U2′s the Edge attended last weekend’s Golden Globes ceremony, where the band was up for a Best Original Song award for “Winter,” their contribution to Afghanistan war drama Brothers. (The trophy ended up going to Crazy Heart‘s “The Weary Kind.”) We caught up with the guitarist on the red carpet to get the scoop on U2′s planned follow-up to last year’s No Line on the Horizon. —Interview by Nicholas White
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: How’s the new U2 music going?
THE EDGE: We are working on a lot of new songs. Some of them are really, really happy. We’re convinced that we have something really special. It’s like deciding whether we are going to release the album before the tour starts or leave it for a while, we don’t really know yet. Literally, within a day of getting off the road, Bono and I were working on new songs. On a roll.
Are you incorporating any electronic influences?
We try and keep things moving forward. We are experimenting with a lot of different arrangements, and electronic is one of the things we are playing with. But there are other songs that are very traditional, almost folk. In some ways, that’s the thing we haven’t figured out yet, is where this album is going to end up. We’re having fun with the process.
What’s it like being nominated for a Golden Globe?
It’s a great honor to be nominated for the movie [Brothers], because I really believe it is one of the more important movies to come out over the last couple years. Tobey Maguire is also nominated. There are many reasons why this should be awarded. It’s kind of humbling to be the one that is nominated. [Director] Jim Sheridan is a close friend of ours and showed us the script. Then we saw various rough cuts. It was a very intimate relationship we had going with Jim on the creative side of it.
Are you feeling competitive about the award?
I have no expectations today. I don’t think we have a particularly good shot at winning, but you never know.
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Photo credit: Jason Merritt/Getty Images
Boy, that last record was AWFUL!
I’m hoping they’ll make up for it with the next one.
Actually, it was pretty good.
I liked it too. It was a bit uneven, but I’m more into the darker ballads so it really worked for me.
Feb05Lindberg Flowers get sgeontrr every time u cut them. And if u are leaf from tina turner u should be sgeontrr.
Are you kidding? No Line on the Horizon was AMAZING! It wasn’t their best ever–I mean, nothing will beat The Joshua Tree–but it was really good. “Moment of Surrender” is such a profound song! I think you should give the album another listen.
The Bobs, .The Bobs sing a cleplaa. They’re fun, funny, smart, and eminently listenable.
It’s one of those love it or hate records. At first I was like “Oh my, what did they do?” But now I love it. I can’t wait for the new stuff and the next leg of the tour.
Chris
http://www.u2act.com
NLOTH is a great album. The lyrics are incredible. The music is new and fresh. It’s not the same bubble gum tune on the radio.
their last album was amazing. i cant understand if you like any other U2 album, how you cant like NLOTH
I love “the lads” but they promised us this album at the end of 09 and now they don’t know if it will be released before they start the tour up again in summer of 2010 – I love them but I HATE that about them – they are ALWAYS making us wait a year longer than what they first estimate!
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