U2 doccie on dstv

Keira-WitherKay

hi ya all..... i was up early this morning to prep for a lunchtime gig ...and had some time to kill so popped on dstv i forget what channel...... and an unadvertised documentary on U2's new album and upcoming tour was aired.......... i missed the beginning but guess i caught more than 3/4 of it..........

keep an eye out for it........ it's about how they went to an arabic city 'Fez" ... thats if i got it right ( somewhere in north african/arabic gulf state...) pity i missed the intro....... but they went there to write..to be inspired by the local culture.and most importantly mentioned in the doccie that they dismiss all the negative US propoganda re the arabic states and went there to experience it for themselves........ so yeah they wrote 40 songs there........ and had a full recording setup in the courtyard of the hotel........... where they jammed with local musicians........

an interesting quote was where they said they jammed with local arabic percussionists.... but found the rhythms so strange that when they played along with them the arabic muso's looked at them funny...and they realised they were hearing the grooves and interpreting them totally differently to how they were expected to............ and said that one always believe music is a universal language but apparantly there seems to be some dialects ........ heheheh loved that

yeah they are truly a great band and spoke quite philosophically how them staying together for so long has made them such a tight knit group and that the friction and opinions of the whole group is what makes each individual better musicians.......

and Bono also mentioned that after years of performing they have developed their stage craft to a fine art but experiencing other cultural music has broadened their horizons so much

the drummer at one point said it's great to be in a place where "they not big" and the Edge chirped in "hey we not anywhere anymore"
mmm what an understatement

as a band i truly think they awesome and are trying to push their own boundries rather than rest on their 80's hit sound and just regurgitate it .........they are at least also using their voice as famous artists to be political and humanitarians ...which i think too many artists ignore...... if you have the platform one should use it ....... i'm sure they enjoy the high life but bono and the band has done enough humanitarian work to at least attempt to make a difference ....... and hey if we all had to just help/aid/ support humanitarian movements in a small way through vollenteering or donations we could as a collective greatly reduce suffering in this world......... but for most it seems the "haves" refuse to help the "have nots"

but before i get too political .... sorry it's in my blood to be a human rights activist heheheh
but yeah before i digress the doccie was a pleasant surprise and i think U2 have come a long was since the days of the joshua tree and survived that dance /club band phase( guess we all make mistakes heheheh) and emerged a fabulous band that is staying current and growing musically ...

and yeah i seen em live x2 so far and hope to see the 360Degree tour they gonna launch if i'm not mistaken ... there was mention of it in the doccie... they want to travel with a stage they build in centre of a stadium with the audience wrapped right around them......... ...sounds cool

peace and light
keira

Riaan-Combrink

I'll try to catch it on the repeats - sounds good!

Bob-Dubery

Keira WitherKay wrote: hi ya all..... i was up early this morning to prep for a lunchtime gig ...and had some time to kill so popped on dstv i forget what channel...... and an unadvertised documentary on U2's new album and upcoming tour was aired.......... i missed the beginning but guess i caught more than 3/4 of it..........

keep an eye out for it........ it's about how they went to an arabic city 'Fez" ... thats if i got it right ( somewhere in north african/arabic gulf state...) pity i missed the intro....... but they went there to write..to be inspired by the local culture.and most importantly mentioned in the doccie that they dismiss all the negative US propoganda re the arabic states and went there to experience it for themselves........ so yeah they wrote 40 songs there........ and had a full recording setup in the courtyard of the hotel........... where they jammed with local musicians........

That's been on before. I had a good snooze through about 2/3 of it. Which is not a reflection on U2.

They were in the city of Fez which is in Morocco. They weren't in the Middle East.

Jack-Flash-Jr

X-rated Bob wrote: That's been on before. I had a good snooze through about 2/3 of it. Which is not a reflection on U2.

They were in the city of Fez which is in Morocco. They weren't in the Middle East.

They do make me drop off a little... some very lukewarm reviews of the 360 setup btw.

Bob-Dubery

Jack Flash Jr wrote:
X-rated Bob wrote: That's been on before. I had a good snooze through about 2/3 of it. Which is not a reflection on U2.

They were in the city of Fez which is in Morocco. They weren't in the Middle East.

They do make me drop off a little... some very lukewarm reviews of the 360 setup btw.

Well there's quite a lot of TV that I can sleep through. Last night I got in 40 winks in the middle of "Quantum of Solace".

However it does seem to me that U2 have made all the great music they're going to make. Those tours must cost them a packet - or are raising a debt with the record label that they will have to service at some point - so I don't know why they keep on at it.

I think the 360 degrees thing is a smoke screen. It's just about being able to use the entire stadium instead of 3/4 of it. More benches thus more bums on those benches.

Jack-Flash-Jr

X-rated Bob wrote: I think the 360 degrees thing is a smoke screen. It's just about being able to use the entire stadium instead of 3/4 of it. More benches thus more bums on those benches.

Ay, there's the rub.

Keira-WitherKay

sorry guys . i must say i like what they do.......... and strange if anything i found the doccie interesting ........ strange but i gues again differences in opinions is apparant once more....and yeah a good thing me thinks........

so i'll be the supportive one against the U2 critics heheheheh

Jack-Flash-Jr

Keira WitherKay wrote: sorry guys . i must say i like what they do.......... and strange if anything i found the doccie interesting ........ strange but i gues again differences in opinions is apparant once more....and yeah a good thing me thinks........

so i'll be the supportive one against the U2 critics heheheheh

Et tu Keira? Et tu?
Nah, just kidding. I'm not so much a critic as a * casual listener *

lindsmuse

Anyway I was having a U2 nostalgia day today by coincidence. Just listened to Sunday Bloody Sunday and Pride. He was such a good singer - I see that today and apart from The Police in the late seventies, early eighties I can't remember much else (musicwise). I kind of missed the whole punk thing ... in the mainstream at any rate.

I also think they're pretty incredible for at least attempting to do humanitarian stuff

Tokai-SA

I always wonder why people are so critical of everything.

U2 are a genius band, it's that simple.

They are exceptionally gifted musicians, and Bono is an incredible man, in every way.

What more can I say...

?

Keira-WitherKay

Tokai SA wrote: I always wonder why people are so critical of everything.

U2 are a genius band, it's that simple.

They are exceptionally gifted musicians, and Bono is an incredible man, in every way.

What more can I say...

?

yeah Tokai good post......... i too always wonder how critical us musicians or is it just guitarists can be........... maybe it's genetic....???

Bob-Dubery

Tokai SA wrote:
They are exceptionally gifted musicians,

I'd dispute that. The Edge is a very clever player (though not a great player) but he had only so many tricks up his sleeve.

It's like Curt Kobain or Billy Bragg. Important artists? Yes, of course. Great musicians? Hang on a moment...

Jack-Flash-Jr

Keira WitherKay wrote:
Tokai SA wrote: I always wonder why people are so critical of everything.

U2 are a genius band, it's that simple.

They are exceptionally gifted musicians, and Bono is an incredible man, in every way.

What more can I say...

?

yeah Tokai good post......... i too always wonder how critical us musicians or is it just guitarists can be........... maybe it's genetic....???

I do think they're good musicians and write great songs, and though not my favourite style it's definitely their own. I do tend to criticize bands who, in my opinion, are marketed beyond their value at the expense of far more interesting, actual genius bands. U2 at least lives up to the hype.