U2 & Opinions on Anvil
Love 'em or hate 'em, Bono and U2 are one of the biggest forces in music today. Tune in to hear Jim and Greg trace their path from Dublin kids to stadium giants. Later they review the new album from heavy metal band Anvil.
Music News
The Beatles remasters were a big success story for Apple Corp. In one week they sold more than 600,000 albums in the U.S. and had 13 of the 14 best-selling catalog albums. So the question is, are they worth it? Jim and Greg give their answers. The sound is improved, but the packaging isn't much to write home about. And, as Jim says, how many new Beatles formats should fans be expected to buy? Greg thinks the real gems are the Fab Four's mono mixes, but those are only available as a separate and pricey box set. Jim and Greg think fans deserve a little more for their money.
Two rock lawsuits are making the news. First, The Ellen DeGeneres Show is being sued by some of the largest record companies for copyright infringement. As viewers know, Ellen frequently and enthusiastically dances during the show. Unfortunately for her she doesn't like any fair-use beats. Instead she's boogied down to over 1,000 copyrighted pop songs without permission. As Jim notes, the ironies abound: Ellen has not only hosted the recording industry's biggest award show, The Grammys, but she's been tapped as a new judge on American Idol, who works in partnership with Sony Music, one of the plaintiffs.
Next is an update on a lawsuit Jim and Greg discussed earlier this year. Guitar shredder Joe Satriani sued Coldplay for ripping off his composition If I Could Fly, in their track Viva La Vida. The suit has been dropped, and while no financial details have been revealed, Coldplay doesn't have to admit to any guilt.
Famed poet, spoken word artist and punk rocker Jim Carroll passed away last week at the age of 60. Carroll may be best known for his 1978 book The Basketball Diaries, which was adapted into a film of the same name. He was also very involved in the CBGB's punk scene of the 1970s, and under the encouragement of Patti Smith, transformed his poetry into music. To honor Carroll, Jim and Greg play People Who Died from his 1980 album Catholic Boy.
U2
Jim and Greg recently experienced the launch of U2's new arena tour. While neither believe that music is at its best in a stadium, Greg admits that the band has mastered the art of spectacle. Jim was happy to hear a number of songs from U2's latest album No Line on the Horizon, but wouldn't recommend anyone pay over $200 to see the show.
The concert got our hosts thinking about U2's place in music history. Very few rock bands from the '70s and '80s can still sell out stadiums around the world. But they didn't begin at such a large scale. Jim and Greg trace U2's journey to this blockbuster point and discuss the band's different artistic phases and career highs and lows. They agree that Achtung Baby is U2's masterpiece, and can't stomach some of the righteousness and bombast of records like The Unforgettable Fire and The Joshua Tree. But each has a unique favorite. Jim chooses to highlight An Cat Dubh from the 1980 album Boy, and Greg plays "Your Blue Room" from the 1995 Brian Eno produced album Passengers: Original Soundtracks 1.
This Is Thirteen Anvil
Jim and Greg end the show with a review of This Is Thirteen by the Toronto metal band Anvil. Anvil is influential in the speed and thrash communities, but hasn't received much mainstream attention until now. The reason for the increased exposure is the release of the critically acclaimed documentary Anvil! The Story of Anvil, which chronicles the band's tough road. Jim calls Anvil a "meat and potatoes" metal band, but hears the conviction and heart in their music. He gives This is Thirteen a Try It. Greg loves their sound. They aren't on the Motorhead level of fame, but have a similar hard, no-nonsense style. The drummer really kicks it into gear for Greg, and he gives Anvil's new record a Buy It.
Featured Songs
- The Beatles, "You Never Give Me Your Money," The Beatles: Stereo Box Set, Capitol, 2009
- The Beatles, "Money (That's What I Want)," The Beatles: Stereo Box Set, Capitol, 2009
- The Beatles, "Money (That's What I Want)," The Beatles: Mono Box Set, Capitol, 2009
- Jim Carroll, "8 Fragments for Kurt Cobain," Pools of Mercury, Mercury / PolyGram, 1998
- Jim Carroll, "People Who Died," Catholic Boy, Atco, 1980
- U2, "New Year's Day," War, Island, 1983
- U2, "Breathe," No Line on the Horizon, Interscope, 2009
- U2, "Out of Control," U2 Three, CBS, 1979
- U2, "I Will Follow," Boy, Island, 1980
- Public Image Ltd, "No Birds," Metal Box, EMI, 1979
- U2, "An Cat Dubh/Into the Heart," Boy, Island, 1980
- U2, "Pride (In the Name of Love)," The Unforgettable Fire, Island, 1984
- U2, "Elvis Presley in America," The Unforgettable Fire, Island, 1984
- U2, "Where the Streets Have No Name," The Joshua Tree, Island, 1987
- U2, "Zoo Station," Achtung Baby, Island, 1991
- U2, "Discotheque," Pop, Island, 1997
- U2, "If You Wear that Velvet Dress," Pop, Island, 1997
- Passengers, "Your Blue Room," Original Soundtracks 1, Island, 1995
- U2, "Even Better Than the Real Thing," Achtung Baby, Island, 1991
- Anvil, "Axe to Grind," This Is Thirteen, VH1 Classic Records, 2009
- Anvil, "Ready to Fight," This Is Thirteen, VH1 Classic Records, 2009
- Glen Porter, "Days 2 Come," Falling Down, Project Mooncircle, 2009
- The Andrews Sisters, "The Telephone Song," Music Lessons with the Andrews Sisters, Sepia Records, 2003
- The Vivian Girls, "When I'm Gone," Everything Goes Wrong, In The Red Records, 2009
- Green, "She's Not A Little Girl," Green, Lion Canada, 1988
Dear Listeners,
For more than 15 years, Sound Opinions was a production of WBEZ, Chicago's public radio station. Now that the show is independent, we're inviting you to join the band and lend a hand! We need your support more than ever because now we have to do all the behind-the-scenes work that WBEZ handled before (like buying insurance and paying for podcast hosting, ugh). Plus, we have some exciting ideas we'd like to try now that there's no one to tell us no!