Paul McGuinness, is famously no great fan of modern musical technology and the ease with which it allows "fans" to siphon revenue away from bands (and of course that manager's 10 or 20 percent off the top). During a presentation at the International Managers Summit in France, where we assume he concluded by banging his shoe on the table and demanding the blood of the BitTorrenters, McGuinness furiously laid into record companies (you should have cut MP3s off at the pass!), the crazy scientists and their crazy innovations (you never should have let things progress past 400 lb. turntables and adding machines!), but most especially Internet service providers, who are turning a blind eye to piracy...but not to the cash they rake in thanks to piracy! And McGuinness isn't going to let them get away with it any longer, even if it means he has to publicly embarrass them. And himself! More »

9:30 AM on Tue Jan 29 2008
By Jess Harvell
806 views, 7 comments

Latest by Swankster: His analogies would work better if he said... "If you were a transportation agency that owned and advertised roads leading to chopshops filled with stolen cars, handling the money for tolls in and out of these roads and seeing to the more »

Idolator

"American Idol" Is Playing Ringer Toss Again

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