U2
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| Armed with juvenile delinquent attitude,
hyper-child energy, and the distinct inability
to play their instruments, U2 became Ireland's
most important export since St. Patrick's
snakes, charismatic visionaries who believed
the human spirit could transcend the boundaries
of rock.
As high school friends in 1970s Dublin,
singer Bono, guitarist the Edge, drummer
Larry Mullen, Jr., and bassist Adam Clayton
won a McGuinness Ale-sponsored battle of
the bands and won over Island Records head
Chris Blackwell. Landing in the U.S. with
soaring melodic anthems including "I
Will Follow," U2 quickly became a post-punk
phenomenon, the UK's equivalent to R.E.M.
Steve Lillywhite's echoing, bell-spiked
production made Boy (1980) a hit, while
October (1981) exhibited growing pains,
a reflection of the group's struggles with
Christianity, a divided Ireland, and their
impending stardom. These concerns came to
a head on War (1983), for which the group
literally jumped over their recording engineers
to enforce the raw, distorted crackle and
pointed textures of "Sunday Bloody
Sunday" and "New Years Day."
War was business as usual next to the broadened
scope of The Unforgettable Fire (1984) and
The Joshua Tree (1987), albums with huge
ambient soundscapes encouraged by producers
Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois.
After the bluesy experiments of the studio
half of Rattle And Hum (1988), U2 stopped
stressing out and instead flaunted their
spiritual/showbiz contradictions with the
buzzing sonic adventures of Achtung, Baby
(1991), the subsequent multi-media flash
of the Zoo TV tour, and chaotic energy overflow
of Zooropa (1993). The sadly overlooked
Original Soundtracks 1 (1995), recorded
with Eno as the Passengers, is a compelling
diversion of dark faux soundtracks. Amidst
some Vegas-style self-mockery, Pop (1997)
delivers a few great leaps ("Discotheque,"
"Atlanta") into matching pop-tune
sensibilities with dense techno textures
but then backs off to more traditional rock
songstering. U@ most recent studio album,
2000's Grammy-winning All That You Can't
Leave Behind, combines elements from all
of U2's periods, which explains why it appeals
to such a wide fanbase and became a huge
comeback record for U2, thus solidifying
their status as the biggest band in the
world more than 20 years into their career.
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Atlanta
Atlanta is the capital and largest city of Georgia,
a state of the United States of America. It is the county
seat of Fulton County, although a portion of the city
(the 1909 annex) is located in DeKalb County, and most
of the airport, which is within the city limits, is
in Clayton County. According to the latest census estimates
(as of December, 2004), the city had a population of
425,000 and the fast-growing Atlanta metropolitan area
totaled 4,708,297, making it the ninth-largest metropolitan
area in the United States. Atlanta is arguably a poster-child
for cities worldwide experiencing rapid urban sprawl,
population growth, and commercial development. As a
result, Atlanta is a common case study for college students
who study Urban Geography around the globe.
The Atlanta skyline as seen from Buckhead.Atlanta's
development began in the early 19th century as a railroad
hub. It was largely destroyed by Union forces during
the Civil War, but recovered in time to be chosen the
state capital shortly thereafter. In the 20th century,
Atlanta was a center for the American Civil Rights Movement
and served as the host city for the Centennial 1996
Summer Olympics.
One of the city's nicknames, "The Phoenix City",
relates to its rise after the Civil War. The phoenix
appears in many of Atlanta's symbols, including its
seal and flag. In the 1940s and 1950s, former Atlanta
mayor William B. Hartsfield called Atlanta "The
City Too Busy to Hate". In addition, it has also
been called the "New York of the South" in
response to one of Georgia's own nicknames, "The
Empire State of the South."
Atlanta is circled by Interstate 285, which has come
to delineate the interior of the city from the surrounding
suburbs. This has given rise to calling residents inside
the "Perimeter" (local parlance for I-285)
as ITP (Inside the Perimeter) and those in the suburbs
OTP (Outside the Perimeter). The Perimeter is Atlanta's
equivalent to the Capital Beltway around Washington,
DC.
Atlanta has such a great economic impact on the state
and the surrounding region that cities and towns hundreds
of miles away are considered 'exurbs', defined by the
fact that people depend on their livelyhoods by commuting
to work in the city, rapidly growing what is called
Metro Atlanta.
U2 - How to Dismantle an Atomic
Bomb and Vertigo
A rough-cut of the band's follow-up album was stolen
in Nice, France, in July 2004 [1]. Shortly thereafter,
Bono stated that, should the album appear on P2P networks,
it would be released immediately via iTunes and be in
stores within a month. No such pre-release of the album
occurred, however, and the first single from the album,
titled "Vertigo", was released for airplay
on September 24, 2004. The song received extensive airplay
in the first week after its release and debuted at #18
on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart at #46 on the
Billboard Hot 100, at #1 on the UK Singles Chart, and
#5 on the Australian ARIAnet singles chart. The album,
titled How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, was released
on November 22 in much of the world and November 23
in the United States. The album debuted at #1 in 32
countries, including the United States, Canada, the
United Kingdom and the band's native Ireland. It sold
840,000 units in the United States in its first week.
This was a record for the band, nearly doubling the
first-week sales of All That You Can't Leave Behind
in the USA.
U2 promoted How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb heavily.
They made appearances on TV shows like CD:UK and The
Jonathan Ross Show in Britain and Saturday Night Live
in America. In another first, the band allowed the single
"Vertigo" to be used in a widely-aired iTunes
television commercial; though the band did not receive
any royalties for the use of the song, due to the commercial
the song was well known even before the release of the
album. In a further partnership with Apple Computer,
the band licensed a special version of the iPod music
player with a U2 design (black faceplate with red click
wheel, echoing the color scheme for the new album) and
facsimilies of the bandmembers' signatures etched on
the back plate. The band made a video for the second
North American single, "All Because Of You,"
while riding on a flatbed truck through the streets
of Manhattan on November 22. They then played a free
concert at a Brooklyn park, attracting over 3,000 fans
who had learned of the show on various U2 fan websites.
In April 2004, Rolling Stone magazine placed U2 in
its fifty "greatest rock & roll artists of
all time". On March 14, 2005, U2 was inducted into
the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in their first year of
eligibility.
In Europe, the next single released from the album
- "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own"
- once again featured a Bono/Pavarotti performance on
the B-side. The performance is a Jacknife Lee remix
of "Ave Maria" sung by Bono with Luciano Pavarotti.The
B-Side of the single also includes a remix of the hit
"Vertigo" and a Jacknife Lee remix of "Fast
Cars." Fast Cars is an album track available only
on the UK and Japan versions and American deluxe editions
of Atomic Bomb. The single will be available on 2 CD
formats and a DVD single. The DVD carries a video of
an exclusive live performance of "Sometimes You
Can't Make It On Your Own" from the band's Dublin
studio, and a Trent Reznor remix of "Vertigo."
The first leg of the Vertigo Tour kicked off in the
United States, with the band performing 26 sold-out
shows. The first leg started of in March in San Diego,
California and finished in May in Boston, Massachusetts.
The band performed well-known hits, songs from the current
album, and early rarities to adoring fans. The band
will return to the United States in the fall and will
finish up December 19, in Portland, Oregon. There are
currently rumors of a United States stadium tour in
the summer of 2006.
U2 have smashed Irish box office records with ticket
sales for their 2005 Croke Park, Dublin concerts, after
more than 150,000 were sold within 50 minutes. In Belgium
and in Austria the tickets were sold within 60 minutes.
U2's third single from the album, "City of Blinding
Lights," entered the UK singles chart at #2 on
June 12. They performed alongside Coldplay, Paul McCartney,
and Pink Floyd, among others, in the Live 8 concert
in London on July 2nd, 2005.
U2 NEWS and U2 Vertigo Concert Tickets
To
get more on any of these U2 news items, click
here
06.03.2005
Scoop! They're Coming Back in the Fall
The band are set to announce tomorrow that they are
adding 33 more dates to their 'Vertigo//2005' World
Tour.
Beginning in Toronto on September 12, the tour will
continue into December finishing in Portland on the
19th.
With the first show in San Diego just weeks away, U@
are set to be on the road just about non-stop until
the end of the year.
And we can reveal that on this third leg of Vertigo
2005, they will play 3 shows at Madison Square Garden
and 2 shows in Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, and
Boston.
As well as this, new dates have been confirmed in Minneapolis,
Milwaukee, Washington, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Houston,
Dallas, Atlanta, Tampa, Atlanta, Ottawa, Montreal, Hartford,
Buffalo, Cleveland, St. Louis, Omaha, Salt Lake City
and Portland.
"We're really looking forward to this tour,"
said manager Paul McGuinness. "The show looks and
sounds fantastic, its going to be a great year".
To see the complete list of new dates and cities in
North America this Autumn, click here
Tickets for all additional performances will go on
sale in the next few weeks. General admission floor
tickets remain $49.50 (plus applicable service fees)
and are limited to 2 per person. Additional reserved
seat tickets prices vary according to market. There
is an 8 ticket limit per person with a maximum purchase
of 2 general admission floor tickets.
20.07.2005
// 'Italian Job'
// Italian fans get to be part of a film shoot at the
San Siro in Milan tonight and tomorrow.
19.07.2005
// ‘Here She Comes…’
// Is she here to stay ? Miss Sarajevo in the set list
again for last night’s show at Letzigrund Stadium
in Zurich.
18.07.2005
// Once More In The Name of Love
// College DJs and U2 fans, Todd Richards and Mary Cipriani
will co-host the 18-hour broadcast which begins at 7:00am
on July 21st - and runs till the next morning.
17.07.2005
// Beauty Contest in Holland
// Miss Sarajevo and Original of the Species in the
set for beautiful final show at Amsterdam Arena tonight.
15.07.2005
// Out of Control Again in Holland
// Here's what they played at tonight's second show
at Amsterdam Arena.
14.07.2005
// 'Welcome home U2'
// ‘Where’s the bass man? Adam Clayton!’
Right there where he should be. ‘Unos, dos, tres…catorce!’
13.07.2005
// Hot Date In Holland
// Kaiser Chiefs, Killers, U2 - great way to open a
three night stand in Amsterdam.
12.07.2005
// Friday on stage with U2, Sunday on stage with REM
// Gary Lightbody of Snow Patrol wonders if it gets
any better! Exclusive interview with U2.Com.
11.07.2005
// 'Hear Him Singing Opera'
// Another emotional night as Parisians rock the Stade
de France.
10.07.2005
// Out of Control Again
// A second dazzling show in two nights in the French
capital.
10.07.2005
// 'Amazing Grace'
// Just one of a clutch of songs that Bono borrowed
from during a wild show in Paris last night.
To
get more on any of these U2 news items, click
here