'Still Hungry'

19 Dec 200917
Edge has been talking to Rolling Stone about the decade passing... and the one arriving while the magazine has made No Line on the Horizon their 'Album of the Year' and Moment of Surrender their 'Song of the Year'.

Here's some highlights of what Edge had to say.

What do you foresee for U2 in the next decade?
I can't think that things will change radically for us, because we are already enjoying being in the band. It matters to us that we still make music that connects, and we are still capable of potentially doing our best-ever album. It's not a foregone conclusion that our best work is behind us. That still makes it really exciting.

It also makes you unique at this juncture in your career.
We get that. Sometimes I think, 'Why has it been so difficult for people in the past to maintain that?' We're still learning. We're still ambitious creatively, in terms of where we can take the band. There's an awful lot there for us.

Is that belief true for all four of you?
We all genuinely believe it. It's not arrogance. It's because we are still hungry. There's no reason why we can't do this. You think about other art forms and artists - filmmakers, painters, sculptors. It doesn't follow that your best work is done in your late twenties, early thirties, and then it's downhill. Unfortunately, that's the way rock & roll has panned out. But we don't buy that. Our only limitation is our ability to apply ourselves, to be hard-minded on our work. We push and push until we get to those special pieces of music, those lyrics. And it doesn't arrive on call. You can't turn it on. It needs time spent and time spent in the right frame of mind.
There is no short cut. We end up, at a certain point, at the same place - the band in the room, trying to make something happen. And when it does, it's a magic thing. There is no denying it.

Read the whole interviewhere.
Comments
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adventure101
It's A Magic Thing
Great interview, I'll have to finish the rest later, the server was unavailable. Making music that connects, mighty. Being able to put forth your best album yet, is very exciting. Being still hunger guarantees a successful future. So sexy boots has some hate-mail, really. It's one of your best work. Different strokes for different folks. Thanks for posting.
ozren
Album as good as their live performance
this is the first album/cd that I feel is as good as their live performance. All previous albums are of course amazingly great but when hear the songs live in concert, they just blow away the studio version of every song.
wendom_earl
Boots
Why do people keep hating on Boots? I love it -- I think it's a great track.
marknaki123
songs of ascent
i can't wait for their new album. i hope they release it before they get back on the road, so they can play some of the songs. i'll be at the second anaheim show.
michelebutler
Congratulations!
My husband and I both love NLOTH and it's my favorite U2 album. It is exquisite. I am so proud to be a U2 fan! We can't wait to see you again in Philly next year. God bless.
ak786
ak
NLOTH is a superb album on the whole with the exception of 'boots', a poor song really, Bono had an off day I feel. Even the guys admit it was a poor choice as single.....still a really great album I think...
mikey1
Still Hungry
Somebody should make Edge a sandwich then
leftbehind
You can do better
Bob Dylan has been recording albums since 1961 but I think his best is 'Time Out of Mind' recorded circa 1995. U2 has the talent and the ability to make an album like Achtung Baby, which is an amazing album, seem like a distant second to whatever they think of next. Get in the studio and create it for us guys.
Muldfeld
I don't know how inventive U2 has been t
While constant reinvention and challenging the mainstream was U2's approach in the '80s and '90s, this has largely been abandoned this decade. While "How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb" is the most blatant example of playing it safe, "All That You Can't Leave Behind" had few soaring tracks and the latest album pulled back from full experimentation with the middle 3 songs and The Edge's guitar sound throughout. U2 is getting back to experimenting, but not fully, and it retreats in the mixing process, where things are mainstreamed again to get into the charts -- an ambition that U2 didn't care much about when it made its greatest music. Radio and TV are too ruthless to tolerate greatness anymore. Just do great work, U2, and forget the popularity contest. I'll take "Acrobat" over "Vertigo" any day!
blackandblue
new album
this means we are going to see a best ever album soon? I know U2 has the potential. Rock on!
U2 THE BEST
Clear that the U2 would have the "No Line On the Horizon" and best album "Moment of Surrender" (or another of the same album) as the best music because it's like I say, are "The Best Band in the World" and will be well known through the end of music in the world that we hope will never happen because the music is anything spectacular, with the perfect voice of Bono, the beautiful effects of The Edge's guitar, the sound thick Adam, and the beating of Larry becomes a gift for everyone who receives the best music of the world, U2!
teresa_88
always great reading you guys
I love the the way Edge expresses his opinions: he is so insightful and inspiring. Thanks for all the amazing music and emotions!
sonicacrobat
THE EDGE , we right !
U2 makes fantastics records until the end of the world ! "Winter" is magnificient ,next album would be magnificient ! Rock,Emotional,Punk-Rock, and perhaps Experimental? webu2zootv. Good night for all!
cindyhg
Magic Magnified
It's not just U2's music that continually connects with fans. Edge's revelation that he completely immerses himself in the sound - his medium - is inspiring to any artist of any type who wants to contribute and uplift the world. It is shared magic, and we are the better for it.
flavis
Brilliant!
Great Interview! It had to be U2. NLOTH is a true masterpiece. And Moment of Surrender is the song off album that have touched my heart and my soul with ineffable emotion, since the first time I listened to this. It has been a blessing. Thanks for everything, U2!
barbara1
well said!
the best is yet to come! please, give us more!
Yogic
TIGHT BLEND
U2 is soooo tight and constant with fresh fearless curiousity inviting creativity to live... Leaving a beautiful gift of Passion and Love through their Music : ). It's like four different premium grapes blended together aging in the cellar for decades into a very fine wine that just keeps producing from the U2 Vinyard... : ). Thanks to U2 for keeping it Tight...oh and congrats again for Best In Show : ).
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