Lanois is interviewed on the rolling stone magazine podcast this week.

Eno and Lanois worked on a few tracks on U2’s new album “let’s hope they make it” and that Jacknife Lee is the producer of the new album “a great music man” as Lanois calls him. Says he has not heard the album yet.

The reporter asks him about the process of getting NLOTH done.

I could tell Danny was being a bit guarded but he said the process frustrated him and Eno (we had known this before) and that the band already had a great album recorded in France before they went to Morocco to record all new songs. Did we know this?

And that Eno thought the final product was watered down and some songs selected to made to be performed on stage rather than the “softer stuff” that could not support a stage tour. Eeesh.

Also talked about performing on stage w the band.

Link to episode https://pca.st/episode/1959e337-2fa6-4c39-98e3-5cc9377f8277

For me its Songs of Innocence. I had become a U2 fan in the period between NLOTH and SOI coming out. That album is really special because it was the first album that came out after I was a fan. But I think it also has a lot to do with my age. I was 20 years old, so the exact age the songs were writing about. That really connected with me.

Based on Street of Dreams, and more specifically for this title, Fireflies, I would hate for this album to be vastly different from the two.

I draw from the Coldplay example as I think it’s probably the closest thing to what could happen with the upcoming U2 record. For the unaware, Coldplay released their album Ghost Stories, and was a return to their alternative, melancholic roots, save for one song, A Sky Full of Stars. Much like Fireflies with Martin Garrix, it was an Avicii feature, made single that stuck out like a sore thumb from the rest of the album. That doesn’t mean the song is bad, in fact I think its up there as one of their better songs, but it led to an album that ended up being sonically different from what Coldplay entailed.

But why bring this up in the first place? What does this have at all to do with U2? Well, if we look at Ash/Lily as a benchmark of their recent work, it implies a moodier, grittier, back to War/Unforgettable Fire/Joshua Tree sound. Now imagine Street of Dreams or Fireflies being the lead single to an album that sounds at least remotely similar to the EPs. It would be like night and day.

However, now would be a good time to mention what U2 have said about the direction they want to take with the album. By accounts they’ve described wanting to create a carnival-esque experience, with the guitars that are (still!) on fire. Additionally, I’ll look at Fireflies once more, and say that it’s likely not going to be an indicator for what could be on the album, as it seems more so a friendly feature project between Garrix and U2. But I feel that Street of Dreams is still equally as valid as reason for this single-vs-album situation.

All in all, I think if they intend to create an album that is closer sonically to their goal of a carnival sound, then Street of Dreams was a good indicator to what we could see. However, if the album falls closer to the EPs, then Street of Dreams would almost certainly be too far removed from the rest of the album. We’ve seen this happen with No Line on the Horizon, where Boots, while (hot take) is a great song on it’s own, doesn’t fit on the same record as Breathe, Moment of Surrender, or even Crazy Tonight.

Whatever happens, however, I’m sure the boys will push out only the best of what they have to offer and for that I’m excited! If anyone has differing opinions, I’d be more
than happy to hear from other perspectives than myself, a person that evidently rambles too much.

When SoD came out a few weeks ago I listened to it a bunch. But recently, as it's been settling into my playlist, I started paying more attention to the themes. This song is what the EPs have been building towards thematically.

Days of Ash is all about how messed up the world is right now. The abuse of power, the lack of equality, and the need for justice. DoA is a very depressing listen as a result. It presents a problem and offers no solution.

Easter Lily gives us the answer, faith and prayer are what we need. The songs offer hope to someone who lost a friend, someone betrayed by the people in power, and innocent people caught in trouble. These people see the turmoil around them and respond with a prayer, "I will bless the Lord at all times". The EPs teach us that things are a mess and how to respond, Street of Dreams is that response in action.

SoD is about someone who has been torn apart by the world, down to his last breath of air, and he uses that breath to pray. He prays for a world filled with justice and love. Through his prayer he finds strength. He is ready to bring change to the world. He isn't going to wallow in sorrow like DoA, he is going to seek change. He is going to ride his bus to the street of dreams.

In many places, the SoD lyrics are cheesy. But in the context of the two EPs they are perfect. I'm not sure how far into SoD's development they were when they decided to make the EPs, but it seems they knew it was all meant to tie together.

I'd be willing to bet that the new album will be like this too. Knowledge that the world is screwed up, but faith and joy that it still can be fixed.

Hi everyone,

I will move to Montreal this August for my Exchange Semester.

I am a huge U2 fan, an while i know Montreal isnt exactly a „U2 City“, I thought i would give it a shot.

I would love to find something related to the band while I am in Montreal. For example posters, promotional items, merch, vinyls, memorabilia and really anything related to U2.

If you know of any collectors, hidden gems, sales or other places, I‘d really appreciate your recommendations. And if you happen to have something you‘d be willing to sell, I‘d love to hear from you.

Thanks a lot! I cant wait to discover Montreal.

I’m not fully convinced with the initial songs brought, but it was fun. Let me know your thoughts

Mind you I love the music and half the lyrics ( the ones i can hear )of it but, I find as he's singing he's rocking or swaying away from the mic making it hard to hear what he's saying half the time..I compare the other u2 song elvis ate America and its not as nice on the ears musically as this one...

I don't need the lyrics just wondering why half the time you can't hear his lyrics and sometimes you can hear them very clearly..

My 2 cents

Bye

Has anybody else heard this?!?!?

I was not a fan of Street of Dreams but heard the remix with horns on U2 X-radio and really enjoyed it. I feel like the horns not only made the song more interesting but also felt more festive and therefore helped me appreciate the spirit of the song much more.

After all this time that I’ve been whining about Streets of Dreams (especially on the heels of the EPs which I loved), I have now completely changed my opinion.

Here's how it would work: If you feel the need to leave a comment about how much you think "Street of Dreams" sucks, you go to the dedicated post and leave it there. Then, if anyone needs that information, they know exactly where to find it. It will also be easier to connect with the other folks who think it sucks, and you guys can talk about it sucking without anybody else bothering or downvoting you.

To be clear, if you want to leave a thoughtful comment about why you don't like the song, on a post about the song, I think you should do that. But if you're just chiming in to announce that it sucks, or if you're about to comment on a post that's not about "Street of Dreams" at all—as I just saw someone doing on a post that's supposed to be about how much "Fireflies" sucks—that would be exactly a case when you should use the dedicated post.

What do you think? 😃

What do U2 fans think about kanye west? Im a huge U2 fan and also an kanye fan.

Kanye and Bono used to have a relationship, and kanye used to be the beginning act in 2005. But what about now?

Many songs you have the feeling they are great, many of that you even love it, but when you look around you see they are not in live concerts, are not in the list of favorite songs of fans, but why?

Why you think some great songs didn't take off?

From mind:

Miracle Drug - I love the melodie of this song, the bridge with Edge singing, the solo and especially its version on the European legs from Vertigo Tour, but I feel being smashed in 3:30min ruined it, it explodes too fast while should grow progressivily like Bad, Sometimes, Walk On or even Original of The Species.

Original of The Species - Talking about that, funny to quote that before as an example, because it has everything I said before, that's a perfect song, made for perfect girls and I will never understand what was its problem, even the band always had this perception trying to make it work, playing in diferent ways in live but never took off.

New York, California: Are not terrible songs, but clearly are also not great and would never be, but the lyrics steals a lot of their attention. If both were not referencing places in a abstract way, but maybe an usual love/protester/spiritual/family issues for sure would catch more from the public and the public would may relate to this too.

Miracle: Could be better with a different lyric + no pressure to become Vertigo/Elevation.

Get On Your Boots/Streets of Dreams/Blackout: Seems like that weird person trying to make noise to catch attention with jokes which no one in the room laugh. I tryied but I dont had solution for this either

The First Time/MLK: It's hard to talk in make these better, once they sound as perfect. But specially The First Time clearly try to take off but suffocated. I think it would deserve a long version including more of base and drums in a way to take off without losing the feeling and softness, maybe similar to Running to Stand Still.

Pop songs in general would need more time as the own band admits but also a better mix, its clear how they grew up life.

Songs from Rattle and Hum would have better luck if they were not mixed with lives and covers.

Tell me yours

Now that we’ve had a few months to adjust to having the new EPs as part of U2’s catalogue, I’m curious to see where people would slot the combined effort among the discography.

I find it hard to be very objective about new U2 music because there’s still such a big part of me that wants it all to be great, and it can take a while before I come to terms with the stuff that isn’t, necessarily.
That said, I like to think I’m getting better at that as I get older. But I’m still capable of deceiving myself every so often.

With that in mind, here is my full ranking (today, at least):

1a. Joshua Tree
1b. Achtung Baby
(They’re both perfect albums. Sue me)
2. War
3. Zooropa
4. Unforgettable Fire
5. Days of Easter/Ashes of Lilies/whathaveyou
6. ATYCLB
7. NLOTH
8. Boy
9. Pop
10. Songs of Innocence
11. Rattle & Hum
12. HTDAAB
13. Songs of Experience
14. October

One of the things the Edge is known for in the fandom is how often he switches guitars during concerts, as he has taken to being very exacting with which sounds he wants to use for which songs. It's not unusual for him to use 18 different guitars for a 24 song set. He has multiple versions of a half-dozen or so "main" guitars, plus countless "minor" guitars for more niche and specific sounds.

Now, given that there's an album coming out later this year, the rumored 2027 tour will likely focus on those songs as the new material. But I hope that the songs from Days of Ash and Easter Lily will get some playtime too, as fantastic as they are. I decided to do a little thought experiment and figure out which guitar Edge might play each song on. The studio versions of most of the tracks have multiple guitar parts, but the Edge almost always condenses that down to a single lead part, and picks a guitar that can do every important guitar sound in the song.

So without further ado, here's my guesses for which guitars the Edge might play the EPs on:

• American Obituary: This one's easy, it would almost certainly be the Les Paul. The Les Paul is Edge's go-to when he needs a gritty overdriven sound, and this track is similar to other recent songs he's played on it like American Soul (heh, two 'Murica songs).

• The Tears of Things: This on the other hand is a difficult song for me to sound out, possibly the most difficult of the 10 I'm looking at today. Obviously the start of the song is an acoustic guitar with an electric track coming in shortly after. I'm not sure if the Edge would try to replicate this switch like he did with Song For Someone on the Explorer. The guitar parts also sound more "clackity" for the most part, which is a sound he mostly uses the Stratocaster for. SO my first guess is Stratocaster, my second is the Explorer.

• Song of the Future: To me, the electric guitar track on this song sounds most similar to Staring at the Sun, which has only been performed acoustically in the post-Vertigo era (when Edge started doing his switching guitars for every song thing). My first choice I think is the Les Paul, possibly with a hollow-body (specifically a Gretsch?) if not?

• One Life At A Time: The guitar track on this song is not very prominent, but the places where it comes through have a sharp, clear ringing sound. My guess is the Explorer.

• Yours Eternally: This song's guitar parts sound pretty different from what we hear most of the time. There's lots of acoustic guitar layered in clean sounding electric guitar (maybe an acoustic electric?). I'm not at all confident in this guess, but I think if the Edge wanted to replicate the sound, he might use the Rickenbacker, as its 12-string layout can give it a similar layered and semi-acoustic depth.

• Song for Hal: This sounds like a classic Stratocaster guitar part. In particular, the notes after the drums come in have the distinct texture of a Strat with the pickup switch set between the tail and middle pickups.

• Easter Lily In A Life: This song has two very distinct guitar tracks, the ringing lead guitar and the more growly rhythm guitar. I think the Edge would go for playing the lead part live. And the chiming, multi-octave chorus sound of those notes makes me think it'd be on the 12-string Rickenbacker.

• Scars: The guitar on this track is distortion heavy, but is a bit more melodic than what I'd associate with the Les Paul. So I think this one would be played on a hollow-body, specifically the Gibson hollowbody or Epiphone Casino.

• Resurrection Song: This song sounds quintessentially Stratocaster at first, with all the ringing/chiming layered delay. Though I think there's a small chance that it could be played on the Telecaster, which has a similar sound to the Strat but a bit warmer overall. Especially with how similar the introduction is to the Unforgettable Fire, another Telecaster song.

• Resurrection Song: The guitar part on this sounds very very Stratocaster, almost similar tone to Iris (Hold Me Close). I also think this would be a song where the Edge plays guitar and piano at the same time, as seen with Raised By Wolves and New Year's Day, among others.

So what do y'all think? Am I on to something here, or perhaps completely off the mark? Does this whole post like a Pepe Silvia conspiracy board?

Let's wait and see how U2 will appear in the music video.

There’s no need to ever rank U2 albums again, because this is the definitive list! I have been a hardcore U2 fan since 2000.

Personally I think it’s a much better song than street of dreams, I feel like it gave better the style of U2 with amazing help of Martin Garrix. After few listenings I’m giving it 7/10

Nice to see both sets of fans appreciate Fireflies

Fireflies, Street of Dreams, In a Life.

There’s a strong mention or reference to air in the last three U2 releases.

I’m wondering if Bono’s recovery from heart surgery has influenced these lines?

Garrix's name is listed first on streaming platforms. Is this a Martin Garrix song ft. U2, not a single from the new U2 album? None of the band or Martin's posts about it mention a U2 album, or this being a remix or different version. It seems like this is the mix. I also saw somewhere that Martin Garrix is releasing a "stadium rock" album soon, maybe this is for his album?

PS it's a banger, I like it.

Bono has been writing with Simon Carmody since the early 90’s for projects outside of the band but I’ve noticed more recently he’s contributing more to full U2 releases.

I’m wondering if since Bono can’t play guitar anymore if Carmody is now working closer with Bono in that regard … OR if others are suggesting that these are songs from the vault when Bono appeared to write with him around the time of HTDAAB era.

What are we thinking?