U2, 2015-07-10 - U2.com, 'There is a light, don't let it go out...'

http://www.u2.com/news/title/there-is-a-light-dont-let-it-go-out

'There is a light, don't let it go out...'

10 Jul 2015

'There is a light, don't let it go out...'

Directed by Vincent Haycock and featuring Woody Harrelson and Zoe Harrelson, this seven and a half minute short film accompanies 'Song For Someone', the third single from Songs of Innocence and released on Monday.

Premiered in the US on Sundance TV, the film goes out to the world on Monday... but we've got it for our subscribers ahead of general release.

With cinematography by Steve Annis and produced by Pete Vitale & Park Pictures, Song for Someone features Woody Harrelson as a man being released from prison after years of incarceration and also features his daughter Zoe Harrelson.

Speaking about the film Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. said, 'Vincent Haycock’s vision and Woody and Zoe Harrelson’s performances didn’t just complement Song For Someone — they completed it. We could never have envisioned the new dimension this beautiful story would give our song, and we thank everyone involved for their part in fully bringing Song For Someone to life.'

Watch the video and tell us what you think in the comments below.



And in another exclusive for U2.com subscribers we're now premiering this special behind-the-scenes video in which Vincent Haycock talks about how he came up with the narrative idea - and how Woody and Zoe became involved.

U2, 2015-07-09 - U2.com, Stories That Haven't Been Told...

http://www.u2.com/news/title/stories-that-havent-been-told

Stories That Haven't Been Told...

09 Jul 2015

'Listening to the track I was thinking of stories that haven't been told... how to tell a story that would fit the language of Songs Of Innocence and the idea of what this album is about.'

A seven and a half minute short film by Vincent Haycock, starring Woody Harrelson and Zoe Harrelson, accompanies the release of Song For Someone, the third single from Songs of Innocence, released this Monday.

The video features Woody Harrelson as a man being released from prison after years of incarceration and also features his daughter Zoe Harrelson.

In the US you can now watch the video on Sundance TV.

In an exclusive for U2.com subscribers we're premiering this special behind-the-scenes video in which Vincent Haycock talks about how he came up with the narrative idea - and how Woody and Zoe became involved.

U2, 2015-02-23 - U2.com, U2 - Every Breaking Wave

http://www.u2.com/news/title/you-go-your-way/

'You Go Your Way...'

Premiering today, four and a half minute edit of a thirteen-minute short film by Belfast-born director Aoife McArdle, accompanying the release of 'Every Breaking Wave', second single from Songs of Innocence.

U2 - Every Breaking Wave

Aoife's complete film, recently premiered with The Creators Project, was described by filmmaker Spike Jonze as 'a perfect little gem of a romance movie'.

Read more and watch the whole film.

Every Breaking Wave, produced by Danger Mouse, Ryan Tedder and Declan Gaffney, was recorded in California and New York.

U2, 2015-02-12 - U2.com, "Every Breaking Wave" - A Film by Aoife McArdle

http://www.u2.com/news/title/making-wave/

'Making Waves'

Today The Creators Project premieres Irish director Aoife McArdle’s Every Breaking Wave, a short film based on the U2 song of the same name.

Set on the streets of early 1980s Northern Ireland, the film is built around themes of emotional abandon and the uncertainty of romantic relationships. It follows two teenagers, one Catholic and the other Protestant, who fall in love amidst ongoing violence and the film's emotional core is centred around 'Every Breaking Wave' and 'The Troubles,' two tracks from Songs of Innocence.

'I wanted to make a film about what it was like to be a teenager in the early '80s in Northern Ireland.' explains Belfast-born McArdle. 'All the different pressures on you, the pressures of friendship, of falling in love for the first time, and all that in the face of huge troubles. Violence was inescapable on your doorstep. I remember very vividly what it was like to grow up when there were bombs going off and army everywhere so I did draw on a lot of memories.

'I hope people see that it's a story. A story that's based on real stories. It's like capturing a time. And I hope people feel inspired by how resilient teenagers at that time were in Northern Ireland, and moved by their ability to live life in as full a way as possible, despite the circumstances.'

"Every Breaking Wave" - A Film by Aoife McArdle

The film is already garnering praise and winning fans. Filmmaker Spike Jonze had not seen McArdle's work previously but 'was really taken' with her film.

'She captured that feeling and size of life of being a teenager and of first love so well. She drifts between the reality of friends and first love into fantasy so effortlessly and romantically. It's a perfect little gem of a romance movie.'

Hotel Rwanda writer/director Terry George says McArdle has pulled off one of the most difficult tasks facing any filmmaker. 'She has taken a Romeo and Juliet romance, set in the back streets and alleyways of Belfast, and created a universal story.
'Aoife has captured the tragedy of our young men and women, so full of life and passion, energy and possibility, being swallowed up by the destroying rage of poverty, bigotry and repression.'

As for the band, whose song inspired the film, Edge says they find the finished film 'extraordinary'.

'The Aoife McArdle short film expands on the theme of Songs of innocence which was largely rooted in our experience growing up in the early eighties in Dublin. Aoife chose west Belfast in the same period, as it was the neighbourhood that was so formative to her. We think her work is something pretty extraordinary.'

U2, 2014-10-09 - Billboard, The Download Heard 'Round the World: iTunes Numbers Show 81 Million 'Experienced' U2 Album

http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/6274359/itunes-numbers-u2-songs-innocence-album

The Download Heard 'Round the World: iTunes Numbers Show 81 Million 'Experienced' U2 Album

By Shirley Halperin and Andrew Hampp | October 09, 2014 3:43 PM EDT

 

Apple CEO Tim Cook greets the crowd with U2 singer Bono (2nd R) as The Edge (2nd L) and Larry Mullen Jr look on during an Apple special event at the Flint Center for the Performing Arts on September 9, 2014 in Cupertino, California.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

'Songs of Innocence,' the band's latest release delivered for free, is firmly entrenched with 26 million customers downloading the set in its entirety.

U2 has gone from setting records to breaking them and, with the band's game-changing Apple partnership, simply defying all imaginable expectations.

So how did the album Songs of Innocence fare after being made available to 500 million people around the world as a free download on iTunes? No surprise here, scale pays off.

Eddy Cue, Apple's senior VP of internet software and services, tells Billboard that U2's Songs of Innocence has racked up a staggering 26 million complete downloads since its Sept. 9 release as a free download exclusively to Apple's 500 million global iTunes customers. In total, Cue adds, over 81 million Apple customers experienced songs from Innocence, a global figure that includes plays and streams through iTunes, iTunes Radio and Beats Music. "To help put this into perspective," he says, "prior to this, 14 million customers had purchased music from U2 since the opening of the iTunes Store in 2003."

In a statement to Billboard, U2 said: "Apple is a tech company fighting to get musicians paid. The idea that they wanted to make a gift to the very people that actually purchase music is both beautiful and poetic, and for that we are very grateful."

Meanwhile, a physical deluxe edition of Songs of Innocence hits all other retailers Oct. 14, featuring 10 additional bonus tracks (unavailable on iTunes) including six acoustic versions of Innocence songs and four all-new cuts. Based on pre-orders alone, sources suggest to Billboard the physical deluxe edition will move an additional 70,000 copies in the U.S.

While U2's one-month iTunes deal is unprecedented in music retail, other recent experiments with "windowing," or exclusive release windows with a single retail partner, have produced surprising results in recent years. Jay Z's Magna Carta...Holy Grail was originally released as a five-day digital exclusive with Samsung's Galaxy phones, but that giveaway didn't cannibalize his first-week sales. Instead, the rapper sold an impressive 528,000 copies in its first full week at retail, besting the opening frames of his previous two studio releases. His wife Beyonce, who released her self-titled set as a one-week exclusive with iTunes on Dec. 13, sold 374,000 copies in its second week of release at all retailers (minus Amazon and Target, who protested Apple's surprise coup).

The U2 deal sets a new milestone in how recorded music is distributed -- and paid for. Not only did the band (and label Interscope, by association) net $100 million in free media exposure from Apple's global marketing campaign, Universal Music Group could have secured a $52 million payment for exclusive rights to the product, based on Billboard's estimates of standard label profit from 26 million album sales; alternately, Billboard estimates an upfront fee, excluding royalties, could be in the $5 million range. Reps for Apple and U2 declined to comment on deal terms.

The value of an ostensibly free album gets even more interesting when you look at eBay, where vinyl copies of the album have been selling for as much as $1,500. That's due to a Grammy-qualifying, white-label vinyl version issued to select stores on Sept. 30, the last day of eligibility for the 2015 Grammy broadcast. Just how limited was the pressing? According to the website for participating seller Looney Tunes in West Babylon, New York, only 300 were made available.

U2, 2014-09-19 - @U2.com, @U2 Staff Review: Songs Of Innocence is a Winner

http://www.atu2.com/news/u2-staff-review-songs-of-innocence-is-a-winner.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

@U2 Staff Review: Songs Of Innocence is a Winner

@U2, September 19, 2014
By: @U2 staff

(As we've done with each U2 album since All That You Can't Leave Behind, several members of the @U2 staff have written short reviews of U2's latest album, Songs Of Innocence. Those are presented here in alphabetical order by author.)


Brian Betteridge
Put simply, I love Songs Of Innocence. It's U2's most energetic and cohesive album since their Achtung Baby reinvention. While the music is undeniably classic U2, the lyrics are Bono's most personal to date. The album's thematic parallels to Boy, along with a sound suited for the 2010s, make for a unique record. Tracks such as "The Miracle (Of Joey Ramone)," "Every Breaking Wave" and "Cedarwood Road" stand out as fresh, fully realized takes of previous efforts. It's not hard to imagine these songs as mainstays in U2's live arsenal for years to come. But this is not to say that Songs Of Innocence is without flaws. The carousel of producers hinders the overall flow of the album, an issue made worse by a less-than-optimal tracklist. There are occasions when the album stumbles over an awkward hook or lyric. Regardless, it's still an excellent album. It is not destined for greatness, but it does have a home in the top tier of U2's catalog. With Songs Of Innocence, U2 are finally modern again.

Fernanda Bottini
I think this album is very rock ’n’ roll but with some beautiful ballads, which means it is the U2 we know and love. Edge, Larry and Adam are playing very well, their sound is so mature, and Bono's voice is better than ever. It's incredible how they can reinvent themselves as musicians but keep the same essence.

The album is also very personal and true with meaningful lyrics. The "tribute songs," like "The Miracle (Of Joey Ramone)," "California (There Is No End To Love)" and "This Is Where You Can Reach Me Now,” show how the respective groups -- The Ramones, Beach Boys and The Clash -- have influenced U2. At the same time, songs like "Iris," "Raised By Wolves" and "Cedarwood Road" are the background of U2’s adolescence, when they formed the band.

All of this is important to express who they really are because it tells us a story: theirs. We need the past to understand the present and do the future. Besides, you can find cohesion connecting all the songs; it's a whole. That's why, for me, Songs Of Innocence is already a classic U2 album. It's historical.

Scott Calhoun
I love the textures and ambience that Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois have created for U2 over the years, but now with Songs Of Innocence, I can hear what No Line On The Horizon would have sounded like if it had been given some vigorous shakes, as a fine carpet will need from time to time to bring its pile and hues back to life. Songs Of Innocence is a hungry grab of all the good stuff of early U2 played by the band that became latter-day U2. What I hear sounds all at once fresh, simple, intricately composed, intimate and inviting. Favorite tracks right now are "Iris (Hold Me Close)" and "This Is Where You Can Reach Me Now," but the whole album is a brisk journey from a joie de vivre to a strident facing-the-facts of there being two (at the least) different Irelands, Americas, believers, doubters, lovers, haters and Bonos, as well as you's and me's -- all of which are in need of reconciliation. Thank you Danger Mouse, Paul Epworth and Ryan Tedder: You just might be the Eno, Lanois and Steve Lillywhite of U2's future.

Mike Camp
Some albums hit you instantly. Some are "growers" that require work on the part of the listener. I didn't have very high expectations for the new U2 album. At first glance, I thought that Songs Of Innocence was over-produced, perhaps too slick. I was underwhelmed, yet grateful just to have new music from U2. This album was either going to be a "grower" or another disappointment, like No Line On The Horizon or How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb.

That night, I listened to Songs Of Innocence while lying in bed with the lights out, using a pair of quality headphones. It finally clicked. Four things sealed the deal for me:

1. Adam and Larry really shine throughout the album.

2. The brilliance of "Every Breaking Wave" and "Song For Someone." Classic U2 songs. Perfect future singles.

3. Edge's guitar at 3:52 of "Sleep Like A Baby Tonight" mixed with the chimes. I only wish this could have played out longer.

4. "The Troubles" -- in my opinion, the best album closer U2 have done since "Wake Up Dead Man" on Pop.

It's not a perfect album, but it's definitely better than I expected. Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Christopher Endrinal
Songs Of Innocence reminds me of Janus, the two-faced Roman god who looks into both the past and the future (and is the namesake of the calendar year's first month). The album is a reflection on U2's past that also serves as a preview of the future of the band's sound. It sounds instantly familiar but is also contemporary and fresh. This record is immediately accessible to longtime fans, casual listeners and newcomers in a way that No Line On The Horizon was not. Bits and pieces from just about every other U2 LP can be heard on SOI, essentially making it a kind of U2 highlight reel. Yet this is a cohesive album, tied together by the intensely personal themes that are portrayed musically with a raw, "dirty" sound. The mix adds to the intimacy by emphasizing the vocals, while the guitar has a more supporting role than on previous albums. Make no mistake, though: All four band members are at the top of their respective games. SOI is a brilliant, tightly produced, melody-driven update to the trademark U2 sound that was well worth the five-and-a-half year wait.

Carol Foster
Listening to Dave Fanning on 2FM last week play the first release of new U2 material, I wasn't sure what to expect. It had been five years since the release of No Line On The Horizon, which needed a few listens for me to appreciate it. That, coupled with the dramas of recording after No Line -- writer's block, ditching producers, promises of Edge being on fire -- left me a bit skeptical of what was to come!

What transpired upon hearing the album was that perhaps this was the only time since the release of Achtung Baby that I was hooked from the start. Give or take one or two tracks, here was an album that wouldn’t make me hit the skip button repeatedly on my iPod or go for the beer/bathroom break at a U2 show. This really surprised me, as I am quite the cynic, and I really hadn't expected this to happen!

"Cedarwood Road," "Volcano" and "Raised By Wolves" are standout tracks for me. Vocally, Bono sounds better than ever, but he really stands out on "The Troubles" with Lykke Li. If it's relevance and radio airplay U2 are after, this song will be the one to achieve that.

Aaron Govern
In Songs of Innocence, U2 have released a concept album. But as concept albums go, this is a subtle one. It has great melodies, abundant riffs and very personal lyrics, culminating in thoughtful reflections of a period of growing up and living in Dublin. I am particularly impressed by the sonic qualities of this album -- a little research determines that U2 have studiously avoided a modern sound, and managed to transport themselves to the late '70s and early '80s with their producers. A quick look at the album credits shows they have used a variety of studios that all have one thing in common: vintage studio equipment. (For the sound nerds, the Neve recording desks from the early 1970s have been used on all the tracks.) Time will tell, but at the moment I feel that SOI is almost a companion album to Boy -- this time with the benefit of hindsight and living a life. For a band entering its 39th year of existence, SOI is an extraordinary brave album to be making at this stage of their career. But amazingly, they pull it off with some aplomb. Bring on Songs Of Experience!

Tom Humphries
It has been over five years since the last U2 album. I worried that I would like anything they released simply because it was new, but would fall out of favor with it as time moved forward. Since Achtung Baby, I haven't found a U2 album where I felt compelled to start with Track 1 and listen to all the songs in order. I feel this way about my favorite U2 albums. I don't feel like this about my less-than-favorite ones.

On the first listen to Songs Of Innocence, I immediately liked it. On the second and third listen, I realized just how personal the lyrics were to the band's beginnings. Subsequent listenings showed me that while the lyrics spoke to early U2, the music spanned the varying styles of their career. "The Miracle" sounds like "Vertigo." "Volcano" could be off Boy or War. "Song For Someone" is "With Or Without You." It improves with each listen as I hear a new layer, a new nod to the past, a new sound.

Quite simply, I love Songs Of Innocence. I just need to make sure I have 49 minutes available each time I hit play.

Liseth Meijer
When I first listened to Songs Of Innocence, I didn't have specific expectations other than "I hope it's worth the long wait." I wasn't disappointed. Although the themes on the album are not new to longtime U2 fans, the more personal approach works better than the third-person perspective of some songs from No Line On The Horizon. The songs that stand out to me are "Song For Someone," "Raised By Wolves," "Every Breaking Wave" (although I had to get used to its polished shape at first, having heard it live), "The Troubles" and "Sleep Like A Baby Tonight." There is no song on it that I really don't like, which is a first for me. I do tend to skip the intro of "California,” and I don't care much for "This Is Where You Can Reach Me Now," but other than that, I love the complete album. It has a sense of wholeness, which is why I've listened to the album so far only in its intended order. Usually, I'm a big fan of the shuffle button, but this time that's not the case.

So all in all: Well done, U2, and I'm looking forward to Songs Of Experience.

Drew Rogers
After all of Bono's talk about "relevance" and wanting U2's new music to be played in clubs and on the radio, I have spent the time between NLOTH and Songs Of Innocence feeling some dread. So imagine my surprise that Songs Of Innocence has turned out to be not only a rock album, but also one of their best since the hallowed ‘90s. This is what How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb should have been.

I'm usually not a fan of U2's rockier works as opposed to their atmospheric ones, but I really enjoy the muscular, tight rock of the album. That's not to say the album doesn't have its experimental moments, with songs like "Raised By Wolves," "Sleep Like A Baby Tonight" and "The Troubles."

I'm also pleased that I haven't found any cringe-worthy lyrics on the album, and that there's not a single song I feel compelled to skip when I listen to it, which may be a first for me with a U2 album. The lyrics are also strikingly personal and vulnerable, and I think paint an interesting portrait of a young Bono that has never really came out so explicitly in their music before.

Ultimately, I'm beyond pleased that my expectations for this one were wrong.

Aaron J. Sams
I'm already waking up singing songs. "Iris," "Sleep Like A Baby Tonight" and "Volcano" have all been on my mind in the morning. "The Troubles" has gotten under my skin; it's an earworm I can't get out of my head. Lykke Li's voice haunts me. "Every Breaking Wave" takes me back to my European vacation in 2010. But my favorite song is turning out to be "This Is Where You Can Reach Me Now." The second half of the album reminds me of the experimental side of U2 I love but has felt muted lately. Sadly, I struggle with the first few songs, some perfectly good pop music, but lacking some punch and feeling too safe. "California" has reached the level of dislike that only "Wild Honey" has reached before. I struggle to listen and already it is skipped more than it is played. Overall, I'm enjoying the album and it probably sits in the middle of their catalog if choosing my favorites, although time and familiarity seem to push it higher each day.

Wendy Vissers
With my favorite bands, I look forward to new music to listen for signs of the personal and professional experiences of band members. Human nature is that our experiences influence our creativity, and U2 are no exception.

For me, Songs Of Innocence bears the fingerprints of Bono and The Edge's induction into the world of musical theater. The mixture of sounds reminds me of a musical soundtrack. The vocals of some songs seem repetitive and at times disjointed from the flow of the accompanying music, again giving a live theater quality. I also hear a distinctive Coldplay-esque quality to some songs. The most prominent example of this to my ear is "Every Breaking Wave."

My overall feeling is that it’s a typically unique U2 album. Some songs I like, some songs I skip, and I will add a couple of gems to my list of favorites: "Cedarwood Road," "The Miracle" and "The Troubles." There are examples of poetic phrases and lyrical truths. There are bold and dominant guitar riffs and sequences by both The Edge and Adam. All in all, I'm loving Songs Of Innocence -- and the price was only icing on the cake!

(c) @U2, 2014.

U2, 2014-09-11 - Rolling Stone, U2's 'Songs of Innocence' Is 11 Tracks of Triumphant Rapture

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/u2-songs-of-innocence-20140911

Songs of Innocence

• Songs of Innocence
• U2
• Universal Music Group

BY David Fricke | September 11, 2014

No other rock band does rebirth like U2. No other band – certainly of U2's duration, commercial success and creative achievement – believes it needs rebirth more and so often. But even by the standards of transformation on 1987's The Joshua Tree and 1991's Achtung! Baby, Songs of Innocence – U2's first studio album in five years – is a triumph of dynamic, focused renaissance: 11 tracks of straightforward rapture about the life-saving joys of music, drawing on U2's long palette of influences and investigations of post-punk rock, industrial electronics and contemporary dance music. "You and I are rock & roll," Bono shouts in "Volcano," a song about imminent eruption, through a propulsive delirium of throaty, striding bass, alien-choral effects and the Edge's rusted-treble jolts of Gang of Four-vintage guitar. Bono also sings this, earlier in a darker, more challenging tone: "Do you live here or is this a vacation?" For U2, rock & roll was always a life's work – and the work is never done.

Songs of Innocence is aptly named, after William Blake's 1789 collection of poems about man's perpetually great age of discovery – childhood. For the first time, after decades of looking abroad for inspiration – to American frontier spirituality, Euro-dance-party irony and historic figures of protest such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela – Bono, the Edge, bassist Adam Clayton and drummer Larry Mullen Jr. have taken the long way 'round to metamorphosis: turning back and inward, for the first time on a whole record, to their lives and learning as boys on the way to uncertain manhood (and their band) in Dublin.

Bono's lyrics are striking in their specific, personal history. In "Cedarwood Road," named after a street where he lived, the singer remembers the fear and unrequited anger that drove him to music and to be heard – and which won't go away. "I'm still standing on that street/Still need an enemy," he admits against Clayton and Mullen's strident, brooding rhythm and the enraged stutter of the Edge's guitar. "Raised by Wolves" is a tension of metronome-like groove and real-life carnage ("There's a man in a pool of misery . . . a red sea covers the ground") based on a series of car bombs that bloodied Dublin one night in the Seventies.

In "Iris (Hold Me Close)," Bono sings to his mother, who died when he was 14, through a tangle of fondness and still-desperate yearning, in outbreaks of dreamy neo-operatic ascension over a creamy sea of keyboards and Clayton's dignified-disco bass figure. "You took me by the hand/I thought I was leading you," Bono recalls in a kind of embarrassed bliss. "But it was you who made me your man/Machine," he adds – a playful shotgun reference to his youthful poetic conceit in Boy's "Twilight" ("In the shadows boy meets man") and his wife Ali. The teenage Bono once gave her Kraftwerk's The Man-Machine as a gift while they were dating.

For U2 – and Bono in particular – the first step on the road out of Dublin was the sound of a voice, and they name it in the opening track, "The Miracle (of Joey Ramone)." U2 have always been open in their gratitude to New York punk and the Ramones in particular, and this homage to unlikely heroism – that kid you least expect to take on the world and win – is suitable honor: a great, chunky guitar riff and a beat like a T. Rex stomp, glazed with galactic-Ronettes vocal sugar. "I woke up," Bono sings, "at the moment when the miracle occurred/Heard a song that made some sense out of the world." U2 also pay due diligence to the Clash in "This Is Where You Can Reach Me Now," dedicated to Joe Strummer, and there is a strong hint of the Beach Boys' allure – their standing invitation to a utopia far from the Dublin grit and rain – in the Smile-style flair of the chanting harmonies in "California (There Is No End to Love)." "Blood orange sunset brings you to your knees," Bono croons in an awed register. "I've seen for myself."

These are the oldest stories in rock & roll – adolescent restlessness; traumatic loss; the revelation of rescue hiding in a great chorus or power chord. But Songs of Innocence is the first time U2 have told their own tales so directly, with the strengths and expression they have accumulated as songwriters and record-makers. This album was famous, long before release, for its broken deadlines and the indecision suggested by its multiple producers: Brian Burton a/k/a Danger Mouse, Paul Epworth of Adele fame and Ryan Tedder of the pop band One Republic. Those credits are misleading. Burton, Epworth and Tedder all co-produced "The Miracle (of Joey Ramone)" and contributed keyboards; that's Epworth on the additional slide guitar in "Cedarwood Road"; and Burton arranged the chorale in "Volcano." But the extra hands and textures are thoroughly embedded in the memoir. There is no time when the telling sounds like it was more than the work of the four who lived it.

And it is a salvation, U2 believe, that keeps on giving. "Every breaking wave on the shore/Tells the next one that there will be one more," Bono promises in the tidal sun-kissed electronica of "Every Breaking Wave." And "The Miracle (of Joey Ramone)" comes with a pledge to every stranded dreamer who now hears Rocket to Russia, Give 'Em Enough Rope or some U2 for the first time and is somehow, permanently, changed. "We can hear you," Bono swears. "Your voices will be heard."

Just find one of your own. Then shout as hard as you can.

U2, 2014-09-11 - GOSS.ie, U2 are planning to release TWO more albums before 2016 - after shock free record

http://www.goss.ie/2014/09/u2-are-planning-to-release-two-more-albums-before-2016-after-shock-free-record

U2 are planning to release TWO more albums before 2016 - after shock free record

Closest pal Dave Fanning knows they have more material in the bag

Sep 11, 2014 | 16:17 / Updated: Sep 11, 2014 | 16:17



U2 are set to release another TWO albums over the next 18 months, their best friend has revealed.

Close confidant Dave Fanning said he believes Songs Of Innocence is the first in a three-part series of albums in which they explore the 70s, 80s and 90s.

It comes after the Dublin rockers released their last record – their first in five years – for free to half a billion iTunes users with Apple paying the bill.

And Dave, who got the first play of the record on 2FM, said: “I think this is the first of three U2 albums.

More to come: Dave knows U2 aren’t finished | VIPIRELAND.COM

“I’m guessing that, because every single track on Songs Of Innocence is about the 1970s.

“I think there will be more ‘Songs of…’ dealing with later decades, and the life experience of U2, right up to the present day.”

Last year Bono said they were “working on three albums”, adding: “We haven’t decided what order to put them out.”

And Dave, 58, said that given the length of time between albums there is no reason they won’t have the material.

More material: Dave knows this won’t be the end for U2 | VIPIRELAND.COM

“I think U2 have loads of songs. There will be more albums. I’d say U2 will drop a few albums in the next eighteen months,” he told the Irish Sun.

“The theme is almost a mid-life crisis for Bono but he hasn’t tried anything ground breaking. What he has done is gone back to the start which is brilliant. The songs are very personal to Bono.”

U2, 2014-09-11 - Forbes, What U2's Apple Album Launch Means For U2

http://www.forbes.com/sites/zackomalleygreenburg/2014/09/11/what-u2s-apple-album-launch-means-for-u2/

9/11/2014 @ 12:42PM

What U2's Apple Album Launch Means For U2

Songs of Innocence: U2's latest album has been distributed to over half a billion Apple customers (Photo: Getty Images).

Yesterday, I wrote about Apple AAPL +0.29% and U2′s decision to team up for the launch of Songs of Innocence and what it means for Apple. As promised, today I’ll explore the other side: what it means for U2.

For the Irish rockers, there’s little left to accomplish. Already hailed as one of the top pop-rock acts of all-time, U2′s financial success has matched its outsized popularity. The group has sold tens of millions of records, and its last tour grossed $736 million, the highest total in history.

That sort of success has given the band an immense platform for its philanthropic agenda and often placed its members in the most esteemed company–witness Bono serenading Warren Buffett with a customized ode.

“The question is now, ‘How do we get it to as many people as possible?’” Bono said earlier this week. “Because that’s what our band is all about.”

Enter Apple and its massive digital music distribution platform–and its equally vast resources. The California tech behemoth reportedly gave U2 a huge blanket royalty fee and a marketing campaign worth as much as $100 million in exchange for the right to give away Songs of Innocence to all its customers. Here are a few of the implications of that deal for U2:

Bono and friends have accepted the new reality of the music business.

The digital download is much farther down the path toward the fate of the CD and the cassette tape than most legacy acts care to admit. Streaming has already won, and recorded music hasn’t been the main income stream for the industry’s top earners in about a decade. Instead of stubbornly clinging to the old new model by charging a “discounted” $4 or $5 for its new album, U2 had the foresight to make Songs of Innocence available for free–while still getting paid–making the iTunes download the same price as a Beats Music stream. The LP will debut in stores and other streaming services in October. In the meantime…

U2 appears to have just launched the most widely-distributed album, ever.

Apple’s iTunes has more than 500 million customers–about five times the Super Bowl’s stated audience–and now they’ve all got U2′s latest effort, which Tim Cook called “the largest album release of all time.” Sure, tens of millions of people might not bother to listen, maybe hundreds of millions. But if even one-fifth of them listen, and half of them enjoy it, and half of them would like to see the songs performed live, it means that…

Another massive tour is around the corner for U2.

It’s been more than three years since U2′s record-breaking 360 Tour wrapped up in Canada. That’s an ample respite for a band accustomed to hitting the road with regularity, and one with an evident hunger to maintain relevance. It probably would have made sense to announce a new tour at the same time as the new album in order to fully capitalize on the buzz, but even if that happens a few months from now, U2 will have accomplished its goal of getting Songs of Innocence to as many ears as possible. It’s up to the music to grab them–and isn’t that the point anyway?

Besides, if U2 doesn’t announce a tour in the next few months, there’s always the possibility of a return to the Super Bowl–a popular jumping-off point for superstar acts. Even if the NFL doesn’t back down on its demand for acts to pay to play the halftime show, it seems likely Apple’s blanket fee would be more than enough to cover those costs.

That could also be a great place to debut the band’s next album, which Bono has already teased.

“If you like Songs of Innocence, stay with us for Songs of Experience,” he wrote. “It should be ready soon enough.”

For more on the business of music, check out my book Michael Jackson, Inc and my Jay Z biography Empire State of Mind. You can follow me on Twitter & Facebook.

U2, 2014-09-10 - The Boston Globe, Album Review: U2, ‘Songs of Innocence’

http://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/music/2014/09/10/treats-half-billion-itunes-users-its-new-free-charge/e5LRALeTPqq7cc0y35u1DI/story.html

Album Review

U2, ‘Songs of Innocence’

By James Reed | Globe Staff September 10, 2014

There is something inherently presumptuous about a band thinking you want its new album. So badly, in fact, that you can have it for free. Right now. You don’t even have to track it down. It will magically appear in your online music library after a simple click of the mouse. No money, no problem.

That’s how U2’s fans acquired the Irish rockers’ new album on Tuesday afternoon. “Songs of Innocence” came with no advance warning, no anticipation, no interviews with Bono or the Edge about its content. The surprise release was part of Apple’s press conference to announce its new products, and made the album instantly — and exclusively — available to anyone with an iTunes account. That’s a half-billion people around the world. (Interscope Records will release it in physical and digital formats on Oct. 14.)

That giveaway was a generous gesture — some might say arrogant — but it’s also a commentary on how we consume music, and a reminder that the record industry is pretty much in the sewer. No matter how good it is, an album can hardly stand on its own merit anymore, at least not if it’s going to be a commercial juggernaut. It needs a hook, an innovative idea that will ensure its arrival isn’t just a new release, but rather a News Event.

That’s exactly the coup Beyoncé staged late last year when she released her self-titled album, from out of nowhere and just beyond most deadlines for critics’ year-end Top 10 lists. Poof! There it was, wrapped in a bow with videos for each of its 14 songs. In the same spirit, Radiohead made headlines by allowing fans to pay what they wanted for a download of 2007’s “In Rainbows.”

Lady Gaga goosed sales of 2011’s “Born This Way” with a limited promotion in which Amazon sold digital downloads of the album for 99 cents (for two days only). And Jay Z struck a deal with Samsung last year in which users accessed a new app for a free download of his latest album, “Magna Carta Holy Grail,” a few days ahead of its official release. In all of those cases, the experiment paid off to a handsome sum.

U2 cut through the hoopla by essentially saying, “Hey, here’s our new album. Dig in.” That’s in line with how the band has made music going back to the early 1980s; it’s for the masses. If the business model for “Songs of Innocence” smacks of cold, corporate calculation — and even the album cover, an image of a white paper record sleeve with basic notes stamped and scrawled on it, has an air of disposability — the music is anything but. It has a direct intimacy that U2 hasn’t bared on recent releases.

Yes, it’s big and shiny and sometimes bombastic, but it also takes chances and pushes forward the band’s legacy. Danger Mouse, who has worked his magic with Gnarls Barkley and Broken Bells, is credited as the main producer; other collaborators include OneRepublic’s Ryan Tedder (Beyoncé, Maroon 5) and Paul Epworth (Adele, Coldplay). They seem to understand what makes U2 special: that interplay among the Edge’s shimmering guitar work, the one-two punch to the gut by drummer Larry Mullen Jr. and bassist Adam Clayton, and Bono’s majestic vocals, which somehow sound both close to the heart and scaled for a stadium.

Credited solely to Bono and the Edge, the lyrics look back on their history while sidestepping any sort of easy nostalgia. Bono penned the liner notes, which shed considerable light on the songs. He remembers his initial struggle to preserve his punk-rock roots: “. . . at one of our earliest shows, someone shouted, ‘more punk in the Monkees.’ They were right.” But then the Ramones, specifically Joey, made Bono realize he could sing “like a girl” and still be himself. “The Miracle (of Joey Ramone)” manages to honor both the hero in the title and U2’s ascent to becoming one of the biggest bands in the world.

With its warm, ricocheting opening chorus that riffs on the Beach Boys’ “Barbara Ann,” “California (There Is No End to Love)” waxes poetic about U2’s first trip to Los Angeles as a startling and splendorous flipside to Dublin. “Iris (Hold Me Close)” is perhaps the most signature U2 moment, right down to the flickering groove it rides on the Edge’s guitar and Bono’s poignant memories of his late mother: “Hold me close/ The darkness just lets us see/ Who we are/ I’ve got your light inside of me.”

And then there are sonic experiments so strange, so hypnotic, that they reveal new shades of a band you thought you already knew. “Cedarwood Road,” a remembrance of the street where Bono grew up, has some of the edgiest (no pun intended) fretwork the band has exhibited on record in a long time, a swampy vamp that sounds like it slithered out of the floorboards of a dank old cabin.

“Sleep Like a Baby Tonight” is a five-minute crawl through pulsating synths, steely guitar lines, and the skyscraping heights of Bono’s falsetto. It has Danger Mouse’s production fingerprints all over it, as does “The Troubles,” the closing ballad shot through with spectral backing vocals by Swedish singer Lykke Li and Bono’s philosophical assertion that, “You think it’s easier/ To put your finger on the trouble/ When the trouble is you.”

The irony is that U2 has captured our attention with a gimmick when, really, the album alone could have done the job.

James Reed can be reached at james.reed@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @GlobeJamesReed.

U2, 2014-09-10 - Hot Press, Paul McGuinness on the new U2 album and 2015 tour plans

http://www.hotpress.com/news/12473622.html

Paul McGuinness on the new U2 album and 2015 tour plans

Former U2 manager Paul McGuinness has spoken to Irish national radio station Newstalk about the surprise unleashing yesterday of Songs Of Innocence.

The Hot Press Newsdesk, 10 Sep 2014

“I thought the exercise they mounted yesterday was absolutely spectacular and a huge success; a new way of distributing music to the world,” he proffers. “I think it stunned everyone. I’m just working through the worldwide press and the two things to come out of that are, first of all, astonishment that they were able to do it and do it secretly, but also how good the record is. There seems to be near unanimity on that.

“I heard the complete album a few days ago and it’s brilliant. It’s U2 yet again doing their best work late into their career.”

Paul goes on to debunk the idea that the band are taking a financial hit on Songs Of Innocence.

“The way they have released it is obviously extraordinary,” he resumes. “I think you have to read the detail; Bono has an interview today in Time magazine and he points out that it’s not free. He’s absolutely opposed to free. It may be free to the consumer but I can assure you that Apple will haves paid a very high price to U2 and Universal Records for the right to do that.”

As for live dates, Paul reckons U2 fans are in for an exciting 2015.

“I think you can expect a major tour starting next summer that will in every way be what people expect of U2 - groundbreaking, unique and world-beating.”

U2, 2014-09-10 - Forbes, What Apple's U2 Album Launch Means For Apple

http://www.forbes.com/sites/zackomalleygreenburg/2014/09/10/what-apples-u2-album-launch-means-for-apple/

9/10/2014 @ 4:47PM

What Apple's U2 Album Launch Means For Apple

The Apple of U2's Eye: Tim Cook, The Edge and Bono celebrate the free launch of the band's new album (Photo: Getty Images).

Love Apple AAPL +0.23% or hate it, there’s no denying it’s a unique company. Additional proof came at yesterday’s product launch event in Cupertino, where Apple unveiled the iPhone 6 and a new smart watch–and managed to secure U2 as a featured act.

The Irish rockers debuted their a new single, “The Miracle (of Joey Ramone)” at the end of the proceedings, part of a deal to release their new album, Songs of Innocence, for free to all iTunes customers. The LP will also be available for Beats Music subscribers, too; after October 14th, it will appear on other streaming services as well as bricks-and-mortar stores.

Apple’s brass seemed as thrilled as the legions of U2 fans awaiting new music from the group.

“Wasn’t that the most incredible single you ever heard?” said Apple chief Tim Cook after the band’s performance. “We would love a whole album of that.”

And a whole album is exactly what Apple got. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, but it’s clear that U2 isn’t truly giving away its music for free. The band reportedly received a blanket royalty fee for the use of its music as well as a marketing campaign worth as much as $100 million by some estimates.

While that number may well be inflated, it’s something Apple can certainly afford, particularly given the gravity of launching an album with U2. For the company and the broader music business, the implications are plentiful, and many won’t be known immediately. But for the moment, here are a few important ones:

The iTunes Store as we know it is dying.

You’ve heard that refrain here before — and from other outlets as well — but the fact that Apple gave away U2′s album and streamed it on Beats Music instead of trying to sell it as a download for $4 or $5 gives additional support to that theory. Streaming has already defeated the digital download, and Apple has finally admitted it. Which is probably why…

Apple is doubling down on its investment in Beats Music.

Sure, $3 billion is a large sum for an acquisition, even for a company with more than $100 billion in cash on its balance sheet. But don’t expect Apple to stop investing in its investment. The purpose of the U2 album launch may have been primarily to generate buzz for the iPhone 6 and Apple Watch, but there’s no doubt that luring consumers to sign up for Beats Music was another key goal. That’s part of the reason that…

Apple can become music’s most powerful one-stop shop, if it wants.

The U2 rollout shows Apple could lure an A-List act, release an album straight to its download and streaming services, and bypass the major label system altogether. Yes, Universal will release Songs of Innocence in October, but the record company is no longer needed. Apple has Jimmy Iovine, perhaps the shrewdest music executive of his generation, in the fold; it’s got digital distribution through Beats Music and iTunes; the increasingly-irrelevant physical product is easy enough to produce independently.

How long before Cook cuts out the middle man entirely and creates an Apple label? Stay tuned, and don’t be surprised if Dr. Dre’s Detox is eventually released by such an entity. In the meantime, check back tomorrow for the second part of this story: “What U2 And Apple’s Album Launch Means For U2.”

For more on the business of music, check out my book Michael Jackson, Inc and my Jay Z biography Empire State of Mind. You can follow me on Twitter & Facebook.

U2, 2014-09-09 - Rolling Stone, U2's 'Songs of Innocence': A Track-by-Track Guide

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/u2-songs-of-innocence-surprise-album-guide-20140909

U2's 'Songs of Innocence': A Track-by-Track Guide

Here's what you need to know about the band’s most personal album ever

Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP Photo

U2 performs during an announcement of new products by Apple on September 9th, 2014, in Cupertino, CA.

By Rolling Stone | September 9, 2014

U2 took the stage at Apple's product-launch press conference in Cupertino today and surprise-released their new album Songs of Innocence with a mere five seconds of warning. The album, which was delivered free to all of Apple's iTunes users (a half billion of them), is "very personal," Bono tells Rolling Stone in an exclusive interview. Read his full interview here.

1. The Miracle (of Joey Ramone)
Produced by: Danger Mouse, Paul Epworth and Ryan Tedder
More than any U2 album before it, Songs of Innocence goes deep into Bono and the rest of bandmembers' teenage years in Dublin in the Seventies. The first song captures the big bang of Bono's musical awakening: the first time he heard the Ramones. "Everything I've ever lost now has been returned," Bono sings. "The most beautiful sound I ever heard…We were pilgrims on our way." It sounds like the band are very purposefully not trying to sound like the Ramones here, though – instead, the track starts with powerful, almost "Mysterious Ways"-like burst of guitar from the Edge, and is driven by a lilting Bono melody and an overdubbed vocal refrain.

2. "Every Breaking Wave"
Produced by: Danger Mouse and Ryan Tedder
The biggest classic-U2 ballad on Songs of Innocence. "Wave" was originally slated for Songs of Ascent (the abandoned follow-up to No Line on the Horizon); the band played a radically different, stripped-down version a few times in 2010. They've since fleshed it out dramatically, completely re-written the chorus and tinkered with some of the verses. Songs of Innocence isn't a full-on concept record about the band's youth – the lyrics to "Wave" appear to deal more adult concerns: a long-term relationship, distractions, and the struggles that come from both: "Are we ready to be swept off our feet?/And stop chasing/Every breaking wave"

3. California (There Is No End to Love)
Produced by: Declan Gaffney, Paul Epworth and Danger Mouse
A bright, mid tempo anthem that begins with layered backing vocals that sound like a homage to the Beach Boys. It's about the group's first trip to California in the early 1980s. "California, blood orange sunset brings you to your knees," Bono sings. "I've seen for myself/There's no end to grief."

4. "Song for Someone"
Produced by: Ryan Tedder and Flood
A tender song of awkward first love that sounds like it's about Bono's wife Ali; the couple first met when Bono was 13 and Ali was 12. If there is a kiss I stole from your mouth," he sings. "And if there is a light, don't let it go out." "Song For Someone" begins with gentle acoustic guitars before gradually building into a "Walk On"-style crescendo.

5. "Iris (Hold Me Close)"
Produced by: Paul Epworth and Ryan Tedder
The most emotionally raw song on the album, "Iris" confronts Bono's loss of his mother, who passed away after collapsing at his grandfather's funeral when he was only 14. Bono sings about "the ache in my heart" that "is so much part of who I am." U2's first hit "I Will Follow," from 1980's Boy, and "Tomorrow," from 1981's October, are also about Bono's mother, Iris Hewson, but "Iris" is from the perspective of a man in his fifties looking back at a mother who has been gone for four decades, and how her loss has shaped his life. "Hold me close," he sings. "I've got your life inside me."

6. "Volcano"
Produced by: Declan Gaffney
The driving, bass-heavy "Volcano" could be about a young, angry Paul Hewson, wrestling with the death of his mother. "Something in you wants to blow," Bono yelps. "You're on a piece of ground above a volcano."

7. "Raised by Wolves"
Produced by: Declan Gaffney and Danger Mouse
The only overtly political song on the record, this one tells the true story of a car-bombing in Dublin that hit close to home. "On any other Friday I would have been at this record shop, but I cycled to school that day," says Bono. "The bomb tore apart the street. I escaped but one of my mates was around the corner with his father, and it was a very hard thing for him to witness and I'm not sure he really got over it."

8. "Cedarwood Road"
Produced by: Danger Mouse and Paul Epworth
Bono grew up on 10 Cedarwood Road in Dublin alongside his friends Guggi Rowan and Gavin Friday, with whom he remains close to this day ("Road" is dedicated to Rowan). "You can't return to where you never left," Bono sings on this song about friendship and bittersweet memories, "It was a warzone in my teens/I'm still standing on that street."

9. "Sleep Like a Baby Tonight"
Produced by: Danger Mouse
Bono briefly brings out his "Lemon"-era falsetto on this haunting song about an unhappy man whose eyes are "as red as Christmas" and who reads "about the politician's lover" over his morning "toast, tea and sugar."

10. "This Is Where You Can Reach Me"
Produced by: Danger Mouse
First mentioned by Bono as a contender for the album in a February interview with the L.A. Times, "This Is Where You Can Reach Me" is inspired by a Clash concert that U2 attended in 1977. "We signed our lives away," Bono sings. "Complete surrender/The only weapon we know."

11. "The Troubles"
Produced by: Danger Mouse
Another tune name-checked by Bono earlier this year, "The Troubles" was presumed to be another U2 song about the political situation in Northern Ireland, but it's more about Bono learning to move on from his own problems. Guest singer Lykke Li repeats the refrain "somebody stepped inside your soul", and Bono reflects on his own redemption: "I have a will for survival/So you can hurt me then hurt me some more/I can live with denial/But you're not my troubles anymore"

U2, 2014-09-09 - Rolling Stone, Exclusive: Bono Reveals Secrets of U2's Surprise Album 'Songs of Innocence'

http://origin.rollingstone.com/music/news/u2-surprise-album-songs-of-innocence-apple-itunes-free-20140909

Exclusive: Bono Reveals Secrets of U2's Surprise Album 'Songs of Innocence'

In his only pre-release interview, Bono takes us inside the story of the band's 13th album, which was released today for free on iTunes

David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Apple's Tim Cook and U2 announced the surprise release of the band's new album 'Songs of Innocence' in Cupertino, California on September 9th, 2014.

By Rolling Stone | September 9, 2014

U2 surprised the world today by releasing Songs of Innocence, their first album in five years, as a gift from Apple, available for free immediately to anyone with iTunes. The band made the announcement with Apple CEO Tim Cook at a Cupertino press conference for the new iPhone 6, capping the event with a performance of the album's first single, "The Miracle (of Joey Ramone)." After a standing ovation, Cook said, "Wasn't that the most incredible single you ever heard? We would love a whole album of that."

"The question is now, how do we get it to as many people as possible, because that's what our band is all about," Bono said. "I do believe you have over half a billion subscribers to iTunes, so — could you get this to them?" "If we gave it away for free," Cook replied. And five seconds later, the album was unleashed in the largest album release of all time.

"We wanted to make a very personal album," Bono told Rolling Stone's Gus Wenner the day before the press conference in an exclusive interview. "Let's try to figure out why we wanted to be in a band, the relationships around the band, our friendships, our lovers, our family. The whole album is first journeys — first journeys geographically, spiritually, sexually. And that's hard. But we went there."

The band worked on Innocence for two years with producer Danger Mouse (a.k.a. Brian Burton), then brought in additional help: Flood, their collaborator since 1987's The Joshua Tree, plus Adele producers Paul Epworth and Ryan Tedder. "I think having them around really helped," says Bono, "Some of the music out there now that people call pop, it's not pop – it's just truly great. And we wanted to have the discipline of the Beatles or the Stones in the Sixties, when you had real songs. There's nowhere to hide in them: clear thoughts, clear melodies."

To begin, the band went back to its roots: Bono says the group listened to the music they loved in the Seventies, from punk rock to Bowie, glam rock, early electronica and Joy Division. The album kicks off with "The Miracle (of Joey Ramone)," a loping pop song laced with distinctly punk-ish power chords. "I found my voice through Joey Ramone," says Bono, "because I wasn't the obvious punk-rock singer, or even rock singer. I sang like a girl — which I'm into now, but when I was 17 or 18, I wasn't sure. And I heard Joey Ramone, who sang like a girl, and that was my way in."

The driving, reggae-tinged "This Is Where You Can Reach Me Now," is a tribute to the Clash, with slinky guitars from the Edge that nod to Sandinista!. "After we saw the Clash, it was a sort of blueprint for U2," says Bono. "We knew we couldn't possibly hope to be as cool, and that's proven to be true, but we did think we could get behind a sort of social justice agenda."

There is also an intensely personal song about Bono's mother, Iris Hewson, who died when he was 14. "Forty years ago, my mother fell at her own father's funeral, and I never spoke with her again," he says. "Rage always follows grief, and I had a lot of it, and I still have, but I channeled it into music and I still do. I have very few memories of my mother, and I put a few of them in a song called 'Iris.'"

The most joyous track on Songs of Innocence is "California (There Is No End to Love)," which unexpectedly nods to the Beach Boys in its intro. "It's like the sun itself," says Bono. "It's about our first trip to Los Angeles." The darkest track, meanwhile, is "Raised by Wolves," which tells of a deadly car bombing in Dublin. "It was a real incident that happened in our country where three car bombs were set to go off at the same time in Dublin on a Friday night, 5:30," says Bono, "On any other Friday I would have been at this record shop, just down the corner, but I cycled to school that day."

At times Songs of Innocence feels almost like a concept album about Bono's early years – there's even a track named after the street where the singer grew up, "Cedarwood Road." "It has a lyrical cohesion that I think is unique amongst U2 albums," says Bono, "I don't want it to be a concept album, but the songs come from a place. Edge laughed and said this is our Quadrophenia. We could be so lucky."

UPDATE: Apple has released a statement to Rolling Stone sharing the number of people who have listened to Songs of Innocence in the first week. "We wanted to thank our customers and share our love of music by gifting them Songs of Innocence," said Eddy Cue, Apple's senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. "Just six days after its release on iTunes, a record-breaking 33 million people have already listened to the album."

U2, 2014-09-09 - U2.com, 'Remember Us?'

http://www.u2.com/news/title/remember-us/

'Remember Us?'

09 September 2014

'Remember Us?'

A letter from Bono, on the arrival 'of our new baby' - Songs of Innocence.

'Hello, bonjour, ciao, hola, hallo, zdravo, dobar dan, Dia duit, hæ, hej,hei, cześć, olá, ćao, namaste, sawatdee, jambo, pozdravi, Γεια σου, привіт, שלום, مرحبا, こんにちは, , سلام, 你好, Привет….

Remember us? Pleased to announce myself, Edge, Adam and Larry have finally given birth to our new baby… Songs of Innocence. It’s been a while. We wanted to get it right for you/us. We just finished it last week and thanks to Apple and iTunes it’s with you today. That’s already amazing to me as it normally takes a few months to turn this stuff around.

Part of the DNA of this band has always been the desire to get our music to as many people as possible. In the next 24 hours, over a half a billion people are going to have Songs of Innocence… should they choose to check it out. That is so exciting. People who haven’t heard our music, or weren’t remotely interested, might play us for the first time because we’re in their library. Country fans, hip hop afficionados from east LA, electro poppers from Seoul, Bhangra fans from New Delhi, Highlifers in Accra… might JUST be tempted to check us out, even for a moment. What a mind blowing, head scratching, 21st century situation. Over 500 million people… that’s a billion ears. And for the people out there who have no interest in checking us out, look at it this way… the blood, sweat and tears of some Irish guys are in your junk mail.

You’ll have noticed the album is free to U2.com’ers from the band. It’s also free to everyone on iTunes thanks to Apple. To celebrate the ten year anniversary of our iPod commercial, they bought it as a gift to give to all their music customers. Free, but paid for. Because if no-one's paying anything for it, we’re not sure “free” music is really that free. It usually comes at a cost to the art form and the artist… which has big implications, not for us in U2, but for future musicians and their music... all the songs that have yet to be written by the talents of the future… who need to make a living to write them.

We’re collaborating with Apple on some cool stuff over the next couple of years, innovations that will transform the way music is listened to and viewed. We’ll keep you posted. If you like Songs of Innocence,  stay with us for Songs of Experience. It should be ready soon enough… although I know I’ve said that before…

I hope after listening to our new long player a few times, you’ll understand why it took so long. We really went there… it’s a very, very personal album. Apologies if that gets excruciating… actually, I take that back. No apologies if it gets excruciating. What’s the point in being in U2 if you can’t go there?
There is no end to LOVE.'
BONO

U2, 2014-09-09 - U2.com, Songs Of Innocence

http://www.u2.com/news/title/songs-of-innocence/

Songs Of Innocence

09 September 2014

Songs Of Innocence

The wait is over. Songs of Innocence, the new album, is here.

Got iTunes ? Take a listen.

Simply go to the Music app on your iOS device, or to your iTunes music library on your Mac or PC, and find 'Songs of Innocence' under the artist or album tab. The new album is in iCloud, just tap the track listing to start listening or tap the cloud icon to download.

Songs of Innocence is set for worldwide release on October 13th. Today Apple are giving it to half a billion iTunes Store customers.

Not got an iTunes account? Create one here - the album will automatically appear in your library.

U2.com slipped into the studio a few days back where the band played us the new tracks and we were blown away. A kind of musical autobiography, the eleven new songs chart their earliest influences from 70s rock and punk to early 80s electronica and soul... and reveal how music changed everything. As Bono sings in the lead song, 'The Miracle (Of Joey Ramone)' 'I woke up when the miracle occurred/ Heard a song that made some sense out of the world...'

Exploring themes of home and family, relationships and discovery, detailed liner notes fill out the picture with resonant stories, like one of the first gigs the teenage band got into.

'The 4 members of U2 went to see the Ramones playing in the state cinema in Dublin without thinking about how we were going to get in. we had no tickets and no money.. My best friend Guggi had a ticket and he snuck us through a side exit he pried open. The world stopped long enough for us to get on it. Even though we only saw half the show, it became one of the great nights of our life....'

Songs of Innocence was recorded in Dublin, London, New York and Los Angeles and is produced by Danger Mouse, along with Paul Epworth, Ryan Tedder, Declan Gaffney and Flood. The album closes with 'The Troubles' featuring the distinctive vocals of Swedish indie singer-songwriter Lykke Li.

Here's the eleven tracks: The Miracle (of Joey Ramone), Every Breaking Wave, California (There Is No End To Love), Song For Someone, Iris (Hold Me Close), Volcano, Raised By Wolves, Cedarwood Road, Sleep Like A Baby Tonight, This Is Where You Can Reach Me Now, The Troubles.

On October 13th the physical release of Songs of Innocence comes with a 24-page booklet. A deluxe, gatefold double album, contains an acoustic session of songs from the album and four additional tracks: Lucifer's Hands, The Crystal Ballroom, The Troubles (Alternative version) and Sleep Like a Baby Tonight (Alternative Perspective Mix by Tchad Blake)

The album will also be available as a gatefold, double white-vinyl LP with an exclusive remix of "The Crystal Ballroom".

When you've given it a listen, get right back here and review Songs of Innocence for us in the comments below.