U2.COM : 'Fishing Without Nets'

If you enjoyed our video coverage on U2.com in 2009 or the U2360° Tour Clips on the 'Rose Bowl' live DVD, you were enjoying the work of the fine young filmmaker Cutter Hodierne.

Since then Cutter has been shooting and directing a short film, 'Fishing Without Nets', in which a group of Somali pirates tell their story.

The film was among 7,000 submitted to the Sundance Film Festival Awards and last week it won the Jury Prize in Short Filmmaking and a check for $5,000 from Yahoo.

You can find a  clip from the film - as well as some of his work with U2 - on Cutter's site.

U2.COM : Download The Sky

From The Sky Down, the behind-the-scenes film about the making of  'Achtung Baby', which was released in North America last week,  is also now available from the iTunes Store.

Screening right here...

U2.COM : 'U22' - The Tracks

After tens of thousands of votes, U2.com Subscribers have decided which tracks will appear on 'U22'.

We asked you to choose your top 22 live tracks after listening to 46 the band played on U2360°. Three months later, the result is the first crowd-sourced U2 live collection.

You didn't just cast your votes. You also engaged in impassioned argument on our boards about which tracks should appear, which should not - and why.

In the end the great divide was between those of you who wanted 'U22' to become  a collection of the band's 'greatest' live tracks and those who wanted it to capture songs the band rarely perform, tracks hardly ever released live.

The results are fascinating - spanning nine albums and thirty years, excluding some of the most familiar songs and featuring some total surprises.

'This is really going to be a special CD.' said Adam, when we caught up with him this week. 'I wasn't expecting some of these tunes, it's a really fresh collection and it's going to make very interesting listening.'

So here's the 22 tracks. Scroll to the bottom of the page to see what happens next. And then get into the comments to give us your reactions.

1. Bad 
2. Where The Streets Have No  Name
3. Magnificent
4. One
5. Ultraviolet
6. Even Better than The Real Thing
7. With or Without You
8. Beautiful Day
9. City of Blinding Lights
10. The Unforgettable Fire
11. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
12. All I Want is You/Love Rescue Me  
13. Moment of Surrender 
14. Until The End of the World 
15. The Fly
16. One Tree Hill 
17. Stay (Faraway, So Close)
18. Walk On
19. Zooropa
20. Elevation
21. Out of Control
22. Mysterious Ways

The tracks are now being mixed and sequenced while the editorial and design of the accompanying 24-page large format book (see above) is finalised.

More details soon on when 'U22' will be arriving with you... if you've resubscribed to U2.com for 2012.

Stop SOPA now!!!

Bono performs in Timbuktu!

U2.COM : U2360°: 'I'll Never Forget It...'

I’ll never forget walking out to David Bowie’s ‘Space Oddity’ each night and into our own space station … and then taking off! '

Part II of our exclusive interview with Bono and Edge, where they talk about how the landscape of music is changing, drop some hints about what's happening in the studio, look back in wonder at U2360°  and reflect on finally playing at Glastonbury. ( Add your comments below the story.)

Foster the People on inspiration, odd jobs and meeting Bono

(CNN) -- Foster the People has done what many bands strive to do: make commercial indie-sounding pop, which is kind of an oxymoron, like "jumbo shrimp" or "daily special."
"We've grown up on the Beach Boys and the Beatles and Blur and Bowie and the Clash. Also E.L.O. and Hall and Oates," said the trio's frontman, Mark Foster. "Those are all artists who write songs that are accessible but still left of center. It's intelligent pop. There's still something different and complex about it. That's our favorite type of music to make."

U2.COM : Twelve Months In Music

The most interesting things will end up being those that have a certain duality, a certain internal argument going on within them which is certainly what’s happening with Bon Iver, with Florence and the Machine and with The Black Keys.'

From the emergence of Foster the People to the departure of REM,  from 'Fallen Empires' to 'England Shakes', the past 12 months have seen some remarkable new bands take the stage and some striking releases from established acts.

As the year turned Bono and Edge called in to U2.com to reflect on some of the music they've loved in the past twelve months... and wonder at what the next year holds.

(In the comments below, tell us which of the bands they mention you're already into... or which other acts made it a great year in music for you).

U2 joy at Broadway record-breaker

U2 have raised a glass to the success of their Broadway record-breaking hit.

Spider-Man Turn Off The Dark shattered Broadway box office and attendance records during the last week of 2011 - taking in 2,941,790 dollars (£1.9 million) over nine performances last week.

U2's Bono and The Edge have penned music and lyrics for the show, which was once branded the biggest flop on Broadway.

Bono said: "For all the problems, there was magic on the stage. Things did get chaotic and messy after our producer Tony Adams died.

"But this week's news has us all giddy again and we are raising our glasses to Tony, to our indefatigable cast, crew, creative and production team."

The show had a turbulent start including injuries to actors, delays in opening night and poor reviews.

The Edge added: "It just goes to show that you can't keep a good superhero down. This is a proud day for everyone who has been a part of this show.

"The Broadway public have voted with their feet."

Spider-Man Turn Off The Dark has been seen by more than 700,000 audience members from around the world - including 17,375 people last week in The Foxwoods Theatre.

The previous record was held by Wicked, which grossed 2,228,235 dollars (£1.4 million) last January.

source : http://www.pressassociation.com/