outside lyrical collaborators

[satellitedog01]

Good question.

I'd be glad if they chose the right collaborators. Bono needs some help and direction from a talented poet, he's too comfortable as a person to create quality lyrics on the scale he needs to, or used to. He is made and a settled family man, and that shows in his lyrics. I dislike his in-character writing, he didn't write that way before, or at least not as obviously as on Horizon, and I'd like him to take more care with this aspect of U2. He has made friends with some great minds, and no doubt he could seek advice from the likes of Leonard Cohen and Salman Rushdie or Lou Reed or any other great of words.

[satellitedog01]

As for the music, Lanois has been playing guitar at writing sessions, and Eno has been part of the process as well, no to mention his oblique strategies guiding the band. They haven't been just the four of them for a loooong time.

[Droo]

Few artists are "just them". Producers exist to guide the process. So much of my first album, even songs written solely by myself, were hugely shaped by tweaks and input by my producer.

[U2_fan8 [aka U28]]

True. Alright, I rescind my previous statement. Still, though, it's all marketed as being music by "that band/person." I'd rather U2 remain marketed as themselves, not U2 + *insert unspeakable relevant act*, both to appease the purist in myself and let U2's image retain a bit of dignity.

[imaginary friend]

True. Alright, I rescind my previous statement. Still, though, it's all marketed as being music by "that band/person." I'd rather U2 remain marketed as themselves, not U2 + *insert unspeakable relevant act*, both to appease the purist in myself and let U2's image retain a bit of dignity.

Robert Hunter co-wrote just about every song Jerry Garcia ever brought to the Grateful Dead. They never put out an album under the name "The Grateful Dead and Robert Hunter."

Hell, even Rush's Neil Peart has had a co-writer for a couple of songs over the years.

[satellitedog01]

And let's not forget Elvis :-)

[spooked1oo]

No thank you. U2 is Bono, Larry, Adam, and Edge - they don't need any outside input or help.

Then it must drive you nuts that Brian Eno and Danny Lanois are heavily involved with song arrangements,

But that's the technique, the "musicality" of their music. The four of them still originate the musical ideas themselves.
Besides, I'm talking about lyrics. Bono's fine by himself; I shudder to think who he'd turn to for collaboration in his quest for "relevence." I do NOT want to see "U2 ft. LMFAO" credited on the next album.

Shhhhh don't give them any ideas.

Because you know with the way Bono's talking he just might go "LMFAO! They're TOTALLY relevant!"

I think Bruno Mars would be MUCH worse.

...or maybe not.

[imaginary friend]

*bump*

[kokedera]

There seems to have been increasing levels of criticism of the lyrics at least since Pop, or perhaps that's just an artifact of increasing internet use - as it got easier to publicly comment, etc. The instantaneous bashing of the lyrics on release is incredibly offensive to me and I hope Bono knows enough to ignore it and doesn't take it to heart or feel the undue weight of a need for weighty lyrics (he's more than made quota for a lifetime ). Thirty plus years in and I'm still struck on an almost daily basis by aspects I missed before.

I have no issue with considering lyric ideas from other contributors as long as Bono has final say on what's in, what's out etc. Isn't that in a way what he's doing with some of the allusions - pulling in a choice line or idea? Had to laugh at the recent "favorite lyrics" QOM result as at least three of them aren't Bono's words: "my body's now a begging bowl" - that's Leonard Cohen, "tried to drown my sorrows but my sorrows learned to swin" - that's Frida Kahlo, "a woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle" - purportedly Gloria Steinem, and that ignores the Bible references, and the paraphrases that make up a number of the other choices.

One of my favorite finds over the years is that "Conversation on a Barstool" on the Short Cuts soundtrack is a Bono & Edge composition, while Marianne Faithful has released the Bono only version, so you can see in a single non-dramatic example how they differ.

If they are concerned with reaching a younger demographic (sorry art is business) then common ground between a younger lyricist and himself might be great & fun. Bono is profoundly a hard worker or profoundly talented or some combination thereof, and whatever he feels works for him is fine with me, and I'll live with the words that come out as the final product quite a long time before I'll get negative or conclusory on them.

[satellitedog01]

Is there an OST version different from the Marianne Faithful version that's on Youtube? That's pretty horribly sung, even if deliberately so.

[kokedera]

Don't know what's on youtube. The one I know of is on her A Perfect Stranger - The Island Anthology, and the more generally known version is on the Short Cuts soundtrack (the film itself is part of the Criterion Collection).

[satellitedog01]

I have seen Short Cuts a couple of times, I generally like Altman's films, but I don't remember the track...

As for the Faithful version, here it is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ov_anEKPiAk

[Sugarcube]

what did Christy Moore contribute to "North and South of the River?"

Er, he co wrote it?

[Joan]

I would think that the final product should be everyones top priority and not squabbling over ego based ideas of who gets the credit.

The best possible U2 album is what we and they should be working towards and hoping for.

More and more people actually want to understand lyrics these days so I think that their importance should not be taken lightly.

Art is about saying something, a message, an idea and the beauty is always in the eyes of the beholder.

[Dali]

Bono has worked with lyrical co-writers before, but it was for those artist's albums. If the lyrical contributor is one of those, such as Zucchero or T Bone Burnett or Gavin Friday, that would be fine with me. They even could bring in somebody who is a well known figure with a history in rock lyric writing such as Grateful Dead's Robert Hunter or somebody with a likewise resume.

But please not a pop lyricist who is used to just writing cliches for the charts. Diane Warren should be a no-go and that's why Carl Falk should be as well. I had been shaking my head at the "news" they would be working with Falk.