January 2013 Archives

Album working title is reportedly '10 Reasons to Exist'

by Marc Hogan and Kyle McGovern, Spin Magazine

U2's long-rumored new album has at least a tentative release date. The rockers hope to release "something" from the follow-up to 2009's No Line on the Horizon by September, drummer Larry Mullen Jr. told Irish broadcaster RTE.

"I'd say we will be finished by the summer -- and hopefully we will have something released by September," Mullen is quoted as saying on RTE's The Dave Fanning Show. "Hopefully what we will be able to do is release September this year and shortly afterwards, release again. That's what we want to do."

What's more, the Guardian has picked up a report in the usually dodgy Sun in which Bono reportedly says the new album is tentatively titled 10 Reasons to Exist. The band is "in fine fettle" and "really want to make a new record," he's quoted as saying. The Sun has been accused of fabrication by just about everyone, but when the Guardian picked up its report that Paul McCartney would be fronting a reunion of the surviving Nirvana members, that's what actually happened.

Julian Lennon says the U2 singer's eye condition is worsening

NME

Julian Lennon, son of The Beatles' John Lennon, has revealed that Bono's eyesight is deteriorating.

The U2 frontman has admitted in the past that he requires his trademark sunglasses because he suffers from an eye condition which makes him over-sensitive to light, but now his friend Julian Lennon has confirmed the condition is worsening.

He told the Irish Daily Star: "Bono actually has a condition with his eyes. I don't know the exact issue but the brightness of the sun hurts them and it's a deteriorating issue."

However, Lennon admitted that he thinks the 'Where The Streets Have No Name' singer is lucky to suffer from a condition that can easily be made into a trademark style.

The Washington Times,

WASHINGTON, January 1, 2013 -- Humans have praised God through many means throughout our history. Science has ventured tentatively into these waters, but God remains a mystery, and some would argue that this is the way that it is meant to be.

My views on this are well documented: I believe that science has a role to play in our spiritual development - as Jacob Bronkowski said, knowledge is our destiny, and science's raison d'etre is surely to obtain that knowledge. Science and Religion don't have to be in opposition, they are sides of the one coin, and ultimately, if we foster the advance of both of them, their description of that coin must converge.

But because it is the new year, and perhaps a time to eschew controversy in favor of community, let me talk about music. Except in the most puritanical religions, music has always been one way that we have agreed we could seek to commune with God, and share our experience of that seeking. Gospel and hymns are the traditional forms of praise, but pop music is also gathering its own rich tradition.

To the surprise of many, U2, arguably the world's most popular rock band, is not afraid to release songs which have a spiritual emphasis. They wear their Christianity on their sleeves if you know where to look.

Review by John Balfe, entertainment.ie

It wasn't just busking on Grafton Street that Sir Bono kept himself busy with over the festive period - the U2 frontman also gave a rare radio interview to occasional cohort Amanda Brunker over Christmas.

During the interview, Bono told Brunker that plans for the next U2 album were already well underway. "They're mad for it at the moment and really want to make a new record", he said, speaking of his bandmates . "And they don't care if it takes 10 years, they just want to get it right."

"Within the band we've been calling it 10 Reasons To Exist but I will tell you we might have at least six of them."

The eventual album will be the band's thirteenth record and their first since 2009's No Line On The Horizon.

You can listen to the full interview here.

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