Grammy Preview: U2

We're reapplying for the job [of] best band in the world," U2's Bono said at the 2000 Grammys. In the past five years, fans have accepted that application and then some: That year's All That You Can't Leave Behind and 2004's How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb have been Grammy favorites -- and two of the best-received discs of the group's long career. U2's chief sonic architect, guitarist the Edge, called from his dressing room an hour before one of the final U.S. shows on the Vertigo 2005 Tour. "We're all just going to show up to the ceremony," he says. "And if we don't win, we'll try to look gracious."

You guys have more Grammys -- seventeen -- than any other rock band. Where do you keep all those trophies?

Half in the office, half in my house. Luckily enough, they're fairly small, so you don't have to worry about them taking up too much space. They fit nicely on the shelf, and they look cool. I haven't run out of room yet.

All That You Can't Leave Behind was seen as a huge comeback for U2. How hard was it to have to follow it up?

Coming off that tour carried us into the songwriting for How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb. It was always in the back of our minds as we were working on the songs -- playing them live. We really started becoming the band we are onstage. The best place to learn what your songs are like is to try them in front of the U2 crowd.

Atomic Bomb is even truer to the idea of All That You Can't Leave Behind: "four guys playing a room."

Yeah, that's probably a fair thing to say. We had been spending most of the Nineties trying to obliterate the core idea of what a band is. With this last couple of records, we've really found ourselves being inspired again by what a rock & roll band can be. Right now, a band playing guitar, bass and drums on a stage with very little else going on is a very fresh sound. Just looking at the other Grammy nominees -- the Killers, Franz Ferdinand, Coldplay, the Foo Fighters, Arcade Fire -- it feels like rock & roll is resurgent. And that's a really great feeling.

What was U2's greatest Grammy moment?

I think that first time winning Album of the Year [for The Joshua Tree, in 1987] is pretty hard to beat. That time was kind of the recognition of the other side of the music business, which doesn't really have its eye on radio or selling huge numbers of units. It just felt good -- it felt like a good move for everybody, everyone who was committed to this, who had lost themselves to this great form of rock & roll.

When you vote in the Grammys, do you generally vote for U2? Or is that bad luck?

It depends. I try to be as honest as I can -- often I would vote for U2, but not always.

Did you vote for U2 for Album of the Year this year, for instance?

Well, I haven't voted yet. But I will. [Laughs] Definitely -- are you kidding?

What do you guys have planned for next year?

We're going to be doing some more touring -- not in Europe or America -- but in some of the areas we didn't get to, like South America.

How about plans for the next record?

Well, I've been working a lot on material during the tour, and I have a lot of ideas that I think are very promising, so I'd be trying to work on a record in early 2006, developing the material. Then we'll just see where that takes us. I've got some definite ideas.

Next: Arcade Fire