Well, what would you say if your friend in NYC put you on the phone with Bono while you’re on the other side of the country?
Beth shared this link/story with us:
So I was talking to Bono the other day…
U2 fans are funny. 
The October 2007 edition of Vanity Fair Magazine has listed their New Establishment power rankings of the top 100 most powerful people. Yer man Bono came in at number 28, down 4 from his ranking last year. The Vanity Fair ranking on page 277 says:
Last Year: 24
Theater of Operations: Having secured near sainthood in the spheres of entertainment and philanthro-politics, Bono, 47, is well under way on another front: corporate finance. Elevation Partners, the $1.9 billion private-equity firm he started with tech-investing savant Roger McNamee and others, has quietly rolled up major stakes in Forbes (reportedly between $250 and $300 million) and Treo-maker Palm, Inc. ($325 million), and, in May, narrowly missed out on the billion-dollar purchase of Primedia Enthusiast Media. Elevation is now snooping around Rodale, publisher of Men’s Health.
Cool Friend: According to ValleyWag, Larry Page landed the Google jet in Fez, Morocco, to pick up Bono, who guest-edited Vanity Fair’s July Africa issue, en route to the TEDGlobal Conference in Arusha, Tanzania.
Higher Callings: More than 134 churches across the world have held “U2charist” services, where traditional hymns are replaced by U2 soul-searchers such as “Pride,” “Mysterious Ways,” and “Yahweh.”
Evidence of Possibly Contradictory Behavior: Urges First World nations to steer tax dollars to relieve Third World debt, while U2’s most lucrative asset, a song-publishing catalogue, is routed through a Dutch company to avoid paying taxes in Ireland.
On the Record: “It’s any kind of sainthood tag that makes me nervous. I much prefer a ‘tough in business’ tag.”
Year Ahead: arrow in the Northeast position
If you missed this news article on @U2, it’ll be news to you that Edge made an appearance last weekend (September 2nd) at MENCAP’s “Race Day” outside Dublin. MENCAP is a charity that supports people of all ages who have learning disabilities.
The event last weekend involved a luncheon and then horse races at the prestigious Curragh race track, and here are a few photos from the day.
By the way, if the young lady in the middle photo looks a little bit familiar, it’s because that’s Edge’s cousin, Ciara, who was kind enough to share these photos with us. She also asked if we’d let our readers know that MENCAP accepts donations of any amount on their web site. Of course! And Ciara also told me that the family all calls him “Edge.”
Thanks for the great photos, Ciara!
When @U2 received a press release today announcing an auction for U2 tickets, we immediately questioned it’s authenticity, as:
A) U2 aren’t on tour
B) It could be a while before they are
But digging deeper, we learned that the “Half Way to St. Patrick’s Day” celebration is a charity event, and the proceeds from that auction (and the event itself, which takes place in pubs across the US) will benefit childhood cancer research at the St. Baldrick’s Foundation.
Furthermore, the charity contacted me and offered this link, which explains that Bono’s cousin Simon is actually one of the event organizers and offers the disclaimer that the tickets are “pending announcement of tour dates and locations.”
So…that said…happy bidding!
The auction ends September 17.
There’s already an audio rip up on YouTube of the U2 footage from the new Daniel Lanois documentary “Here Is What Is.” It’s hidden camera/bootleg/taper quality, but you can hear the jam really get going about one-minute in.
You can see and hear (in better quality) some U2 footage from the film in this Canadian television interview with Lanois. The U2 part shows up about half way in.
This is a quote from Lanois in the above interview clip: “I can’t wait for this record to come out. I think we’re on the edge of a new sound.”
Wow. When did Lanois start taking Bono’s crazy pills? Seriously awesome.
—This post brought to you by Scatter O’ Light.
@U2 reader Chris Miland attended the premiere of Daniel Lanois’ new film, Here Is What Is, at the Toronto Film Festival on Sunday night. Chris was kind enough to write us a terrific review of the film, including the all-important info. about U2’s cameo in the film. Read on!
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Here Is What Is
Truth is Beauty, Beauty Truth - John Keats
Sunday, September 9 marked the premiere of the film Here is What Is, co-directed by Daniel Lanois, Adam Vollick, and Adam Samuels.
The film is not a lesson in recording and producing; rather, it is about finding that the beauty in music, art — even the simplest things — comes from nothing or, as Brian Eno succinctly puts it: “sh*#”. Lanois is the principle in the film and it looks into how he works, and attempts to demystify the recording process. At the same time it gives a little more insight into the man himself.
Footage — shot mainly in Toronto and Los Angeles studios, with sojourns to Shreveport, Louisiana and Morocco — features Lanois’ music and the many artists Lanois has worked with over the years, all of who are credited during the course of the film (kudos, Dan). The film opens with a captivating four-minute piano performance from The Band’s Garth Hudson. Emmy-Lou Harris, Willies Nelson and Sinead O’Connor also appear. And there is a very humorous scene when Billy Bob Thornton drops in.
For U2 fans looking for new music, the band appears briefly about 2/3 the way through the movie, at first serenading Eno and then in the midst of recording a new song. This glimpse is less than a minute long, but it is a guitar-driven rock tune. As the man would say, “The Edge is on fire” and “it may be the best songs yet.”
The film draws attention to his relationships with the two Brians: Blade and Eno. Brian Blade, the preacher’s son, brings intuitiveness to the mix: he seem to understand Dan’s very animated description of how drums should sound for a particular song — without laughing like most of the audience did!
And if Brian Blade is the heart, Brian Eno is the mind. A self-confessed atheist, Eno is a philosopher. To illustrate a theory on how the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, he uses a piece of fabric in a Moroccan market; he waxes eloquently on the strands, their combinations, colour, contrast, texture and changes in the light. The irony is… just go see the movie.
For techies and non-techies alike, the highlight of the film is watching Dan “play” the mixing console, manipulating knobs and sliders as if they were another instrument in the studio. He works like a weaver using strands of sounds, moving in and out, bringing them to the forefront and then sending them back again.
All in all, the movie is a must for Lanois fans and interesting for U2 fans curious to see behind the scenes workings of the band’s friend, mentor and producer.
The film is scheduled to be released to coincide with Lanois’ upcoming album release and tour. View the trailers at www.daniellanois.com or, if in Toronto, there are two more screenings – visit www.tiff07.ca for details.
Chris Miland
