U2's Latest Good, Not Great

Band's 12th studio effort is due March 3

(NEWSER) - U2’s hotly anticipated new album is finally on the horizon: No Line on the Horizon is set for release March 3, E! Online reports. The band delayed the release to polish the songs and add two tracks. Although U2 worked with its “usual suspects,” guitarist the Edge says the new release “doesn’t sound like anything we’ve done before.” More»

Reviews of new album surprised by candor about Guy Ritchie divorce

(NEWSER) - Madonna is back. Her latest album MDNA, is at once a confessional look at her divorce from Guy Ritchie and a bouncy dance album. Critical reaction is divided pretty starkly as well. Here's some of what people are saying:

• "It’s a bipolar collection that pumps out effervescent electronic pop before making way for a contentious personal agenda," writes Jon Pareles of the New York Times . Still, it's "less arty and more determinedly poppy" than Confessions on a Dance Floor. "Don't expect vulnerability. The lyrics insist there are no regrets," and the songs stick to the "unvarying, superhuman pulse of electronic dance music."

Usher rips his pants, Bono sings opera, the usual

(NEWSER) - In perhaps a case of history repeating itself, a blonde bombshell serenaded a notoriously libidinous Democratic president last night: But this time it was Lady Gaga sending up Bill Clinton, so things wouldn't have been complete without some extra raunch and an F-bomb. Appearing at last night's "A Decade of Difference" concert in salute of the William J. Clinton Foundation, Gaga told the crowd, "Tonight I thought we'd all get caught up in a little Bill romance," later telling the former prez, "I love you and your hot wife," before demanding that "Billary" "sit back down where you belong in the Oval Office with those high heels on." Finally: "If someone had told me so many years ago that I'd be doing that right in front of you ... I would have given a good American f**k you." Other highlights from the star-studded show, as per the Hollywood Reporter and E! Online: More»

Glastonbury demonstrators say group avoids taxes at home

(AP) - Activists say they plan a major protest during U2's performance at England's Glastonbury festival today, accusing the group of dodging tax taxes in Ireland. Bono "is well known for his anti-poverty campaigning," but has avoided paying Irish taxes at a time when the country desperately needs money, says a member of the group Art Uncut. Bono, guitarist The Edge, and U2's other members—bassist Adam Clayton and drummer Larry Mullen—are among Ireland's wealthiest residents. More»

U2 stars Bono and the Edge discuss firing Julie Taymor

(NEWSER) - Bono and the Edge aren’t exactly pleased with how Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark has worked out. In a blistering interview with the New York Times , the U2 leaders say they’re unhappy with the process and discuss their falling out with Julie Taymor, who was ousted in March. “If we thought it would take this long, there is not a chance on earth we’d have done it,” Bono says. More»