See, U2 occupy a strange valence these days: Likely the most popular music group in the world, they also might be the most derided. They make too much money (a charge usually leveled at them by upper-middle-class bloggers who've had air-conditioning their whole lives and have never driven anything worse than a Honda Accord); they play shows for tens of thousands of people, which proves they're not "authentic" (rock'n'roll should only be played in small, dirty clubs with shitty equipment, as Elvis and the Beatles intended); and their lead singer won't shut up about how we should help poor people, most of whom aren't white (gross).

Science-fiction fans, however, should love the shit out of U2. Here's why:

They've put on the trippiest, future-shockiest, most technologically advanced rock concerts to date. The U2 most people make fun of seems to be the U2 of the 1980s, when Bono first started shouting about Africa, or the U2 of the 2000s, when he started actually working directly with high-ranking politicians on solving third-world poverty. The U2 of the '90s, arguably their artistically richest period to date, is conveniently forgotten. But find a DVD of 1993's Zoo TV show in Sydney — the concept of which was inspired in part by William Gibson's Neuromancer, as well as Marshall McLuhan and other futurists — and then tell me today's other musicians, a decade and a half later, couldn't be a teensy bit more adventurous when it comes to the concert experience. Beyond all the bells and whistles, the band also took advantage of satellite link-ups to broadcast live footage of war victims trapped in Sarajevo speaking to the rest of Europe in the middle of some shows; it was a controversial move — "like throwing a bucket of cold water over everybody," as drummer Larry Mullen Jr. put it — but a courageous one, and it presaged the present phenomenon of bloggers in war zones getting the word out about what's really happening in their countries.

(Their next tour, the PopMart show in '97-'98, was almost as techy, and featured a 40-foot-tall disco-ball lemon — from which the band emerged, UFO-style — rolling out at the start of the encore. A few times, the lemon didn't, uh, work.)

They make great science-fiction music. Hey, I love Queen as much as the next guy, assuming the next guy is, like, an average-level Queen fan and not someone who owns their entire discography. And the soundtracks to Flash Gordon and Highlander are inimitable and fitting. But they're campy, too, and tough to take seriously removed from the video they accompany.

Not so with U2's contribution to the SF canon: "Until the End of the World," an Achtung Baby song that appears in a different, possibly better mix on the soundtrack of the Wim Wenders film of the same name. The Tomb Raider remix of "Elevation." "Alex Descends Into Hell for a Bottle of Milk/Korova 1," a B-side that is the only piece of work to surface from the opera of A Clockwork Orange that Bono and the Edge were commissioned to write. And the whole album the band wrote with Brian Eno as a soundtrack to films that didn't exist. Not to mention the Edge's theme to the WB's The Batman cartoon, which was better than a lot of the actual episodes; and of course, "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me," the only good thing, some would say, to come out of Batman Forever. (The animated video is fucking marvelous.) That song manages to be both take-seriouslyable and campy, and if U2 can approach its quality with the upcoming Spider-Man musical — well, that bodes well for those of us who'd like to see Peter Parker redeemed after the last movie.

They, like, believe in shit. "Of science and the human heart," Bono sings on "Miracle Drug," "there is no limit...Love and logic keep us clear / Reason is on our side." So many SF stories, even the darkest ones, hinge on the notion that slowly but surely, we can do better, as individuals and as a species. Yep, it's corny, and Bono and the rest of the band's problem is that it's even cornier in real life than it is when, say, Captain Kirk or Picard says it. But the corniness, I submit, is an illogical response: We hear about so many failed plans and failed people — not because they're the norm, but because they're not — that our knee-jerk response is to assume that no one, especially not a multimillionaire rock star, could actually be genuinely committed to making the world a better place.

Yet all of us, I bet, know some people — and may even be those people — who really do want to leave things better than we found them. Statistically, how could there not be some celebrities like that, too? And the facts available indicate that, while they're far from perfect (and readily admit as much), U2 truly do try to use their powers for good.

And they will keep you in schwag forever. I bitched about all the schwag at Comic Con last week, but the truth is that if you replaced Martian Manhunter action figures and Halo Wars postcards with old 45s and posters, I'd look like a terrible hypocrite. Yes, I've dropped a lot of money I didn't have on U2 vinyl LPs. And vinyl EPs. And cassingles. And promo CDs. And foreign versions of albums I already owned. And remastered reissues of albums I already owned. And at least one comic book. No, two. And maybe a Pez dispenser.

And I have barely begun to scratch the surface. There are fans out there whose collections would destroy mine, who probably have entire rooms devoted to U2, instead of just a box in my parents' basement. And this is something my wife needs to understand when she is on the verge of stabbing me just because I spent $70 on a simple super-deluxe limited-edition box set version of their new album. It could be worse, honey — there are people out there who are buying all five versions.

So, anyway, if you need more shit in your life that you can't take out of the box or touch, and may or may not be able to move on eBay for what you paid for it, should your child ever need expensive surgery, there's that, too.

Commenter Moff's real name is Josh Wimmer, and he can usually be found at scribblescribblescribble.com/blog.

In an interview with QThe Music, U2's guitarist revealed all the details behind his hard work putting songs to Spidey's adventures, with Bono and director Julie Taymor.

The Edge talked about working with scriptwriter Glenn Berger, "He’s come up with some great dialogue. The overall story was really Julie working with Glenn, and Bono and myself riding shotgun with the odd idea here and there – as they do for the songs." So it sounds like U2 and Taymor are all in, and it's really happening.

As far as the sound goes:

"There won’t be a full orchestra – it’ll be something like 18 or 20 musicians: string players, brass, some woodwind. The core will be a rock’n’roll band. But it is going to be interesting to write for other people. We have already written a lot of songs that are for women to sing. That’s a whole other set of challenges, to write in the right key and all those technical things." Which sounds still pretty darn big if you ask me. I'm excited for a chorus to just start belting it while the Man himself swings over the audience.

It sounds like everything is lining up for the Spider-Man musical to actually take place. The music is getting refined, the cast is growing, all we need now is someone to convince Jim Sturgess to sign on for Spidey and we're set.

[QThemusic]

Spider-Man: The Musical:

Are you pumped up for this U2-scored, Lion King-flavored, budget-busting spectacular? Then let star Evan Rachel Wood tell you about the storyline:

It will pull some things from the films, but it's based more on the comic book and the origin of Spider-Man. There's going to be old villains and new villains. Wait until you see the villains. I wish I could tell you who the villain is. There's one [new villain] that is more of a Greek mythology kind of thing.

I know I'm excited, now that I know there's going to be a villain from Greek mythology. That was the one thing the Spider-Man musical was missing to make me excited. (Pluto? Medusa? Circe??) Also, she confirms that only Peter Parker sings, not Spidey. [Sci Fi Wire]

The Spirit:

What exactly happens in this Frank Miller cheesefest? Says Sci Fi Wire:

The story follows Denny Colt (Gabriel Macht), a murdered rookie cop who returns from the dead as the Spirit, a seemingly immortal masked hero on a mission to protect his beloved Manhattan-like Central City and to understand the hows and whys of his impossible existence. Along the way, he encounters a super-psychotic super-villain, the Octopus (Samuel L. Jackson), and a bevy of beautiful babes.

And it sounds like the movie is loosely based on a two-parter about Sand Saref, from the comics. [Sci Fi Wire again]

Torchwood:

W00t! Finally an actual plot synopsis of the new miniseries. According to producer Peter Bennett:

It's different to every other year. It's not a story about spaceships, but it's about a government that did a deal with aliens back in the '60s, and they're now dealing with the consequences of that deal when the sins of their past come back to haunt them.

And the resulting kerfuffle is something that affects all the "children of Earth." Hence the title. Also, without Tosh and Owen, we see a new side to the remaining characters. Rhys helps out more, and there's a new character, a young lady played by Cush Jumbo, who helps out too. And we meet some new characters, including "Peter Capaldi, who's fantastic as the government middle man caught up in the storm, Liz May Brice as a covert government agent and Paul Copely as a damaged man." [Digital Spy]

Battlestar Galactica:

Hide your pets! Crazy attorney Romo Lampkin (Mark Sheppard) will be back towards the end of season four. (And you glimpsed him in one of those promo videos yesterday, I think.) [iF Magazine]

Dollhouse:

Sheppard also says the character he plays in Joss Whedon's new show is named Tanaka, and he intersects with FBI agent Paul Ballard (Tahmoh Penikett). He's in at least two episodes. [iF Magazine again]

Doctor Who:

Velile Tshabalala, who plays new companion Rosita in the Christmas special, says her character's name is nothing to do with Rose. (But then she adds that she can't say too much or she'll get in trouble.) There is a scene where both Doctors are up in the air in harnesses. (Presumably flying or being flung about.) Also, the two Doctors get trapped, and Rosita has to save them. And Rosita runs across a warehouse waving an axe. [Planet Gallifrey]

Lost:

Yay, here are some set pics (possibly from a while ago) that show Sawyer, Kate and Juliet in Dharma jumpsuits. Plus Sayid lurking in a leather jacket. The jumpsuits look surprisingly sexy, and I like that Kate's in the motor pool. Also, Sawyer's jumpsuit says "LaFleur," which is also the title of episode 5x08. Does that mean that episode is Sawyer-centric? [Lyly Ford]

Meanwhile, that casting call we posted yesterday, for an ambitious British financial executive? There's speculation that it could be for a young Charles Widmore. [TV Guide]

Fringe:

The late John Scott's state of being will be a major topic for the show in January. And Olivia will find out more about the drawbacks of sharing consciousness with her ex. [TV Guide]

And here's a new trailer for the next episode. [Fringe Television]

Smallville:

What's ahead for Lois? Erica Durance has some clues. [OSCK]

According to IESB , Marvel Studios chairman David Maisel announced that he expects the musical to debut in 2009, about a year earlier than expected.

In an interview with Cinematical Sturgess revealed that he and Wood were working with Taymor in a Spider-Man Musical workshop, and finally we have a little information on what went down that week.

The Bad and the Ugly had a spy attend an actual workshop with the two actors:

I was privileged to get to attend a workshop of Spider-Man (hopefully to be on Broadway) the week before Christmas. Saw Evan Rachel Wood and Jim Sturgess. They are both vocal powerhouses, both very tall, very attractive. So much chemistry, I'd be worried if I was Marilyn Manson. ERW plays the role of Mary Jane perfectly. she puts Kirsten Dunst to shame. Which isn’t a surprise, it doesn’t take much, but ERW’s acting and singing abilities make her the leading talent among her peers. As for the unlikely choice of Jim Sturgess for Peter Parker, his American accent is flawless and he has the mischievous sparkle that Tobey Maguire lacks in his wooden acting.

In other Spidey Song news the a Live Blog (which New York Magazine reprinted), that has since been taken down, reported that they had witnessed the concept art for the Spider-Man musical sets and described them as:

they are amazing — stylish and graphic with forced perspective and vertigo-inducing angles. Lots of LED stuff, also. We also got to see test footage from the swinging and flying and a short video of the team figuring out how to shoot webs. As Glen said, obviously there are going to be a lot of wires in this show. If it bothers you to see them, this is not the show for you.

Jim Sturgess is amazing and I think both he and Evan Rachel Wood would make a fantastic Peter and Mary Jane, though I can't see them staying on this project for more than a quick season. Still if the Bono and The Edge collaborative is heavy on the rock and light on the self indulgent Bono oohing and aahing, we may have a new B-way hit on our hands. As long as they address how they're going to get Spider-Man to sing seeing as there is no hole in his mask for his mouth, I'll be satisfied.

The musical will be "a cross between a play, rock 'n' roll and circus," Taymor says. If it does well, it could spawn imitators, and even help drag superhero films back to the era of Batman and Robin. Taymor wants the musical to be based on the severely dated sixties comics, not the movies. It may also be bad news that Bono and The Edge from U2 are scoring the thing. If only the Julie Taymor who directed the bleak, jarring Titus would take charge of this thing, instead of the Lion King helmer.


Spinning A Spectacular Web With Spider-Man Musical [Daily Mail]