Noel Gallagher had a spirited discussion with Bono after the release of U2's last album Songs of Innocence about free music. The Irish band gave their album away with the help of Apple in September and have been dodging criticism ever since. Gallagher, who's prepping his second solo release, Chasing Yesterday, said in an interview with Q magazine that he would gladly charge more for his music.
Gallagher brought up an interesting point about the album during the conversation.
"No one has actually said the U2 album is a sh*t record or a great record," he said. "All they've talked about is the delivery. I think it's one of their better albums, and 'Every Breaking Wave' - what a tune. But the way it was delivered is not something I'd ever do. For me, albums are all about the anticipation. I don't want to live in a world where, 'Bang. There it is. Done.' Me and Bono have talked about this endlessly and agreed to disagree."
Rolling Stone gave the album five stars. Mojo gave it four and a half. Pitchfork and NME, on the other hand, gave the record below average reviews. But Gallagher is right. Discussions surrounding the album usually involve how it magically appeared on iTunes.
"I don't agree with free music. I'd be quite happy to put an extra pound on my new album. U2 can turn around now and say that 750m people, or whatever it is, have their new album on their phone. But I would rather 750 people had my album in their hearts. To me, that's fundamentally more important."
Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds will drop their new album in March, for a fee, of course. The band will hit the road soon after, making stops in Atlanta for the Shaky Knees Music Festival, New York for Governors Ball, and Toronto for Canadian Music Week.
Check out his singles "In the Heat of the Moment" and "Ballad of the Mighty I" featuring former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr (below).
