By J. Edward Keyes, Editor-in-ChiefU2 ended Rattle & Hum with Bono declaring it was time for them to "dream it all up again," but Achtung Baby, the best U2 record by any measure, sounds more like a waking nightmare.… more »
By J. Edward Keyes, Editor-in-ChiefU2 ended Rattle & Hum with Bono declaring it was time for them to "dream it all up again," but Achtung Baby, the best U2 record by any measure, sounds more like a waking nightmare.… more »
By J. Edward Keyes, Editor-in-Chief"Am I bugging you?" Bono notoriously asked during a particularly overwrought version of "Silver & Gold" on Rattle & Hum, "I don't mean to bug ya." That's really the question, isn't it? Since 1980, U2… more »
By J. Edward Keyes, Editor-in-ChiefYou can actually hear U2 evolving on their fourth record, their stentorian post-punk beginning to give way to something smoother and more elegant: the sharp corners go round, Edges's guitar tactic goes from plunge to… more »
By J. Edward Keyes, Editor-in-ChiefTo play the first 30 seconds of "I Will Follow" is to hear the entirety of early '00s indie rock unwittingly being born. The host of bands contained in that single, simple downstroke-downstroke-downstroke is staggering:… more »
By J. Edward Keyes, Editor-in-ChiefLet's square away the bad news first: Bono said in interviews at the time this album was released that the answer to the title's question is "Love." So there's that. There's also the fact that,… more »
By J. Edward Keyes, Editor-in-ChiefU2 ended Rattle & Hum with Bono declaring it was time for them to "dream it all up again," but Achtung Baby, the best U2 record by any measure, sounds more like a waking nightmare.… more »
By J. Edward Keyes, Editor-in-ChiefOr, U2 finds American music; the rest of us didn't realize it had gone missing. A mixed-up hodgepodge of a record if ever there was one, Rattle & Hum is comprised of tracks the group… more »
By J. Edward Keyes, Editor-in-ChiefU2, of course, is not a band fond of leaving well enough alone. They'd already, essentially, made their "electronic" record with Zooropa and had presumably satisfied their club jones with the flurry of remixes that… more »
By J. Edward Keyes, Editor-in-ChiefIt's no coincidence that the photo on the cover of The Joshua Tree is letterboxed, and in black and white. This is U2's art film — stern and shadowy and presented in the band's proper… more »
By J. Edward Keyes, Editor-in-ChiefIt's no coincidence that the photo on the cover of The Joshua Tree is letterboxed, and in black and white. This is U2's art film — stern and shadowy and presented in the band's proper… more »
By J. Edward Keyes, Editor-in-ChiefThe "troubled second record" has long been a rock 'n' roll cliché, but U2's sophomore effort was more troubled than most. Around the time of its recording, Bono, the Edge and Larry Mullen, Jr. had… more »
By J. Edward Keyes, Editor-in-ChiefThe first words Bono sings on this record are as follows: "Zooropa. Vorsprung durch tecnik." Just let that soak in for a second. The weirdest and most haunting record in U2's career finds the band getting sucked… more »
By J. Edward Keyes, Editor-in-ChiefThe "troubled second record" has long been a rock 'n' roll cliché, but U2's sophomore effort was more troubled than most. Around the time of its recording, Bono, the Edge and Larry Mullen, Jr. had… more »
By J. Edward Keyes, Editor-in-ChiefEssentially a 50-minute apology for the garishness of Pop, All That You Can't Leave Behind brusquely sweeps away the hot fuzz and acrid sarcasm of the band's '90s albums, replacing it with glinting arpeggios and… more »
By J. Edward Keyes, Editor-in-ChiefThat title is no joke: The songs on U2's third outing are defined by the dry crack of Larry Mullen, Jr.'s militaristic rhythms and lyrics that could double as marching orders. If October was blurry… more »
By J. Edward Keyes, Editor-in-ChiefGiven the colossal belly-flop that was Pop and how fearfully the band clung to formula on the two records that followed it, it seemed like U2's era of experimentation was over. But on No Line… more »
By J. Edward Keyes, Editor-in-ChiefTo play the first 30 seconds of "I Will Follow" is to hear the entirety of early '00s indie rock unwittingly being born. The host of bands contained in that single, simple downstroke-downstroke-downstroke is staggering:… more »