With U2 about to open up the vaults and re-issue the band’s first three albums this month (and then UABRS a couple months away), it’ll be interesting to watch music writers and critics return to these records and put a new spin on what they sound like. @U2 reader Steve W. already found one article that looks back at those early days — it’s from the music web site, The Quietus, where Andrew Mueller doesn’t have much good to say about Boy, aside from this about “I Will Follow”:

It’s telling that ‘I Will Follow’ is still, nearly 30 years later, a staple of U2’s live set – it’s their ‘High Voltage’, their ‘Satisfaction’, the template from which they wrought much of their subsequent catalogue. Everything that would ever inspire and infuriate millions is right there, right away: Edge’s screeching, effects-slathered guitar, Larry Mullen’s ferocious, propulsive drums, Adam Clayton’s (at this stage, anyway) Jah Wobble-ish bass, Bono’s frantic pleading for meaning, for redemption, for something to make sense.

He goes on to say that the rest of the album is a letdown, a sentiment with which I heartily disagree. Boy never ceases to amaze me as one of the best debut albums I’ve ever heard. And the “An Cat Dubh/Into The Heart” medley still makes me tingle now, 25+ years after I first heard it.

Disagreements or not, Mueller’s piece is a good read. I think he pretty well nails it on both October and War, and enjoyed some of the liner note spoilers he shared along the way. Here’s the full article: U2 Reappraised, by Andrew Mueller.

They may want their BonoTV in Germany, but Bono isn’t gonna let them have it. Yer man has put the kibosh on the launch of “BonoTV,” a German TV channel for viewers over 50 years old.

RapidTVNews quotes the German newspaper, Express, which reported that Bono wasn’t agreeable to the channel’s name because “he is concerned about the protection of his own pseudonym.” The channel will still launch later this year, but they’ll have to use a lesser name … like maybe ChrisMartinTV or LiamGallagherTV, perhaps?

Entertainment Weekly has named their top 100 “New Classics” albums and U2 scored well with The Joshua Tree at #63 and Achtung Baby at #3. Personally, I would’ve flipped those two rankings (and added War in there somewhere), but it’s great to see they placed twice nonetheless.

To view the entire list, click here.

The celebrated photographer, responsible for the iconic shots on U2’s The Joshua Tree, is out and about again promoting his film Control about punk star Ian Curtis.

He recently sat down with Fresh Air’s Terry Gross for a chat, which is available here:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91310424

The interview is approximately 18 minutes long and he doesn’t limit the conversation to the film (thx “lorentoy”).

It seems that every week or so, we see another list from a magazine or TV station that lists U2 as the “greatest” of something.

The most recent one, which was brought to my attention by @U2’s Marylinn Maoine, includes “Where the Streets Have No Name” as one of the Top 100 greatest guitar songs. You can find the whole list at the Rolling Stone site.

Though I agree that “Streets” is a worthy choice, my first pick by our heroes would’ve been “The Fly.”

What would your U2 guitar song pick be?

Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, who was the inspiration for the U2 song “Walk On” has unfortunately had her house arrest status extended for what could be up to a year by the Burmese government.

Read the full story at CNN here.

I can’t help but wonder when this world will turn right-side up…