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Never one to bite his tongue, Bono is blaming sluggish sales of U2’s latest album, “No Line on the Horizon” on the listening habits of the public.

After getting off to a good start upon its’ release last winter, “Horizon” struggled to get past the million-sold mark. Among albums released in 2009, it’s the year’s fifth biggest seller, behind Eminem, Jay-Z, The Black Eyed Peas and the “Hannah Montana” movie soundtrack. “I suppose we’ve made a work that is a bit challenging for people who have grown up on a diet of pop stars”, Bono said in a recent interview.

Um, Bono, check it out. Remember back when “The Joshua Tree” came out in 1987? There was mindless pop music all over the airwaves then, and you guys still sold a shit-ton of records. The issue, my fine Irish friends, is quantity. “Horizon” was far from a great U2 album. It very quickly made its’ way to the back of my collection after just a few cursory listens. Judging from the reviews of the album in print and on the ‘Net, I’m definitely not the only person who feels that way. When your album sucks, blame yourself-don’t blame the public for not “getting it”. It’s not our fault that your first single was a lazy rewrite of the first single from the last album.

Granted, Bono’s prone to outlandish statements, and I usually ride for the guy. I think he’s a genius songwriter, a fantastic vocalist and the consummate rock showman. This time, though, the man is WRONG. Come up with some strong songs and I’m sure the fans will be back in droves.

As expected, Michael Jackson’s “This is It” movie opened at the top of the box office this week. The film grossed 21 million dollars over the weekend and has grossed 33 million dollars since its’ midweek release. Sony Pictures has extended the movie’s release-previously, it was only scheduled for a two-week run, and now it will be running through Thanksgiving. Holiday shoppers? You won’t be able to get the DVD until early 2010…there’s a grace period between the time a movie hits theatres and the time it’s eligible to be released on DVD.

I was one of the folks who saw the movie on Wednesday night, and I have to admit, I was impressed. Michael had been sleepwalking through live performances since practically the early Nineties, so to see him singing live and fully involved in the production was a revelation.  To see him doing it well was…whatever the step beyond revelation is. The state of his nose and the fact that many of his recent public performances had been lip-synched led me to believe that his voice was shot Mariah Carey-style, but he was full-on belting some of these songs, and singing live on “Billie Jean” and “Beat It”-songs he hadn’t sung live even at the height of his success! I’m fully convinced that Michael was going to reclaim his crown with this set of shows. It’s sad that we’ll never get to see a fully realized version of the “This is It” show. Something tells me that it would have been quite a sight.

Even if you’re not a MJ fan, I’d check this film out, not only because there’s a strong chance that you will be converted, but also because I thought it was really cool to see the mechanics involved with a show being built. I could have done without the rampant ass-kissing from director Kenny Ortega. It’s very easy to picture the guy standing next to MJ on the toilet volunteering to wipe his ass for him.