U2 announced that they will release No Line on the Horizon - the band's latest studio effort on March 3, 2009. It's hard to believe that it has now been over four years since How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb came out! That disc remains in my cd player rotation and like most U2 records has been a great friend to me. I look forward to making room for the new one in the mix. However, Billboard reports that I'll have to choose between five different versions, including one priced at $96. Yikes! And, there is a reported contribution on the record from the Black Eyed Peas' will.i.am. Potentially double yikes!

Beyond the multiple versions, another difference we may see for the new record is the lack of an iPod commercial like the one we seemingly endlessly saw featuring "Vertigo" from HTDAAB. That's because Bono may have picked a fight with Apple's Steve Jobs. Although Gawker via Valleywag is obviously trying to create a big fire from a little smoke, there may indeed be some discomfort at Apple over Bono's Elevation Partners firm sinking money into Palm, maker of a potential iPhone competitor. We'll just have to see how No Line on the Horizon does on the iTunes charts to see if U2 suffers any paybacks from Bono's financial dalliances.

Labels: Bono, U2

The Sasquatch Music Festival organizers announced that Sarah Silverman will be hosting. My first thought is whether that is really necessary at an event like this? Anyway, beyond her comic observations, there will be, of course, some music. A resurgent Polyphonic Spree and Earl Greyhound are among the performers that also include the Beastie Boys who will be doing both a main stage set and also an instrumental performance. I wonder if they'll be breaking out the guitars and amps from the old days?

Radiohead issued a statement through their management company that they are NOT negotiating a deal with Starbucks for their next record:"Radiohead are currently in the studio working on their next record. They are not negotiating a new record deal with anyone, and will not even consider how to release their new music until the album is finished. The rumour that they are about to sign with Starbucks is totally untrue." While Radiohead is a good candidate to opt out of the major label program, I believe them when they say they aren't going to go the Starbucks route. It doesn't make sense for them. A strong indie or even their own release given their infrastructure on the web and all the new tools available would be the better choice.

MP3 Offerings:
The Electric Soft Parade: If That's The Case, Then I Don't Know
The Electric Soft Parade: Kick in the Teeth
Low: Breaker
The Shins: Know Your Onion
Illinois: Alone Again
Annuals: Brother
Ted Leo: The Living Kind (Live on WOXY)
Ted Leo: Bottle of Buckie (Live on WOXY)
A Night in the Box: The Thief

Modest Mouse is soaring on the charts with their latest release, but not everyone is happy with the new material. The folks over at Coke Machine Glow have the judged the work a bit too familiar and conservative: "Diminishing returns are making themselves felt here; old formulas have grown stale, songwriting quirks have become rote, and all the band's musical choices point toward safety and stability."

Bono was awarded with an Honorary Knighthood from "Most Excellent Order of the British Empire" - but don't call him Sir Bono. Since Ireland left the UK Commonwealth in the 1940s, its citizens are not eligible for the "sir" title. No worries for Bono, as this is just a stepping stone toward the real title of his dreams: St. Bono.

Labels: Bono, Modest Mouse, Mp3s, Radiohead

Seems everyone wants a piece of Justin Timberlake and Timbaland these days. Duran Duran is the latest to court the dynamic duo for a project. Hey, those boys may be old, but they're not dumb!

If you haven't heard them by now, there are some cool collaborations out between of The Buena Vista Social Club & Chris Martin of Coldplay, Dido, Jack Johnson, Franz Ferdinand, Sting, Bono, Maroon 5, The Kaiser Chiefs, The Arctic Monkeys and Radiohead. A portion of the proceeds from sales of the collection called Rythms Del Mundo go to the Music Rising charity. You check out some of the collaborations here: Dancing Shoes (Arctic Monkeys), Fragilidad (Sting), Killing Me Softly (Omara Portuondo).

Ari Hest has a cover out of Fleetwood Mac's "Little Lies." Ari's full length The Break In (recorded with Mitchell Froom) is set for a March 2007 release.

Lots of folks are sending us their holiday songs. Here's one from Ken Tizzard.

Our buddy Rinjo Njori has a new blog "Slave to Shuffle" where he's streaming a handful of songs a day with some commentary on each.

The Democrats may not have Ted Nugent, but they've still got a cool house band for their upcoming celebration concert to mark Nancy Pelosi becoming the first woman elected Speaker of the House.

Scotland continues to be a source for new music. If you missed them, Driveblind played on the Craig Ferguson show, check out the YouTube clip here.

Finally, Schultz Says:

London's High Court awarded Procol Harum keyboardist Matthew Fisher 40% of the copyright in the group's enduring classic "A Whiter Shade Of Pale." Since its release, the copyright had been held by Gary Brooker, Procol Harum's lead singer. In claiming entitlement to half the copyright, Fisher pointed to his creation of the song's memorable organ riff; an argument the High Court agreed with, finding the organ solo "a distinctive and significant contribution to the overall composition." As Fisher waited 40 years to assert his rights, the Court awarded him future, not past, royalties.

Brooker and his attorneys see the decision as a time bomb set to detonate and destroy the entire music industry. In a statement through his attorneys, Brooker pleaded that, "the repercussions of this decision are so far-reaching that any musician who has ever played on any recording in the last 40 years may now have a potential claim of joint authorship."

Somewhere in Europe, the heirs of Johann Sebastian Bach must be scratching their heads . . . and contacting their attorney. (Yes, yes, I know -- public domain. Never let a fact ruin a good finishing line).

Labels: Arctic Monkeys, Bono, Chris Martin, Coldplay, Franz Ferdinand, Kaiser Chiefs, Mp3s, Radiohead, Scotland, U2

Wyclef Jean throws a big charity ball every year to raise money for his "Yele Haiti" foundation. This year's bash raised over one million dollars and saw a suprise appearance from Bono.

Bono jumped onstage unanounced to perform "Redemption Song" with Wyclef. The two first performed the Marley song together back in 1999 for a webcast concert for NetAid.

It was apparently Bono's second gig of the day, as he reportedly sang on Bono Formula One boss Flavio Briatore's yacht earlier that day and arrived at Wyclef's ball with Jay-Z.

Jay-Z was a very large presence at the Philadelphia Live 8 show and given his respected position in the rap community, and business prowess, my guess is that Bono was angling to get the rapper even deeper involved in the various Africa initiatives.

Labels: Bono

Blur's Damon Albarn is in need of some attention. You'd think he'd be happy with the acclaim the Gorrilaz project received, but instead of doing his own thing and being content, he's decided to bash some other folks in a nonsensical manner. This type of "PR" stunt is usually relegated to lesser artists or those who's career has tailed off in order to get someone to write about him. Even though Alborn doesn't need the publicity these days, I'll bite anyway.

He reportedly told The Sun: "Radiohead – I'm not gonna get into anyone, but bands who care about certain things and then go on one and a half year stadium tours are just total hypocrites."

"In one sense you've got this developing humanist thing that's coming out of you, which is great. Then you're creating these massive impersonal events where you set up as the subject of thousands of people's adoration. Where is the humanity in that? That's just idolatry".

He also went on to have a dig at Bono and Live 8 organiser Bob Geldof, where he says: "You can't question Geldof's passion. But him and Bono – if you're so interested and care about Africa, think about the people, see them as a neighbour. Be interested in what they are interested in and don't impose your own ideas. It's imperious, it really is."

Its obvious this guy has no idea what he's talking about. To suggest that Bono doesn't have respect for Africans or that Radiohead, who take a more subtle approach but are nonetheless well-informed, don't truly care about world events, makes Albarn look rather silly and himself uninformed.

I get some of his point about the Live 8 type events, but his train of logic falls flat off the table pretty quickly. And, the irony of course, is that Albarn's preaching makes him look like an ass as he tries to lift himself to an even higher pulpit than the ones occupied by the subjects of his attacks. Be careful Damon, those high holy perches can be awfully unstable.

Labels: Bono

Bono will kick off a ten-day tour of Africa next week to examine the achievements of his Make Poverty History campaign. The U2 frontman plans to visit Lesotho, Rwanda, Tanzania, Nigeria, Mali and Ghana, starting Tuesday.

Jamie Drummond, executive director of Bono's advocacy group Debt Aids Trade Africa (DATA), says, "We're going to look at foreign assistance working on the ground in Africa and see what is working and what is not. Effective aid backing good African leadership can get results, so let's do more of it. Why would you not do more of it? The timing of this is extremely important, not just because you can see all the results on the ground, but because at this very moment top policymakers in all of the G8 countries are looking at whether they can afford to keep their promises - whether in Germany, Canada, Italy, or France, and above all in the US Congress."

Labels: Bono

"Africa is a continent bursting into flames,' said Bono Thursday night speaking to the Economic Club of Grand Rapids, Michigan. 'And deep down, if we really accept it, that Africans are equal to us, we would all do more to put the fire out.'

Bono will also serve as Editor for the Independent on May 16th to boost his initiative to enlist corporations to join the anti-AIDS campaign "Red."

More Soundbytes:

Jarvis Cocker of Pulp will put out a solo album. Cocker, of course, famously jumped on stage to protest a self-indulgent Michael Jackson performance at the 1996 Brit Awards. Cocker said Jackson seemed to be equating himself with Jesus Christ, so he jumped on stage pretending to moon the crowd as he danced around. Very punk rock.

The new Guns N' Roses will play two shows with the Rolling Stones in July. They'll open the Nuremburg July 10th and Leipzig two days later. Axl promises to actually show up and play these and other announced gigs. Stay tuned...

George Michael's bathroom days are long behind him and he's looking forward to a "simple wedding" to partner Kenny Goss.

Courtney Love says she's embarrassed that she was high on crack the first time she met Coldplay's Chris Martin. Love says: "The first time I met Chris Martin I was on crack and I was an absolute asshole and I kept saying, 'Aren't you in TRAVIS?' to him. Love says Martin was a perfect gentleman despite her behavior.

Fiona Apple says that despite her brooding music, she's quite happy and doesn't deserve her man-hater reputation. Acknowledging why people might think those things, Apple says: "I'm light years better than I used to be." Fiona will kick off a tour June 19th at the Hard Rock Cafe in Las Vegas and will tour through August.

Labels: Bono

U2's "One" is no doubt one of the greatest rock songs of all time. However, it is often misunderstood. Nonetheless, it recently won a VH1 poll for music professionals and fans for best lyric.

Complete Lyrics:

Is it getting better
Or do you feel the same
Will it make it easier on you now
You got someone to blame
You say...

One love
One life
When it's one need
In the night
One love
We get to share it
Leaves you baby if you
Don't care for it

Did I disappoint you
Or leave a bad taste in your mouth
You act like you never had love
And you want me to go without
Well it's...

Too late
Tonight
To drag the past out into the light
We're one, but we're not the same
We get to
Carry each other
Carry each other
One...
Have you come here for forgiveness
Have you come to raise the dead
Have you come here to play Jesus
To the lepers in your head

Did I ask too much
More than a lot
You gave me nothing
Now it's all I got
We're one
But we're not the same
Well we
Hurt each other
Then we do it again
You say
Love is a temple
Love a higher law
Love is a temple
Love the higher law
You ask me to enter
But then you make me crawl
And I can't be holding on
To what you got
When all you got is hurt
One love
One blood
One life
You got to do what you should
One life
With each other
Sisters
Brothers
One life
But we're not the same
We get to
Carry each other
Carry each other

One...life

One


Top Twenty Lyrics:

1. U2 – One
"One Life, With Each Other Sisters, Brothers"

2. The Smiths – How soon is Now
"So You Go, And You Stand On Your Own, And You Leave On Your Own, And You Go Home, And You Cry, And You Want To Die"

3. Nirvana – Smells Like Teen Spirit
"I Feel Stupid And Contagious, Here We Are Now, Entertain Us"

4. Bob Marley – Redemption Song
"Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery, None but ourselves can free our minds, Have no fear for atomi energy, Cause none of them can stop the time"

5. Coldplay – Yellow
"look At The Stars, Look How They Shine For You" (Ed. Note: It really is a better song than these simple lyrics suggest!)

6. Eminem – Lose Yourself
"Look, If You Had One Shot Or One Opportunity, To Seize Everything You Ever Wanted, One Moment, Would You Capture It Or Just Let It Slip?"

7. Robbie Williams – Angels
"And Through It All She Offers Me Protection, A Lot Of Love And Affection, Whether I’m Right Or Wrong"

8. The Who – My Generation
"Hope I Die Before I Get Old"

9. Radiohead – Creep
"I'm A Creep, I'm A Weirdo, What The Hell Am I Doing Here? I Don't Belong Here"

10. Marvin Gaye – What's Going On
"Father, Father, We Don't Need To Escalate, You See, War Is Not The Answer, For Only Love Can Conquer Hate"

11. U2 – Where The Streets Have No Name
"I Want To Run, I Want To Hide, I Want To Tear Down The Walls, That Hold Me Inside"

12. Abba – The Winner Takes It All
"The Winner Takes It All, The Loser Standing Small, Beside The Victory, That's Her Destiny"

13. The Kinks – Waterloo Sunset
"Every Day I Look At The World From My Window, But Chilly, Chilly Is Evening Time. Waterloo Sunset's Fine"

14. Pink Floyd – Another Brick in the Wall
"We Don't Need No Education, We Don't Need No Thought Control. No Dark Sarcasm In The Classroom, Teachers, Leave Them Kids Alone."

15. Tupac ft Snoop – California Love
"Now Let Me Welcome Everybody To The Wild, Wild West, A State That's Untouchable Like Elliot Ness"

16. Queen – Bohemian Rhapsody
"Is This The Real Life? Is This Just Fantasy? Caught In A Landslide, No Escape From Reality"

17. Bob Dylan – Subterranean Homesick Blues
"Johnny's In The Basement Mixing Up The Medicine. I'm On The Pavement Thinking About The Government"

18. Kaiser Chiefs – I Predict A Riot
"Watching The People Get Lairy, Is Not Very Pretty I Tell Thee, Walking Through Town Is Quite Scary, And Not Very Sensible Either"

19. David Bowie – Heroes
"We Can Be Heroes, Just For One Day"

20. The Police – Every Breath You Take
"Every Single Day, Every Word You Say, Every Game You Play, Every Night You Stay, I'll Be Watching You"

How did Bob Dylan rank so far down this list? VH1 will show the top 100 later today.

Labels: Bono, U2

U2 frontman and Nobel Peace Prize finalist Bono has informed Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi that he feels "exploited" by the use of his picture in a magazine published by the Forza Italia political party that is sent to millions of Italians in advance of next week's elections. Making reference to last July's G8 summit that centered on Bono's pet cause, increased aid and debt relief for Africa, Bono's photo appears in the magazine with a caption noting that "the Irish star is grateful to the prime minister for the actions promoted by the Italian government toward poor countries."

In an open letter printed on the front page of Italy's Sunday paper Corriere della Sera, Bono informed the PM that "as flattered as I can be of appearing in your brochure, I also feel a bit exploited." However, Bono refused to make the issue entirely about himself, taking the opportunity to challenge Berlusconi to fulfill Italy's commitments to the cause and follow through on their promise to double aid to Africa by 2010. The letter adds, "If your commitment is real and your signature is trustworthy, then the world wants to know how Italy intends to reach this target."

Labels: Bono

After interrupting their Vertigo Tour last week due to a family illness, U2 says the shows will likely be rescheduled for November.

From U2.com:

I can't really get into details why, Bono told presenter Andrew Denton. ‘There was a lot of distress and angst and (the) good news is ... I can announce tonight we are coming back, looks like November and that's a great relief for me.’

"I can't really get into details why,' Bono told presenter Andrew Denton. 'There was a lot of distress and angst and (the) good news is ... I can announce tonight we are coming back, looks like November and that's a great relief for me.'

Bono said it was hard to describe how bad the band felt about postponing the dates – something U2 have only ever done once before - and praised fans for their generous reaction to the sudden news.

"Our music does come out of (a) very tight community,' he said. 'So if one of us is going through it we're all going through it.'

He promised that the rescheduled shows would be something special. 'It will be the only time, you know, we get a chance to play these songs for a long time, it will be extraordinary.'"

Labels: Bono, U2