The Afterword

Musings on the byways of popular culture

Menu

Navigation

When bands pass their sell by date

by 111 Comments

U2 are about to release ‘songs of surrender’ a 40(!) track reimagining of classic U2 tracks. I.e. an acoustic best of. The first single turns a protest anthem into a Coldplay b-side. Bono and co have seemed rather lost in the 21st century. No longer the biggest band in the world, creatively unsure what to do. Trying to avoid being an heritage act but not making anything interesting enough to not be an heritage band.

So why do bands plod on and not do the dignified thing and call it a day when the creativity runs dry?

Steve Lillywhite – where is he now?

by 14 Comments

You know Steve Lillywhite, we all know Steve Lillywhite, I’d even put a fair amount of cash down now and bet that every single person here has a record produced by Steve Lillywhite somewhere in their collection. I first came across his name when I started seriously buying records in the late ’70s, on records by Siouxsie, XTC, Ultravox, The Members, Psychedelic Furs, you name it. Later on he moved into the big leagues with Peter Gabriel, Simple Minds, Talking Heads, Morrissey, even the Stones, and though his workrate has declined over the years, he still managed to contribute to U2’s last album…

… but where do you think he is now, selling over 7 million albums a year? If it was April 1st I wouldn’t believe this story, but click the link and maybe you’ll be as impressed as I am.

Here’s a clue: Chicken.

http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/2018/05/12/steve-lillywhite-at-cmw/

Young Guns, Having Some Fun….in the 1983 Almanac

by 76 Comments

We’re settling into our the mid-eighties groove, trying to decide whether to buy on vinyl, cassette or a new super-shiny disc that’s compact. Here’s your selection of toppermost stories fro the NME – one in particular included as a night out at the Hacienda saw me spend most of it with my mouth open as Einsturzende Neubauten try to drill into the walls of the building. By way of complete contrast I saw Rush again at the NEC – the original concert at the Deeside Leisure Centre (if memory serves me right an ice rink otherwise) being postponed.

Usual rules apply, anything and everything from the year in question.

A. Compact future Hot on the heels of their video disc, Phillips are about to follow up with something just as exciting – the compact disc. The player costs between £400 and £500 = don’t panic, it will plug into your existing hi-if – thankfully the discs should cost little more than a plastic album. First commercial development of the CD was by Sony in Japan, where 2000 were snapped up in a matter of days. In spite of such sales figures, the largest British record company, EMI, has decided » Continue Reading.

Salvage a track from a widely savaged album

by 91 Comments

It would be fair to say that U2 are not the most widely loved of bands here, and that even within those open to the charms of the One Hitmakers Rattle and Hum is not the most widely loved of their work. I’ve recently struggled through it again and boy is it awful, some of the worst cover versions – All Along the Watchtower, Helter Skelter – possible. It’s peak Bono with the preaching, sanctimoniousness and unloveable bluster…there’s so much to dislike about this album. But yet. Hidden amongst the classic rock audition numbers is Heartland. It’s quite subdued, has that fragile and shivery Edge loveliness, Bono singing and not preaching, and sense of space that made Boy so appealing, in fact tone down the production a bit and you could imagine it from that album. You may or may not agree, but please let’s have your hidden jewels within albums (thinking Live It Up aka ‘Moon Sausage’, Chinese Democracy, the Durans cover album, or Love Beach here for example) that are universally reviled.

I cannot believe I’m being so stupid as to do this, but here goes…

by 20 Comments

A pro-U2 post. On this site. Say what you like about them postponing the Paris shows, I think this is great. They asked Eagles of Death Metal onstage to perform Patti Smith’s People Have the Power, then left the stage allowing EODM to perform their own song the close the gig. I’ve read the previous post and peoples’ responses to the WSJ (?) article, I realise peoples opinions here differ on how U2 have handled their role in the whole thing, but they do this kind of gesture like no one else and I admire them for it.

*ducks*

http://www.u2.com/news/title/back-to-paris

Question for the Afterword Wedding DJ’s

by 19 Comments

I must have been drunk (again) but I’m doing a St Patrick’s Day themed disco next Saturday night. Any suggestions for tunes that are not U2 or Thin Lizzy that a bunch of over 40’s can cut a rug to? The fiddle de dee stuff won’t go down too well. I might get away with House of Pain and Dropkick Murphy’s once the cut price Guinness has worked its magic. £1.50 a pint so should get messy! Surprise me please!