U2 Week (A Dorky Music Post)

I generally lack the willpower to pick a theme and stick with it for any length of time. Dozens of girls could attest to my fear of commitment. Just kidding. Girls wouldn't date me unless their first choice fell through. My own finicky habits aside, I decided that this will be U2 week on this blog, as I can conceive of at least two more posts happening with regards to them.

For those of you who don't pay attention to such things as the music industry (half of you? two-thirds?), U2 is dropping a new album tomorrow--or by the time most of you read this, today. Their 12th studio album, No Line on the Horizon, will undoubtedly be the talk of many news and media outlets. The band's status as the vanguard of rock and the champion of world poverty relief basically guarantees this. Plus, they're a big hit with the 40-something white male crowd, which always helps (at least financially). Their last two albums cleaned up at the Grammy Awards, and basically every world tour the band has done since 1985 has become a major event. Regardless of whether you're a fan or a hater (and there are plenty of both), a U2 album release is big news.

We've already heard the first single, "Get On Your Boots", which follows in the tradition of singles such as "The Fly" and "Discotheque" in that it exhibits a dramatic musical departure from previous material and polarizes the fan base. Considering that most people could identify a definite "U2 sound" (echo-laden guitar, pulsing eighth notes on bass, militant drums, huge choruses), it is somewhat surprising to take a look back and note how many times the band has deviated from expectations. After War, the world was ready for one of the quintessential rock album of the 1980s, and while they'd eventually get it in The Joshua Tree, there was first the art-rock sidestep The Unforgettable Fire. After the Joshua Tree and its cousin, Rattle and Hum, U2 risked their claim on the biggest band in the world by releasing the totally different Achtung Baby in 1991. Had the songs (especially "One") not been up to par, it would have been career suicide (the band almost broke up during the sessions). 1997's Pop saw the band embracing all that was trashy about popular music for the masses, another risky move. This is not to mention 1995's side project, Original Soundtracks 1 by Passengers (a pseudonym for U2, Brian Eno, and Luciano Pavarotti), which featured experimental pieces from movies that did not exist.

With a history of reinventing themselves more often than not, it's not surprising that the first single points to a different record than the previous two. Where the band goes from here is anybody's guess. I'll be picking up the CD tomorrow and may even have a review for New Music Wednesday, though that may be slightly optomistic.

So why else is it U2 week? The band has taken up a five-night residency as the house band for The Late Show with David Letterman (which is a first). On Friday, they will be playing a not-so-secret gig on campus at Fordham University for Good Morning America. West 53rd Street is being renamed U2 Way for the day by mayor Michael Bloomberg. No stranger to playing secret shows (the previous album was kicked off by a free surprise concert under the Brooklyn Bridge), U2 is also rumored to be playing a club gig in Boston on March 11. That gig is only confirmed insomuch as six Boston radio stations, including those with close ties to the band members like WBCN and WZLX, are holding ticket contests for the show. While the smart money is on the Paradise, given the widely bootlegged gig there in 1981, the Wailers are currently booked for that night. The new House of Blues is also a possibility.

U2's very real world tour will be announced on Monday, and will feature outdoor venues in the US for the first time in ten years. Gillette Stadium is expected to host the band in September. I will be among the thousands trying to get tickets, although I do not know if I will even be in Massachusetts come the fall.

This is probably a good spot to mention that I was front row at their May 26, 2005 concert in Boston. You weren't, because I didn't see you there. Nor did the Edge. He saw me, though.

In conclusion: album, TV, not-so-secret shows, tour announcements, all blogged by a front row veteran. U2 week. No one read this post cause it was too long. Here we go.