While U2 are putting the finishing touches on their 13th studio album, guitarist The Edge discussed the thought of becoming “A Heritage Act” with U.K. magazine NME. With what is slowly becoming a bitter pill to swallow, Mr. Edge had this to say about the band’s inevitable future:
“We don’t want to ever be a heritage act,” The Edge said. “It might happen, but we’ll go kicking and screaming into that mode. We feel the place for us to be is part of the conversation of contemporary culture and music and film and everything else, and we don’t see the reason why we can’t, because it’s been possible for various artists in different forms. Frank Lloyd Wright, to the day he died, was designing the most incredible things – we want to be part of that rather than grow old gracefully.”
This news comes almost 11 months to the day that FOALS frontman Yannis Philippakis stirred up the debate of Heritage Vs. Non-Heritage Acts, a debate this blog embraced. Let’s revisit Mr. Philippakis’ comments once again for shits and giggles, shall we…
“The small group of bands who repeatedly headline festivals in the UK is a big problem,” continuing: “There’s a big problem with old bands who always occupy the top slots at festivals. More Heritage names reform every year, which only makes it worse. It really limits bands of our generation. We don’t get a fair chance to headline, because the slots are reserved for the same old names.”
Philippakis went on to say: “You get people in their late 30s going to festivals, in their dungarees with a couple of kids, wanting to relive their adolescence, pretending they’re baggy again by watching The Stone Roses. They aren’t in touch with what’s going on now. I’m bored of seeing some dude from the ’90s headline, it means nothing to me.”
Too bad Yannis will never know how in touch that dude in his mid-forties standing there in his dungarees really is.
U2, the soon-to-be Heritage Act, are planning a summer release date for their forthcoming album, currently untitled. The album’s production was slowed a tad while they worked on the song “Ordinary Love” for the movie Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom. In addition, The Edge and Co. released the song “Invisble,” to help raise money to fight AIDS, during the Super Bowl. Future events include performing at the 86th Academy Awards next month… you know, things that Heritage Acts do.
Watch the video for “Invisible” here:
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