AP 2009Before Omahans went all-out Twitter and text crazy, an international rock star might have been able to show up at a local bar — and the masses would read about it later.

As it happened Thursday night, U2’s Bono made a surprise visit to the Dundee Dell.

Within 15 minutes, the place was jammed.

“It’s funny to see how fast the word got out — how social media has changed things,” said manager Monique Huston. Dolled-up smart phone- responding fans, mostly females, rushed to the Dell.

Already at the bar was World-Herald editorial cartoonist Jeff Koterba, who also plays in an Irish band. Not really the starstruck type, Koterba said he even gawked — at first because the guy walking in had on sunglasses at about 9:45 p.m.

“You just don’t expect to look up and see Bono,” Koterba said. “It was bizarre.”

Bono was with an entourage of about 15, including friend Susie Buffett. Buffett serves on the board of DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa), a group Bono that helped form in 2002 to raise awareness of poverty and AIDS in Africa.

The humanitarian superstar has dropped by the Dell on previous trips to Omaha, often for breakfast. Huston said she heard he would be in town for more than a day, and she hopes he stops in again.

On Thursday, he stayed for 1½ hours.

He signed autographs. He posed for pictures. Some appeared nearly instantaneously on Facebook pages.

2QRKHZBRWZS9 The musical era of the 1980s Like many other decades, the 1980s was a decade where music was a way to chronicle the times and events of the era. In some ways, the musical genres during the 1980s redefined the way many bands and artists made new music and it still continues to influence music today. Many of the musicians during the 1980s have maintained staying power and are still popular today. Other artists enjoyed a modicum of success during the decade and they are not even widely recognized today, save for the television programs that strive to reunite the bands and give exposure to artists of the time. Following is some descriptions and explanations of the bands and interests that helped to change the face of music in the 80s.

In August 1, 1981, at 12:01 a.m., MTV: Music Television launched with the words “Ladies and gentlemen, rock and roll,” spoken by John Lack. Those words were immediately followed by the original MTV theme song, a crunching guitar riff written by Jonathan Elias and John Petersen, playing over a montage of the Apollo 11 moon landing. MTV producers Alan Goodman and Fred Seibert used this public domain footage as a conceit, associating MTV with the most famous moment in world television history.Seibert said they had originally planned to use Neil Armstrong’s “One small step” quote, but lawyers said Armstrong owns his name and likeness, and Armstrong had refused, so the quote was replaced with a beeping sound.

At the moment of its launch, only a few thousand people on a single cable system in northern New Jersey could see it. I remember when MTV appeared on our channels out on Long Island, I was forever locked into the house at night. I was amazed at the videos and of course Martha - She was the girl next door. So cool, so fresh, so not anything you would expect around rock and roll.  MTV filled the house, we had parties watched MTV all the time little did I know at the time what an impact MTV would have on my life. I ended up working for them for 4 years (Spring Breaks Daytona Beach) TC Top Dogs was the food of choice at the time and of course all the beer I could drink. Ok lets get back to the story maybe another day I will share my MTV Crew stories.

Appropriately, the first music video shown on MTV was “Video Killed the Radio Star” by The Buggles. The second video shown was Pat Benatar’s “You Better Run”. Sporadically, the screen would go black when an employee at MTV inserted a tape into a VCR.

As programming chief, Robert W. Pittman recruited and managed a team for the launch that included Tom Freston (who succeeded Pittman as CEO of MTV networks), Fred Seibert, John Sykes, Carolyn Baker (original head of talent and acquisition), Marshall Cohen (original head of research), Gail Sparrow (of talent and acquisition), Sue Steinberg (executive producer), Julian Goldberg, Steve Casey (creator of the name MTV and its first program director), Marcy Brafman, Ronald E. “Buzz” Brindle, and Robert Morton.

A super group by the name of U2 would come to conquer the world with the release of their debut album in the 1980s. U2 hails from Ireland and still enjoys a long and fruitful career. Their debut album, Boy, was released in 1980 with several songs making it on 1980’s greatest hits list. Even more great U2 albums would follow, including War, The Joshua Tree, and Rattle and Hum.

The music of the 1980’s would end on quite a different note. The music would change from the electronic sounds of groups who were perfectly groomed artists to the loud, aggressive guitar sound of Grunge Rock which was played by musicians who liked to dress down. In 1989, the album Bleach would launch the career of the popular group called Nirvana. Rock n’ Roll would be dominated by Nirvana and their iconic singer Kurt Cobain over the next few years. Nirvana’s super hit, Smells Like Teen Spirit not only is one of the 80’s greatest hits, but is considered by many to be one of rock n’ rolls greatest hits of all time. The greatest hits from the 80’s are certainly a mixture of different styles with music to please everyone.

They began as Irish teenagers with a punkish bent and Christian beliefs. They became all-out rock stars, using their time at that elusive media-darling podium to raise political awareness, fund charities and satirize the big-money factory that rock and roll can feel like on its worst bad-hair days. And when these guys get an itch to try something new, they don’t stop at a new look or a new record producer—they completely re-concoct themselves—they create a whole new mythology. Sure, they dated some supermodels and yes, they even dabbled with the sex symbol spotlight themselves, but they also kicked off one of their tours at K-Mart. They were friends with the likes of Frank Sinatra and Salman Rushdie, but seemed to pal around with some everyday people too. There were songs about violence in Northern Ireland and the assassination of the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., but hilariously memorable arena touring and goofball antics too. This is a band that’s both ultra-serious and ultra-self-deprecating, both intimate and don’t-even-think-about-getting-close. Their tiny little band name, it turns out, fronts a lot of churning personality and ideas that are anything but tiny.

Drummer Larry Mullen, Jr., hung a poster up at his high school that advertised a need for band members. Paul Hewson, David Evans, Adam Clayton and Dick Evans responded, and in Mullen’s kitchen, so it began. They covered Rolling Stones and Beatles songs, calling themselves Feedback (which apparently, they had a lot of), then Hype (which they didn’t have a lot of). When Dick Evans left to form the Virgin Prunes, the remaining four—perhaps wanting something subtler—chose the new name U2.

A buddy started calling Hewson “Bono Vox,” after a hearing aid advertisement. The hearing aid stigma wasn’t the most appealing, but the Latin meaning of the phrase—“good voice”—was, so Hewson stuck with Bono. And Bono, in turn, named David “The Edge,” which also stuck. In 1978, the foursome won both a talent show sponsored by Guinness beer and their very own manager, who helped them release an EP that was available only in Ireland. In 1980, they signed with Island Records and released Boy. They went back to the U.K. to tour (and to make sure their posters read “U2” this time, not “V2”) and crossed the Atlantic to the States.

Their second album, October, told of their strong Christian faiths, and though the Polish Solidarity movement-inspired “New Year’s Day” was popular, it wasn’t the hit the band was looking for. That came with 1983’s War. “Sunday Bloody Sunday” was about the tumult in Northern Ireland, and Bono was known to wave a white flag in live shows—early political imagery for a soon-to-be political band. They filmed their concert at Colorado’s Red Rocks Amphitheater, and released the show as an EP called Under a Blood Red Sky.

1984’s Unforgettable Fire gave U2 their first U.S. Top-40 hit with “(Pride) In the Name of Love.” The release of The Joshua Tree in ’87 solidified their rock star status, and from it came the number one hits “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” and “With Or Without You.” Firm political stances and themes of spiritual salvation coursed through the record’s veins, but so did a healthy sense of fun. They hung out with the late great Frank Sinatra when their tour passed through Vegas, for instance—the beginning of a ten-year friendship with the permanent Chairman of the Board. The cover of Time magazine followed in its wake (they were only the third bunch of rockers to peer out of that hallowed red frame, by the way… preceded only by The Beatles and The Who). The double record and accompanying concert film Rattle and Hum came soon afterward—a project that clearly spoke to the band’s American blues, soul and country influences

With its dance and electronic bent, 1990’s Achtung Baby was one of the band’s much-chronicled re-inventions. Recorded in Berlin, the album contained the beguiling hits “Mysterious Ways” and “One.” The accompanying tour was called “Zoo TV,” and it unleashed playful mass-media gimmickry on its audiences. Bono sang, dressed, spoke and vamped as “The Fly,” an invented, over-the-top alter ego who was meant to poke fun at the idea of inflated rock stardom.

In the middle of the Zoo TV tour, the band stole away to record Zooropa in 1993, to piqued (but favorable) critical eyebrows in 1993. Yet again, the band’s old sound had molted and something new was in its place. On this stadium tour, Edge got behind the mike with his monotone single “Numb,” and Bono’s “Fly” persona was shed, replaced by the wicked and horned “Mister MacPhisto.” MacPhisto was deemed the “Last Rock Star,” and was known to ring up politicians from a cell phone onstage and harangue his callers, much to the delight of himself and his crowd.

The business of arena rock, however, especially when it’s woven with this kind of satire, tends to tire its rockers out. And so the glittery MacPhisto suit went into storage and took a hiatus. Clayton and Mullen spent time in New York (the former, for a time at least, as the fiancé to supermodel Naomi Campbell) and worked on a theme for the film Mission Impossible. The band recorded “Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me” for the movie Batman Forever, Bono and Edge penned the theme for the James Bond flick Goldeneye, they collected various awards (one of their many MTV trophies conveniently allowed Bono a shot at criticizing French president Jacques Chirac for allowing nuclear testing) and gave various awards (like a Lifetime Achievement Grammy to Sinatra, in a speech that saw the oft-wisecracking Bono turn downright reverential). The band recorded with artists like Bob Dylan, Keith Richards, Johnny Cash and B.B. King for the collaborative album Original Soundtracks, Volume 1 (a.k.a. the Passengers project).

Their next record, Pop, culled an industrial dance sound from the British club scene and infused it with rock. To kick it off, and to make sure no one thought they were done with the theatrics after Zoo TV, U2 began their “Pop-Mart” tour at a New York City K-Mart. It was the second highest-grossing tour of that year.

When not in the studio or up on stage, the boys focus on family and film projects and a plethora of political, social and environmental causes. Even though the arena extravaganzas have concluded for now, one gets the feeling these guys have new cards up their sleeves. Re-invention does mean new wardrobes, after all, and new wardrobes mean a lot of sleeves, so there’s really no end to the possibilities.



Who hasn’t wanted to be a rock star, join a band or play electric guitar? Music resonates, moves and inspires us. Strummed through the fingers of The Edge, Jimmy Page and Jack White, somehow it does more. Such is the premise of It Might Get Loud, a new documentary conceived by producer Thomas Tull.
It Might Get Loud isn’t like any other rock’n roll documentary.

It Might Get Loud Rarely can a film penetrate the glamorous surface of rock legends. It Might Get Loud tells the personal stories, in their own words, of three generations of electric guitar virtuosos – The Edge (U2), Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin), and Jack White (The White Stripes). It reveals how each developed his unique sound and style of playing favorite instruments, guitars both found and invented. Concentrating on the artist’s musical rebellion, traveling with him to influential locations, provoking rare discussion as to how and why he writes and plays, this film lets you witness intimate moments and hear new music from each artist. The movie revolves around a day when Jimmy Page, Jack White, and The Edge first met and sat down together to share their stories, teach and play.

Q&A WITH PRODUCER THOMAS TULL

How is this film different from other music documentaries?

While there have been a lot of performance documentaries, this one is really about the relationship between these three men and their instruments. We tried to show what drives the artists, what got them passionate as players, what made them pick up the guitar in the first place.

Where did you come up with this concept?

The guitar is something I am ardent about. I was thinking how, on a global level, the personification of contemporary music IS the guitar: from video games to debates over Top 10 guitarists lists, from rock to jazz to blues, this instrument captures everyone’s imagination. It was a subject I hadn’t really seen explored on film, from that perspective.

What was instrumental in you picking Davis Guggenheim to direct?

I’ve known Davis as a friend for a number of years. He is one of the best documentarians there is (as shown in “An Inconvenient Truth”), and he’s passionate about music too. He was the only person I thought of for this film.

Why did you want to make this film?

As a fan I wanted to see a movie that captured the essence of why people are so fanatic about the guitar. I wanted to tell that story through these three, particular artists.
How did you choose Jimmy Page, The Edge and Jack White? What was it like working with them?
It was almost like casting a movie. We wanted to show a wide range of styles and eras by focusing on three of the best players in the world, from three generations…and they said yes! Like many kids, I had a poster of Jimmy Page on my wall—he is a living legend. U2 is one of the greatest bands ever, and The Edge is a brilliant and distinctive player. Jack White is the new generation—cutting his own path but also keeping the guitar, and great guitar traditions, alive.

What do you hope audiences will experience while watching the film?

Honestly, I made this film for people like me, people who love music and the experience of a live show. When you love a band or a musician you want to know how and why they do what they do—what makes them tick. Davis was able to show this, to get inside these guys’ worlds and inside their heads in a way I don’t think any other music documentary has. I hope fans are as excited and fulfilled by seeing and hearing what he uncovered as I am. Page

What was your initial reaction when Thomas Tull first approached you about IMGL?

Thomas asked me to come to his office in Burbank - I had no idea why. I get there and he launches into this passionate pitch about the electric guitar and how no film has ever captured what it is that makes the instrument so great. He described the huge influence the electric guitar has had on him and our entire society.
Soon, without ever realizing it, I was hooked: totally into this idea of looking at the subject matter in a different way. The history of the instrument has already been thoroughly explored. Most Rock and Roll documentaries focus on car wrecks and overdoses; or they pontificate with sweeping generalities about how this guy was “God” and how “music was changed forever”…

Thomas and I didn’t want any of that. We wanted to focus on story-telling and the path of the artist, we wanted to push deeper beneath the surface.

Are there particular moments from the film that are your favorites?

There are so many.

We were filming in Jimmy Page’s home outside of London - which he has never allowed before – and he starts pulling out his favorite albums and playing them for us. These are the records that he listened to and learned from as a young musician. Just watching him listen to the records was incredible - and then he started playing air guitar!

We were filming Jack in Austin, Texas, and he’s playing this out-of-control guitar solo. Through the lens, I start realizing that he’s so focused and playing so aggressively that his hand is bleeding without him even knowing it.

Or Edge taking us to the classroom where he and U2 first met and rehearsed when they were 16 and 17 years old. This was just a regular high school classroom – they would meet for practice and spend the first ten minutes clearing all the desks to the sides before they could actually play.
In Tennessee, I asked Jack to write an original song on camera – and he did it – right in front of us… I don’t think I have ever seen that before.
Another time, Jimmy played us previews of two new tracks he was writing – both of which actually ended up in the movie.

What was the most challenging part of shooting this film?

The most challenging part of the project was weaving these three stories together. Each guitarist comes from a different generation, has different roots, different theories - sometimes in direct conflict of one another. I had a hunch that inter-cutting their stories would be really interesting, but was panicked at times - worried that it would never work.

How long did the shoot take?

Lesley Chilcott and I spent the better part of a year flying between London, Nashville and Dublin, following these guys. Sometimes it would be a very small crew, very intimate and sparse. And then we had a huge shoot on one of the largest Hollywood soundstages. There were seven cameras, the three rock stars, all their guitars and crew — it was like a three ring circus. I’ll never forget the look on the crews’ faces (and even those of us in the business who are so jaded) when Jimmy Page, The Edge and Jack White, turned on their amps and started playing together.

What I love about this movie, and what makes it so unique, is how the scale will change from Edge alone in his studio late night - to the three of them jamming on a Led Zeppelin track together with the volume full blast and the cameras capturing every angle.

What do you hope audiences will experience while watching the film?

I hope the audience will fall in love with these guys as much as I did. Not just as rock stars - that part is easy - but at individuals and artists who turned their individual life experiences into music: beautiful, raw, in-your-face, visceral, and transcendent. And I hope that audiences feel a touch of that child-like excitement that Thomas sparked in me, that first day we sat down.
Page

It Might Get Loud

Congratulations U2 on your 3 Grammy Nominations !

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Have you been living under a rock for sometime? U2 got the Grammy nod last night, most fans feel the boys have been ripped off that they should have one a Grammy last time around. Well that’s all water on the bridge now.

We have written a couple of stories about the Album(CD,MP3) and we must confess again that we really did not like the work. It seemed out of sorts, different. Not anything we have heard before. Ah a concept was born. The Album grows, has legs which turned us around. We thought we would pull up a old story to refresh minds and provide some prosective on the album as well as provide new listeners a chance to comment.

The U2 album, ‘No Line On The Horizon’ was released March 2^nd  2009. It is a great record, and greatness is what rock and roll and the world needs right now. From the grittily urgent yet ethereal title track all the way to the philosophically ruminative, spacey coda of ‘Cedars Of Lebanon’ it conjures an extraordinary journey through sound and ideas, a search for soul in a brutal, confusing world, all bound together in narcotic melody and space age pop songs.

“Let me in the sound” is a repeated lyrical motif (showing up in three songs, including current single ‘Get On Your Boots’). The theme of the album is surrender, escaping everyday problems to lose (or perhaps find) yourself in the joy of the moment. For Bono, it clearly represents an escape from the politics of his role as a lobbyist and campaigner into the musical exultation of rock and roll, yet the very notion of escape remains political, if only with a small p.

“Every day I have to find the courage to walk out into the street / With arms out, got a love you can’t defeat” is the inspirational bridge in an epic, explosive rock anthem ‘Breathe’, that could be set in Gaza or at your own front door.

Scattershot half-spoken verses fire images like news reports from the battleground of life (”16^th of June, Chinese stocks are going up / And I’m coming down with some new Asian virus … Doc says you’re fine, or dying”) til he is “running down the road like loose electricity”, tension building in thundering drums and grungey two note guitar riff until it all lets loose in a soaring, anthemic chorus, as Bono tells us “I found grace inside a sound / I found grace, it’s all that I found / And I can breathe”.

The theme is even more explicit on ‘Moment Of Surrender’, a pulsing, dreamily gorgeous 7 minute weave of synths, silvery guitars, sub-bass, handclaps, Arabic strings and soulful ululating vocals, in which the narrator experiences a spiritual epiphany at the very prosaic setting of an ATM machine. It is a beautiful piece that provides the album’s beating heart and shows how far U2 can drift from their stereotype as a stadium rock band into unknown territory while still making something that touches the universal.

Musically, these songs might be the two poles of an album that switches between overloaded rockers and hypnotic electro grooves: the U2 / Eno divide. ‘No Line On The Horizon’ was produced by the professorially brilliant Roxy Music synth magus Brian Eno with his rootsy, muso collaborator Daniel Lanois, the same team that has presided over U2’s finest albums, Unforgettable Fire (1984), The Joshua Tree (1987), Achtung Baby (1991) and their latterday reclaiming of pop’s high ground ‘All That You Can’t Leave Behind’ (2000). The chief difference is that here they have been explicitly invited into the songwriting process, with 7 of the 12 tracks credited to both band and producers, and recorded with a six-piece line up featuring Eno on electronics and Lanois on acoustic and pedal steel guitar.

It is these songs, in particular, which push U2 towards the invisible horizon of the title, at once more linear (they tend to be driven, with singular grooves, often pulsing along on particular sound effect or rhythmic repetitions) and lateral (they defy obvious song-structure, choruses drop rather than soar, Bono’s rich, high voice subsumed into stacked harmonic chants). These tracks draw out of Bono a contemplative depth, so even the fantastically odd ‘Unknown Caller’ hits a vein of emotional truth, when the spaced out singer is cast adrift on the soundbites of computer and communications networks (’Password, you enter here, right now / You know your name so punch it in’) yet seems to find himself talking to the inner voice of God (”Escape yourself, and gravity / Hear me, cease to speak that I may speak”). Words and music dovetail in surprising ways that send the senses spinning.

Dave Long 2009 Left to their own compositional devices, U2 produce rock songs of high-wire adrenalin and in-your-face immediacy. It is almost a relief when they arrive like a troop surge in the middle of the album, reclaiming familiar territory with a burst of shock and awe. This is U2 on safe ground, ramming home the kind of smack bang crunch pop rock that they know radio programmers will fall at their feet for, yet there is almost too much melody and a surfeit of lyrical ideas. Current single ‘Get On Your Boots’ is the prime example, walloping along with two note punk rock energy, a low-slung heavy metal guitar riff, an expansively melodic psychedelic chorus and playful sloganeering lyrics in which Bono gets off the soap box to pay homage to the more prosaic pleasures of a beautiful woman in comically “sexy boots”. Along with the Oasis on steroids singalong pop of ‘I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight’ and pop Zepplin-esque grooviness and shuffling beats of ‘Stand Up Comedy’, these songs are the albums most immediate and yet least resonant tracks. They are light relief from the more demanding adventures into new sonic terrain.

Bono’s worst reflex as a lyric writer is sloganeering, partly because he is so good at it. On the three songs just mentioned, he piles catch-phrase upon soundbite to build up a thematic idea, often one that plays with his image. So in ‘Stand Up Comedy’ the diminutive rock star in stacked boots warns us to “stand up to rock stars / Napoleon is in high heels / Josephine be careful of small men with big ideas” and in ‘I’ll Go Crazy’ he confesses (or complains) “there’s a part of me in the chaos that’s quiet / And there’s a part of you that wants me to riot.” It is all good fun but too often sounds like a series of t-shirt slogans rather than a song with a heart of its own. His phrasemaking is put to much better effect when it pared back so that the emotion of the song takes precedence, as on the strange, addictive title track, where he loses himself in the blur of a mysterious love, a person whose unknowability represents a kind of Godliness and who tells him “infinity is a great place to start.”

On ‘Breathe’, U2 locate the emotional and philosophical heart in an out and out ball busting U2 anthem (which Eno, apparently, asserts to be “the most U2 song” they have ever recorded). It is matched, in this respect, by the quite wonderful ‘Magnificent’, in which the U2/Eno/Lanois combo conjure up an instantly recognisable U2 classic in a love song with the flag waving pop drive of ‘New Year’s Day’. These are songs that will fill their fans with joy, but it is in the album’s more intimate, off beat adventures that U2 lock into something that forces listeners to sit up and take note of them anew. There is a busy-ness in terms of sonic tapestry, the meshing together of Edge’s sci-fi guitars and Eno’s synths providing an intricate, detailed soundscape that constantly tugs at the ears and mind, but the U2/Eno/Lanois songs hold the centre, slowly revealing themselves, demanding repeat listens. It certainly sounds like U2 (as do a lot of groups these days) but in its boldest moments is as fresh and ambitious as the work of first timers, not veterans 33 years on the road.

If it has a flaw, it may be in U2’s inherent tendency to want to be all things to all people, so that in album of surrender, they can’t quite let themselves go all the way. They still want to bat the ball out of the stadium everytime, and so instinctively counterbalance their desire to reach something otherwordly with the safe bets of crunchy rock hits. In that respect, it doesn’t have the innocence or singularity of ‘Unforgettable Fire’ or ‘Joshua Tree’, nor does it quite affect the bold re-wiring of their sound that was ‘Achtung Baby’. To me, it is probably the album ‘Zooropa’ was supposed to be, building on the sonic architecture of classic U2 and taking it into the pop stratosphere. But what a place for a band to be, in orbit around their own myth, making music that bounces off the inside of a listeners skull, charged with ideas and emotions, groovy enough to want to dance to, melodic enough to make you sing along, soulful enough to cherish, philosophical enough to inspire, and with so many killer tracks it might as well be a latterday greatest hits. It is, at the very least, an album to speak of in the same breath as their best and what other band of their longevity can boast of that?

Anyway that’s my opinion. I can tell you what Bono thinks, because he has been texting me. He comes (as he explicitly says on ‘Breathe’) “from a long line of travelling salesmen” and he would probably sell his album door to door if he could. “Lifeforce, joy, innovation, emotional honesty, analogue not digital, home-made not pro-tooled, unique sonic landscape,” are his buzzwords (although punctuation and spelling are mine). “I pinch myself every morning, evenings no longer a trial. Soul music for the frenzied, rock music for the still. The album we always wanted to make. Now we f*** off …”

As posted earlier U2 has been nominated for 3 Grammys for No Line on the Horizon. The boys have won a total of 22 Grammys and they are tied currently with Stevie Wonder as the only artists to win as many. The categories may not be the top ones, album of  the year, song of the year and record of the year. However they are nominated, we can officaly call this album the “Sleeper of the Year” ( U.S football fans know thats a good thing). You can read all the nominations at Grammy.com. We will have a complete run down of No Line On The Horizon. We have all the songs loaded. You can down load them from iTunes or Amazon. 

Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals
(For duo, group or collaborative performances, with vocals. Singles or Tracks only.)

• Can’t Find My Way Home
  Eric Clapton & Steve Winwood
  Track from: Live From Madison Square Garden
  [Reprise]
• Life In Technicolor II
  Coldplay
  Track from: Prospekt’s March EP
  [Capitol]
• 21 Guns
  Green Day
  Track from: 21st Century Breakdown
  [Reprise]
• Use Somebody
  Kings Of Leon
  [RCA Records]
• I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight
  U2
  Track from: No Line On The Horizon
  [Interscope]

Category 21

Best Rock Album
(Vocal or Instrumental. Includes Hard Rock and Metal.)

• Black Ice
  AC/DC
  [Columbia]
• Live From Madison Square Garden
  Eric Clapton & Steve Winwood
  [Reprise/Duck]
• 21st Century Breakdown
  Green Day
  [Reprise]
• Big Whiskey And The Groogrux King
  Dave Matthews Band
  [RCA Records / Bama Rags Recordings, LLC.]
• No Line On The Horizon
  U2
  [Interscope]

Category 20

Best Rock Song
(A Songwriter(s) Award. Includes Rock, Hard Rock & Metal songs. For Song Eligibility Guidelines see Category #3. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.)

• The Fixer
  Matt Cameron, Stone Gossard, Mike McCready & Eddie Vedder, songwriters (Pearl Jam)
  [Monkeywrench; Publishers: Innocent Bystander, Jumpin’ Cat Music, Theory of Color, Write Treatage Music.]
• I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight
  Bono, Adam Clayton, The Edge & Larry Mullen Jr., songwriters (U2)
  Track from: No Line On The Horizon
  [Interscope; Publishers: Universal Music Publishing, Upala Music.]
• 21 Guns
  Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt & Tré Cool, songwriters (Green Day)
  Track from: 21st Century Breakdown
  [Reprise; Publishers: WB Music Corp./Green Daze Music.]
• Use Somebody
  Caleb Followill, Jared Followill, Matthew Followill & Nathan Followill, songwriters (Kings Of Leon)
  [RCA Records; Publishers: Martha Street Music/Songs of Combustion Music/Music of Windswept, Followill Music/Songs of Combustion Music/Music of Windswept, McFearless Music/Bug Music, Coffee, Tea or Me Publishing/Bug Music.]
• Working On A Dream
  Bruce Springsteen, songwriter (Bruce Springsteen)
  Track from: Working On A Dream
  [Columbia; Publisher: Bruce Springsteen]

 © 2009 - The Recording Academy. All rights reserved.

Best Rock Album: AC/DC, Eric Claptop & Steve Winwood, Green Day, Dave Matthews Band and U2. Tell us what you think ! 

U2 seemed to have a 360 degree view of the world this year, setting attendance records at every stop on Bono and company’s high tech world tour. But it was “No Line on the Horizon,” the band’s twelfth album and its strongest recording in nearly a decade, that lifted the band into the outer stratosphere. THe band sang with a new urgency on singles like “Get On Your Boots,” “Magnificent” and “If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight,” a song that herlads back to the finest moments on its breakthrough “The Joshua Tree.” U2 debuted “Boots” on the 2009 Grammy Awards broadcast despite the song not being eligible for an award; they hope to collect on that down payment this year. Be sure to sign up for all the concert videos on YOUTUBE.

U2 PHOTO ALBUM | CHART HISTORY | LISTEN TO U2 ALBUMS

The Grammy Nominations Concert will air on CBS tonight at 9pm EST (check your local listings for your time). U2 will not be there, but “No Line on the Horizon” could be nominated.

Cast your vote here !

While the album wasn’t a major success and some think it doesn’t stand up to stronger (and Grammy winning) records “All That You Can’t Leave Behind” and “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb”, “No Line” is really a personal piece. It’s something U2 put a lot into and, as Edge said previously, the material has played so well during the “360” tour that people are starting to warm up to it more.

We do  think that as great of a song “Get on Your Boots” is, it’s no “Vertigo” or a “Beautiful Day”. And “Magnificent” and “I’ll Go Crazy” were hardly played on radio (which shocked me because those songs were amazing live and deserved airplay), so not everyone has had the chance to experience “No Line” or had the time to really appreciate it. “360” also didn’t play in a lot of cities during the US leg, so some probably didn’t get the opportunity to hear the material live.

But the thing about the Grammys, they always reward passion projects. Alison Krauss and Robert Plant won last year for their praised album “Raising Sand” and the Dixie Chicks won all five of their nominations for “Taking the Long Way” (which is a fantastic record that I have played out almost as much as “No Line”) in the wake of their George W. Bush scandal.

Academy should (and perhaps they already have) look into how thoughtful and pure “No Line” is. You can feel it in every note, you can hear it in every lyric sung, and you can understand U2’s thought process in the entire album. Hopefully, U2 and their passion project will get shown a little Grammy nomination love tonight.

Let us know what you think?

Bono thinks he is “overpaid”.

The U2 rocker – who is worth an estimated £400 million – says he devotes so much of his time to charitable projects because he believes he has more money than he deserves to have.
Bono
Speaking at the launch of Nike’s Lace Up, Save Lives campaign, which raises money for HIV charity (Red) with Chelsea soccer star Didier Drogba, he said: “These guys are very wealthy. I am very well paid, overpaid and even over-rewarded for what I do. But a lot of these soccer guys are giving something back and they don’t need to do that.”

Meanwhile, Bono admits he and his bandmates are “delighted and humbled” to have been asked to headline next year’s Glastonbury Festival, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary.

He said: “Everyone in the band is very excited about it. I think it will just be about the music on that day, and that spirit that seems to take over everybody in that sacred ground.

“We’ll certainly be well-rehearsed, we’ll be coming straight from the North American tour.”

U2’s appearance at Glastonbury marks their first festival show in 25 years and it will be the first time the group have performed at the world famous music event.

Editor Note:  We are not over paid, so Bono if your interested send a pay check or two our way. We promise to work hard.

U2’s Oct. 3 concert at Carter-Finley Stadium provided N.C. State’s athletics department with more than $600,000 in extra revenue for the current fiscal year, school officials confirmed Tuesday.

According to documents obtained through a public records request, Live Nation, the concert’s promoter, paid N.C. State $300,000 to rent Carter-Finley Stadium.

Under the agreement with Live Nation, N.C. State also kept the proceeds from parking ($166,000) and food-and-beverage concessions ($175,858). The concert resulted in a net profit for N.C. State of $641,858 after expenses.

That’s a significant one-day haul for a department whose operating budget for 2008-09 was about $39.1 million.

“It’s a nice chunk of change,” N.C. State athletic director Lee Fowler said. “It’s something you’d like to do every year.”

Fowler said that while N.C. State is not in the business of actively seeking concerts, the athletic department will remain open to concert offers in the future. The main concern for N.C. State was the condition of the turf with a home game against Duke set to be played just one week after the concert.

But Live Nation paid $250,000 into escrow for the field to be resodded, and coach Tom O’Brien was pleased with the condition of the turf for the Duke game. Almost $100,000 remains for new sod to be laid after the spring game. Any funds left after that must be returned to Live Nation.

“It is sexy to want to change the world.” Bono

December 1st is World AIDS Day – a time to honor all who are affected by AIDS. Cities, brands, organizations and people are coming together from all over the world to make one statement. That ONE COLOR UNITES US. And that color is (RED).

Here’s how you can get involved. Help us turn Facebook & Twitter (RED) on December 1st:

Facebook: Share our video & make your profile picture (RED).

Twitter: We’ve been working with our good friends at Twitter to do something really exciting. We’re turning the color of tweets red for the day! Just use #red or #laceupsavelives to turn your tweets red. Find out more at: @joinred or @U2TOURFANS #U2TOURFANS

What else can you do on December 1st? This World AIDS Day, (RED) partners are making increased contributions to help fight AIDS in Africa:

Starbucks: 5 cents for every hand-crafted beverage in US & Canada, and 5p/5 Euro cents for every espresso-based beverage bought in UK & Ireland.

Gap: 1% of all revenue at participating US and Canada stores.

Dell: Doubling their contributions on DELL (PRODUCT) RED™ products in US, UK and Japan. Until December 2nd.

Bugaboo: As always Bugaboo will be contributing 1% of their total revenue to the Global Fund.

Click here to see all (RED) partners.

33 million people in the world have HIV. 22 million live in Africa. It costs around 40cents a day for the 2 pills that are needed to help keep someone living with HIV alive. Yet, more than 70% of the people in sub-Saharan Africa live on less than $2 a day. Because of you, to date $140 million has been sent to Africa through (RED) partners and events, which has supported programs that have helped reach 4 million people.

Thank you for fighting AIDS in Africa. Being (RED) is sexy.

ONE COLOR UNITES US on December 1st

Awesome arguments abound for why U2 should headline Bonnaroo 2010, and any arguments against the proposition could be turned into reasons why it’s still a great idea.

The best case for bringing the boys to Bonnaroo might be how infrequently U2 have ever played the Volunteer state: opening for J. Geils at UT Knoxville in 1982, headlining the Murphy Center at MTSU in Murfreesboro on the Joshua Tree tour in 1987 (around the same time they Rattle and Hum film crew went to Memphis), and bringing the spectacle of Popmart to Memphis in 1997. Atlanta has always been U2’s mid-south staple, and the current 360 dates for summer 2010 only include one southern date in Miami.

The second best case for U2 addressing the throng that assembles each summer in Manchester would come from the Bonnaroo organizers and their commitment to attracting top-tier rock performers. If U2 does not get the nod and play their first Tennessee show in over 13 years, whoever takes the What Stage on Saturday night will likely be one of U2’s elder peers like The Stones, The Who, or Paul McCartney, a true peer like Green Day or R.E.M., or one of the younger pretenders to their throne, a band like Coldplay or The Killers. Tennessee homeboys Kings of Leon have already played day set on the mainstage at Bonnaroo, and it’s likely too soon to bring them back as the main act.

The third premise for U2 at the ‘roo has already been floated to defend the Glastonbury decision: reaching out to a younger audience and even expanding the band’s already enormous fanbase. Clearly, Bonnaroo goes for the righteous blend of hippie and hipster, adding to its jamband roots a plethora of jazz, world music, reggae, electonica, and indy-rock; U2’s globally-minded musical and social spirit could actually do quite well at such a gig. If sluggish sales for No Line On The Horizon and casual demographic surveys of the crowds at 360 shows are any indication, it would not be all wrong for a band with U2’s impressive resume to reach out to the crowd that comes from around North America to for this top-shelf event.

Bonnaroo regulars return each summer not just for the impressive array of artists but for the experience itself, its particular convergence of the communal and the cosmic, from the sometimes treacherous logistics to the frequently transcendent memories. Many of us would love to add a U2 set to a long list of Bonnaroo bests.

Fan-author and devout U2 follower Cathal McCarron understands the potential beauty of U2 bringing its noise to a major festival. He comments about the Glastonbury decision: “This is the best bad news I’ve ever heard. I’ve been to Glasto eight (or nine, it’s hard to remember) times. I’ve have been to the Pyramid Stage watching headliners like Radiohead, Coldplay, Paul McCartney, The Killers, The White Stripes, and God knows who else, and usually thinking about just how much U2 would demolish the place. And then they go and announce this for one of the two years when I’ve not got a ticket! The atmosphere by the Pyramid Stage for the headliner at Glasto is beautifully, almost indescribably, electric. It’s a genuinely magical experience; there really is something special in the air there—just a few days after the summer solstice and just a few miles down the road from Stonehenge. The atmosphere is going to be far and away better than the atmosphere at some regular U2 gigs.”

The common-sense argument against U2 joining the festival movement at this juncture seems to stem from the apparent incompatibility of U2 fans with the types of folks that go to festivals. Given my extensive experience at both Bonnaroo and U2 shows, there’s plenty of truth to this claim. But just this kind of cross-cultural experience (even if it is only across mostly white, privileged rock-fan subcultures) might serve both U2 fans and Bonnaroo fans very well.

Of course, some U2-haters would denounce such a decision, just as U2-hate is currently clogging the comment threads on some UK newsites where the Glastonbury tag has been noted. Doubt anything could rival the hate Bonnaroo fans had for Kanye in 2008. The worst U2 could get is a mediocre reaction like the Police did in 2007, but that was mainly because Sting was whiny from the stage and the set was criminally short.

notwithstanding, U2 are not hippies, and U2 fans are definitely not hippies. But Bono can certainly play well with hippies as he did as Dr. Robert in the film Across The Universe. If this rumor comes to pass and U2 are announced as Bonnaroo headliners, Maybe U2 Fans immediately starting another rumor. For a band that has been accused of safe, corporate business decisions, unclawing the megatour for some festival dates represents a brave move. For the true U2 fan, every day on tour is our own private Bono-roo, but going to Glastonbury is an Edgy decision of Adamic revelation and risk, taking our private Larrypalooza to a larger public.

Editor Note: It Cyber Monday and of course we would like to you to consider our gift shop or friends that support our site.  Or if you would like to donate to the site directly you an click on the button below. All donations go to the support of the site, writers, and staff that support the site.

Hope you’ve got lots of space in your DVR for this one. It’s four hours long and packed with some of the most bizarre and potentially awesome (awful) pairings you can imagine, like Mick Jagger and Fergie, Metallica and Ozzy Osbourne, and Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel. I’m most looking forward to Annie Lennox and Aretha doing “Chain of Fools.”

We thought we would pass this one along. If your a real U2 fan your aware of some of the other sites. In case your starting out as a fan. @U2 had this one posted today. - Of course full credit to them - Sign up and tell them we sent you.

It’s time for the 11th annual U2 Fan Christmas/Holiday Card Exchange, a chance for U2 fans to send greetings of the season to other fans worldwide!

To participate:

- Send a message to u2christmas@gmail.com and give us your snail mail (postal) address.

- In the e-mail, tell me what sort of card you’d like to receive (Christmas, Season’s Greetings, etc. or no preference). In early December, I will e-mail you the addresses of fellow U2 fans to send cards to.

- If you wish to participate, plan on sending at least 10 cards.

- Please write in BEFORE DECEMBER 9TH if you want to be part of the Card Exchange. That way there will be time for cards to get to their destinations around the world.

Thanks again for participating and have fun!

Thank you Wolf Gangs Vault for the greatest U2 fan deal available today. As we head into the holiday season and you begin to think about gifts check back with us often. We have a couple of “Friends of U2” stores that will be offering super deals for our followers. When you make a purchase from any our “Friends” your making  statement that you support our site and writers. This holiday season why not click on our “Friends” when your looking to buy gifts.

Rare Bono Intereview

Only four years into their musical career, U2 found themselves at an artistic crossroads. Firmly established as a powerful rock ‘n’ roll combo by the live set Under a Blood Red Sky, the little Dublin four-piece could merrily continue pounding out spare populist anthems like their preceding efforts. Or they could consider the success of their recent EP the curtain drawn on the first act of a decades-spanning epic and lock themselves in a castle to create an atmospheric masterpiece that would find them heralded as the greatest band of the ‘80s and beyond.

When Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois assumed the controls for the sessions that would ultimately yield The Unforgettable Fire, the path chosen was resolutely the latter. It may seem outrageous to claim that such a plan was in place when recording began, but with an auspicious degree of talent gathered in a monument to Anglo-Norman nobility, the topic of conversation must have turned to global domination at least once.

Never at a loss for words, here Bono shares the intimate details of the recording process for their seminal work, the finer points and perils of live performing, and the beginning of a creative partnership with a legendary producing duo that would last for five more records, over nearly 10 years. Though political awareness and activism have always been a part of the U2 platform, it’s refreshing to hear the inexhaustible singer talking about music for a change.

If there’s a word that describes Bono it is energy. And his enthusiasm for life and art is always evident. For a dose of inspiration, tempered with some moderately convincing humility, let Bono bend your ear.

This interview is broken into two parts.

Part I:

Part II:

Ian McCullochEcho and the Bunnymen’s Ian McCulloch has once again singled out U2 for a tongue-lashing, branding the Irish megastars’ music as “flag-waving” and “immature.”

McCulloch has regularly stated his aversion to Bono and friends and appears to love using the press to express his disdain. Last year he referred to them as “spud peelers” whose ambition was to join music’s elite stars like Bob Geldof, Sting and “all them c—-s who no one really likes.”

This time around, while he was slightly less vitriolic, McCulloch continued to ridicule U2 for appealing only to a younger, less-mature fan base and being nothing more than a commercial enterprise. “Bands all say they want to be as big as U2, but weirdly no one ever says they’re influenced by them,” he told New York magazine. “That’s because there’s nothing there, really.”

He continued, “They’ve got good tunes, and you can see that it works on 14-year-olds. But I can’t see mature people or kids, who are looking for something, something deep — something that you just know it’s art and it’s going to change your life — caring. For U2, it’s always flag-waving and ‘Yippee.’”

Not that McCulloch’s jealous of course. Echo & the Bunnymen begin a UK tour of mid-sized theatres in December, while U2 have recently concluded a tour of the world’s biggest sports stadiums.

Break time for the crew, the band and us too. As we kick back here in America grab some food and drink we are reminded of those that are in the fight of their lives. Aung San Suu Kyi and others like her fight for those rights which we enjoy. 

We are off for the holiday and shall return shortly after. - Cheers to all. We thank you for all your support and comments.

As modern rock sages go, few equal the breadth (and ego) of U2’s Bono. So it’s nice to see when he’s not preaching about world debt, Catholicism or the bird-like qualities of Evan Rachel Wood’s singing voice, the Irish singer takes time to share his years of experience to a new generation of rock stars.

Such was the case at a recent party in New York when a rather inebriated Bono took drummer Dominic Howard from 360 Tour openers Muse aside for “a drunken chat about things.”

“We were just nattering on about music,” Howard tells Spinner. “He had a go at passing on his wisdom, though it was mostly a pat on the back, I think.

“There are a lot of similarities between our band and theirs,” Howard continues. “They took a long time to get to the big stuff in America, as well — ‘Joshua Tree’ was their fifth album. They spent years making albums and getting bigger and bigger and learning their craft before they got to the big stadium stuff and we talked about how that was the right way to go about that.”

Bono and “Special Friends” After listening intently to the elder Irish statesman, Howard eventually worked up the courage to tell the vocalist that, while he had been a fan for several years, he had never attended a U2 concert until his band began their tour with the rock behemoths at New York’s Giants Stadium.

“I told him my first time seeing his band was in New York and how I thought it was a great show. I could see that despite they’re on their 12th album or whatever they’re still enjoying it, still on top of their game. We just talked about how I was very impressed, genuinely, and he was saying similar things. He told me that if you stay together and keep on making music you can achieve what you want to achieve. You know, just wisdom.”

Today we thought about something on the lite side after yesterday’s story on Bono, who would have ever thought we would get so many comments.  Our collection based on our likes, of course we welcome your thoughts too. Also remember if your looking for a gift for the holiday we have a great selection of items either in our amazon story or our music store.

U2 has been around for over 25 years which puts them in a very small class.  Making that class even smaller is the fact that the music they’re making today is often as good as the music they were making in the early to mid 80’s when they first started out. In the two decades they’ve been together, Bono and the boys ( The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen, JR.) have tackld many different subjects and styles of music and that can make it pretty hard to pick ten songs as their best. For now we will leave out No Line.

We think part of what makes U2 so great to listen to is that every fan could have a different list of favorites and it would be hard to argue against any of them.  A few other AC Content producers have already published their take on the Top Ten Songs by U2.  Here are our ten favorite U2 songs along with a few brief comments on why we love them enough to put them on this list.

10. With or Without You - The Joshua Tree
This song has a great moody feel. I love the way it slowly builds and builds and builds until Bono finally cuts loose at the three minute mark. Time and cigarettes have taken a bit of a toll on Bono’s voice, but in the days of The Joshua Tree he could soar like very few vocalists can.

9. All I Want is You - Rattle and Hum
This choice is all about Bono. It’s one of my favorite vocals by him.  Most singers today seem to try and prove how talented they are by oversinging everything so it’s especially lovely to hear something as quiet and understated as this vocal performance.

8. City of Blinding Lights - How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
We like Vertigo and we love Sometimes You Can’t Make it On Your Own, but this is the song from How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb that I keep coming back to. It has a big, building, uplifting melody that we love. U2 does this kind of soaring song better than anyone else. Very Where the Streets Have No Nameish. We also want to point out on the 360 tour this song fits so nice with the stage and lights.

7. Pride (In the Name of Love) – Rattle and Hum
I love the lines, “Free at last/They took your life/They could not take your pride.” Plus a Jesus reference! (“One may betrayed with a kiss.”) love that U2 has never been afraid to mix the secular and the spiritual.

6. Acrobat - Achtung Baby  For a period in the 90’s, U2 moved away from their mostly hopeful, upbeat music.  This song really encompasses the darker, more cynical attitude of that time.  It’s definitely a different mood but, no surprise, a lot of the music is just as good as the material that preceded it.   “I must be an acrobat/To talk like this and act like that” is a feeling that most people have had at some point in their lives.

5. Running to Stand Still – The Joshua Tree
Another beautiful melody. I love Edge’s twanging guitar at the very beginning. Plus I’m a sucker for songs with things like “Ha La La La De Day, Ha La La La De Day” in them. Fun to sing along with. Oh, and there’s harmonicas!

4. Beautiful Day - All That You Can’t Leave Behind
The students I work with every day are 11 and 12 and I can’t believe the junk they listen to. I catch snatches of it here and there or they’ll insist on playing this “really awesome” song for me. The language is awful and the lyrics are sexist, violent, or just plain hateful. So I love that one of the biggest rock bands in the world came back from a long hiatus with a song called Beautiful Day featuring lyrics as simple and direct as, “It’s a beautiful day/Don’t let it slip away.” I love the “daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay”s in the background. This song makes me so, so happy. It has a very joyful feeling about it.

3. I Will Follow - Boy
Awwww, Bono sounds so young!  Twenty-five years later this song still sounds as fresh and energetic as it did the day it was released.

2. Until the End of the World - Achtung Baby
How can you not love a rock star who writes a song from the point of view of Judas Iscariot? Fabulous. One of my favorite songs ever. The lyrics, the tune, the sheer creativity of the idea behind it – all amazing. I don’t know if I’d say Bono has one of the greatest pure voices, but he can get to the heart and emotion of a song like very few people singing right now can. He totally delivers every time, and this is one of the best examples of that.

1. I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For - The Joshua Tree I  kind of feel like this is a pretty cliched song to pick as my favorite U2 song, but everyone in the world knows it for a reason: It’s a great song. I love that one of the band’s most popular songs contains some of the most direct references to Christianity (“I believe in the kingdom come/When all the colors will bleed into one/Bleed into one/But yes I’m still running/You broke the bonds/And you loosed the chains/Carried the cross and all my shame/All my shame/You know I believe it…”) As I said earlier, the combination of secular and religious ideas is one of my favorite things about U2. Their music is filled to the brim with religious references and not generic “spiritual” ideas – references that are very specific to Christianity, the Bible, and Jesus. People are so quick to separate secular and religious – one goes here, and one goes there, and never shall the two meet – and I love that U2 doesn’t do that. Even when I’m not sure I entirely agree with something they’ve expressed, it’s always thoughtful and honest and sincere, and I can’t help but appreciate that.

Of course you can download the whole collection of U2 songs direct from iTunes.

The 10 commandments of Bono, now this should create some conversation. First don’t shoot the writer.

Remember we are a fan based site and because we are a fan based site sometimes people send in interesting points of view from the other side of the street.

We continue to review guest writers and have been thinking about a couple of new stories. We have yet to finish up on our selections. So if your interested and believe that your story should be shared, please send us your thoughts before writing a full article.

Today’s story is a bit long and we would say that this view is not something we would endorse, rather than not share it and throw it aside as some would suggest we thought it was more important to share a different view. This for sure will make us remember why we are fans and that at times when your at the top of your game some will throw rocks at you. Of course Bono and the boys know this by now, or else they would have tossed in the towel many years back.

The 10 Commandments of Bono

Thou Shalt Not Worship Any Gods Before Me

First and foremost, Bono demands that we adhere to this fundamental rule. Some may mock, but whether he is saving the world one continent at a time or patronising leaders of other faiths, it is clear that Paul Hewson is the earthly vessel of the Lord Bono Vox (that’s Latin for “Good Voice”, in case you were in any doubt as to the majesty of his heavenly singing).
Practising Bonoists have been following his divine teachings since the early-80s Mullet Era. But now it seems that other religions are starting to wise up and preach the word of Bono.
 

Thou Shalt Not Steal (Cowboy Hats)

In 2006 Bono taught mankind that theft is a grave sin. Even if the victim is a multi-millionaire. And the stolen item is a hat. And the perpetrator is an ex-employee. Who maintains that the hat was a gift. And the theft occurred in 1987. Even then, the principle holds, and justice must be done. Even if it makes you look petty.

Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery

There was much controversy last month over the (un-incriminating) photographs of Bono and two attractive, bikini-clad young ladies that were plastered all over Facebook, then subsequently (and inexplicably) all over the front page of the Mail on Sunday, then predictably (and amusingly) all over the web, and finally replicated here, just for reference.However, Bono, it should be stressed, is a committed family man. And, as just about every article that ran these pictures carefully stated, his “26-year marriage to wife Ali is famously strong”.Follow his virtuous example people. But be mindful of the dangers of social network sites.

Though Shalt Go Forth and Promote the New Gospel of Wealth

Bono’s perspective on wealth is a thorny issue for his followers due the bewildering contradictions inherent in his actions and teachings. But on careful inspection one can glean his true underlying message. For beneath the selfless anti-poverty posturing, lies a person in thrall to materialistic aspirations of wealth and fame; evinced, not only by his substantial personal fortune (estimated at well over £400m), but also by his recent acquisition of a 40% stake in Forbes Media through his private equity fund, Elevation Partners.

Thou Shalt Hypocritically Dodge Taxes

Hypocrisy is to Bonoism, as forgiveness is to Christianity. Thus, when it comes to legal obligations – such as paying taxes – Bono teaches us to exploit loopholes whilst sanctimoniously commanding others to give more money to those in need. Bono revealed this enlightened path to us poor mortals in 2006 when his band moved their music publishing company from Ireland to the Netherlands in order to avoid new Irish legislation and benefit from the lenient Dutch taxes on musicians (a common path for rock ‘n’ roll deities to follow). Some argue that this is at odds with Bono’s campaigning for increased aid and debt-relief for Africa. Which is hard to deny in light of the recent Christian Aid report which denounced tax-dodging as the “new slavery”, citing it as a major cause of child poverty and blaming it for the deaths of 1,000 children a day in developing countries (as discussed in a previous blog). Obviously, this report should be dismissed as blasphemy by true believers.

Thou Shalt Murder (Classic Songs)

Having anointed many classics with his blessed banality from The Beatles and The Rolling Stones to Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen, it would appear that Bono is very much pro-murder. His re-imagining of Lou Reed’s Satellite of Love is particularly annoying.

Though Shalt Be Charitable (if it is Personally Lucrative and Counter-Productive)

As a world-famous philanthropist, Bono has dedicated his life to campaigning for charity. It should be pointed out, however, that he advocates a particular model of charity; one exemplified by his high-profile Product (RED) campaign, described on the website as “a business model designed to create awareness and a sustainable flow of money from the private sector into the Global Fund, to help eliminate AIDS in Africa.” Sounds like Bono’s worked miracles by efficiently uniting capitalism and altruism, right? Well, not quite.

Last year Advertising Age reported on the disparity between the campaign’s advertising costs (estimated as high as $100m) and the amount raised for the Global Fund (just $18m). Elsewhere, BuyLessCrap.org and others, have taken issue with the campaign’s inference that consumerism is an effective solution to the world’s problems by calling for people to bypass (RED) and donate directly to the Global Fund. Before taking out a (RED) credit card or buying a (RED) iPod, check out the excellent collection of compelling essays concerning the counter-productiveness of the campaign and its perpetuation of African disempowerment in the current issue of the Journal of Pan African Studies.

Thou Shalt Live a Life of Hypocritical Excess

Bono’s teachings on excess are best demonstrated by the Parable of The Flying Cowboy Hat. This widely-reported and fist-clenchingly annoying story tells of the alleged thousands that he paid to fly his beloved, sweaty little hat first-class from London to Italy for a live performance. You can almost picture his benevolent face as he screamed at some lowly assistant, “screw the expense, screw the environment, I want me FECKIN’ HAT.”

Perhaps this event was intended to be allegorical – maybe it means that, in today’s world, if you’re a rich rock star, you can act like a tosspot.

Thou Shalt Sell Out to Big Politics

One of Bono’s most influential teachings is that the UK government under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown and the US Bush administration are the true heroes of our time. He has taught us that they are visionaries who, like himself, have selflessly dedicated themselves to making this world a better place, to provide relief from poverty and disease for the disenfranchised of the world.

In 2004, while cosying up to the British government at the Labour party’s annual conference, Bono shamelessly described Blair and Brown as the “Lennon and McCartney of global development. Two years later during his speech at the US National Prayer Breakfast Bono personally praised the President for the lives he has saved in Africa (much to the chagrin of many), despite Bush’s questionable legacy in that continent.

Many argue that it’s damaging for a man of Bono’s undeniable prominence, influence and veneration to offer partisan political support whilst also aligning himself with protest and activism. Naomi Klein, for example, argues that Bono’s actions legitimise the structures that true activism seeks to change; as she puts it: “the story of globalization is the story of inequality. What’s been lost in the Bono-ization is ability to change these power structures. There are still the winners and losers, people who are locked in to the power structures and those locked out.”

Thou Shalt Spend, Spend, Spend

A committed follower of Bonoism must also be a committed consumer. As expounded by his (RED) campaign, through consumption comes salvation. It seems iPods are especially revered objects in Bonoism (although it is unclear whether this is due to an innate quality or due to the fat paycheque Bono picks up from Apple, and now Blackberry)

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