Pete The Chop

Raiders Star Darren McFadden Runs Through an NFL Offseason to Highlight Year-Round Coverage

Twenty-two time Grammy Award-winning band, U2 will be providing the soundtrack to NFL Network’s Super Bowl XLIII commercial that will run during the game.  “Get On Your Boots,” the group’s newest single, will be featured in the commercial airing only on Super Bowl Sunday.

The ad, entitled  “RUN,” features Oakland Raiders star running back Darren McFadden beginning a training run that continues through the NFL offseason, illustrating that NFL Network is where “Football Season Never Ends.”

This marks the sixth consecutive year that NFL Network will have an advertisement in the Super Bowl.  The commercial promotes all NFL Media outlets, including NFL Network, NFL.com and NFL Mobile Live.

“This spot demonstrates that the season and passion for football never ends for players, fans and for NFL Media,” said Dena Kaplan, senior vice president, marketing for NFL Network.  “When all you want is football, we’re the direct connection to the NFL all year long.”

Key highlights of the NFL calendar are represented including: NFL Scouting Combine, NFL Draft, Training Camp, and Hall of Fame Induction weekend. The commercial concludes with a uniformed McFadden running onto the field for the opening game of the NFL season.

Also appearing with McFadden in “RUN” are Raiders teammates running back Justin Fargas and center Chris Morris at training camp and running into the stadium, while NFL prospects Brian Cushing (USC) and Brian Orakpo (Texas) participate in NFL Scouting Combine.  All were part of the day-long shoot in Los Angeles.

The overall concept was developed in partnership with MeringCarson, and produced by Motion Theory. Cinematographer Claudio Miranda, who was recently nominated for an Oscar for his work on The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, served as Director of Photography.

NFL Network airs seven days a week, 24 hours a day on a year-round basis and is the only television network fully dedicated to the NFL and the sport of football.  For more information, log on to www.nfl.com/nflnetwork. NFL.com is the exclusive internet home of NFL Network.

- Sports Media News

a

NEW U2 SONG TO BE FEATURED IN NFL NETWORK’S SUPER BOWL COMMERCIAL

Related posts:

1. UPI: NFL to re-air Super Bowl Sept. 11 tribute NEW ORLEANS, Sept. 6 (UPI) — The NFL Network will...
2. Video Store Mag: U2 Super Bowl performance on DVD USA Home Entertainment and NFL Films will pull off their...
3. The Mirror: U2 Game For Touring After Bowl U2 are set to hit the road again this year...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Tags: Uncategorized by spun2u
Comments Off

Watch the brand new music video of Get On Your Boots now!

Tags: Uncategorized by Jonathan
Comments Off

It appears that the big “EXCLUSIVE” Get On Your Boots video premiere has been delayed. The following message was posted on Independent.ie web site:

 

Friday January 30 2009

5.24 pm

Delivery of the video for U2’s new single, ‘Get on Your Boots’, has been delayed.

Universal Music have issued the following statement:

“The video is going really well but unfortunately it just wasn’t finished in time for the premiere today. Alex Courtes is an amazing director and we can assure you that it will be well worth the wait.”

Mark Crossingham, Managing Director Universal Music Ireland

You will still see the video here first at www.independent.ie/u2

I guess we’re all in a holding pattern until the toilet get’s plunged!

a

Get On Your Boots: U2 video exclusive - DELAYED

Related posts:

1. Get On Your Boots: U2 video exclusive U2 video exclusive on Independent.ie The first chance to see...
2. Exclusive video clips from Vertigo Opening night Exclusive video clips from the March 28th San Diego Vertigo...
3. Get On Your Boots Itunes Download hits Monday The first single “Get On Your Boots” is scheduled to...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Tags: Uncategorized by spun2u
Comments Off

I’m a new subscriber to DirecTV and was pleasantly surprised to enjoy a couple of programs on The 101. The first was the DirecTV Concert Series with Daniel Lanois, where the music is intertwined with his thoughts about his passion for producing and the things he’s learned through the years.

The second was another concert series program with Paddy Casey. He was asked about touring and here’s what he said about U2: “Well, U2, I have done a few gigs with them in the past. It’s been pretty spectacular, except I think it was the most nervous I’ve ever been playing a gig because Bono has this rampway that goes up and it kinda goes out over the audience. So I was like…(gives a facial expression). They made me stand out there and it was just like you’re a little obnoxious or something, and I was like I really shouldn’t be out here. I’m only pretending or whatever. Yeah, so I was a little bit more nervous because I was stuck out over the crowd.”

It should be noted that Paddy Casey is also represented by Principle Management.

This is a post from the @U2 blog.

DirecTV 101

Tags: Uncategorized by U2isABLE
Comments Off

The video for “Get On Your Boots” was supposed to premiere today on the Irish Independent web site, but as we all know by now … that didn’t happen.

Still, an unfinished version of the video has managed to somehow leak out online (anyone know where it came from?) and fans are absolutely loving it (with a couple exceptions, of course).

We say “unfinished” because it seems this might be the reason for the delay: There are several scenes in the video where you can see a Getty Images watermark from the photos/images that appear behind the band.

Whoops!

This is a post from the @U2 blog.

U2’s GOYB video not quite ready…

Tags: Uncategorized by m2
Comments Off

Sports Illustrated shared its take on the Top 10 Super Bowl Halftime Shows this week, and … to no one’s surprise … U2’s performance in 2002 is included. (Tip: Kumar)

I’m looking forward to seeing Springsteen for 10 minutes on Sunday … are you?

This is a post from the @U2 blog.

SI Likes U2’s Super Bowl Performance

Tags: Uncategorized by m2
Comments Off

U2 will play at the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles next month.

The 51st annual Grammy Awards take place on February 8th and there’s plenty of other great acts lined up including Kid Rock, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Rihanna, Coldplay, Jennifer Hudson, Lil Wayne, Paul McCartney, Radiohead and Jay-Z.

It will air on CBS from 8–11:30 p.m. (ET/PT).

The band have already confirmed they’ll be performing the new single ‘Get On Your Boots’ at the UK’s BRIT Awards at London’s Earls Court, ten days later on Wednesday 18 February. And a few days after that they’ll be in Berlin to play at Germany’s ECHO Awards.

- U2.com

a

U2 Grammy Performance Next Month

Related posts:

1. U2 Appreciates Grammy Recognition (1/7/02, 6 p.m. ET) — With “Beautiful Day” a Grammy...
2. U2 Wins Record of the Year Grammy LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Irish rock band U2 on Wednesday...
3. Ananova: U2 and Enya scoop Grammy awards U2 and Enya scoop Grammy awards U2 won four accolades...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Tags: Uncategorized by spun2u
Comments Off

The first U2 album since November 2004 received an exclusive first play in Dublin last night. The Residence private members club on St Stephen’s Green in Dublin hosted a playback of the eagerly awaited album. It has been the longest gap between releases in the band’s entire career. Media and record company personnel gathered to hear ‘No Line on the Horizon’ in [...]

Tags: Uncategorized by u2star
Comments Off

So here is the breakdown as provided by Jono a U2exit contributor>

Triple A radio in US #1

Rock Radio in US #14

HOT AC in US #34

Rock radio in Canada #1

For all the charts> http://www.radioandrecords.com/Formats/Charts/Canada_ROCK_Chart.asp

This will be one of their biggest radio hits of all time, especially with the dig downloads!

 

a

GOYB rules the charts!

Related posts:

1. “The Saints Are Coming” Hits #1 on European Charts LOS ANGELES, CA Wednesday Nov.22.2006 /netmusiccountdown.com/ — The U2/Green Day...
2. Dublin radio airs new U2 single DUBLIN, Ireland – U2 fans, get your boots on. The...
3. “STORM” CD ARRIVES AT RADIO “STORM” CD ARRIVES AT RADIO Radio stations around North America...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Tags: Uncategorized by spun2u
Comments Off

a

Get On Your Boots: U2 video exclusive

Related posts:

1. First Single, Album Tracklisting - U2.com Get On Your Boots, the first single from U2’s new...
2. Get On Your Boots Itunes Download hits Monday The first single “Get On Your Boots” is scheduled to...
3. Premiere: ‘Get On Your Boots’ Get On Your Boots, the first single from No Line...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Tags: Uncategorized by spun2u
Comments Off

Artist Taylor Dupree expressed his opinions about the alleged “rip-off” by U2 of his and Richard Chartier’s artwork on “speicifcation.fifteen,” in his blog last week. The cover for No Line on the Horizon is unmistakably similar.

The main thing he points out is that there are no legal issues here. Everyone had permission to create what they were creating and use what they were using, and they all just happened to be using the same photographer (Hiroshi Sugimoto).

So if anyone wants to claim the cover was used in poor judgment (which in itself is debatable), it’s clear the responsibility should have first fallen to Mr. Sugimoto.

At the end of the day, all artists involved should be proud of their work–images that can interchangably be used in a major museum exhibtion and also on a mainstream rock band’s album cover have got to be good.

This is a post from the @U2 blog.

No Line on the Horizon Artwork Controversy

Tags: Uncategorized by Tassoula
Comments Off

U2’s new single ‘Get On Your Boots’ has shot straight to No.1 in the Irish airplay charts. The single – the first from the band’s hugely anticipated No Line OnThe Horizon album – has already been greeted with widespread critical acclaim, significantly raising expectations for what is destined to be one of the year’s big [...]

Tags: Uncategorized by u2star
Comments Off

Shane Hegarty, Irish Times

PRESENT TENSE: You must have heard Bono's words at this week's pre-inauguration concert. "What a thrill for four Irish boys from the northside of Dublin to honour you sir, Barack Obama, to be the next president of the United States."

And what a thrill it must have been. Even if only one of U2 actually lives on the northside now. Or that Bono must have lived as much of his life on the southside. Or that two of the band were born in England, before moving to the north Co. Dublin town of Malahide. Roddy Doyle, you'll have noticed, never sets his novels in Malahide.

Why be so picky? Because even in a moment when he was trying to express the personal pride he and the band were feeling, Bono sounded a false note. In throwing in the reference to the northside, he was grabbing some of the "impossible journey" narrative for himself and the band.

In many ways, U2's journey from school band to global megastardom has been improbable, but it's not because they came from Dublin's northside. It's not as if most of Bono's friends are either dead or in jail. Last time I looked, they were making soundtracks and bowls. When not being a citizen of Dublin, Bono is a citizen of the world.

During the band's performance of "In the Name of Love," he described Martin Luther King's dream as "Not just an American dream -- also an Irish dream, a European dream, an African dream, an Israeli dream..." And then, following a long pause reminiscent of a man who'd just realised he'd left the gas on, he added, "...and also a Palestinian dream." This was his big shout out to the Palestinians. You know, it's easy -- and not original -- to have a pop at Bono's bombast, but sometimes it's necessary to point it out and impossible to resist.

He serves it up on a platter, writing newspaper columns and giving TV interviews. And for all his undoubted sincerity and effort on the issue of world poverty, you can't help but marvel at this latest expression of Bono's Sesame Street view of the world. Hey Middle East, we just have to have a dream to get along.

Just ignore the sound of those loud explosions and concentrate on Bono's voice.

U2 debuted a new single this week. "Get On Your Boots" is actually pretty good, a reminder that the band still writes decent tunes, which is no mean feat given how many legendary acts continue to rely on ancient material. (The Rolling Stones have written almost nothing memorable during the entire time that U2 have been around). But not for the first time in U2's career, "Get On Your Boots" sounds like the work of a band trying to find their voice in other people's sounds. And, also not for the first time, it's lyrically vacuous. That shouldn't be a big deal -- it's only rock 'n' roll after all -- but it reminds us that it's been some time since Bono and U2 have been musically relevant.

Also on the stage at the Lincoln Memorial on Sunday was Bruce Springsteen. Like U2, he released new music this week. In early listens, the album Working on a Dream is very strong in parts, if unlikely to be remembered as one of his more substantial albums. It lacks the grief and resilience that fuelled his post-9/11 album The Rising; the honesty of Devils and Dust; and the anger that infused his Bush-era America album Magic. Working on a Dream is a romantic album, a contented album, an album that sounds as if it marks the end of a cycle in his songwriting.

It is, though, part of the continuing evolution of his music. He has been singing about the same characters and themes through his entire career, making his an epic, decades-long exercise in storytelling that shows no sign of coming to an end. Springsteen has also been arguably the most effective and popular protest songwriter of recent years. It means that he remains essential in a way that few artists do. In a way that U2, and Bono, are not.

Compared to Bono, Springsteen has always been on another plane as a lyricist, but 40 years into his career he's writing songs that are not just catchy, but actually say something intelligent about the world, his country, his people. Like Bono, he's made enough money to remove himself from the multitudes who pack his stadium shows, and yet he still seems genuinely one of them.

Most importantly, he's politically brave in a way that Bono will not be. He takes sides. He's not afraid to make enemies. Unlike Bono, pal of all presidents, he will not sup with the devil, partly because he knows what it's like when his political enemies misread and misappropriate his music. And unlike Bono, who has a fascination with America that displays itself as a cloying neediness, Springsteen understands that country intimately. It means that Springsteen is authentic and authoritative in a way that Bono can never hope to be, no matter how much he mentions that he's from the northside.

© 2009 Irish Times.

Tags: Uncategorized by Jonathan
Comments Off

Watch him make the comparison here:

This is a post from the @U2 blog.

Chris Rock Likens Own Documentary to U2 Album

Tags: Uncategorized by Tassoula
Comments Off

That’s the title of the image by Hiroshi Sugimoto on the cover of No Line on the Horizon. Here’s the story behind it.

A month and a half before the release of No Line on the Horizon, with the first single only released to radio this week, there’s a surprising level of online chat about… the album cover design. We thought we’d find out a little more.

The artwork, designed as usual by the team at Four5One in Dublin, features a seascape by the renowned Japanese artist and photographer, Hiroshi Sugimoto, who has known Bono for several years. (One of his works hangs in the band’s management offices.) One of a few contemporary photographers who continue to work with traditional photographic techniques such as the silver gelatine process and the use of long exposures, the horizon is a central motif in Sugimoto’s ‘Seascapes’ collection. He’s travelled the world to stand on remote cliffs overlooking oceans, capturing the light and atmosphere and the way these effects play in front of the horizon, which always precisely bisects his frame. His work has touched millions and U2 are not the first to see a symmetry between their work and his. We spoke to Shaughn McGrath at Four5One to ask how the design came together.

When did the idea for the album design first begin to emerge ?

The first thing that came about was the title of the record - No Line on the Horizon - that was there from the inception. Bono mentioned it to us last Spring, but at that time he didn’t say too much else.

Five words isn’t much to go on.

For me it inspired an atmosphere. There’s something about how all of us are deeply drawn to looking out across the sea – to the horizon – that draws strong memories and feelings of time and place. There’s also this sense in the title of removing barriers, a longing for purity and beauty and the unspoilt… a longing to return to a perfect moment.

Did Bono give you anything else to go on ?

He did, he talked to us about this Japanese photographer/artist who he loved, Hiroshi Sugimoto, and in particular he wanted us to look at his seascapes. That was really useful as it gave us some kind of reference for thinking about the look of the record. At that stage, when a record is nowhere near finished, the band will often talk about ideas they are working on, many of which can change when they actually get nearer the end of writing and recording. But telling us about Sugimoto’s seascapes was really helpful, from them we sensed this remarkable synergy with the title of the album.

You decided to work with one particular image, ‘Boden Sea, Uttwil’, for the album cover.

We felt it was such an emotive image, that there was a natural coherence with the album’s themes, that suggested release. And so we set this beautiful, velvet image of Sugimoto’s very simply in a white surround.

Does that explain your very spare approach to the album design? It doesn’t even have the album title.

It’s unusual this but when we had our first meeting with the band to show our design proposal, we showed them this cover execution and they said ‘Yes’. I added, ‘You know it doesn’t even have the title on it?’ And they still said ‘Yes’. The thing is that each of them in the band is very visually switched on, they all have strong design ideas and I think they realise that there are many ways of giving an album its name, it doesn’t just have to be by putting it on the sleeve of the record. It’s a cliche but it’s true - you can sometimes say much more with far less.

What’s the story on the ‘equals’ sign ?

The equals sign exists on its own, it isn’t embedded in the image, but associated with it, on a different plane. It adds to the album’s visual idiom. Whatever the culture and language spoken, this universal mathematical symbol is understood, and so it complements the clarity of expression in the image. What we love about the equals sign is the simplicity, the purity - like the title, No Line on the Horizon.

A few days after the album design was revealed, there were some stories online noting that the image had been previously used as an album cover ?

I’ve just heard about that album and its cover. But I think we’re doing something different with Sugimoto’s image, something uniquely connected with this latest body of work from U2. And while I’m pleased we’ve been able to do something that has so few brushstrokes and yet says so much, the response to the design of an album is connected with how well people connect with the album. To give you an earlier example, the first album I worked on with U2 was Achtung Baby in 1991 - that sleeve is widely admired, but probably because the album is so great. People love that cover because they came to love the album. These things don’t exist in isolation. It’s all connected to the music.

Talking of which, you’ve heard the finished album now, what do you think ?

I’m blown away by it, and pleased as punch for the band. Their ability to make such beautiful music, with such refreshing, interesting sounds never ceases to amaze me, something that makes the role of the designer all the more challenging and exciting.

- U2.com

a

‘Boden Sea, Uttwil’

Tags: Uncategorized by spun2u
Comments Off