I decided to dub this “U2 Week” in honour of U2 releasing their new album, No Line On the Horizon, on Tuesday 3 March 2009. You probably also have heard that U2 was on Late Show with David Letterman all this week and that they even had a street in NY temporarily named “U2 Way.” They were also guests on Good Morning America this morning.

The “Top Ten” highlights from “U2 Week” for me were the following:

10. Larry Mullen, Jr’s brief interview at the NY Knicks Game (4 March 2009)

9. Street being renamed “U2 Way” in NY

8. U2’s Late Show “On Hold Music”

7. U2 on the Tom Snider Show from 1981. OK, I know this isn’t from this week, but I did watch it this week. It is quite a blast from the past with The Edge with almost a full head of hair. This is during U2’s first US tour for their first album, Boy.

6. U2’s interview on Good Morning America

5. Breaking news that U2 already has another album release planned. According to @U2, the band is planning on releasing “Songs of Ascent” in 2010. Here is an excerpt from the post on @U2:

Bono tells Rolling Stone magazine that U2’s next studio album will be called “Songs Of Ascent,” it’ll be released in 2010, and that “Every Breaking Wave” will be the first single — a “surging anthem.” And here’s a choice Bono quote about the next album: “Songs Of Ascent will be quieter than No Line in many ways, it’s that ghost album of hymns and Sufi singing. We’re making a kind of heartbreaker, a meditative, reflexive piece of work, but not indulgent.”

4. Paul Connolly’s news article “Why U2 really are better than The Rolling Stones AND The Beatles.” I’m glad someone finally had the guts to put this in print! The primary reason Connolly finds for the creative longevity of U2 is their punk origins:

They [80s bands like U2] were all born out of the embers of punk and new wave and they’ve retained that restless, adventurous, questing spirit. Punk may have become a debased cultural currency now (and it was responsible for some terrible bands at the time) but its enduring ideals have been responsible for some of the finest music of the last 30 years. Bands from the most ridiculed of decades are still pushing on, unafraid of change and trying something new, making some of the best music of their creative lives. The Rolling who?

3. U2’s performance of “Magnificent” on the Late Show. I Really, REALLY, like this song.

2. U2 band members doing David Letterman’s “Top Ten” List on Thursday night (5 March 2009). I especially liked The Edge’s dig on Sting.

1. The Release of U2’s new album, No Line on the Horizon. There is no question that this has to be number one!

The album is available in a number of different packages:

• Limited Box Set including CD, Film, Hardcover Book, Poster (Buy from Amazon.ca | Amazon.com)
• Limited Deluxe Digipak with 32-Page Booklet, Poster and Link to U2 Film (Buy from Amazon.ca | Amazon.com)
• Audio CD (Buy from Amazon.ca | Amazon.com)
• Limited Magazine Version (Buy from Amazon.ca | Amazon.com)
• Limited Edition 2 LPs – No CD (Buy from Amazon.ca | Amazon.com)

Finally, as a “fun Friday” bonus, here is a video of Bush singing, Sunday, Bloody Sunday:

Have a great weekend!