90px|Bono, lead singer of U2

Achtung Baby is the seventh studio album by rock band U2. It was produced by Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno, and was released on 19 November 1991. Stung by the criticism of their 1988 release Rattle and Hum, U2 shifted their musical direction to incorporate influences from alternative rock, industrial music, and electronic dance music into their sound. Thematically, the album is darker, more introspective, and more flippant than their previous work. Recording began at Berlin's Hansa Studios in October 1990, but the sessions were fraught with conflict, as the band argued over the direction and quality of their music. After nearly breaking up, they made a breakthrough with the improvisation of the song "One". Morale improved during the subsequent recording sessions in Dublin in 1991. Achtung Baby received favourable reviews and went to number one in several countries. It spawned five hit singles, including "One", "Mysterious Ways", and "The Fly". The album has sold 18 million copies, and in 1993, it won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. The record and the multimedia-intensive Zoo TV Tour were central to U2's 1990s reinvention. Achtung Baby has regularly appeared on critics' lists of the greatest albums of all time. (more...)

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_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1493:

Christopher Columbus became the first European to land on Puerto Rico, naming it San Juan Bautista after John the Baptist. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puerto_Rico

1794:

The United States and Great Britain concluded the Jay Treaty, which was the basis for ten years of peaceful trade between the two nations. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_Treaty

1863:

American Civil War: U.S. President Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gettysburg_Address

1941:

Second World War: The Australian light cruiser HMAS Sydney and the German auxiliary cruiser Kormoran destroyed each other off the coast of Western Australia in the Indian Ocean. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_between_HMAS_Sydney_and_German_auxiliary_cruiser_Kormoran

2005:

Iraq War: A group of United States Marines allegedly massacred twenty-four people in the town of Haditha in Iraq. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haditha_killings

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