Edge's Online Chat 10 Agustus 1997
<tom_mcmail> Hello everyone -
welcome to our MSN chat with the Edge!
<tom_mcmail> Are you
going to put out a live album or video from the tour?
<Edge> We
have no plans for an album as yet...we are putting together some
live tracks
that will probably be released with the next single...as one or
two CD's
we're putting out. There's no video planned, but we might try to
do something
on TV at the end of the tour. It will probably be a broadcast
on
TV.
<Tiempo> Are you going to make a
different setlist to places where you
hadn't been. (South America, South
Africa, etc ) ? We'd like you to play
some oldies too.
<Edge> The
intention would be to try to change things around...do a few
songs that we
haven't been to before.
<Aingeal> Does your love/need to
play live ever influence or even interfere
with what happens in the studio?
do you ever look at a song and wonder.
'how are we going to do this live?'
would you ever alter a song solely for
the reason of making it easier to
recreate on stage?
<Edge> We change songs alot when
we're playing them live - almost every song
is rearranged for live because it
demands a differnet approach. Some songs,
that becomes more changes, other
songs, like Staring at the Sun, we
stripped back to 2 acoustic guitars and 2
voices.
<tom_mcmail> Are you going to do
more acoustic stuff on the album or further
on the tour?
<Edge> I
think that pure acoustic arrangements have a place on a record, but
I have a
feeling that for us, if we were to go into an acoustic arrangement
it would
be for an entire record. We're interested in it, but it's
something that we
want to explore fully.
<pix> what's the next step after
Surrealism and Pop Art ?
<Edge> I think that it's too soon to
say where we're going next - it seems
that music, like art, is starting to
look back on itself. The 90's have
turned into a post modern period for
music, and we're going to try to go
where it leads us.
<U2AB> Do
you find it difficult composing songs on the road? Are you working
out any
new songs now, like you did on Zooropa?
<Edge> We're working on
new songs all the time...any days off, I take up the
guitar and use whatever
time off I have to work on some songs in hotel
rooms.
<Reno> Hi
Mr.Edge, this PopMart Tour seems to have an exuberant, well
thought out
theme, and yet I think its essence goes above people's head, so
what exactly
is PopMart?
<Edge> Popmart is just our way of
making sense of playing in big open air
stadiums -it's a big show and it's
really a setting as much as it a theme
for the concert. It's trying to be
humorous about the position we find
ourselves in as a big band playing big
stadiums...we don't want to make the
mistake of taking our position too
seriously. We take the music seriously,
but we're able to laugh at the sheer
commerical size of what we're
undertaking.
<MaryG> how do you feel
about fans putting your copyrighted material on
their web
pages??
<Edge> I don't have a problem with
music being on the internet, as long as
it's not resold because I don't
believe that music on the internet is bad
for music...I think it's okay for
music. To me, it's a bit like when
cassette tapes were first made available,
the music industry thought that
blank tapes would destroy the business
because people would be at home
churning out copies for their friends. I
think music on the internet is
going to work out as just another place for
people to discover new things.
<Host Kirsten> what's the U2-Willie
Nelson relationship?
<Edge> We recorded a track with
Willie Nelson that Bono and I recorded a few
years ago, called Slow Dancing.
He was in Dublin making a film and he
walked into the studio. We just cut the
song, it took 2 hours to record,
but at the right time for the right project,
it'll come up.
<sun> Can we expect you will do
again more small stadiums? Edge?
<Edge> We're happy playing big
venues right now because we've taken on that
challenge. I do like playing
smaller arenas and maybe for the next tour
we'll play smaller
venues.
<tom_mcmail> Are we going to hear
"Van Diemen's Land" in Dublin?
<Edge> I doubt it - I think that Van
Dieman's Land is a tune that I wrote
for Bono to sing - I ended up singing it
on the album because I was just
working it out, really. Although I like the
tune, I don't think I'll be
singing that one. I always thought Bono could
sing it better, but he never
got around to it.
<tom_mcmail> Were you shocked by the death of William Burroughs?
<Edge> I
was very surprised and saddened by his death - he seemed so full of
light
when we met him for the Last Night on Earth video. We'd met him
before and he
was always incredibly funny and smart and sharp and if I was
half as bright
as he was at his age, I'd be very happy.
<Aingeal> Edge you have
said in past interviews that you won't play a song
like "Bad" live because
you feel it has been played too much over the last
fifteen years. The same
could be said for Pride, yet you ARE playing
it...why?
<Edge> All
the songs we're playing in the show are songs that we feel we can
make sense
of in this tour, in Popmart. I wouldn't rule any old song out, I
feel we can
play any of our old songs, bur we've chosen the ones we have
because they
work - they make sense.
<brii> Edge - does anyone on the
crew/in the band ever read wire? Have you
figured out what it IS yet? And if
so, what do you think of it?
<Edge> I haven't read it
recently.
<MsTheEdge> Do you use the internet
on your own time for personal purposes?
<Edge> Occassionally, but
mostly just for email and what have you.
<Eric> Why haven't ya'll
played any Zooropa tunes on your tour yet and do
you plan on putting any
Zooropa tunes on the tour in the future?
<Edge> We might well, we
haven't made a decision not to, it's just we found
ourselves leaning towards
other tunes. We don't think about what album
something's come from, we just
figure out if it's going to make sense in
the context of what we're
doing.
<bonowannabe> Please tell us about
the oh so Spinal Tap moment when the
Lemon wouldn't open!
<Edge> It's
just funny for us - we knew that there was a chance that it
would happen at
some point on the tour. When it finally did, we couldn't
stop
laughing.
<Delaware_usa> Edge if you could
have personally witnessed one event in
history, what would you want to have
seen?
<Edge> I'm happy living right now
and seeing what I'm seeing - I wouldn't
have liked to have lived at any other
time.
<Mr_Jetlag> Do you find after a tour
when you hear the opening song on the
radio you get a tinggle like you're
about to go on stage?
<Edge> Yeah - it's a strange
sensation. You've heard of Pavlov's dog? I can
tell you it's all
true.
<Bonedog> Are worried about safety
in Belfast?
<Edge> No. Not at all. We're just
looking forward to a great show and a
great day.
<Gibigiane>
What do you think of Sojourner - the Mars Probe
<Edge> I'm
all in favor of Mars, I think Mars is a fantastic idea.
<ParadiseCowgirl> what's one of your favorite songs to perform live right
now? (asking
for someone who can't be here now)
<Edge> Right now, Please, because
we're having a lot of fun playing
different arrangement
ideas.
<Severian> What do you think of
bootlegged concerts?
<Edge> I have no problems with
bootlegs, I think, again, if people make
recordings and give them to their
friends - as long as people don't get
ripped off.
<Boogaloo>
what happend to your Gibson Explorer?
<Edge> It's actually just
on a long vacation, but it's still around.
<NYCGavin> What can you
tell us about your next single?
<Edge> It's gonna be finished in
another few days and we're going to be
giving it to the radio probably in
another 3-4 weeks and it's a new version
of Please.
<Candy>
where do you think you'd be if you weren't in u2 now?
<Edge>
Sitting at home. <laughs>
<KatrinaD>
Will there be anymore songs off future albums that you will be
singing lead
vocals?
<Edge> We actually have a very good
singer, so I don't know if I'll do any
more lead vocals, but
maybe.
<USTAY2> What is your most memorable
moment of the whole tour so far?
<Edge> I think the opening night,
and realizing that everything worked and
no one had been killed trying to get
out of the lemon and that we'd
remembered all the songs and that we hadn't
had a big argument...
<godpart3> Is the chemistry in the
band on a personal and professional level
still as strong as it was in 1977
or whatever?
<Edge> We're still getting on just
as well as we always have and everyone
does what I say, that's the important
thing.
<RENZO> Where is the coolest place
you've ever been in your travels with u2?
<Edge> The coolest place
- I've been to a lot of cool places along the way,
it's hard to say which is
the coolest. Currently, Tokyo is somewhere I'm
fascinated with because it's
so different to where I grew up, but it
changes, you know, I love
America.
<tom_mcmail> Will Brian Eno and/or
Daniel Lanois be involved in producing
future U2
albums???
<Edge> I hope we do end up working
with Brian and Danny again because
they're fantastic to work with. It would
depend on what record we were
trying to make was and what they were doing at
the time.
<Host Kirsten
says> have your parents ever been to a
show?
<Edge> They tend to come out a
couple of times every tour to have a laugh.
<Chia_Pet>How's it feel
to be getting older in a business that's
rough even when you're
young?
<Edge> I still feel like I'm 16 -
that's not a problem.
<Patrick_M>Rumor has it U2 recorded
over 30 songs for Pop.
However, only one brand new song has emerged - "Holy
Joe" so far on the
B-sides. What about the other songs? Will they ever hit
the surface?
<Edge> Yeah, they definitely will
along the way - we have to finish them
first.
<Wintermute> Any chance of collaborations with people like Bjork and
David
Bowie?
<Edge> We're always interested in a
new collaborator, but there's no plans
to work with either Bjork or
Bowie.
<Guggi> Any idea who will open up
for U2 on the third leg of the tour?
<Edge> We're still
listening to CD's and seeing who's available. We can't
really say just
yet.
<Host
Kirsten> what advice do you have for bands
just starting out?
<Edge> Write brilliant
songs.
<salome269> What keeps you motivated
for performing??
<Edge> Just playing every night with
Adam and Larry and Bono and the fact
that every show is different and every
time we play, there are new
discoveries.
<alison2> Edge, why did
all of you choose the Microsoft network for your
website?
<Edge> We
wanted to do something that was more ambitious than most other
websites. To
do that, we felt that we needed a partner and Microsoft
Network seemed like
the perfect partner for us to put this together with.
<USTAY2>
How do you manage to keep an exceptional relation ship within U2
for over 20
years?
<Edge> We met before we were a band,
so that helps everything.
<ParadiseCowgirl> edge, what's your
least favorite thing about touring?
<Edge> Coming home and having to
figure out how to live a regular life
again.
<metal> hi
edge, I'm pastry chef at the intercontinental in helsinki ..did
you get the
birthday cake me and steve made for you
<Edge> yes, it was
fantastic! Sorry I couldn't bring it with me.
<VON> Are U2's tours
actually going to get any bigger? Or are you going to
go back to smaller
venues
<Edge> I can't see them getting any
bigger...but we haven't decided what
we're going to do next
time.
<m_doughty> edge: what bands have
you been listening to lately?
<Edge> All kinds of stuff...I love
the Verve's new single...Fun Loving
Criminals, Nina Simone's early
recordings.
<tom_mcmail> And one last
question.... one more time - Edge - when you look
back on your life with U2
did you ever imagine you'd come this far and stay
in the business for so
long?
<Edge> Always hoped that we'd be
making great music for a few years, but I
never thought that we'd be still so
into it all after being together for
over a dozen years. We're still aiming
to make the perfect record. Stay in
touch - hopefully we'll see you along the
way -and thanks for tuning in.
<tom_mcmail> Thanks so much - this
has been great! See you all soon -we'll
be doing a chat with Adam Clayton
after the Dublin show!