Latest U2 News & Information

The nominations for the NME CARLING AWARDS 2002 have just been announced
this afternoon (February 4) - and here’s what you, dear reader, have voted
for so far in just a few of the categories up for grabs.

Vying for the crown of Best Band are, in no particular order, The
Charlatans, Radiohead, The The Strokes, U2 and White Stripes, whereas solo
artist is being battled out between Ryan Adams, Ian Brown, PJ Harvey, Kylie
Minogue and Andrew WK.

Best Album is being fought out between: The Charlatans’ ‘Wonderland’, Muse’s
‘Origins Of Symmetry’, Radiohead’s ‘Amnesiac’, Slipknot’s ‘Iowa’ and The
Strokes’ ‘Is This It’.

For Best Single, meanwhile, the nominations are Ash’s ‘Burn Baby Burn’, Ian
Brown’s ‘Fear’, The Dandy Warhols’ ‘Bohemian Like You’, Gorillaz’ ‘Clint
Eastwood’ and Kylie Minogue’s ‘Can’t Get You Out Of My Head’ and The
Strokes’ ‘Hard To Explain’.

Elsewhere, Best New Act features nominations for Gorillaz, Linkin Park,
Starsailor, The Strokes and The White Stripes.

The nominees for Best Live Act are Ash, Linkin Park, Muse, Radiohead and U2.

The other categories are:

TV SHOW
* ‘Jackass’
* ‘…Later With Jools Holland’
* ‘The Office’
* ‘The Simpsons’
* ‘The Sopranos’

FILM
* ‘American Pie 2′
* ‘Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone’
* Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of the Ring’
* ‘Moulin Rouge’
* ‘Shrek’

MUSIC VIDEO
* Basement Jaxx: ‘Where’s Your Head At’
* Fatboy Slim: ‘Weapon Of Choice’
* Gorillaz: ‘Clint Eastwood’
* Radiohead: ‘Pyramid Song’
* U2: ‘Elevation’

HIP HOP
* Bubba Sparxx
* Eminem/ D12
* Missy Elliott
* Outkast
* Roots Manuva

R&B
* Aaliyah
* Alicia Keys
* Craig David
* Destiny’s Child
* So Solid Crew

DANCE
* The Avalanches
* Aphex Twin
* Basement Jaxx
* Daft Punk
* Fatboy Slim

METAL
* Andrew WK
* Linkin Park
* LostProphets
* Slipknot
* System Of A Down

POP
* Britney Spears
* Kylie
* Madonna
* S Club 7
* Robbie Williams

However, we still want *your* vote to decide who the winners are- but time
is running out. Go and place your virtual ticks in the relevant boxes at
www.nmecarlingawards.com

The NME Carling Awards 2002 then takes place on February 25 at the London
Planit Arches.

REM and No Doubt are to play at a special Valentine’s Day benefit concert to honour Bono.

The event will mark the U2 singer’s “political and philanthropic contributions to improving living conditions in developing countries.”

The Love Rocks: Celebrating the Biggest Hearts in Entertainment benefit concert takes place at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles.

It is being organised by the Entertainment Industry Foundation.

-Ananova

During last night’s halftime show, the mini-concert by U2 managed to strike
the right mood of patriotism, pride and solemnity in this first Super Bowl
since the Sept. 11 tragedy.

As Bono began to sing the group’s second number, a scrim was hoisted from
the stage floor to the top of the stadium. It projected to the entire
stadium audience, and to viewers around the world, the names of the
thousands of victims < passengers, pilots, firefighters, police and other
rescue personnel and civilians.

At the end of the song, the Irish rocker Bono pulled open his coat to reveal
its colorful lining: an American flag.

It was theater, yes < but on a grand scale. Given the occasion, it was grand
indeed.

During the lengthy pregame show on Fox, nonfootball content ranged from
humorous pieces by Bernie Mac and Jimmy Kimmel to presidentially patriotic
segments featuring former First Lady Nancy Reagan and former Presidents Bill
Clinton and George Bush.

Mariah Carey sang the national anthem just before the game, doing more to
rehabilitate her career, and before a larger audience, than any other move
she could have made. And Paul McCartney, running to the stage like a rugby
player with a guitar, sang one song < his newest, "Freedom" < as a giant
hand-painted banner of the Statue of Liberty unfurled behind him.

There was even a re-creation of the signing of the Declaration of
Independence, which didn’t resonate as fully as might have been hoped.

One image that did work, unquestionably: an overhead shot of Ground Zero. No
commentary accompanied it, and none was needed.

In addition to the official midgame show put on by Fox, there was the one
counterprogrammed by NBC, a special “Playboy Playmates” edition of “Fear
Factor.” (Part one, actually: NBC was so greedy it asked viewers to return
after the game for the conclusion.)

With a countdown to the second half, and more gratuitous shots of scantily
clad women posing and posturing than on ABC’s recent “Victoria’s Secret”
special, NBC’s “Fear Factor” episode was a wall-to-wall, coast-to-coast
embarrassment.

Its alleged highlight, the much-promoted, bug-infested-strawberry-eating
sequence, didn’t even occur on the “Fear Factor” halftime show, but was
saved by the network until its postgame concluding ripoff.

This was a bait-and-switch tactic on so many reprehensible levels, it’s
astounding. Not only did it try to lure viewers away from the patriotic
Super Bowl halftime show with the crassest content imaginable, it didn’t
even deliver what it promised until some two hours later.

Good for Fox. Shame on NBC.

By DAVID BIANCULLI
Daily News TV Critic

The precision required for Super Bowl halftime shows often meant the
big stars had to prerecord their singing.

But for Super Bowl XXXVI, getting U2 to perform meant only
constructing the band’s heart-shaped stage in the space of a
commercial break.

The success of the Irish band’s 2001 tour was based on an anything-
can-happen anticipation, and its halftime performance began with
frontman Bono breaking tackles from fans as he made his way to the
stage singing “Beautiful Day.”

With his seasoned band churning behind him, this was a group clearly
used to big events, big crowds and big statements.

Part of the reason U2 was asked to play was the way its songs fit the
mood of mourning, healing and resolve that followed Sept. 11.

In concerts last fall, its approach to the tragedy was overpowering
yet understated: The projections of thousands of victims’ names as U2
played its solemn “One.” For the Super Bowl, the effect took on the
epic proportions of the Louisiana Superdome, with names stretching up
a banner hung from the 10-story ceiling and even then spilling into
the seats.

But Sunday, instead of “One,” U2 chose a bigger hit with more
uplift, “Where The Streets Have No Name.” Its verses of searching, as
well as its triumphant vow of “still building then burning down
love,” challenged an audience imbued with daylong segments on
patriotism to find a source of love.

Only then did Bono reveal, with admirable subtlety, the American flag
lining of his coat, as if to demonstrate beneath his rock star
exterior, he’s with his U.S. fans on this most American of days.

The unbridled patriotism - and a more traditional approach to Super
Bowl performances - was left to the lengthy pregame show which, after
some live glimpses at No Doubt and Barenaked Ladies early on, was
left largely to a “Salute to America.” It began with a curiously
balanced song by Barry Manilow, “Let Freedom Ring,” with Yolanda
Adams, James Ingram, Patti LaBelle and Wynonna adding heft and soul
to the choruses.

Paul McCartney was introduced with a clip of his work with the
Beatles and Wings. He ran to the midfield stage accompanied by scores
of cheerleaders to sing his “Freedom,” as a Keith Haring-like banner
of the Statue of Liberty unfurled behind him.

The work of the Boston Pops was mostly heard and not seen, replaced
by a filmed tribute to Lincoln involving a series of ex-presidents.

The Pops also played behind Marc Anthony and Mary J. Blige as they
sang “America the Beautiful,” an easy task for him, but something she
rose to accomplish.

Likewise, the national anthem was a breeze for Mariah Carey, who
fairly glowed with the know- ledge she could do no wrong, since her
vocals were prerecorded.

-Roger Catlin

Copyright 2002, Hartford Courant

(1/7/02, 6 p.m. ET) — With “Beautiful Day” a Grammy favorite last year, three different songs up for Grammy honors this year, and two nominations for the album All That You Can’t Leave Behind, the members of U2 said they’re pleased they were recognized for the quality of their songs. The band’s eight nominations top all nominees for the 44th Annual Grammy Awards, which will be held in Los Angeles on February 27.

“It was great when ‘Beautiful Day’ did so well last year, and we’re thrilled that the album received eight nominations,” said U2 in a statement. “Especially the three other songs highlighted, because we’ve always felt that this album was not about any one song. Thank you.”

The band’s “Walk On” was nominated for record of the year and best rock song. “Stuck In A Moment You Can’t Get Out Of” is up for song of the year and best pop performance by duo or group with vocal. “Elevation” is nominated for best rock song and best rock performance by a duo or group with vocal. The band’s album, All That You Can’t Leave Behind, is up for album of the year and best rock album.

U2 have begun work on the follow-up to All That You Can’t Leave Behind.

New tracks being worked on include one called Electrical Storm, according to
reports.

Frontman Bono says the band have “hit form” following their Elevation World
Tour of 2001.

Canadian website www.canoe.com/jam reports Bono told Irish music magazine
Hot Press: “The band is so tight, coming straight off the tour. We’ve hit
form.”

U2 are also thought to be working on the soundtrack for the upcoming Martin
Scorsese film Gangs Of New York, which stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz
and Daniel Day-Lewis.

It tells the story of Irish and Italian immigrants in New York at the turn
of the century.