Aural Intercourse: U2: All that you can't avoid

By Mike Prevatt

There's always a concern as to whether veteran music acts can compete in the increasingly youth-oriented pop market. Adults are buying less and less music, and kids are buying mostly hip hop, mall pop and emo. Where does that leave, say, R.E.M.? Madonna? The Beastie Boys? Janet Jackson? All four of those artists released albums in the past 18 months, and all of them were considered commercial flops.

U2, turning 25 this year and arguably still the world's biggest rock act, is leaving nothing to chance. Though its 11th studio album, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, won't be available until Nov. 23, the band's PR push started in September, and is currently going full speed ahead. If Bomb bombs, it won't be from a lack of effort--this looks to be one of the most strategized rock campaigns of the year.

First, the most visible--and somewhat controversial--bit of promotion has been the band's participation in an Apple iTunes/iPod commercial. The frequently played 30-second spot sees the band performing its new single "Vertigo" as the silhouettes commonly found in the existing iPod advertisements (a two-minute version can be found online at the iTunes Music Store). As a result, "Vertigo" has been the most downloaded song at iTunes for more than two weeks.

The spot has caused debate among online music fans, as U2 has never before lent its music or its members' likenesses to advertisements, with devotees scratching their heads and detractors crying "sellout." However, the band defended its decision by stating that it was not hawking the Apple products, but the song itself--identified at the end of the ad--sold on iTunes for 99 cents. Furthermore, it accepted no money to appear in the ad.

U2 and Apple have been friendly for a while now, as the band was an early supporter of the iTunes Music Store. Just last week, the band and Apple announced a joint partnership that would produce $349 custom U2-themed iPods containing Bomb, as well as offer a $149 "digital boxed set" of all the band's albums plus several fan club rarities. Rumors are now circulating that Apple may lend its name to the band's 2005 tour, which would be the first time the band has ever accepted a corporate sponsorship (MTV has promoted the band's last three tours). Details on the trek are still forthcoming.

Meanwhile, on radio "Vertigo" has been an instant hit. This is no surprise--U2 management and representation previewed the tracks to influential broadcast programmers in late summer, with the throwback "Vertigo" emphasized as the first radio cut. Various program directors then immediately reported their pleasure with the single to the press, essentially declaring it a smash before it ever hit the airwaves. Five weeks after its release, it's the No. 1 track on modern rock radio (note: none of the four singles from the band's quadruple-platinum All That You Can't Leave Behind reached that position), and it sits in the mainstream rock top five.

U2 could ascend the bestseller lists as well. Riverhead Books has released a 312-page coffee-table tome called U2 Show that chronicles the group's history onstage. The book is significant, in that it's the first band-authorized book to document the one aspect of its career it is most famous for--its live performances. Helmed by photojournalist Diana Scrimgeour, who is scheduled to promote the book in Las Vegas Nov. 4-6, it's presented much like an all-access pass, featuring about 500 photos, countless design graphics and several interviews with members of the band's management and longtime touring team. And it's an exhaustive look at the range of rock show productions, from the band's first club tour to the multimillion-dollar "Zoo TV" stadium spectacle, ending with the 2001 "Elevation" arena tour and Super Bowl halftime show.

As if all that wasn't enough to keep the band's name afloat, U2 was announced as one of the 15 nominees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (inductees will be announced later this month); singer Bono received the Freedom Award from the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis on Oct. 18, and will be one of three recipients of the TED Prize, to be handed out Feb. 23-26 in Monterey, Calif.; and an Oregonian woman discovered a suitcase of notes and lyrics--intended for the band's second album, October--belonging to the vocalist in her rental house, some 23 years after it had been stolen from a Portland club. Is there such a thing as too much PR? Surely U2 isn't complaining.

Quickies

Music snobs around the world are mourning last week's death of U.K. radio DJ John Peel, 65. A fixture on British radio for 40 years and famous for the Peel Sessions recorded live on his show, his contribution to popular music stemmed mostly from his willingness to introduce left-of-center music like reggae, punk and electronica to the mainstream. He is also largely credited with helping expose bands as seminal as the Doors, Velvet Underground, Joy Division, Siouxsie & the Banshees, the Smiths, Nirvana and the White Stripes. Imagine a radio DJ in America with Peel's musical instincts. Clear Channel would've fired him by now for shunning the corporate playlist.

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