U2 Get in Bed With Apple

Following the ubiquitous images of U2 gyrating to their new single "Vertigo" in a TV spot for Apple's iPod and iTunes, the band and the corporation are set to announce that they've partnered to release a special-edition iPod pre-loaded with U2 music this fall.

The unique black iPod will be preprogrammed with the band's upcoming album, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, as well as a greatest-hits mix of tracks from their catalog. With these added perks, this version of the music player will cost $30 more than the original.

"Vertigo" is currently the top seller on the iTunes online music store -- ahead of new tracks by superstars Eminem, Usher and Destiny's Child -- breaking the U.S. record for digital download sales in a single week.

This marks the first time the band has partnered with a major corporation, going so far as to meld their performance of a new single with the look and feel of that company's existing ad campaign.

• 
  MUSIC 100 Greatest Debut Albums
• 
  MOVIES 'Star Trek' Is Crazy Good
• 
  TV 10 Shows to Watch This Summer
• 
  POLITICS No Price Big Banks Can't Fix

Song Stories

“Too Close”

Next | 1998

Next was formed in Minneapolis when the uncle of Terry "T-Low" and Raphael "Tweety" Brown, who was a gospel choir director, introduced the brothers to Robert Lavelle "R.L." Huggar. Sounds of Blackness singer Ann Nesby groomed the R&B group before handing them over to Naughty by Nature's KayGee, who wrote and produced "Too Close." The idea for the song was sparked "from a conversation we had with several girls at a nightclub," explained T-Low. "It's talking about the club scene, with guys getting out of hand and the female telling him to back up, asking, 'What are you doing?'" 

More Song Stories entries »

Twitter