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First Watch: U2 'Song For Someone'


UPDATE: This video is no longer available here.

Tomorrow, as a companion to U2's album Songs of Innocence, the band is releasing Films of Innocence, one video for each song on the album. But today we've got an early preview of the video for "Song for Someone," which shows the creation of a mural by the British painter Mode 2 in the town of Omagh in Northern Ireland. The video will be available here until 11 a.m. Eastern time on Tuesday, Dec. 9.

Omagh is a town with a history of violence between Britain and Northern Ireland, including a 1998 car bomb that killed 29 people. Watching this mural take shape, one can of spray paint at a time, is riveting.

The videos that make up Films of Innocence were produced by a creative agency in London known as MAD agency, and all feature urban artists creating work inspired by the political murals of Northern Ireland. Mode 2 told them about the challenges of making art out of the song he was given. "[I]nterpreting the lyrics that I had heard into a stand-alone narrative that would be made-to-fit for Omagh was a huge challenge in itself. However dark things may have been or may still be, in some isolated cases, I had to transform all the elements that I had into something that would somehow be positive and hopeful, though I also did not want to have everything seeming too literal."

The 10 other films for this project can be seen on various music sites now; they will be available for purchase on Tuesday.

"Every Breaking Wave"by Robin Rhode on Complex
"Cedarwood Road"by Maser on Dazed Digital
"Iris (Hold Me Close)" by Chloe Early on Dezeen
"The Troubles" by Todd James on Juxtapoz
"California (There Is No End To Love)" by D*Face on Nerdist
"Raised By Wolves" by Vhils on Nowness
"This Is Where You Can Find Me Now" by DALeast on Paper Magazine
"Volcano" by Ganzeer on Pitchfork
"Sleep Like a Baby" by ROA on Rolling Stone
"The Miracle (of Joey Ramone)" by Oliver Jeffers on Stereogum

U2 is also about to head out on a tour of indoor arenas. The band will play 22 pairs of shows in 19 cities. Ticket sales start today.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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In 1988, a determined Bob Boilen started showing up on NPR's doorstep every day, looking for a way to contribute his skills in music and broadcasting to the network. His persistence paid off, and within a few weeks he was hired, on a temporary basis, to work for All Things Considered. Less than a year later, Boilen was directing the show and continued to do so for the next 18 years.