U2

3 Steps To A Successful Halftime Show

/ Alex Doriot / Leave a comment

I’m kind of done with football at this point.

Between deflated footballs and ridiculous press conferences and domestic violence and post-concussion syndrome, I’m honestly ready for this season to all be over with.

Yes, I’ll be watching the game on Sunday, just for the grand spectacle of it all. But I don’t really have the heart to write anything football related right now. (If you’d like to read something like that I have done it before.)

katy-perry-nfl-650So instead of writing a piece on the big game, I’m going to focus on something far less upsetting: the Super Bowl Halftime show.

This year Katy Perry will perform in front of the biggest crowd of her life. Between the 70,000 or so in attendance at University of Phoenix stadium and what will likely be a record audience watching on television and online, the “Roar” singer will be placed on an incredible platform for arguably the most important 12 minutes of her career.

You might think it’s a pretty special award for Perry to be able to perform on the halftime stage. After all, she is one of the most recognizable pop stars in the world just 7 years after her breakthrough hit “I Kissed A Girl” placed her in the public eye.

But you would be wrong.

Performing the Super Bowl Halftime Show is not an award. It’s an audition. Continue reading →

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8 Reasons For You To Give U2 A Second Chance

/ Alex Doriot / Leave a comment

u2If U2’s latest album popping up in your iCloud was your introduction to the band, I’m sorry. 

Not because I think it’s a bad record. In fact I thought it was a pretty amazing gift.

But even I have to admit that it does seem a little rude for even the biggest band of the world to arrive unannounced in your download folder.

So if your first impression of Bono and the boys is their drunken stumbling into your music library, I want to ask you today to give them a second chance.
Continue reading →

There Is Such A Thing As Free

/ Alex Doriot / 2 Comments

photo.PNG-2Who gives away the most anticipated new album of the year to the entire world for free?

Certainly not the biggest rock band in the world, right?

That would subvert the entire process we’ve become accustomed to as consumers.

That would flip the recording industry on its head.

That would be unheard of…if it didn’t just happen.

You’ve probably seen by now that after 5 years of waiting U2 finally released their latest album “Songs Of Innocence” completely free to anyone with an iTunes account.

And they didn’t just release it – it’s already sitting in everyone’s purchased music folder, waiting to be downloaded. The album is a gift to every iTunes customer, just waiting to be received.

Who could have seen something like this coming?

Actually, it sounds kind of familiar.

Sounds kind of like a God giving away His gift of salvation completely for free. Continue reading →

POP GOD POPcast: Episode 14 – Zak Todd

/ Alex Doriot / Leave a comment

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Welcome to Episode 14 of the POP GOD POPcast – an exploration into the lives of people seeking God in the present tense.

This week’s guest is Zak Todd. Zak is a friend and musician who’s about to reunite with his band Mazes And Monsters for a special concert February 21st at Sky City in Augusta. He’s also part of the worship band team at Redemption Church. Zak has a lot of great thoughts on the intersection of music and faith and we discuss the role of music in the church. Plus we share a little U2 and WWE love, break down the positives and negatives of living downtown, and share some weird fan interactions. A really fun conversation with a really fun guy. Enjoy this deeper look inside the life of a musician truly seeking God in the present tense.

Listen to the podcast here:

Or Subscribe and Download on iTunes Or Listen on Podbean

Download your free copy of The Spaces In Between from Mazes And Monsters on Bandcamp

Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, rate it, leave a comment, listen to all the other episodes, share it on Twitter and Facebook and anywhere else. I’d really appreciate it. Thanks.

I love sharing stories of people seeking God in the present tense. Let me hear your feedback. Leave me a comment and let me know how to improve things, what you’d like to hear discussed, and give me your ideas as to who you’d like to see on the next episode of the POPcast.mazesmonsters 2014

POP GOD POPcast: Episode 4 – Jennie Montgomery

/ Alex Doriot / 1 Comment

slide.001Welcome to Episode 4 of the POP GOD POPcast – an exploration into the lives of people seeking God in the present tense.

This week’s guest is Jennie Montgomery. This week’s guest is Jennie Montgomery. Jennie is the longtime anchor of the WJBF Channel 6 Evening News in Augusta, GA. We talk about Jennie’s journey into the news industry including a detour with Vidal Sassoon and a career as a makeover artist. Jennie’s faith has played a huge role in leading her to where she is today and we discuss what it looks like to listen to the voice of God. Plus we talk about what it’s like to work alongside the same partner for so many years and how someone stays sane in the news business. It’s a really personal and challenging conversation, and I think you’re gonna love it.

I’m so excited to open up POP GOD and share more stories of people seeking God in the present tense. I’d love to hear your feedback. Leave me a comment and let me know how to improve things, what you’d like to hear discussed, and give me your ideas as to who you’d like to see on the POPcast.

Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, share it on Twitter and Facebook and anywhere else. I’d really appreciate it. Thanks. Enjoy.

Listen here:

[audio http://adoriot.podbean.com/mf/web/z8pn3d/PopGod4.mp3]

The U2 Trick

/ Alex Doriot / 4 Comments

Who would you say is the biggest band in the world right now? Would it be Mumford and Sons? fun.? Maroon 5? One Direction?

U2-Rattle-and-HumIn the late 80s, the answer to that question would have undoubtedly been U2. In 1989, at the peak of their international popularity, U2 decided to take a break. After ten years of constant touring across the world and six smash records, the biggest band in the world took a few years off to, as Bono said at the time, “dream it all up again.”

When they returned with their next album “Achtung Baby” in 1991, most people expected it would consist of the same uplifting, soul-searching arena rock that was a trademark of U2. Instead, “Achtung Baby” sounded like this: 

“Achtung Baby” was not just a tremendous departure from anything U2 had ever created, but from anything on the radio in 1991. Why would the biggest band in the world completely deconstruct their sound and release an album so far removed from their previous catalog?

Here’s the trick: they wanted to thrive, not just survive. Continue reading →