U2 on Cold Case

Does anyone watch Cold Case? I watch it now and then while exercising and whatnot. They have old murder cases that have yet to be solved from a different year each episode. To get you in the mood, they always play songs from that year, or at least that time period during the flashbacks. It's always fun to see how the music fits in with the story and the time. Pretty cool.

So, imagine my delight when hearing Beautiful Day during the opening scene of a murder case from 2002. Imagine my excitement when I realized that they were ONLY playing U2 songs throughout the entire episode! Then imagine my confusion when suddenly they were playing Window in the Skies . . . in 2002? Hmmm . . . I decided they cared more about following the story than the actual time period of the music this time. Or maybe they just think we're all dumb. Here are the songs I heard them play:

Beautiful Day
Window in the Skies
Bad
Running to Stand Still
MLK
Stuck in a Moment
With or Without You
Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own

Of course, the murder centered around drug addiction, and so we have here several songs that fit perfectly with that theme. So even though they used a span of over 20 years for their "period" music, at least it fit the storyline, which I hear is all the rage now for Cold Case. It sure made it fun for me!

U23D Thoughts by Cami

Last night, we got together with several friends to go to th U23D show on the IMAX screen at the Science Center in Baltimore. And, friends, if you can't go to a U2 concert, this is the closest thing.

First of all, let's make sure you understand what I mean by "3D." This is no Captian EO, people. This is the latest in 3D technology. Yes, you felt like the band was about to grab you, yes, the microphone stands and fans raised arms were there right in front of you, but there was more. I like to call it 3D layers. Sometimes there was a layer seemingly floating 10 feet in front of the screen on which there where words, images, whatever, sort of transparently. Then there was the regular screen with 3D effects as well. It was like looking through one 3D screen onto another. So you'd be looking at Larry playing the drums, then look through him at Adam's bass--which was about to hit you in the head each time he turns. Very cool.

As far as the actual concert, there were a few surprises. I was not surprised to see them do all their political stunts and songs. When we saw the Vertigo tour in D.C., one whole section in the middle was dedicated to ending poverty, hunger, and servitude among mankind. This movie was no different except that those songs took up about 3/4 of the show. They didn't do their newest songs, they DID do most of their most popular songs, and they didn't do some of their best songs. But it seems they were trying to please. Here were the songs included:

— “Vertigo”
— “Beautiful Day”
— “New Year’s Day”
— “Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own”
— “Love and Peace (or else)”
— “Sunday, Bloody Sunday”
— “Bullet the Blue Sky”
— “Miss Sarajevo”
— “Pride (In the Name of Love)”
— “Where the Streets Have No Name”
— “One”
— “The Fly”
— “With or Without You”
— “Yahweh”

That makes only 4 songs from the newest album, and Yahweh was actually during the credits. And we're looking at New Year's Day, Love and Peace, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Bullet the Blue Sky, Miss Sarajevo, Pride, Where the Streets Have No Name, and One which were politically charged. (Although I must admit that One was rather tame, but I've seen concerts so I know how they slant it these days). But as friends pointed out a the show, you may not totally agree with Bono's politics, but at least he's doing something good with his power. And yes, the man has power. If you are surprised at how political U2 has become, you weren't really listening from the beginning. This is a band who cannot NOT talk about politics.

It was fun and rather surprising to hear The Fly, although I had expected Mysterious Ways if anything from Achtung Baby. But I was having Zoo TV tour flashbacks, and it was fun to see them not forget their love/hate relationship with propoganda in all of their ultra media-enhanced politics. I think it was confusing for many of my lay-fan friends who may not have picked up on the irony.

What I most missed was City of Blinding Lights which would have been seriously cool in 3D, and Original of the Species, which I consider to be probably their best song ever.

My favorite parts: Larry's drums and his total unbreakable concentration, the buffaloes during One, Bono's operatic attempt at Miss Sarajevo, and the basic concert atmosphere.

Overall, I consider this to be a very successful U2 creation, very typical and fun.

It's All About the Music

It's all about the music Bono says the movie tries to put the focus only on the music, not the personalities.

"This is what people don't understand. There are such strong attachments to the songs that we have nothing to do with," he says. "I went to see Bruce Springsteen, and he played Promised Land. I was screaming! I was grateful to Bruce, but what was going on was what was in my life when I heard that song first. That's the humbling bit that performers don't want to admit to; they're only a small part of what's really going on."

Sheer rock canyon walls drip with ice as the car maneuvers the icy road. Bono turns and says they try to write songs less about their internal feelings and more about the world outside themselves. "To express yourself, the kind of modus operandi for the iGeneration, can lead to some unpleasant results."

U2 3D, with its three-dimensional camera-roving, aspires to not just put the moviegoer in the best seat in the house, but the 50 best seats.

When he talks about the film, Bono grins and raises his eyebrows behind circular purple-tinted glasses. "It's got some rock 'n' roll. It's got some swagger, and that'll either annoy you, or it won't. But in the end, it's the emotional force of it."

He says his favorite sequence is the song Miss Sarajevo, which includes an opera part originally recorded by the late Luciano Pavarotti. "It takes on a lot of extra resonance, and it's very hard to listen to that." The Edge nods quietly, and Bono goes on: "It's my favorite U2 song, I have to say. Normally, when I hear a U2 song on the radio I cringe. Either, a) I sound like a girl, or the lyric isn't finished. … But there are some songs that I really, really do enjoy. Miss Sarajevo is one of them."

The Edge says, "For me, it was great to see the film for the first time because I've actually never seen U2 live." Bono laughs, and The Edge jokes: "I've been to a lot of U2 concerts, but I've never seen the band! So this is the closest I've ever seen to what the fans experience."

By Anthony Breznican, USA TODAY

U2 3D

Of course Cami and I have our tickets ready to go for the event next Wednesday night! We are so EXCITED!!! I just wish we could be together for it! We will give a complete review of the show for all of you "die hard" fans like us!

Coldplay

Ok, so I'd often heard on the radio and such that Coldplay was the new U2, and I just couldn't hear it. None of what I heard sounded remotely like U2's style or passion. I thought, maybe they're Irish and so everyone wants to make the connection. But the other day I watched a concert on TV that changed my mind.

Their concert style, performance, and even a majority of their songs were so reminiscent of U2 that I had a hard time watching at first. I just kept laughing and thinking to myself, "yes, I've heard all this before." Some of it was so much like New Year's Day or Sunday Bloody Sunday, and others were more like the newer stuff. And even U2's Window in the Sky sounds a lot like some of Coldplay's sensational popular songs. They definitely have their own sound, but they've definitely been inspired by U2 in many of their less popular songs. It was crazy.

Here's an example. This is how they opened their concert:



Listen to that guitar! Tell me that isn't War all over again! And the lights?? Well, that's just a U2 concert. It got even more blatant later on when they started with a red screen and then blasted the entire place with white lights. Ummmm . . . have we seen that before????

U2 LEMON

Today I wore my Lemon shirt from the POP Mart Tour way back in 1997. It really brought back great memories of Cami and I screaming at the top of our lungs every time we saw one of the band members. You see, we thought we had amazing seats because we were on the floor of the stadium...BUT we couldn't see anything!!!! We got very excited for even a glimpse of Larry, or a quick take of Bono! When one of my favorite songs "Where the Streets Have No Name" was played we decided we had quite enough of our seats and ran with all our might up closer to the stage and up higher so we could see everything!!!! What a great night!!!!

U23D

That's right. Our boys are returning to the big screen, but being in living color is not good enough for them. Oh no. They have to be in 3D!!

Here is a little info:

Owens, longtime collaborator with U2 on live-show visuals, says 'this was the ultimate challenge in presenting U2’. But the results, she predicts, will startle audiences.

'There is no comparison with a traditional concert film seen in 2D. One minute you are on stage with the band and the next you are at the back of the stadium. 'The best way I can describe it for the viewer,' she adds, 'Is that it's like being on the wings of a bird flying around the concert stadium - it's really something else.'

Holy Cow. Well, I'll be in the theater opening night for sure. There wasn't a better concert to make a movie of, but leave it to U2 to take it to the next level!!