U2 - Irish Band

The last gang in town, U2, has had a wonderful week on David Letterman's Late Night Show. I've been enjoying that so much that I thought.. oops I've sort of let this lens go and now I'm definitely going to do something about it. Watch me roar!

The UK TimesOnline site is reporting that SPIDERMAN may be ready to battle his most powerful foe of all - the Broadway slump. The news service reports the musical based on the Marvel comic book hero, written by Bono and the Edge from U2, will indeed take residency in the Hilton Theatre early next year as the "chilly wind of a US recession" blows through the theatre district of New York City.

According to recent reports Julie Taymo is confirmed to direct and Bono and The Edge are writing the lyrics and score. Rumor has it that the musical could open as early as early 2009.

Everyone knows that "Spider-Man (Peter Benjamin Parker) is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superhero, created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko. The character first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15 (Aug. 1962), and has since gone on to become one of the most popular, enduring and commercially successful superheroes worldwide, and is arguably Marvel's most famous character. When Spider-Man first appeared in the early 1960s, teenagers in superhero comic books were usually relegated to the role of sidekick to the series' main character. The Spider-Man series broke ground by featuring Peter Parker, a teenage high school student to whose "self-obsessions with rejection, inadequacy, and loneliness" young readers could relate. Spider-Man has since appeared in various media, including several animated and live-action television series, syndicated newspaper comic strips and a successful series of films starring actor Tobey Maguire as the character.

Marvel has featured Spider-Man in several comic book series, the first titled The Amazing Spider-Man. Over the years, the Peter Parker character has developed from shy high school student to troubled college student to a married teacher and a member of the superhero team the New Avengers," state press notes.

Taymor, who won a Tony Award for directing the Broadway musical The Lion King and who is also known for equally visually imaginative films such as Titus and Frida, helmed the recent Metropolitan Opera production of The Magic Flute, as well as productions such as Juan Darien, The Tempest, and Oedipus Rex.

Many flights to Paris land in the Charles de Gaulle International Airport, France's largest airport. The airport, named after the national hero and former president, is where U2 filmed their video for "Beautiful Day".

We are returning to a time when our fate is inextricably entwined with that of U2,

It would be wrong to think that there was no direct benefit for Paddy in the inauguration of Obama. After all, U2 performed at the pre-inauguration concert, and U2 will almost certainly be the only Irish business to make a profit in 2009. A very big profit, no doubt, with a new album and a world tour.

And let's get one thing straight here: it is absurd to suggest that the release of the new U2 single was timed to coincide with the inauguration of the President of the United States.

These days, it is far more likely that the inauguration of the President of the United States will be timed to coincide with the release of the new U2 single.

And for poor old Paddy there must be some encouragement in the fact that U2 is not just the only business that will make a profit in 2009, and probably next year and the year after that, it was also making a profit in 1999, and in 1989, and possibly even in 1979.

So it seems that we are back where we started, with the only Irish guys who actually know how the world works.

Not only have they achieved the remarkable feat of making money before, during, and after the Celtic Tiger, they have also apparently managed to hold on to it -- we didn't see Bono holding the microphone at the Mansion House,asking questions about Anglo Irish Bank.

We won't be seeing the lads getting wiped out by some Ponzi scheme anytime soon.

But we did see them on stage with Obama, and for all Irish people, good and bad, this was quite a relief. The way things have panned out for us, we are looking once more to U2 to embody our version of the trickle-down theory. What is good for them is good for Paddy.

Once more, they have become a vital national interest. Once more, they have become perhaps our only national interest.

And in this volatile environment it is now virtually a matter of plain fact that to talk down the new U2 single, and especially the new U2 album, is to talk down the economy.

"Fantastic" was the reported verdict of Neil McCormick of The Telegraph on hearing the latest material, and since. I don't think we'll do better than "fantastic", let that good word go out to all the peoples of the world: FANTASTIC!

In recent years we had become quite lackadaisical about U2, even feeling free to disrespect them the way we used to find fault with albums by Thin Lizzy, little realising what was waiting for us further on up the road.

Enough of that, it is just another little luxury that we can't afford any more.

That time is over, and young people in particular should be made aware that the Irish .. and that means all of us .. are now returning to a time when our fate is inextricably entwined with that of "four Irish boys from the northside of Dublin".

A couple of years ago, when Paddy was still a bit cocky, he'd be quibbling with the factual accuracy of that line. He'd be jeering that two of the boys are not Irish by birth; that they are hardly "boys" either, since Bono is now older than Obama himself; and that they may be from the geographical "northside", but they are not "northsiders" as that term is rightly understood.

So Paddy would be laughing to himself, suggesting that it might be as truthful for Bono to be introducing the band to Obama as "four international industrialists from the South of France".

But Paddy isn't laughing anymore. He knows that he needs Bono up there, saying whatever he needs to say to get the job done.

Paddy knows what Paddy has done .. essentially, since around the time of Zooropa, Paddy scooped the equivalent of a massive compo payout. And despite his protestations of competence and even brilliance, he has done what Paddy has traditionally done in these circumstances .. he has spent it on drinking and gambling and he has added a few new-fangled perversions, such as small-bore shooting in Estonia. And the rest, he has wasted.

Paddy knows this, and he figures that Bono knows this too; Bono who actually worked hard for his money and put it into savings and wise investments. Remember the mockery when U2 moved assets from Ireland to Holland? You'll hear no mockery now.

But Paddy also knows that Bono won't let him down. When he's asked to explain what happened to poor Paddy, he'll steer clear of the dismal truth and he'll find the right words as always .. perhaps in his new column in the New York Times.

Yes, Paddy rejoices in this, in any situation in which Bono is doing well for himself. But with this comes the old anxiety.

Certainly the pre-inauguration gig was all about Bono, but on the inauguration day itself, Paddy found himself getting increasingly vexed.

Where could Bono be?

The former presidents could be seen arriving, but where was Bono?

The Joint Chiefs of Staff could be seen, but, strangely, no sign of Bono.

There was a bit of classical played, a song from Aretha Franklin but, inexplicably, Bono was nowhere to be seen.

Eventually, the President and the First Lady got into the big black limo, sans Bono.

For Paddy these were troubling scenes indeed. Because if Bono is not in the frame, from where Paddy is sitting it now follows, that Paddy is not in the frame either.

But at the end of a long and worrying day, he was heartened by the announcement on RTE that the Prime Time coverage would feature Seamus Heaney .. and Bono.

Fantastic!

THE band, U2, have recorded a track for a new charity initiative!

Photo of The Edge and Bono courtesy of NYMag.com

The Edge has spoken.

When The Edge calls, you pick up. Especially if you're a music magazine like MOJO and The Edge is giving a progress report on U2's still-delayed 12th studio album.

The Edge confirmed that the working title is still No Line on the Horizon. "What does it mean?" asked the MOJO interviewer. "It's like when you're moving forward, but you're not exactly sure what you're heading towards. That moment where the sea and the sky blend into one. It's an image of infinity, I suppose-a kind of Zen image," said The Edge. The Edge is kind of philosophical.

The Edge guitarist also reported that most of No Line's material comes from sessions with super-producers Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, who also helped with writing.

The Edge confirmed some tracks: "Moment of Surrender" is seven and a half minutes long and "Unknown Caller" comes from sessions the band did while in Fez, Morocco. But The Edge was not an unknown caller. He was The Edge.

The Edge further described his sense of the record. "It's a record of two halves," said The Edge. "One half is songs that came virtually fully-formed out of sessions we did with Brian and Danny-stuff we've only played once or maybe twice and that's it: just the raw moment of creation. Then the other half is material we've kicked around a while and went through the usual cycle of versions and incarnations."

The Edge presents you with a paradox to ponder. "It sounds like a U2 album but it doesn't sound like anything we've done before and it doesn't really sound like anything that's happening at the moment." The Edge has spoken.

(Mahatma Gandhi)"We must become the change we want to see in the world."

The music of U2 has always been about heart and mind, body and soul. Down through the years the band have successfully thrown a spotlight on the work of key campaigning groups who are trying to make the world a better place.

TOP TEN: Things U2 Has Learned Over The Years

10. Bono - "A lot of people think I'm the guy who sang with Cher."
9. Edge - "I suck at 'Guitar Hero.'"
8. Adam Clayton - "Dumb people send us videos all the time. They think
we're YouTube."
7. Larry Mullen - "Even my family asks, 'Are you Adam or Larry?'"
6. Bono - "There's always quite a stir at Applebee's when they call,
"U2 - party of four!"
5. Edge - "Cool Name: The Edge. Uncool Name: . . . Sting." HEY! He
wasn't supposed to say that! He was supposed to say, "Uncool Name: The
Itch." But nice job, Edge, nice job.
4. Adam Clayton: "Melted cheese tastes good on practically everything."
3. Larry Mullen: "Sometimes when we shout, 'Are you ready to rock!" I don't
care if you are ready to rock."
2. All together - "It's never too soon to start working on a phony Irish
accent."
1. Bono - "Up close, you can totally see Letterman's hairpiece."