Daniel Lanois writes a nice, short essay about The Edge that ends with this:

There’s a breakdown about two-thirds of the way through “Mysterious Ways,” before the song goes into symphonics, that, for me, is up there with the greatest James Brown guitar parts or one of the greatest horn lines played by Tower of Power. It’s not really a riff – it’s a moment. It brings me to tears whenever I hear it.

Use the links above to see the full Lanois essay and/or browse the entire Top 100. If you’re curious, here’s what Edge’s entry looks like in the print magazine.

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The Edge: 38th Best Guitarist Ever (in Rolling Stone poll)

Thanks to @wildcat630 on Twitter for the tip.

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VIDEO: Edge Talks About the Fender Telecaster

Producers found Oprah in the corner of a room talking to both Bono and The Edge. Oprah described the occasion, “I was pinching myself the whole time. Bono is so darn interesting and I had never really had a conversation with The Edge … and the whole time I kept thinking ‘damn, I wish I had a camera.’”

One of Oprah’s producers asked if Bono was pinching himself about sitting in a corner with Oprah Winfrey. Oprah said, “I don’t think so … First of all, that was my first U2 concert and I would have to say have known him now for six, seven years, and I got to know him as a person first, not as a rock star. Because before I met him, I never listened to U2 music. [note: Bono first appeared on Oprah’s show in 2002 to discuss the ONE Campaign] I will have to say I hadn’t listened to anything. I didn’t know him as a rock star. And that night in Australia, seeing him on stage for the first time in front of 70,000 people, I went ‘Damn, he really is a rock star! Oh my God, that’s what everybody is so excited about. Yeah, that was a big moment for me.”

Oprah also shared in an earlier episode of Behind The Scenes that she finally understood what Bono meant about the feeling of walking on stage in front of thousands of adoring fans when she took the stage at the United Center for her surprise shows.

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Oprah Winfrey: Converted U2 Fan

Kevin Myers of Ireland’s The Independent weighs in on the normal issues surrounding this topic, while also responding to the Glastonbury Festival Michael Eavis’ move to crack down on protestors who came to disapprove of U2. I liked reading this piece, at the very least because he took the clever approach of linking U2′s operations with the other U2′s operations, as you pick up in the headline “When historians look back at the 20th century they’ll write about real U2: the Lockheed spy plane.”

Myers condones U2′s business decision but can’t resist getting his digs in on what he thinks is Bono’s hypocrisy:

… I know their manager Paul McGuinness well: a man of outstanding personal integrity. Moreover, you will not hear from him, or from three members of U2, any demands that western governments give more aid to Africa. We only hear this from Bono, even as he takes advantage of tax loopholes to reduce his contribution to the central Exchequer from which aid to Africa must come.

And then in an unusual move for The Edge, he responded in print to Simon Moroney’s recent letter to the editor, “Senator Cardin’s affection for Bono’ foundation is indefensible,” which appeared in The Baltimore Sun. ( Here is Senator Cardin’s op-ed that prompted Moroney to write.)

In “The Edge: U2, Bono have not evaded taxes,” he suggests Moroney may have libeled U2 and Bono by calling them tax evaders (which they are not, Edge says). Then Edge adds:

I hope that his [Moroney's] fears of an Obama tax increase affecting him personally turn out to be as unfounded as his statements about U2′s tax affairs and Bono’s ONE campaign.

Just after I had read Kevin Myers maintain I would not hear from other members of U2 “any demands that western governments give more aid to Africa,” I read The Edge speak up for Bono’s ONE campaign which, sure, is not the same as The Edge demanding more aid from a western government go to Africa, but I get the strong sense that if The Edge would write a letter to The Baltimore Sun to speak up for the ONE campaign, he probably approves of the methods and goals of DATA and Bono’s humanitarian advocacy work in general.

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U2′s Taxes In The News Today x 2

He was on NPR’s “All Things Considered” to talk about The Book of Mormon and his knack for getting a good story on the stage and screen. Co-host Robert Siegel brought up Spider-Man with a chuckle and called it “disastrous,” to which Rudin cut in and replied:

I don’t think you can say that, honestly. I mean, Spider-Man got off to a very rocky start, but I went back to Spider-Man last week and saw the new version and I think it’s hugely improved. One of the things, just in terms of context, you can’t fix something, profoundly, once you’ve started. I mean, you only get those four hours a day, four days a week. You get 16 hours of rehearsal and tech in which to turn a show around. So if you’re a show that’s really in trouble, you’re likely going to stay a show that’s really in trouble. The smartest thing I think they did, and I really admire the nerve of it, was to stop.

And then he said he has stopped production for three weeks right now to fix the story for a film project he’s working on. This part of the interview runs from the 5:20-6:27 mark and can be heard here at NPR’s site.

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Super Producer Scott Rudin says Spider-Man “Hugely Improved”

If you need a chuckle, click play on the graphic below.

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Poking a Little Fun at Spidey

Spider-Man on SNL\’s Weekend Update

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Spider-Man on SNL

Apparently the star was hit in the head by a flying rope at the debut performance and suffered a concussion as a result. Her understudy America Olivo will assume her role until she is able to return.

The multiple injuries that have resulted from rehearsals and performances in this show make me wonder if Taymor should bring in the pros from Cirque du Soleil® to safely train actors for the stunts.

It seems as if she could use the help.

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Another Spidey Injury

It seems we must turn to math to get the explanation that even Edge himself may not realize. It is written by a guitarist with a math degree.

Like so many of us, he was captivated by Edge’s sound from the beginning. He explains that the signature delay sound that he is known for did not appear as early as the Boy album. We saw hints of it in War, but it was The Joshua Tree that Edge’s style really blossomed or to use the author’s words, he had “blown it wide open.”

He then goes on to explain using math just how Edge gets that sound. While I confess I didn’t quite understand it all, I found it very interesting. So U2 fans, guitarists, and yes, even math geeks, take a look at this and enjoy!

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The Math Behind The Edge’s Guitar Sound

Yes, a textbook on rock and roll.  (Feel old, much?) Dettmar’s is not the first of its kind, but it is an original of the species with its zine-style format, the standard approach of the THINK series.

And Dettmar’s is the first to give U2 its own proper section in the history of rock and roll. Other textbooks make mention of U2, but not to the extent that Dettmar’s does, perhaps because he has more interest in U2 than other writers have had, to the extent that he presented a paper on U2 and the politics of irony at the U2 Conference.

In Chapter 11 on Alternative Rock (1982-1987), U2′s section is “U2: Band of the 1980s and Today,” covering their Rise to Stardom and Politics and Popularity. An excerpt from Steve Pond’s review of The Joshua Tree for Rolling Stone is included too.

Further making some of us feel old, or at least giving us a surreal moment, is the Key Terms section at the end of the chapter.  There are three U2 related key terms from rock history:

1. The Joshua Tree -  Irish group U2’s epochal fifth album that came to define the mission and restlessness at the core of alternative music.

2. U2 – an Irish alternative rock band.

3. The Edge – U2 guitarist who developed a textured, reverb-laden guitar sound.

Want more? There are sample test questions at the end of the chapter and essay topic suggestions, such as “Did alternative music of the 1980s have a mission?” and “Why did many alternative bands originate in Athens, Georgia?”

I’m typing this stuff out here, but it’s much more fun to play around at the super cool interactive site for the whole textbook.

Chapter 11 is here, with a summary and tools for flashcards, a streaming audio summary (done in an apropos OK Computer voice), and a quiz.

Oh, the geeky fun!

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The Edge a Key Term in New Rock Textbook