Good news for U2 fans..

[u2roolz]

I put up the Outside Broadcast bootleg and I'm surprised that the links won't work (or never worked. they worked for me. Maybe if we all used Drop Box it'd be a lot easier to put stuff up.).

 

Anyways, I for one thought that they had the perfect opportunity to release the 1992 D.C. Outside Broadcast show that was filmed but never used for anything really. It is out there and I finally found it after like 15 years. It would have been much better than putting in the Sydney 1993 show (in the ridiculously huge box set) that is obviously already available. Edit: It was the perfect show to pick too because it's the only show in that whole 2 year trek with Zoo TV that they did Bad & Sunday Bloody Sunday in the same show. In fact, they played it back to back. And both tracks didn't survive the Zoomerang tour which had about 5 Zooropa songs take over that was filmed in Sydney.

 

I never had Hasta La Baby or the other one for the Vertigo Tour. I do have some old Propaganda magazines somewhere in my house. I also loved Pim Ja La Parra's U2 Live book which JCroach mentioned.

 

I think U2 signed up for 3 "Best Of" compilations which people assumed the 3rd would be a live disc(s) of some sort, but it now looks like they can very well do 2000-2010.

 

I have a shit ton of bootlegs for every tour, so I'm satisfied on the live cd front but I would just love something to have from them that is official and not $50.

 

Edit: I forgot my biggest point: for a band that is ridiculously filmed for every show to be a part of the show, Guggenheim didn't use any "new" Zoo TV footage in his documentary which I found completely devastating. And there's so many shows recorded that they could put out live stuff on DVD and CD. Hey, they could even sell it as a part of the RED Campaign.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4WJtBlNVJg

[Analogman]

You can find a lot of U2 shows on Dime a Dozen.

 

I actually have a pretty large U2 library. Bill Flanagan's "U2: At the End of the World", and Alan Carter's "U2: The Road to Pop" are both good also.

 

One that's better than you might expect is Dianne Ebertt Beeaff's "A Grand Madness, Ten Years on the Road with U2" written from a fan's perspective.

 

I have a copy of Neil McCormick's "Killing Bono" but I've never finished it. I need to go back and read it.

 

I think I have read that Flanagan book. There was a time when the Dunphy book was going for a lot of money.

[u2roolz]

Dime A Dozen is tougher to get into than (insert unrequited lover of your choice).

Actually, U2torrents is a fine site that is easy to navigate through with tours being broken up etc.

 

Here's Bad from that D.C. show that I am pleased to have on DVD. It's a bit dark (hopefully due to being traded & dubbed on VHS amongst the U2 fanbase) and filmed a bit weird. Or rather directed rather lazily, as if this was a test for the Zoo TV Special which it probably was. It seems like there's 4 (or 6) camera setups and that's it. Anyways, this portion of the show I love because it shows U2 practically shutting down Zoo TV to show the fans that they're still U2. In fact, if you watched this and didn't know better you'd think it came from another era. Also, the brief acoustic set preceded this where they played at the B-stage under a hanging Trabant that acted as a mirror ball.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gj_20jF0AeA

[Analogman]

I forgot about the U2 BT site.

[opsopcopolis]

U2torrents is great as is U2start (I'm not sure if they have lossless yet or not, but they have most recordings as direct downloads).

As for officially released live stuff, I've gotten/made some great rips of the various official dvds (Slane Castle and Vertigo from Chicago being the most recent)

[redpillbox]

I think if there's a major gripe to be had it's this: Why include Zooropa as a disc in the Super Deluxe Box Set? I mean, if someone is die-hard enough to throw down $120-160 or $300 for the crazy edition I'd say chances are pretty good that they already own Zooropa. That, to me, seems like a waste of an opportunity.

 

That said, I am pretty amped about the "alternate version" disc. U2 usually keeps these type of things in the vault. The only other time I can remember them doing something similar is the "Complete U2" Itunes set which included alternate takes on some How To Dismantle...songs which I thought were an improvement in most cases. This might be the thing they are trying to avoid (the fans holding one version up against another). Loved "Native Son" much more than "Vertigo" and I have no evidence for it, but think they may have killed it because Bono hits a crazy sustained note on "Native Son" that he would never be able to repeat live.

[MountainGerbil]

Here's Bad from that D.C. show that I am pleased to have on DVD. It's a bit dark (hopefully due to being traded & dubbed on VHS amongst the U2 fanbase) and filmed a bit weird.

 

It's dark because shows that get filmed for wide-release are given extra lighting (or else they appear like this). For instance, in the Sydney DVD, and there are lights everywhere at all times. Especially 20 years ago, the video cameras simply couldn't pick up a good enough image unless there were added lights.

 

If you were actually at this show, there would have been the spotlight on Bono, some low purple lighting from the overheads, and aside from some stuff on the video screens, that's about all. Filmed for a wide release, there would be 50% lighting across the whole stage.

 

I mean, compare: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=115b_xOjLpY&feature=related

[u2roolz]

It's dark because shows that get filmed for wide-release are given extra lighting (or else they appear like this). For instance, in the Sydney DVD, and there are lights everywhere at all times. Especially 20 years ago, the video cameras simply couldn't pick up a good enough image unless there were added lights.

 

If you were actually at this show, there would have been the spotlight on Bono, some low purple lighting from the overheads, and aside from some stuff on the video screens, that's about all. Filmed for a wide release, there would be 50% lighting across the whole stage.

 

Yes, I realize that and was going to point that out but didn't it feel it to be necessary (I'm a filmmaker and know about that thanks though. I was pointing out how much darker it was due it to being duplicated on VHS. The Zoo TV Special & Until The End Of The World off of the Best Of 90-00 DVD didn't look as dark because it wasn't 2nd or 3rd Generation.). Anyone can definitely tell that there are a ton more lights everywhere in the Sydney show. What baffled me though was the Adelaide Nov 93 show that was filmed a week prior that had as much lighting as the 92 D.C. show and looked just as dark as my ? Generation copy. I guess that they didn't want to ruin the true Zoo TV experience by making the overall presentation too bright on that night. Although, the lighting and camera setups on Sydney were all relatively for that specific night and I always wondered whether they thought that it was presented well enough. It seemed like a big risk to just film it on the fly and not do a true test run of the show. If I remember correctly in Pim's U2 Live book, I don't think any of those November shows had the same lighting setup as Sydney Night 2. Then according to U2gigs it says that Night 1 was test shot and Adam Clayton was too hungover to be on stage, so his bass tech filled in. I know for a fact that that show has never surfaced in the U2 fan circle. I wonder how much tinkering the crew did between those 2 shows to get the look right.

[Analogman]

I guess I should have finished watching the documentary yesterday. It looks like it got taken down.

[remphish1]

Does anyone think U2 will pull an REM???

 

http://www.uncut.co....ncut/news/15225

[Analogman]

I wonder why he is so worried about having "hit singles" at this point?

 

When they start talking like that, or going on about dance music and/or techno, they lose me.

[Sir Stewart]

A few years ago Bono said something along the lines of "2 shit albums in a row and a band should quit" - I wonder if this means he thinks they're 1 shit album in?

[jcroach]

Anyone buy the Achtung Baby reissue yet? What do you think?

[Three dollars and 63 cents]

I can't believe the vinyl version is over $100. I'm so disappointed, because I've wanted AB on vinyl for years, but there's no way I'm paying that much for it, especially when I'm not interested in the remixes. If the bonus albums were the B-sides instead maybe I'd consider it, but I guess there's not going to be a release of just the album on vinyl. I doubt this is going to get the price of original copies to drop on ebay, either.

[Analogman]

I'll probably get the 20 dollar version at some point.

[redpillbox]

Does anyone think U2 will pull an REM???

 

http://www.uncut.co....ncut/news/15225

 

I like Bono, but he is full of shit (PR) sometimes. There's a reason they were once called The Hype. It's almost as if he sits down and comes up with "talking points" for between-album interviews and hammers them again and again. Off the top of my head, "The Edge is on fire", "Music from Venus", the relevence talk, the biggest band in the world talk, come to mind and ANY time he throws down a timeframe. I think the rehashing of the Achtung Baby story has made a really easy promo link to these statements. His way of building a buzz. At least I hope I'm right.

[Sir Stewart]

^ Don't forget "the mother of all rock albums" during the run-up to HTDAAB.

[lamradio]

I can't believe the vinyl version is over $100.

 

That should probably go in the Bad news for U2 fans thread.

[Analogman]

There is one version of the new Achtung Baby box set that is over 400 hundred dollars.

[Three dollars and 63 cents]

The pricing of these things is just silly. I wouldn't consider that huge set if it was even half the price. I was figuring they'd just release the album on 180 gram for $30 or $40, then do the vinyl box set. I'm to the point with U2 that I really don't want the super duper deluxe here's a lock of Bono's hair and two drops of Adam Clayton's sweat in a tiny vial box sets. I just wanted to hear the remastered vinyl version of what was for a long time my favorite album. Hopefully when the fuss dies down the prices will drop, too.

[auctioneer69]

Does anyone think U2 will pull an REM???

 

http://www.uncut.co....ncut/news/15225

 

I'm afraid the answer is probably no. They are my generation's Rolling Stones. Artistically they haven't been relevant (despite all the Bono-driven hyperbolic hype) for well over a decade. They only continue to exist to make hundreds of millions of dollars by touring. Nothing wrong with making so many people happy by doing that. But maybe a little more humility and perspective would be refreshing.

[Sir Stewart]

I don't think their music has suffered greatly (save for the odd Crazy Tonight here and the A Man And A Woman there), but I agree with you on the touring note: they need to quit that making each tour bigger bigger bigger record-breaking bullshit.

[auctioneer69]

I don't think their music has suffered greatly (save for the odd Crazy Tonight here and the A Man And A Woman there), but I agree with you on the touring note: they need to quit that making each tour bigger bigger bigger record-breaking bullshit.

 

 

 

I am sure I am not the only one who has noticed an inverse relationship between Bono's hyperbolic blather prior to every new record and the quality of its contents in the last decade. I think my favourite chestnut was describing "How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb" as U2's "Who's Next" before it came out. U2's "Face Dances" might have been more accurate.

 

There was a definite artistic progression with every record from "Boy" through "Pop" (maybe with the exception of "October"). Since then they've played it safe. "No Line On the Horizon" had some interesting ideas but isn't any great leap from what came before.

[Analogman]

I don't think their music has suffered greatly (save for the odd Crazy Tonight here and the A Man And A Woman there), but I agree with you on the touring note: they need to quit that making each tour bigger bigger bigger record-breaking bullshit.

 

I may be the only person here who likes the song A Man and A Woman.

[Kim Bodnia]

The last U2 I bought was All that you can't leave behind. "Elevation" and "Beautiful day" are very uplifting songs, the earth shakes and trembles everytime U2 plays them.

 

I haven't cared much for them after that record. However, they enjoy more media exposure than R.E.M. Bono is often in the news, whether it is something about politics, fashion, dark glasses, Africa, George Bush... Michael Stipe isn't that omnipresent. Plus, I don't even think they're comparable (they might have been comparable in the early nineties when they were running neck and neck).

 

R.E.M. is more mystical, philosophical (in their lyrics and music) while U2 is about a global machinery that's built to dazzle, impress and project grandeur.