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”).
I have a very good friend who’ll be joining his sweetheart in marriage in August. He’s asked me to come up with a list of good U2 songs to be played at the wedding.
For my wedding a few years back, we had the “Strung Out on U2″ disc playing prior to the ceremony. People who didn’t know U2’s music thought it was nice classical music while the fans in attendance got the inside joke.
I’ve been to a wedding where the happily married couple did their first dance to “One” - they didn’t realize the song was about breaking up. Oops. They were so excited to tell me their song choice because they knew I was a U2 fan…I didn’t have the heart to tell them the song’s real meaning.
Looking at the U2 Discography, I’d think Mysterious Ways would be good for the dance at the reception, as well as Slow Dancing. Anyone have any good suggestions?
From time to time, I indulge in the guilty pleasure of going to gigs by artists other than U2. I know, seems like I’m cheating on Hitman and Sparky, but heck - they don’t tour as much as this fan would like.
Sunday night, my husband and I went to the Mohegan Sun casino in lovely Uncasville, Connecticut, to see Billy Joel perform. This was my 9th time seeing him. (Doesn’t compare to the 40+ times I’ve seen U2 over the years, but I digress). There were a few things that stood out to me:
1) The $20 tour programs and $40 T-shirts (yes, there was one standard $20 T-shirt, but anything that looked stylish was at the $40 level). Inflation being what it is, I know that U2 tour merchandise prices will be at least this, if not more, in 2009. Man, I better start budgeting now to be prepared.
2) During the show, there was a merchandise seller trying to sell items to people in their seats as the concert was going on. I have never seen that happen before. I don’t know if this is a new trend or if it was one merchandise seller trying to make her quota.
3) Casino gigs and the vibe. The feeling I got at the Billy Joel show was the same as U2’s first Las Vegas show at the MGM Grand Arena during the Vertigo tour - too many people in the arena who were there because the casino comp’ed their tickets. (Full disclosure - our tickets were also comp’ed thanks to my Mom. She used her casino credits for us.) I couldn’t get over how when the show was starting, no one was getting excited until mid-way into the first song. Artists who have been around for 30+ years have their songs woven into the fabric of the culture - you should at least recognize some of the songs during the show and show some emotion or excitement. If you don’t feel something, then what are you doing there in the first place? It’s a small arena - very intimate setting - and the lack of enthusiasm shows greatly.
4) Which leads me to this next thought - there are definite songs in a setlist that the audience uses as a pee-break. Seriously - the mass exodus from the floor or sections looks like ants leaving their anthill. I wonder if there is a crew member assigned to monitor which song(s) produce the greatest exodus volume and reports that back to the artist to see if a change-up is needed in the setlist. During the Billy Joel show, he even commented that if anyone were to take a pee break, now would be the time to do so before he started one of his songs. I know for U2’s last tour, there were trends for the loo - mostly during the An Cat Dubh/Into the Heart segment.
5) And finally - if you choose to sit down in your seat during the most rockin’ part of the show, don’t be upset if someone in front of you is respecting the artist by showing some enthusiasm and standing and/or dancing. Nothing’s worse than to be in a section where 90% or more of the people in it are not standing during a song like Elevation. (Saw that in Las Vegas). For the show I just got back from, you’ve got a song like “You May Be Right” or a cover of “Highway to Hell” and there’s 3 people (myself included) standing - everyone else is sat there. Is it because it’s a casino crowd? I mean - seriously?!?!?!
All I know is that every show I go to that’s not U2 makes me want to go to a U2 show even more. It’s that feeling of knowing that the experience was good and it was fun - but it didn’t quite satisfy the hunger. Reading the news that Catherine Owens is back in her studio preparing work for U2’s 2009 tour make it seem like it’s really going to happen…we’ll be in tour mode again in just a few months. How exciting of a prospect is that for us, eh?
So for now, I’ll continue to enjoy the appetizer gigs…knowing that I’ll be having a smorgasbord in less than a year’s time.
Tonight I was fortunate enough to attend a book reading/signing with Miss Sarajevo director Bill Carter.
U2 fans will remember him as the guy who organized the satellite link-ups from the Bosnian War to the Zoo TV tour, and the author of Fools Rush In, which recounts that part of his life.
His new book, Red Summer, chronicles his time as an Alaskan fisherman—another adventure, only this time man-made.
His eyes twinkled as he told funny stories of his time on the boats, and got choked up when an audience member brought up his lost love, whom he wrote about in his first book.
Spending the evening with him I can safely say that he is nothing short of an inspiration—as kind as he is candid and as brave as any soul searcher embarking on their latest journey.
He mentioned that authenticity of spirit is very important to him. “I’m attracted to people who are real,” he said.
Perhaps his authenticity is what makes him so appealing as well.
Go get this book folks, and if you haven’t seen Miss Sarajevo, buy it now too.
The David Cook “ISHFWILF” cover got me thinking - what do you think is the best U2 song covered by another musician? My vote - Mary J. Blige’s version of “One.” A close second is Cook’s cover. I feel that in both of these cases, the cover version matched, if not surpassed, Bono’s vocals on the song.
Out of all the covers out there of U2 songs, who do you think offered the best cover?
No, it’s not really named for the band (and as far as I know doesn’t play U2 songs exclusively along the trip), but there is a new subway line extension in Vienna that has been created to move the city more rapidly to the Ernst Happel football stadium.
If you’re a football fan who is interested in the upcoming championships, you’ll want to read more here.
If you’re like me (hoping to visit Vienna), you’ll want to ride that line someday just to get the ticket that surely reads “U2.”
