For U2 completists only, Ford has named their new vehicle THE EDGE. Please note the attractive (?) toffee color and Edgeworthy laptop compartment, and get a load of the press release’s descriptions of The Edge:

Edge will deliver performance, quietness…

Edge is available with…two gyroscopic sensors to monitor both yaw and roll motions.

and my personal favorite:

Edge’s visual promise of dynamic prowess begins with its bold front end.

What can I possibly say to that?

(thanks to Shannon!)

Wonder how all those awesome graphics were created for the Original of the Species video? A New York-based design and effects company called Spontaneous used the animation techonology provded by Softimage Co., a subsidary of Avid Technology, Inc.

The secret behind the special effects is found in an Avid Technology press release: “The video for Original of the Species featuresa digital version of Bono, the band’s lead singer, accompanied by a computer generated woman. Both characters were created using SOFTIMAGEXSI (R) v.5.0 and animated with an alpha version of SOFTIMAGEFACE ROBOT (TM), the revolutionary new digital acting technology that allows 3D artists to achieve realistic, lifelike facial animation for high-end film, post and games projects.”

The press release also quotes Catherine Owens, director of the video and long-time collaborator and friend of U2, “One of the concepts of the video was for Bono to enter and exist in the woman’s private, digital world for a brief moment in time. When we saw an early model of her character, the images were absolutely haunting - we knew that we could achieve exactly what we had imagined. Spontaneous did amazing work to fulfill the band’s vision for the song, which was to deliver an intimate and emotional experience. The band considers it a dazzling work of future animation.”

The press release goes on to quote Lawrence Nimrichter, director of animation at Spontaneous, “One of the biggest challenges on this project was the task of delivering a believable, animated model of Bono, who is so recognizable. The concept of the video was so subtle and elegant that we knew the digital acting element had to be perfect. Once we took the data from the motion capture - or ‘mocap’ - session and brought it into Face Robot, we knew we had it. The animation was so clean and we were blown away at how convincing it was….this was a high-profile project with an extremely tight deadline, and by having access to Face Robot, we were able to deliver. This technology is truly incredible.”

You can read the entire press release here.

By the way…Avid Technology has strong ties with U2 and the Vertigo Tour. Digidesign, a division of Avid Technology, has been providing a product called VENUE, “an innovative, state-of-the-art live sound mixing and production environment that surpasses the sound quality and functionality of other sound reinforcement mixing systems at a surprisingly affordable price. VENUE was designed to provide operators with the most flexible set of audio tools possible. Each system component is expandable and reconfigurable on a per-show basis, including the D-Show mixing console and digital mix engine, effects plug-ins, the stage and FOH I/O, the digital snake, and the record/playback options.”

The Digidesign press release would excite any audiophile’s inner techie as it explains in excellent detail the extent tha their system and interface allowed up to 96 tracks of audio to be recorded, as well as the combination of ear and wedge mixes it was able to provide to Adam and to Larry, as well as the backline technicians. The full press release can be read here.

Another subsidiary of Avid is M-Audio, a company that provides Keyboard Sonic ReFills, as well as that well-loved M-Audio 02 keyboard that Larry and Adam use during the show.

There’s been a very *hot* rumor going around the online boards about the band Rocko and the Devils opening for U2 for their last Vertigo tour dates in April at Aloha Stadium in Hawaii. According to two affiliated websites for Rocko and the Devils: jimhandley.com (drummer for the band) and melanielowery.com (webmaster for the band), it sounds all-but-confirmed.

If you’re wondering why they’re opening, well…the “Rocko” is U2’s crew member extraordinare Rocko Reedy. Two of the four “Devils” are crew members for Journey. The band’s website: www.rockoandthedevils.com should have video and other content up soon on it in the weeks to come.

UPDATE: as of 1/18, all affiliated websites have changed the dates to indicate they’ll be opening on April 8 with no mention of the April 9 date. An industry source has told us that due to slower-than-expected ticket sales for the Honolulu show, the second proposed date at Aloha Stadium on April 9 may not happen. More news to follow as it becomes available.

Just a few things of note for a Monday….

First, the comic strip Get Fuzzy had a U2/Bono reference in its January 1 edition. Thanks to comics.com for archiving it. Check it out here.

Second, did anyone else catch the U2 reference in the video “Don’t Cha” by the Pussycat Dolls? About 30 seconds into the video, there’s a scene where one of the singers is wearing a vintage War tour TShirt. It was one you could buy during the Vertigo tour. Glad to finally see a U2 retro TShirt being worn by someone.

Finally, for those of you with AOL…the “new” version of Original of the Species isn’t all that “new.” They’ve taken out all of Catherine Owens’ artwork and 3-D graphics and in turn, filled in the spaces with more footage of band members, this time superimposing themselves so that you have double vision, as well as more footage of the pregnant woman in the reddish organza-like cloth. For all the hype about this video, I was rather disappointed when it was just a re-edit of the previously released Catherine Owens video.

from Slate.com–snippet from a Jody Rosen review of Mary J. Blige’s new album, The Breakthrough.

…Toward the end of the album, Blige encounters a heretofore immovable object: Bono. In a live recording from the Hurricane Katrina relief telecast, she joins U2, one of the few acts in the world with a comparable mastery of the grandiose, to perform “One.” Bono sings the song’s first verse beautifully. Blige then steps forward and steals the song from him completely–swooping, growling, leaping into a supple falsetto and unleashing spiraling melismas–recasting U2’s anthem as a troubled sister’s condemnation and lament. Bono may have planned to sing another verse; he doesn’t bother. What do you call a woman who can storm U2’s stage and reduce rock’s biggest ego to a shrinking violet? Diva seems too mild a word.

After performing for close to 1/3 of the year last year and travelling for more than that, one would think that U2 would be taking it easy during January as they gear up for the next 3 months on the road. But, since when did you ever hear of Bono and the Edge taking a break?

Bono will be gearing up for the upcoming World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland from January 25-29, teaming up with Bill Gates to continue their human rights campaign with the world political and major university and college leaders.

Edge will be participating in something far more fun as a guest judge in a MIT Ringtone Competition, presented by h-lounge.com. The competition is open only to students, faculty, and other affiliates of MIT and all submissions must be from a valid [at]mit[dot]edu campus email address. If you are among the lucky to fall within this category, check out the rules of the competition here. (What’s funny is they list Edge as David “The Edge” Howell Evans … when was the last time you ever saw that?)

As for Larry and Adam…hopefully they’re getting some sun and enjoying their time off.