STARBUCKS Jumps the Gun On U2 Release Date

Hey, doesn’t the new U2 come out tomorrow, as in Tuesday? I was in my local Starbucks today and there were a stack of them on the counter. The price was actually reasonable ($12.95) and $1 of that was going to the (RED) gobal charity and I have a Gold card which gets me 10% off, so yeah, I bought it.

U2 - No Line on the Horizon (Interscope)
BUT, I have a bone to pick with Bono and the boys.
FIVE DIFFERENT VERSIONS OF THIS RELEASE?! Really?!
I’ll accept a regular and a deluxe edition, and OK, a vinyl release. But FIVE DIFFERENT VERSIONS?! When you know you have a loyal following that wants to get all your releases, isn’t just greedy to make them fork out for FIVE DIFFERENT VERSIONS?!
And I bet there’s going to something that you can get only if you buy it on iTunes, too.

I'm gonna watch Letterman all week (which I generally do anyway) and I’ll probably re-up for the fan club since it gets me a good shot at tour tickets, but I want to ask U2 to stop and ask if the art is taking a back seat to the commerce. (Response to the actual music soon).

And speaking of MY OWN CASH MONEY...
Last week, I returned to the CD Cellar with another small bag of cast-offs (it’s becoming a regular weekly date since I’ve been taking Apple training sessions in the area) and had just enough credit to come home with:
JEFF BUCKLEY - Grace (Columbia/Legacy)
Yep, they still had the 2-CD/DVD edition of the album that I mentioned before, so I scooped it up.
And even though it took me a few bucks over my credit, I got a few things from the $1.99 bins:
LOW VS. DIAMOND - (Epic/Red Ink)
Don’t know much about the band, but I’ve heard the name in all the right places, so I’ll check ‘em out.
BELL X-1 - Blue Lights on the Runway (Yep Roc)
Have known and liked these guys for some time. Enough so that, even though I’m pretty confident their PR people will send the CD eventually, I didn’t want to wait. At first listen, I think I’m gonna like this one a lot. There’s an intriguing new quality to the arrangement, with touches of electronics.
SUMMER Of GLACIERS - These Last Days (self-released)
This CD caught my attention because of its lovely packaging - a craft cardboard folder with letterpress printing (I’m a sucker for letterpress printing). There was something homemade and thoughtful about it, an impression confirmed when I opened the folder up to read “Thank you for taking the time to listen.” And yet, I wonder if it hadn’t been a mere $1, would I have taken the chance?
Glad I did. When I played it in the car, I found that this band makes lovely instrumental music, the kind I would use in my independent film if/when I make one. The group’s web site calls it “San Francisco based epic instrumental bummer rock.” Just three tracks, but one runs over 12-minutes long, so I got my money’s worth and then some.

AND NOW, A FEW RANDOM LINKS
The latest pair of previews from the Washington Post:
David Bromberg, Angel Band at the Birchmere .
The Bird and The Bee at the Barns at Wolf Trap.
Rather than pull up another of my limited concert shots, here’s an official press pic (credit: Autumn DeWIlde)

In preparation for the story, the opening act’s publicist sent me a copy of their CD
OBI BEST - Capades (Social Science Recordings)
Didn't know when I wrote the preview, but the lead singer for this act has also done backup vocals for the Bird and the Bee. The CD is in a very compatible vein, poppy but not pappy. (Counted twice as I received a digital copy a few days before the actual disc.)

Here’s a neat little film - the audio track consists of a short taped interview conducted by a then-14 year-old John Lennon fan when he met his idol...
“I Met the Walrus”

AND BREAKING NEWS...
The FORMAT is a band that College Girl turned me onto, and we were both sad to hear they broke up. Now I hear that the band's former singer, Nick Ruess (and he has a disarming, distinctive voice), has joined with singer/keyboardist Andrew Dost from Anathello and Jack Antonoff, still in Steel Train, in a new band called Fun, signed to Nettwerk. The three are working with producer Steven McDonald (Red Kross) and arranger Roger Joseph Manning Jr (Jellyfish) on a debut, hopefully coming this year. You can hear a track, "Benson Hedges," streaming on the band’s MySpace page.

O/CD YTD TALLY: 65

Aw...Dave’s got U2 shoveling snow outside the studio...cute.