January 2015 Archives

Feedback Kitchen - Mario Batali with The Edge... by FeedbackKitchen

"No one's blaming them," the drummer says. "Apple has done great things, but it has also contributed to the devaluation process [of music]"

by Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone

Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason thinks that Apple "got off scot-free" following the mixed response to the way the tech giant distributed U2's latest album, Songs of Innocence. Speaking with the British edition of GQ, Mason noted how U2 bore the brunt of the negativity, apologizing to iTunes users for "forcing" the album on them.

Although Mason said that he, too, would have taken Apple up on an offer to release one of his albums in exchange for £50 million, the fallout from the release has "made everyone think again about how they want their music delivered, given or sold.

"Look, U2 are a great band, and Bono's an extraordinary individual, so this isn't an anti-U2 tirade," he continued. "But it highlights a vital aspect to the whole idea of music in the 21st century. What's also interesting is that Apple seem to have got off scot-free. No one's blaming them. Apple has done great things, but it has also contributed to the devaluation process."

The U2 singer's 6,218-word screed is an A to Z of 2014, including the Apple debacle, his bike crash, and a veiled cry for help to his band's former manager, Paul McGuinness

by Jim Carroll, Irish Times

We have a winner. The new year may still be yawning to life, but there won't be another blog post in 2015 on a par with the 6,218-word screed delivered by U2's Bono on New Year's Day.

Laid up since his bike accident and unable to resume his rightful place in front of microphones and cameras for another long six months, U2's frontman instead went online to review his annus horribilis from A to Z.

There was much to talk about. We got the irony bypass of the singer using a blog post to fume about nasty bloggers not liking his band's new album. We got another bizarre defence ("bottle of milk" and "bowl of cereal") of the U2/Apple distribution snafu. We got plenty of references to his friends and family.

But there was one entry that stood out. In between O for the Oscars and Q for Quincy Jones, Bono wrote with fondness, affection and generosity about the band's former manager Paul McGuinness.

BBC News

U2 frontman Bono says he fears that he may never play guitar again following a bike accident last November.

He made the comment in his A to Z of 2014, published on the band's website.

Bono broke his arm in six places and fractured his eye socket, hand and shoulder blade in what he called a "freak accident" in New York.

In the letter to his fans, he said he was unable to move around physically and would have to "concentrate hard" to be fit for U2's next tour.

At the time, the hospital where Bono was being treated said he had been involved in "a high-energy bicycle accident when he attempted to avoid another rider".

The Irish rocker spoke this week about being on painkillers for weeks and said he had a "massive injury, I can't blame on anyone but myself".