One of our poll questions during the month of December asked @U2 readers to choose their favorite U2 Christmas song -- either "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" from 1987, or "I Believe In Father Christmas" from 2008. With just under 2,400 fans voting, the results are in and clear: Your favorite is "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" by about a 2-to-1 margin. The graphic below has the full details.

Be sure to vote in our new poll question on atu2.com, which asks for your grade on the U22 song list.

Paul Oakenfold is a name familiar to many U2 fans. He has been remixing U2 since the early '90s. He also toured with U2 during the Zoo TV tour and would spin tracks before the concert. Back in early 2009 he started producing a weekly podcast titled The Perfecto Podcast, which was retitled in 2010 to become the Planet Perfecto podcast. Each week he features a mix of current songs and older tracks, which can be found on the Internet, as well as broadcast on some radio stations.

His first podcast of 2012, episode 62, featured a relatively new mix of "Where The Streets Have No Name," called the "Joyriders Mash Up." It is the 13th track found in the podcast, or you can find the individual track on Soundcloud.  For those who enjoy remixes, it's worth a listen. For those who don't enjoy remixes, don't worry, this isn't a case of a new U2 single to go out and buy. This remix has not been officially released by the band. It's a third-party remix of the track, and even though Oakenfold has been playing it, that doesn't mean it has been released by the band.

Oakenfold's podcasts have been a source of non-official mixes for some time now. Episode 7 of the Planet Perfecto podcast featured the "Mat Zo Remix" of "Beautiful Day." There is no U2 included in other episodes of Planet Perfecto. Episode 48 of The Perfecto Podcast featured "I'll Go Crazy (Christopher Lawrence Club Bootleg)"; episode 88 featured "Magnificent (Club Mix)"; and episode 29 featured "With Or Without You (Mash-Up)." "Magnificent (Adam White Remix)" was featured on nine podcasts in 2009 (episodes 11, 14-15, 19-21, 24-25 and 27). None of these mixes has been officially released through U2's label, but that's not stopping them from being played in the clubs, and in some cases on the radio.

Thanks to Mary C. for reminding me about the podcasts again. Sometimes I enjoy a good remix to bring out new aspects of a song.

Once again, those tending to the Über Edition Achtung Baby site have updated the content. You will now see they have made available the Director's version of From The Sky Down. The version of From The Sky Down included with the Uber Edition was an edited form of the documentary, and several scenes were missing. A full version of From The Sky Down, titled the "Director's Cut," was released in December in most areas and will be released Jan. 24 in the U.S. Now those who have purchased the Über box set with the edited version can watch the entire movie as the director intended. They have not included a download link, unfortunately, so be prepared to watch it from the website in a relatively low quality.

I love that there are continued updates to this site that you could access when purchasing the Über Edition of Achtung Baby. However, I do wish they would include a place to register an email address so you can be notified when the site is updated. Thank you, Mike, for pointing out to me that this video was now included; otherwise I might never have noticed.

I spent a good chunk of December and January packing up one apartment and moving to another. Every time I move I question why I feel the need to collect U2 media. Does anyone really need 17 copies of The Joshua Tree in various formats? How do you fit all this into boxes? Who is carrying all that back-breaking vinyl?

The answer to the last question? Me. Even though I hired professional movers, and had friends helping me at other times, the collector in me would not allow anyone else to move my U2 collection. I packed it with care. I labeled it so I knew what was where. Honestly, I took more care packing my collection than many other things that were probably more fragile. I waited until there was a day no one else was around to help me move so I didn't have to explain to anyone why they weren't allowed to touch those particular boxes.

I know some of you are now nodding your heads and saying, "I know the feeling."

I should rip all the CDs, scan the covers and get rid of the physical media, but instead I seem to just find reasons to buy more. A recent trip to the U.K. and I came back with yet another copy of Rattle And Hum because the artwork was a little different; in this case it has the little "Island Rainbow" on the spine that the Canadian editions never did. Friends are slowly learning when they get rid of their own media, I'm usually more than happy to take anything U2 related off their hands.

Over the years I've managed to walk away from collecting other things and to sell off other collected goods, but somehow the U2 collection always escapes being dismantled. We will see what the next move brings. As I said, this time I'm not doing that much carrying again.

Looks like there was a formal single released for "Rise Above 1" from the Spider-Man musical featuring Reeve Carney with Bono and The Edge. The website of the musical is selling an actual single, with artwork similar to that which came with the song when purchased on iTunes. The accompanying photo shows the single packaged in a jewel case. The promotional CD that was released in the fall did not include artwork.

I got excited to see an actual physical single. (You know, so I'll have more to move the next time!) That excitement quickly fled when I looked into buying a copy and having it shipped to Canada. Five dollars to buy the single is reasonable, but I didn't like the $$27 for shipping. Shipping that is five times the price of the CD? Unless it's arriving the next day (it's not), I'm not interested.

For those wondering, I am told the CD single has only the title track.

Finally, all this investigation into unofficial remixes got me listening to one of my favorites. In 1997 a group called Jeep Grrlz was signed to Island after their unofficial mix of "Wire" was getting a lot of club play. Island initially investigated legal action, but signed the band instead and released the song as a promotional single.

© @U2, 2012.

After a couple extensions of the voting deadline, U2.com has revealed the final list of songs to be included on U22 -- the latest annual fan club release. The songs, which appear to be listed in order of vote totals, are as follows:

1. Bad
2. Where The Streets Have No Name
3. Magnificent
4. One
5. Ultraviolet
6. Even Better Than The Real Thing
7. With Or Without You
8. Beautiful Day
9. City Of Blinding Lights
10. The Unforgettable Fire
11. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
12. All I Want Is You/Love Rescue Me  
13. Moment Of Surrender
14. Until The End Of The World
15. The Fly
16. One Tree Hill
17. Stay (Faraway, So Close)
18. Walk On
19. Zooropa
20. Elevation
21. Out Of Control
22. Mysterious Ways

U2.com says the tracks are "now being mixed and sequenced," which means this isn't necessarily the order they'll be on the final 2-CD set.

No word yet on when U22 will begin shipping.

With over 7,000 items in our news archives, it's a safe bet you haven't read all of them! This month we continue our look at 1987.

Glory Days, Spin

As the child of a mixed marriage (his father's Catholic and his mother, now dead, was Protestant), Bono would, in fact, have a wide nonsectarian appeal. This was apparently well understood by the Vatican, which recently invited him to meet the Pope. Bono said sure -- as long as there was no publicity. "But that's the whole point!" declared a confused Vatican official. "In that case," Bono replied, "he can join the queue with the rest of the punters."

Fame, Fortune and Frank Sinatra, Propaganda

Edge: "One got the feeling that the whole of Las Vegas was desperately wanting to be taken seriously, as a proper city.... They were just delighted that a band of U2's credibility would go and play there. Though actually we were there precisely for the reason that they were pretending didn't exist."

U2 Give Themselves Away, Musician

Adam: "There's a weird process which I've just begun to understand. Particularly when you get the letters from fifteen-year-olds. They ask questions as if you're the second line of defense for their heads.... They're trying to contact you to see if you can enlighten them or be responsible for them and, of course, you can't. But when you read a letter, you think, can I reply? Do I shatter this person's illusions? Do I say, I'm just a normal guy?"

[Ed. note: This is the 34th in a "U2 Lists" series, where @U2 staffers pick a topic and share their personal rankings on something U2-related.]

The Beatles had their yeah, yeah, yeahs; Nirvana, Kurt Cobain's guttural screams. But U2? They've got something none of the others can replicate: the Bono Howl.

The signature Bono Howl is composed of pain, agony, distress, arousal and unabashed joy. What's so magical about it is that it can start with any one of the emotions just listed, and then morph into the others by the end. Or not.

There are no rules about the length or placement of the Bono Howl, and not every U2 song is blessed with one of these explosions of emotion. In fact, they're somewhat rare, and like most elements of U2's music, are better experienced live.

My list below is the Top 5 occasions of the Howl that I feel significantly change the landscape of the song and showcase Bono's brilliant voice. Sing it with me!

5. Fast Cars (0:00)

Right out of the gate this one is great – Bono's howl here is a mix of fear and warning that melds seamlessly right into pleasure. You know from the get-go that you're in for an emotionally charged thrill ride, and the howl is what sets the tone for the entire song. I was lucky enough to see this tune live in Madison Square Garden back in 2005 and it felt like the entire arena full of people erupted into a communal tango at the start. The howl at the end (though not as dramatic) gives it a nice, full-circle feel.

4. All I Want Is You (3:27)

This is the only song on the list that features an integrated howl, woven into the words of the song. But it's so powerful I'd be remiss to omit it from the bunch. The slow burn of this one, when let's face it, Bono's voice was in his absolute prime, only causes the tension to build. The passion behind the story he's telling -- of a complicated love that can't be realized -- commences with a powerful crescendo of a howl, perfectly placed within the word "you." It's repeated until The Edge's guitar seamlessly carries the note to the climax of the song and brings it back down for a peaceful end, as the violins take over. Absolute sonic genius.

3. Electrical Storm (William Orbit Mix) (3:16)

Again, part of the build to the howl is the quiet way in which this song begins. Our hero talks of his love being in his mind "all of the time" and by the time he talks of the rain "washing away" their bad luck, he's had all that he can take. He erupts into the howl with fierce abandon and then pleads his case for their love to return. It's easily the greatest point of the song and almost allows us to forget the cheesy lyrics that happen right before it appears.

2. Fez Being Born (1:36)

Before the 360 tour began, I had fantasies of the band opening each show with this song. I thought it was perfect -- they could extend the dreamy introduction to give all four men time to reach the stage, then Bono could let out an epic wail as he rose from underground. Four, short, perfect wails, to be exact. I got goose bumps just thinking about it. Too bad it never came true, but I still have hope for future tours (especially since one of the songs they did open with was a couple decades old). Plus, it makes a fantastic alarm clock song.

1. With Or Without You (3:03)

This song is such a staple of pop culture your memories of it may be triggered by various appearances in the past: a penultimate episode of the sitcom Friends; a hilarious bit in the sitcom The Office (American version); a key portion of the plot in the French thriller Tell No One ... the list goes on. However you remember the song, my guess is that the Bono Howl is undoubtedly the highlight. Broken into three parts, the glory of this soul-bearing sound illustrates every word that he's spoken throughout the song. His hands are tied. He's waited on a bed of nails. His body is bruised. Bono himself described the howl in U2 By U2, though he called it an "Aah-aah," saying it was the release of the tension and "That is what giving yourself away is, musically." Indeed.

© @U2/Kokkoris, 2012.

[Ed. note: This is the 34th in a "U2 Lists" series, where @U2 staffers pick a topic and share their personal rankings on something U2-related.]

The Beatles had their yeah, yeah, yeahs; Nirvana, Kurt Cobain's guttural screams. But U2? They've got something none of the others can replicate: the Bono Howl.

The signature Bono Howl is composed of pain, agony, distress, arousal and unabashed joy. What's so magical about it is that it can start with any one of the emotions just listed, and then morph into the others by the end. Or not.

There are no rules about the length or placement of the Bono Howl, and not every U2 song is blessed with one of these explosions of emotion. In fact, they're somewhat rare, and like most elements of U2's music, are better experienced live.

My list below is the Top 5 occasions of the Howl that I feel significantly change the landscape of the song and showcase Bono's brilliant voice. Sing it with me!

5. Fast Cars (0:00)

Right out of the gate this one is great – Bono's howl here is a mix of fear and warning that melds seamlessly right into pleasure. You know from the get-go that you're in for an emotionally charged thrill ride, and the howl is what sets the tone for the entire song. I was lucky enough to see this tune live in Madison Square Garden back in 2005 and it felt like the entire arena full of people erupted into a communal tango at the start. The howl at the end (though not as dramatic) gives it a nice, full-circle feel.

4. All I Want Is You (3:27)

This is the only song on the list that features an integrated howl, woven into the words of the song. But it's so powerful I'd be remiss to omit it from the bunch. The slow burn of this one, when let's face it, Bono's voice was in his absolute prime, only causes the tension to build. The passion behind the story he's telling -- of a complicated love that can't be realized -- commences with a powerful crescendo of a howl, perfectly placed within the word "you." It's repeated until The Edge's guitar seamlessly carries the note to the climax of the song and brings it back down for a peaceful end, as the violins take over. Absolute sonic genius.

3. Electrical Storm (William Orbit Mix) (3:16)

Again, part of the build to the howl is the quiet way in which this song begins. Our hero talks of his love being in his mind "all of the time" and by the time he talks of the rain "washing away" their bad luck, he's had all that he can take. He erupts into the howl with fierce abandon and then pleads his case for their love to return. It's easily the greatest point of the song and almost allows us to forget the cheesy lyrics that happen right before it appears.

2. Fez Being Born (1:36)

Before the 360 tour began, I had fantasies of the band opening each show with this song. I thought it was perfect -- they could extend the dreamy introduction to give all four men time to reach the stage, then Bono could let out an epic wail as he rose from underground. Four, short, perfect wails, to be exact. I got goose bumps just thinking about it. Too bad it never came true, but I still have hope for future tours (especially since one of the songs they did open with was a couple decades old). Plus, it makes a fantastic alarm clock song.

1. With Or Without You (3:03)

This song is such a staple of pop culture your memories of it may be triggered by various appearances in the past: a penultimate episode of the sitcom Friends; a hilarious bit in the sitcom The Office (American version); a key portion of the plot in the French thriller Tell No One ... the list goes on. However you remember the song, my guess is that the Bono Howl is undoubtedly the highlight. Broken into three parts, the glory of this soul-bearing sound illustrates every word that he's spoken throughout the song. His hands are tied. He's waited on a bed of nails. His body is bruised. Bono himself described the howl in U2 By U2, though he called it an "Aah-aah," saying it was the release of the tension and "That is what giving yourself away is, musically." Indeed.

(c) @U2/Kokkoris, 2012

[Ed. note: This is the 34th in a "U2 Lists" series, where @U2 staffers pick a topic and share their personal rankings on something U2-related.]

The Beatles had their yeah, yeah, yeahs; Nirvana, Kurt Cobain's guttural screams. But U2? They've got something none of the others can replicate: the Bono Howl.

The signature Bono Howl is composed of pain, agony, distress, arousal and unabashed joy. What's so magical about it is that it can start with any one of the emotions just listed, and then morph into the others by the end. Or not.

There are no rules about the length or placement of the Bono Howl, and not every U2 song is blessed with one of these explosions of emotion. In fact, they're somewhat rare, and like most elements of U2's music, are better experienced live.

My list below is the Top 5 occasions of the Howl that I feel significantly change the landscape of the song and showcase Bono's brilliant voice. Sing it with me!

5. Fast Cars (0:00)

Right out of the gate this one is great – Bono's howl here is a mix of fear and warning that melds seamlessly right into pleasure. You know from the get-go that you're in for an emotionally charged thrill ride, and the howl is what sets the tone for the entire song. I was lucky enough to see this tune live in Madison Square Garden back in 2005 and it felt like the entire arena full of people erupted into a communal tango at the start. The howl at the end (though not as dramatic) gives it a nice, full-circle feel.

4. All I Want Is You (3:27)

This is the only song on the list that features an integrated howl, woven into the words of the song. But it's so powerful I'd be remiss to omit it from the bunch. The slow burn of this one, when let's face it, Bono's voice was in his absolute prime, only causes the tension to build. The passion behind the story he's telling -- of a complicated love that can't be realized -- commences with a powerful crescendo of a howl, perfectly placed within the word "you." It's repeated until The Edge's guitar seamlessly carries the note to the climax of the song and brings it back down for a peaceful end, as the violins take over. Absolute sonic genius.

3. Electrical Storm (William Orbit Mix) (3:16)

Again, part of the build to the howl is the quiet way in which this song begins. Our hero talks of his love being in his mind "all of the time" and by the time he talks of the rain "washing away" their bad luck, he's had all that he can take. He erupts into the howl with fierce abandon and then pleads his case for their love to return. It's easily the greatest point of the song and almost allows us to forget the cheesy lyrics that happen right before it appears.

2. Fez Being Born (1:36)

Before the 360 tour began, I had fantasies of the band opening each show with this song. I thought it was perfect -- they could extend the dreamy introduction to give all four men time to reach the stage, then Bono could let out an epic wail as he rose from underground. Four, short, perfect wails, to be exact. I got goose bumps just thinking about it. Too bad it never came true, but I still have hope for future tours (especially since one of the songs they did open with was a couple decades old). Plus, it makes a fantastic alarm clock song.

1. With Or Without You (3:03)

This song is such a staple of pop culture your memories of it may be triggered by various appearances in the past: a penultimate episode of the sitcom Friends; a hilarious bit in the sitcom The Office (American version); a key portion of the plot in the French thriller Tell No One ... the list goes on. However you remember the song, my guess is that the Bono Howl is undoubtedly the highlight. Broken into three parts, the glory of this soul-bearing sound illustrates every word that he's spoken throughout the song. His hands are tied. He's waited on a bed of nails. His body is bruised. Bono himself described the howl in U2 By U2, though he called it an "Aah-aah," saying it was the release of the tension and "That is what giving yourself away is, musically." Indeed.

(c) @U2/Kokkoris, 2012

[Ed. note: This is the 34th in a "U2 Lists" series, where @U2 staffers pick a topic and share their personal rankings on something U2-related.]

The Beatles had their yeah, yeah, yeahs; Nirvana, Kurt Cobain's guttural screams. But U2? They've got something none of the others can replicate: the Bono Howl.

The signature Bono Howl is composed of pain, agony, distress, arousal and unabashed joy. What's so magical about it is that it can start with any one of the emotions just listed, and then morph into the others by the end. Or not.

There are no rules about the length or placement of the Bono Howl, and not every U2 song is blessed with one of these explosions of emotion. In fact, they're somewhat rare, and like most elements of U2's music, are better experienced live.

My list below is the Top 5 occasions of the Howl that I feel significantly change the landscape of the song and showcase Bono's brilliant voice. Sing it with me!

5. Fast Cars (0:00)

Right out of the gate this one is great – Bono's howl here is a mix of fear and warning that melds seamlessly right into pleasure. You know from the get-go that you're in for an emotionally charged thrill ride, and the howl is what sets the tone for the entire song. I was lucky enough to see this tune live in Madison Square Garden back in 2005 and it felt like the entire arena full of people erupted into a communal tango at the start. The howl at the end (though not as dramatic) gives it a nice, full-circle feel.

4. All I Want Is You (3:27)

This is the only song on the list that features an integrated howl, woven into the words of the song. But it's so powerful I'd be remiss to omit it from the bunch. The slow burn of this one, when let's face it, Bono's voice was in his absolute prime, only causes the tension to build. The passion behind the story he's telling -- of a complicated love that can't be realized -- commences with a powerful crescendo of a howl, perfectly placed within the word "you." It's repeated until The Edge's guitar seamlessly carries the note to the climax of the song and brings it back down for a peaceful end, as the violins take over. Absolute sonic genius.

3. Electrical Storm (William Orbit Mix) (3:16)

Again, part of the build to the howl is the quiet way in which this song begins. Our hero talks of his love being in his mind "all of the time" and by the time he talks of the rain "washing away" their bad luck, he's had all that he can take. He erupts into the howl with fierce abandon and then pleads his case for their love to return. It's easily the greatest point of the song and almost allows us to forget the cheesy lyrics that happen right before it appears.

2. Fez Being Born (1:36)

Before the 360 tour began, I had fantasies of the band opening each show with this song. I thought it was perfect -- they could extend the dreamy introduction to give all four men time to reach the stage, then Bono could let out an epic wail as he rose from underground. Four, short, perfect wails, to be exact. I got goose bumps just thinking about it. Too bad it never came true, but I still have hope for future tours (especially since one of the songs they did open with was a couple decades old). Plus, it makes a fantastic alarm clock song.

1. With Or Without You (3:03)

This song is such a staple of pop culture your memories of it may be triggered by various appearances in the past: a penultimate episode of the sitcom Friends; a hilarious bit in the sitcom The Office (American version); a key portion of the plot in the French thriller Tell No One ... the list goes on. However you remember the song, my guess is that the Bono Howl is undoubtedly the highlight. Broken into three parts, the glory of this soul-bearing sound illustrates every word that he's spoken throughout the song. His hands are tied. He's waited on a bed of nails. His body is bruised. Bono himself described the howl in U2 By U2, though he called it an "Aah-aah," saying it was the release of the tension and "That is what giving yourself away is, musically." Indeed.

(c) @U2/Kokkoris, 2012

We've basically been playing Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego? this week, but with Bono as the main character instead. And it turns out, Bono's practically been on tour in Africa for the past week. Here's what we've been able to figure out about yer man's travels.

January 7, 2012 - around this date, Bono was in Ghana with Jeffrey Sachs and others involved in the ongoing humanitarian work in Africa. Bono visited schools and hospitals/clinics. John Mulholland of The Observer was along and wrote about some of the trip today. There's also a matching photo album from The Observer, and a couple photos include Bono.

Around this time, Bono and his crew also met with visiting U.S. senators, and there's more about that on The ONE Campaign's blog.

January 10 - Bono, Ali and a man named Renzo Rosso (founder of fashion brand Diesel) were in Gulu, Uganda, to visit the offices of Mend, an organization that sells fashion bags made by local women. Mend posted on Facebook about Bono singing "Amazing Grace" to a seamstress named Grace, and Mend later posted a few photos: here, here, here and here.

January 13 - Bono and Ali attended the Festival du Music in Timbuktu, Mali. (see photo above) This article (in French) explains that security was high at the festival because of al-Qaida activity in the area (tourists were kidnapped and killed in November). The article's Google translation also says that Bono appeared on stage with the African band Tinariwen, though it's not clear if he sang or just spoke to the crowd. Here are some more photos from the festival.

UPDATE: This article (also in French) does specifically say that Bono sang a song at the Desert Festival with Tinariwen.

UPDATE #2: According to Afropop, Bono sang a 15-minute song with Tinariwen and Bassekou Koyate. The Telegraph has some brief video that includes Bono singing with Tinariwen as well as enjoying the festival in the crowd.

UPDATE #3: Via @scatterolight, here's another video with footage from the ORTM TV channel.

UPDATE #4: Here's more video from Bono's performance, this one from an audience member.

Almost three months after voting commenced for U22, U2.com is set to finally make official the results within the next few days. I hope the hype is worth it, but I'm bracing for the fan community's feedback. Regardless of the result, over 7,000 U2.com subscribers worldwide participated in the voting. Fan-picked, band-approved. Not too shabby.

The future of publishing appears to be upon us. Over the holidays, I was given An Unauthorized Guide To U2: An Overview Of The Band, edited by Juliette Hall "from high quality Wikipedia articles." The reason why this book intrigued me was because of what the back cover stated:

The role of the book within our culture is changing. The change is brought on by new ways to acquire & use content, the rapid dissemination of information and real-time peer collaboration on a global scale. Despite these changes one thing is clear – "the book" in it's (sic) traditional form continues to play an important role in learning and communication. The book you are holding in your hands utilizes the unique characteristics of the Internet – relying on web infrastructure and collaborative tools to share and use resources in keeping with the characteristics of the medium (user-created, defying control, etc.) – while maintaing (sic) all the convenience and utility of a real book.

The end result is someone culled through Wikipedia articles, a variety of websites (ours included, along with U2wanderer.org, U2.com and a bevy of others) and took what was on the Web and put it into book form. Worse yet, it's a hasty cut-and-paste job that was in desperate need of copy editing. Even the direct quote above from the back cover has spelling and grammar errors.

These types of books are quickly hitting the marketplace. One author, Kevin Roebuck, has over 400 books sourced from Wikipedia.  The Wikimedia Foundation's terms of use states, "all users contributing to Wikimedia projects are required to grant broad permissions to the general public to re-distribute and re-use their contributions freely, as long as the use is attributed and the same freedom to re-use and re-distribute applies to any derivative works." What this boils down to is that if someone cites your work on Wikipedia, then it's up for grabs. Individual authors do not need to be given attribution if it's a website; only the website needs to be given credit.

I bring this up because there are many students in high school and college who will be writing papers during the next semester and beyond. I know many teachers and professors do not want to see Wikipedia listed as a source. If a book like Hall's is listed as a source, it's just masking itself as a real source instead of what it is -- a condensed version of Wikipedia. The sources are listed at the end of each chapter, and it's my hope that the real source and the author of the content will be footnoted by students and future authors.

Bono and Edge shared some thoughts on 2011 and the future of U2 in 2012 in a subscribers' special interview on U2.com this week. The main news was that they have three albums in the pipeline. While this makes fans excited in anticipation of what the band can put out this year, I'm of the mindset that these four men really need to take some time off and be the dads they are. While Bono's daughters are in their 20s, his sons are just hitting the tween years. Edge's five children range in age from 11 to 28. Larry's three children are between 11 and 16. Adam's got a toddler he's trying to keep up with. It's my feeling that they've given their fans so much, so it's only right that we give them the time and space to be with their families.

Paul McGuinness said about the Achtung Baby recording sessions in U2 By U2, "There were some U2 proverbs floating around. There's one in particular I remember: 'Domesticity is the enemy of rock 'n' roll.' How can you possibly play a great guitar solo if you are then going to pick up the kids from school or do the shopping? There was an idea that to make a good record you needed to get away from the wife and kids."

I don't know if that proverb still applies in 2012, but if it means that we need to wait a little longer for any one of the three albums they are working on, then so be it.

And finally ... it's the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday in the U.S. on Monday. Last year, I shared the many connections between U2 and Dr. King in an OTR column. The journey of equality truly does move on.

©@U2/Lawrence, 2012.