Exciting U2 news today... How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb is expecting to enter the album charts at #1, making it their sixth #1 album. Furthermore, various sources are reporting sales totals in the neighborhood of 750,000 albums. This will be a record for U2 since the beginning of the SoundScan era, topping ATYCLB's 430,000 albums sold in the first week. In fact, HITS Daily Double is already showing sales of 495,252 albums with only 51.73% of outlets reporting. (That sounded like an election-night line, didn't it?)

Leave it to someone to frame these unprecedented sales figures in a negative light, though. An article on FoxNews has the headline U2 Hits No. 1, but Misses the Million Mark. So what? The only recent albums to sell a million copies in their first week are pop and rap, stuff like N*SYNC and Eminem. For any rock band to even approach that mark is impressive, let alone a rock band that's 25 years into the game.

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U2's performance last night was extraordinary -- a real reminder of the magic that happens when those four men take the stage together. "Vertigo" and "I Will Follow" were just on fire, but the real standout in my opinion was "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own." I've loved that song since my first listen, but hearing it live, and watching the passion with which Bono sang it, took it to a whole new level. The live version of "Sometimes" will go down as a true classic, in the esteemed company of "One" and "Where the Streets Have No Name." If there were any doubts, U2 have still got it! If you don't believe me, visit u2mp3s.com and download the songs from last night's show. (They also have video (.wmv) of each song.)

It's been widely reported that U2's next tour will start in March, in Florida, and include two 35-date trips through the US, with a European tour in between. Last night's show only has me more determined to go (and go more than once, and get good seats). Luckily, U2 are starting a new official fanclub whose members will get advance ticketing rights. Sign me up!

So it might have been a slightly lopsided compromise... I'm just glad that Auburn decided to show up for the second half of the game.

This is what I love about U2 Log. They always come through with the really good stuff. Like this hot tip on a secret U2 show in Washington Square Park on Monday. Alas, NYC is a little too far on such short notice, even for this U2 fanatic. I did, however, pass along the tip to the only person I know in New York. If you go Andrea, I will be so jealous.

War Eagle! The Auburn-Georgia game Saturday was glorious. I couldn't put it better than ESPN's Gene Wojciechowski, who said "Auburn did everything but take a rolled-up newspaper to the Bulldogs." Jason Campbell, Ronnie Brown, and Carnell Williams were all amazing. I sure am going to miss these guys next year since they're all graduating. My only hope now is that enough AP and Coach's poll voters get on the Auburn bandwagon to send them to the Orange Bowl. They absolutely deserve it. They did manage to tie Oklahoma in the AP poll and are just two points behind OU in the Coach's poll.

Next week, bring on the Crimson Tide! They've got a good defense so it will be another good game!

Our sweet little Bailey was a ladybug for Halloween... this photo and more on the Bailey Photo Gallery. Big written update on Bailey coming soon...

"At this stage of our careers, it would be easy for us to make something quirky," says Bono. "The challenge is to be bigger and bolder and better -- to make records the whole world will listen to."

There's also a challenge facing music fans and critics alike when listening to How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb: Is it good enough for U2 to be U2 and create good songs in their signature style or must they continue the Achtung Baby-Zooropa-Pop trajectory of constant reinvention and pushing the limits of their sound? Your answer to these questions will probably have a lot to do with your reaction to the new album. I'll break it down, song by song.

1. "Vertigo"
   Everyone has heard this one. It's a great rock song with a bit of an old-school punk vibe. The Edge is on fire, and the storyline of temptation (featuring a creepy MacPhisto comeback in the bridge) and submission to God makes it a nice "more than meets the eye" U2 single (a la Discotheque).
2. "Miracle Drug"
   A slow starting track that builds into a powerful anthem. It may have the best bridge on the album. The Edge has a slide guitar solo while Bono whispers "God I need your help tonight." Just then, Edge comes in with a guitar solo that sounds like lightning from heaven and he sings this verse:

   Beneath the noise, below the din
   I hear your voice, it's whispering
   In science and in medicine
   "I was a stranger, you took me in"

   It's so good it gives me chills. This is really one of the finest moments on the album. I cannot wait to see this live.
3. "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own
   Bono's tribute to his late father is a powerful ballad, with a stunning vocal moment as he asks "Can you hear me when I sing? You're the reason I sing." The music is fairly simple but builds as it goes and fits perfectly with the tone of the lyrics. This was the song I was anticipating most, and it definitely met my high expectations -- an early favorite.
4. "Love and Peace or Else"
   NME called it "glam, camp, and silly" but still loved it. It definitely stands out musically, as it is more of a blues-rock song and starts out with an industrial sound that would've fit perfectly on Achtung Baby. Bono's vocals are great on this song, from his opening lines of "Lay it down, lay it down" to the way he sings the word "Zion." It's one of my lesser favorites on the album, but it's still quite good.
5. "City of Blinding Lights"
   My wife's favorite song thus far, and destined to be a concert favorite. The inspiration for the chorus came from U2's first show in NYC after September 11th, as the bright white lights came up at the beginning of "Where the Streets Have No Name," and that association is evident musically. A very very good, very very U2 song.
6. "All Because of You"
   This is a great rock song, again with kind of an old-school vibe to it. It's solid throughout, but the guitar solo, Bono's primal scream, and the vocal delivery of the bridge really push it from good to great.
7. "A Man and A Woman"
   Wow! This song is the biggest surprise of the album. It's a smooth love song with a really different, yet still distinctly U2 sound. Very cool.
8. "Crumbs From Your Table"
   Good, solid song, in the modern U2 rock vibe of "Walk On" or "Electrical Storm." Nice lyrics, especially the chorus. Great vocals on the chorus as well.
9. "One Step Closer"
   Another wow! This has been mentioned in some reviews as a low point, but I think it's stunning. It's a very low-key song, minimal in style, but the atmosphere it creates both in word and music is really something. I love the slide guitar. Bono's vocal delivery is a bit off his beaten path and I love it. Definitely a favorite, and it will probably be the "Running to Stand Still" or "The First Time" from this album -- the hidden gem, the underrated fan favorite, you get the idea.
10. "Original of the Species"
    What a great pop song, in the best possible sense of the word. The theme is innocence, much like in the verses of "City of Blinding Lights" and Bono makes it a stirring, sing-a-long anthem.
11. "Yahweh"
    The closing prayer of the album, and a good one at that. Great lyrics, and the music (think "Falling at Your Feet" meets "One Tree Hill") is inspiring. One of U2's best closing tracks ever, and it would make a great concert closer.

So How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb is full of great music and the heart I've always loved about U2. Is it "bigger and bolder and better?" Yes it is. And that's good enough for me.

Not some elitist reviewer's first listen, my first listen. It came this morning around 9:00. I was browsing Interference and became probably one of the first few hundred people to download U2's new album after it leaked online early this morning. So, what do I think? It's one of U2's finest, simple as that. Everyone in the band was at the top of their form. My early favorites are "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own" (truly an epic) and "Yahweh" (which is a beautiful prayer set to music that's a cross between "Falling at Your Feet" and "One Tree Hill.") An easy 9/10 album in my opinion. More later...