BBC radio DJ Jo Whiley in good company.

That photo is from a post on Jo Whiley’s blog, which recounts the four-song set played last Friday night at the Union Chapel as part of Mencap’s Little Noise Sessions by a shy retiring pair of nervous newcomers - Bono and the Edge….

There are a few different versions of audience shot videos from the gig floating around:

Videos: Desire (1) (2) (3) / Wave of Sorrow (1) (2) / Stay

So, just to recap: first we have Bono sending out lo-fi Facebook messages of brand new songs. Next we have Bono and Edge playing an off-the-cuff live gig. The only thing that could shock me at this point would be a Mullen Jr. sighting. Maybe?! Eh, maybe not… he’s probably still annoyed he got outvoted on releasing that Hottie Bo Bottie Mining Town video. (That last sentence may be a figment of my imagination, but that doesn’t mean it’s not true!)

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The “Red Hill Mining Town” video is finally available for all to enjoy - the video that’s been in U2’s vaults for two decades. If you’re like me, there was something “Holy Grail” like in obtaining this video…in trading circles, anyone who could score a copy of this was guaranteed their pick of the video trade, and in U2’s good judgment, it was wise to wait until now to release it.

OfficialU2 on YouTube has put it up in advance of the 20th Anniversary re-release of The Joshua Tree - so, here it is in all its glory.

I just have one thought - why is it that Larry’s the only one doing the hard labor?

In an article posted today to EW.com, Bono is recognized as one of the greatest among the “All-Time Best Frontmen and Women.”

They cite his ability to always say something meaningful (through music and humanitarianism) and his gift for showmanship as the main reasons he rocks.

I would have to agree.

In addition to posting the Bono talkie/singing video for Wave of Sorrow on U2.com, the band also sent it out “virally” this week to users of iLike on Facebook. Très hip.

There’s so much U2 goodness floating around the internetz right now. If you *somehow* tire of listening to the clips of the new/old/unreleased songs from the upcoming JT release here, there’s always that new Bono and Stevie Wonder duet that you can listen to here.

There are also some interesting U2 covers floating around right now. You may have already heard the Saul Williams version of Sunday Bloody Sunday, but there’s also an interesting one from singer/songwriter WAZ, whose acoustic take on I Will Follow puts a new spin on the song. Listen to WAZ’s version of I Will Follow here.

Finally, here’s a little U2, Spiderman gossip for you…

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I was flipping through the November issue of Q magazine this morning, and the above quote sort of popped out at me.

Can you guess who said it?

I’m guessing you could guess, so I’ll just confirm your guess: Brian Eno said it. The Eno interview in the magazine is just a one-page Q&A. Here’s one of the U2-related questions:

You’ve worked on several albums that became hugely successful and/or influential: U2, Talking Heads, David Bowie. Did they ever feel like leaps in the dark that might go horribly wrong?
[Laughs] Nearly always. When I started with U2 [on 1984’s The Unforgettable Fire] I didn’t know what would happen. I thought it was a pretty strange idea, to tell you the truth. I thought, “What do they want me for?” I remember having a phone call with Bono and I said, “If I come on board I’m going to change a lot of what you’re doing.” And he said, “That’s exactly what we want.” On both sides there has to be recognition that we’re getting together to do something that will surprise everybody, including us. On this record [Eno is currently working with U2 again], we didn’t start out with the idea, “OK, we’re going to make another U2 album.” We’re just going to make music. And what we’ve done so far doesn’t sound like another U2 album, but I think it will do.”

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