The album, especially the new material, was excellent. Still some of their very best songs (All I Want Is You, Angel of Harlem, Desire, Hawkmoon, When Love Comes To Town, Love Rescue Me and God Part II) are found on there. Interestingly you can clearly hear the genesis for some of the Achtung Baby material in God Part II (The Fly and Mysterious Ways), so Bono is being a bit mischievous about the "ripping it up and starting again" statements.

The film though was an absolute piece of shite from beginning to end. The Graceland and Sun Studios bit showing them in a terrible terrible light.

The bits I took From the Sky Down was that it was still intriguing to see such a huge band coming off the back of multi million selling albums and huge tours having their confidence knocked so much by critical reception. To see these rock stars scratching around jamming for ideas clearly not knowing what route to take was enlightening to say the least. Fascinating to see Bono create "One" from a mishit chord when rehearsing Mysterious Ways.

...Rattle & Hum is the only U2 album I have any affection for (probably agree that the film is self important wallowing). There's a real sense of discovery and belief and depth to many of the new songs on it and I love the stripped down energy of it.

Almost everything they've done since - with a few highlights here and there - has been over-worked, over-layered stodge. And the self-importance has been ramped up along with the post-modernism/irony/what-have-you. It's just annoying. 'Mysterious Ways' just sounds leaden to me, while 'One' is dreary and musically bereft of any interest to my ears.

Just my opinion, of course.

I think most people have already made their mind up about U2 so they'll either avoid the film or take what they're predisposed to take from it. Unlike the recent George Harrison film, which deals with a dead person, we simply don't have that same time, distance and perspective on them - until they stop, they're still a work in progress.

I watched From The Sky Down and George Harrison's Living in the Material World.

Both were rather brilliant.

FTSD was a real refreshing look at U2,a band looking back at its peak, and, as it seemed to me anyway, shitting bricks whilst in rehearsal for Glastonbury.

I like U2. They were the band from Ireland that I grew up with, loved, hated, got sick of, and loved again.

For me, when things were 'slightly crap' in Ireland back in the day they were a band who made music my friends and I loved, who came from our city, made us proud and who made it seem that everything might not be so shitty after all.

Once they meant something to me because they were one of the bands that I invested in. Now they remind me of my youth and some great times and gigs. They don't perhaps connect with me as in the past but that probably is as it should be. I'm not 15-25 anymore.

FTSD was great in that it let you in on the band discovering something of themselves from 20 years ago and there was plenty of honesty about how they arrived at the junction in their career that took them to Achtung Baby and Zooropa.

Edge playing Love is Blindness on stage on his own, singing about the regret in the break up of his marriage was one of numerous touching moments.

Davis Guggenheim has given me a new perspective into the genesis of 'One' (which I still love and is not at all dreary to my ears) and 'Mysterious Ways' and how this in turn ended up saving the band.

I loved it.

I found it odd that they had a go at Rattle And Hum for being overly earnest, when From The Sky Down was also rather earnest. Their method of songwriting (Bono stumbling around for a melody whilst everyone else plays the same riff for hours) was also a strange revelation. Still, it's a great album and worth a watch.

More on this here:
http://www.wordmagazine.co.uk/content/u2-documentary-bbc1

The surprise to me was how deeply they felt that they had to change and how that feeling came just as strongly from (The) Edge as it did from Bono. I previously thought that this was the Bono Show and the others fell into line. They could have carried on in the same vein and still made squillions. They seem very self-aware, which is a side to them I like.

I guess I was one of those people that was unimpressed when they were trying to be all southern states down home authentic, trying to find the blues with BB King and T-Bone Burnett. I also thought the serious impact of (The) Edge's marriage breakdown on the whole group was quite touching, and points to the main reason why they have kept together i.e. their closeness beyond being in the same band.

What nearly stopped me watching was near the beginning with Bono saying that he has very little respect for musicians, but an enormous respect for music. He said something like "when the four of us are in a room, and music graces us with it's presence, it is an enormous privilege". It took me ages to uncurl my toes after that, but that's the way he is.

Never spewed forth on this subject but it's time to come clean.

I think Rattle and Hum is a gem of an album and I love most of Achtung Baby except One with is horrible.
I thought Zooropa was the best thing they've done and The Wanderer is the best song.

Anything before or since I genuinely cannot listen to.

Feels good to get that off my chest before the meet up with Uncle Monty tomorrow. (I still have no 'in' with Coldplay whose total output leave me cold except the Clocks riff)