As the U2 publicity juggernaut invades every possible pop culture show on the planet, Bono soundbites are becoming unfortunately more frequent. And about as welcome as a dose of gonorrhea.

The latest is what seems to be a back-handed compliment to Coldplay’s Chris Martin. After initially calling him a wanker, Bono went on to praise Martin’s ‘genius’, saying:

Obviously he is a completely dysfunctional character and a cretin but he happens to be a genius melodist and I think up there with Ray Davies and Noel Gallagher and Paul McCartney.

Naturally, a lot of the insults are healthy camaraderie and not sensational at all. After all, U2 and Coldplay are still labelmates, aren’t they?

To my mind, Coldplay always seemed a bit derivative of U2. Not an exact soundalike, but you can hear a clear influence on their sound.

So, following that line of thought, is it fair to say that Bono just gave himself a back-handed compliment?

U2 will be special guests at BBC Radio on Friday 27 February when listeners can enjoy access to one of the world’s greatest rock bands – including a special Live Lounge session on BBC Radio 1.

The band will be performing three tracks for a Radio 1 Live Lounge session in Jo Whiley’s daytime show from 10.00am.

Later that day on BBC Radio 2, Chris Evans will play host to U2 on his drivetime show at 5.00pm, interviewing all four members of U2 about the secrets of their success, from their formation in Dublin in 1976, to nine number one albums in the UK and 22 Grammy Awards.

A number of lucky Radio 1 listeners will be able to watch the band live at the BBC Radio Theatre – find out how to by listening to Jo’s show from Monday 23 February.

U2’s Live Lounge session co-incides with Jo Whiley’s first week back at Radio 1 after five months maternity leave.

Jo says: “Time has flown and I’m very excited about getting back to my show and being reunited with my radio family – it’s always a bit nerve-racking going back after having a baby but having U2, one of the world’s biggest bands, playing in the Live Lounge and debuting new songs from their very fine latest album is especially thrilling.”

Chris Evans says: “When it comes to rock ‘n’ roll it doesn’t get any bigger than U2, and when the biggest are getting better, backed up by the sheer brilliance of their new album, it will only be a pure joy to have them as part of our little radio show for one night only.”

Jo Whiley, Radio 1, weekdays, 10.00am-12.45pm from Monday 23 February.

Chris Evans, Radio 2, weekdays, 5.00-7.00pm

Dupree is a musician and designer (among many talents, I believe), and recorded an album back in 2006 with Richard Chartier. The album, specification.fifteen, uses the same Hiroshi Sugimoto photograph as U2 are using on their new album cover. Take a look:

Dupree quite sensibly points out that since the use of the image was sanctioned by Sugimoto, perhaps the Japanese photographer could have informed U2 that the image had been used before. Maybe he did and they decided to press on regardless?

Anyway, some people decided to sensationalise this and claim that Dupree went off on a rant about this. There’s nothing controversial about this – however, he does make some good points:

perhaps Sugimoto himself, being aware of our cover, or U2’s designer could (maybe) have suggested a different photograph or perhaps a different layout direction. at least, that’s my opinion, coming as a graphic designer myself.. i try not to design things that are too close to something else out there (if that’s possible).

Fair point. Although there are obvious tonal differences between the covers, it’s clearly the same image, but as Mr Dupree says:

this minor ordeal has become more a question of a project that was small, intimate and experimental (and the chance of a lifetime for a small artist) vs. the massive pop culture machine. in the end we all know who wins.

OK, here’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for – a listen to U2’s new single, Get On Your Boots.

It’s the first single from No Line On The Horizon (which we talked about earlier), and it’s beyond all my expectations. It’s described as a “blazing, fuzzed-out rocker that picks up where "Vertigo" left off.”

More importantly, the lyrics show that Bono can have a laugh at himself, when he sings “I don’t wanna talk about wars between nations”. In fact, the basic thrust of Get On Your Boots is about just having some fun.

The harmonies are perhaps the most jarring thing for me – they’re just not something I associate with U2’s sound. That’s not a negative, by the way, but it’s great to hear something new from the band

Other Reviews

This is too important a single to just hear my verdict – let’s see what bloggers and U2 fans are saying. Skott Bennett has been quoted extensively, but this is interesting:

The single most striking thing about this song for me are the drums. Or at least I think they’re drums. I’ve never heard so many layers of rhythm on a U2 song. There are a lot of very processed drums (I thought of Kasabian at one point and N*E*R*D* at another) and loops going on, coming in and out of the mix and then at points it goes back to traditional sounding drums for emphasis.

Here’s a quote from Alan Cross, radio host for ExploreMusic:

There are some new sounds that could only come from an Eno/Lanois production, which left me with a feeling similar to what I experienced when I heard “The Fly” for the first time. This is NOT a back-to-basics guitar/bass/drums track like “Vertigo” or even “Beautiful Day.” There’s some definite sonic evolution going on here.

A slightly less opinionated review from Slate says:

Upon first listens, the song is quite a traditional rock tune in line with the kind of song that appeared on How To Dismantle An Atomic Band. The song is stripped of any large rock histrionics in favour of some treated drums and is certainly a less dramatic affair than recent material.

Greg, over at Ventvox has a great description of a single that:

marks a change in direction for the influential rock band. The track opens with a serpentine down tuned guitar riff while polyrhythmic percussion plays off Bono rattling lyrics off like a post rock Dylan attempting a new version of “Subterranean Homesick Blues.”

Anyway, Get On Your Boots will be released as a digital download on February 15th with a physical format to follow on February 16 through Mercury/Universal.

For my part, I’m pleased at the change in direction, but I think the single needs a bit more time to grow on me. However, five years is a long time to wait between albums, but I get the impression that fans will not be disappointed when the album gets its release!

Possibly the most exciting news of the New Year is a new album by U2.

The new album is to be called No Line On The Horizon, and it’s their first studio release in 5 years!

U2 usually undergo some form of musical reinvention every now and again, and that’s probably why it’s so exciting when they release new material.

According to reports, there will be a classic U2 sound to some of the album, but also some cutting-edge (pardon the pun) stuff as well.

The new album blends such classic U2 rockers as "I’ll Go Crazy if I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight" and "Get on Your Boots" with more experimental fare like the seven-minute "Moment of Surrender" and "Fez — Being Born." The former is an electro-leaning track with an Eastern-inspired scale in the chorus, making it one of the weirder U2 tracks in decades.

As announced on the U2.com website, Get On Your Boots will be the first single from “No Line on the Horizon”:

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

Track Listing:

1. No Line on the Horizon
2. Magnificent
3. Moment of Surrender
4. Unknown Caller
5. I’ll Go Crazy if I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight
6. Get On Your Boots
7. Stand Up Comedy
8. Fez– Being Born
9. White As Snow
10. Breathe
11. Cedars of Lebanon

I’m secretly curious to know what the music they recorded with Rick Rubin prior to working with Brian Eno and Steve Lilywhite sounded like – aren’t you?

Live Nation’s signing of U2 isn’t nearly as far reaching as their arrangement with Madonna – they’ll merely be looking after “merchandising, digital and branding rights” for the band. So, no ‘tipping the music industry on it’s head’ stories here then…

In reality, this is just a formalising of an ongoing business relationship between U2 and Live Nation – which will see the company manage U2’s online affairs and branding for the next 12 years. In a typically dumb soundbyte, Mr Bono said:

We’ve been dating for over 20 years now. It’s about time we tied the knot.

When you’ve stopped laughing at the hilarity of the statement, pick yourself up off the ground and remind Mr Bono that the success rate of marriage isn’t wonderful and maybe 12 years is a bit ambitious.

Not to be outdone, the chairman of Live Nation, Michael Cohl chimed in with a fawning:

U2 has created some of the greatest rock music of all time. It has long been our intention to consolidate and extend our relationship.

I love cosy press release type news, don’t you? Nice to know that Bono and the lads are planning to be kicking around for a few more years yet. Although now that we’ve had the rubbish press release, can they just get back to the studio and finish the new album…please?

His Holiness, Pope Bono and the other assorted members of U2 are holed up in their studio in Dublin working on material for a new album.

But don’t expect anything too amazing from them, they’re only trying to “break new sonic ground and deliver a masterpiece“ according to collaborator Daniel Lanois. And no classic U2 album would be complete without Brian Eno behind a curtain somewhere twiddling knobs and helping push things into the right creative direction.

According to Lanois in an interview with Billboard, previous songwriting sessions in France and Morocco have yielded a massive amount of material. Possibly enough songs for two albums. Wonder if they’ll deliver that as a double album or two separate staggered releases?

After all, it’s been almost four years since the last album…

“We’ve had some exciting beginnings via jam sessions,” Lanois 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.”

So, there’s a bit of the U2 songwriting process revealed. I personally find them a wee bit hit and miss on the albums, but it’ll be interesting to see if they develop the rock sound of the last couple of albums or if they’ll go completely left-field and change their sound altogether again.

That certainly seems to be what Lanois is suggesting.