U2

Advice to Every New Band: Stop Putting Out Albums

By Daniel Hopkins Ask a Failed Musician, is a new column from our sister music blog at Dallas Observer, in which Daniel Hopkins helps struggling musicians make sense of their careers and offers advice. Whether or not it will work, who knows? It obviously didn't work for him. But then again, he was o ... More >>

U2 Gets Lost In The Sorta-Ironic, Definitely Opportunistic "Discotheque"

This month, to celebrate the Internet's unbridled love for wallowing in nostalgia and even greater relishing of talking about why certain cultural artifacts are horrible, Sound of the City presents First Worsts, a series in which our writers remember the first time... they ever hated a song enough t ... More >>

The Grammys' 53 Record Of The Year Winners, In Order

53. Phil Collins, "Another Day in Paradise" [1991] 52. The 5th Dimension, "Up, Up and Away" [1968] 51. Olivia Newton-John, "I Honestly Love You" [1975] 50. Celine Dion, "My Heart Will Go On" [1999] 49. Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, "A Taste of Honey" [1966] 48. Bobby McFerrin, "Don't ... More >>

Charlie Todd of Improv Everywhere Tells Us About His Latest Experiment, Favorite Pranks, and Future Plans

On July 16, more than 3,500 New Yorkers converged on Battery Park City, iPods in hand, to take part in the 8th annual MP3 Experiment hosted by Improv Everywhere. Yesterday, we spoke with Improv Everywhere founder, Charlie Todd, about his group of pranksters and this latest experiment, which divided ... More >>

Live: U2 Keep On Keepin' On At The Meadowlands

U2 w/ Interpol New Meadowlands Stadium Wednesday, July 20 Better than: ...the real thing? Every day, you presumably go to work, and sit in a cubicle or in an office. You work on a desktop, check some blogs, IM with your friends, and small talk with co-workers. You do this competently and consist ... More >>

Warren Haynes Band

All of the Mean Words in the New York Times Review of the Spider-Man Musical

​Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark sounds like a disaster. Practically a national tragedy at this point, the new, super-expensive musical has yet to be officially released, trapped in the purgatory of "previews," in which a Broadway show works out all of its kinks. This one might be hopeless, if early ... More >>

Top 10 Super Bowl 2012 Halftime-Show Possibilities

Let's all do our best to keep this from happening​So another enjoyable terrible Super Bowl Halftime Show is in the books, and as we wash "I Gotta Feeling" out of our eyes and ears for the thousandth time, the question becomes: Who will grace the stage in 2012? How old will their most famous al ... More >>

My Chemical Romance Go . . . Styx

The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys is all wasteland and no heart

SURE STEP

U2 producer dubs up own rock

'Girls & Boys Presents Crookers+Jack Beats'

Spider Man: The Musical Sounds Like This (Video)

​The U2-scored, Julie Taymor-directed Spider Man musical, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, debuted some set stuff, some costume stuff, some interviews, and some other stuff today on Good Morning America. They also debuted their lead actor singing a song from the forthcoming musical. And how does ... More >>

Download I'm In You's Steve Erickson-Checking "Beast" (SOTC Premiere)

Yes In My Backyard is a semiweekly column showcasing new and emerging MP3s from local talent. ​Brooklyn's I'm In You give a sprawling, cinematic makeover to the classic art-punk of bands like Pere Ubu, the Pop Group, or Nomeansno. With swarms of steaming strings, a choir of teenage girls, and ... More >>

Athlete+Carney

Daniel Lanois' Black Dub

Fork in the Road Presents Five Great Rock Christmas Songs

The crappy quality makes this version of "Little Saint Nick" by the Beach Boys as broadcast on "Shindig" all the more endearing.

62 Oscar Best Song Pre-Nominees Include Tunes from Bruno, Brothers, and Oy Vey! My Son is Gay!

Movie award fever flares up again! If you think the expanded list of Best Picture nominees (from five to 10) with which the Academy will experiment in 2010 is an embarrassment of riches (or just an embarrassment), take a look at the list of 63 eligible Best Song contenders they released last week. ... More >>

Berlin Wall Fall 20th Anniversary with Alvin and the Chipmunks

While The Man tries to keep musicians down in the subway, let us pause to remember that this is the anniversary of the day the Berlin Wall was toppled by Alvin and the Chipmunks. (Look, we got this from Jake Tapper. It's too good to check.) U2 recreated the Chipmunks' brave feat last week behind a ... More >>

The Top 10 Records Sold Last Week at Record Runner

In 2009, the traditional practice of exchanging physical copies of records for money is a trade that might best be called quixotic. But New Yorkers are stubborn people, and the record store is not dead. Below, the top ten records that actually sold in the last week at a store near you. ​To ge ... More >>

Live: Even Lou Reed Gets Sentimental At Rock Hall MSG Blowout #2 (Featuring U2, The Boss, The Black Eyed Peas, And Some Dude Named Mick)

Ooooh plus "Iron Man" Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25th Anniversary Celebration Madison Square Garden Friday, October 30 "When we were down, rock 'n' roll lifted us up," says Tom Hanks in his introductory remarks for the final night of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's benefit-concert extravaganza ... More >>

Stream: Girls, Album, Awesome

Nicole Leighton​This new Girls record just stays being the anthem--it may be like listening to U2 or riding for Barack Obama or whatever at this point, but this is a hard one to let go, so please excuse us here. But Matador is just up and streaming the entire album, so don't take our word for ... More >>

Good Lord, This Warp Records 20th-Anniversary Thing Is Bananas (and the Rock Hall 25th-Anniversary Thing, If Aphex Twin Doesn't Do It for You)

Just a few hours after my fifth "when the hell is the new Battles record coming out?" conversation comes the answer: No idea, but you can hear scraps of it for the first time anywhere, as the press release boldly states, early in September at none other than Terminal 5. Brace yourselves for Warp20 ... More >>

Your Vegas+Fan Tan+Kordan

Letters

Bonus U2 Antagonism: Parsing the Phrase "Their Best Since Achtung Baby"

Both glowing public reviews and private emails I've lately received for some reason (subject line: "Fuck you!") have graced U2's No Line on the Horizon with praise so specific it's risen to the level of meme: "Their best since Achtung Baby." This would seem to be a tremendously powerful statement, ... More >>

This Week's Voice: U2, The-Dream, the Pogues, Private Century, Kat Long's New Book, and More

Courtesy Def Jam In this week's Music Section, Rob Harvilla takes U2's new No Line on the Horizon, force quits, and moves to trash. Restart and reboot yourself. Clover Hope on The-Dream's sublime new Love vs. Money. Tad Hendrickson rolls triumphantly forward with The Pogues, eyes as glassed over ... More >>

No U2 Schadenfreude, Baby

A mediocre album from this band is bad news whether you're a lover or a hater

U2 Does Show at Fordham, Ends Occupation of New York

The outdoor U2 "Good Morning America" show at Fordham -- for which we provided exclusive technical set-up coverage -- occurred very early this morning to a packed quad. The Post has professional pics and video; Brooklyn Vegan has fuzzier but very heartfelt snaps, and the setlist: "Get On Your Boots, ... More >>

Exclusive Photos of Set-Up for Tomorrow's Bronx U2 Concert

Our intrepid correspondent John DeSio tried to get press passes to tomorrow's U2 concert at Fordham, which is open only to Fordham students and staff, but the power of Runnin' Scared apparently does not extend that far up in the Bronx. So he took some pictures of workmen setting up for the show. ... More >>

Another Free iTunes Single of the Week: The Foreign Exchange's "Take Off the Blues (feat. Darien Brockington)"

Last week's prediction: 4-5 dudes gunning for that U2 money. Aw jeez, Little Brother--erstwhile fat-guy dancers of apocalypse, rap's bad conscience, the vegans at crack-rap's church fried chick contest. Or was that someone else? The Foreign Exchange--Phonte's LB-sideline r&b messageboard combine ... More >>

On U2's "Get on Your Boots"

The first thing to understand about any new U2 song is these guys are still apologizing for Pop, i.e. that album from 1997 dismissed by everyone as "electronica" and marred by terrible singles ("Discothèque," oy) and an accompanying tour wherein the boys performed whilst perched on a giant mirror ... More >>

Dennis Cooper on Julian Cope

Author Dennis Cooper cobbles together a pretty extensive Julian Cope Day at his blog: YouTube videos, direct quotes, chronology, and ephemera that add up to a portrait of the onetime Teardrop Explodes frontman and latter day author/occultist/etc. If nothing else it's an excuse to revisit the psych ... More >>

Glasvegas Unveil the Single Most Emo-Sounding Christmas Song of All Time

Another Free iTunes Single of the Week: Black Gold's "Detroit"

In the Name of Love: Africa Celebrates U2

Thank you for talking to Africa, Bono

U2 3D

Proof that Bono and his bros don't need a giant lemon to dominate the stage

Insanely Catchy Postpunk Aims to Fill Stadiums

The Grammy Awards: A Running Diary

Bono Fide Rock

Following U2, from Apartheid on Long Island to a Garden in Midtown

Letters

No More Than a Feeling

Rock's most self-assured advocates of grandeur affirmatively affirm their own affirmation

C'mon, Y'all, It's Time to Get Nice in the Meatpacking District

Erin-Go-Bars

It's forever Sunnyside on Saint Patty's Day

Fries, beer, and an off-key version of a Soft Cell anthem

San Fran Smartass Takes on Fist Dumplings and Gordon Lightfoot

Sideshows

Sophisticated Biscuit

Live and Erect

Rock And Rap Shows Bed-Spring Into Action

A-OK