What better way to drop a new album than to release it to iTunes users for free while the whole world is tuned into the launch of a new Apple product?
在全世界都翘首企盼苹果发布新产品时，还有什么比在iTunes免费发布新专辑更能博得眼球？
That’s just how U2 released their new album, anyway. The legendary Irish rock band has returned in stunning fashion with their latest LP, Songs of Innocence, following their performance at the Apple event on Sept 9.
这正是U2乐队新专辑的发布方式。9月9日，这只传奇的爱尔兰摇滚乐队携最新唱片《天真之歌》出现在苹果发布会上，惊艳全场。

With the click of a button during iPhone 6 and Apple Watch media event in Cupertino, California, U2’s 13th album and first in five years was automatically pushed to over 500 million iTunes accounts around the world.
在iPhone 6与Apple Watch在美国加州库比蒂诺的发布会上，U2的第13张专辑，也是近五年来的首张专辑，也通过“按一个神奇发送按钮”，自动推送进全球超过5亿iTunes用户的账户中。
So there it is, in the books. “The largest album release of all time,” according to Apple CEO Tim Cook.
而这也是前所未有的，正如苹果首席执行官提姆•库克所言，“这是苹果有史以来发行数量最多的专辑。”
For a band that’s been active for more than 30 years, you have to hand it to Bono and his crew for still being able to push the envelope at this stage in their career.
U2乐队出道30年却依然活跃，都要归功于波诺和他的队员们至今还能打破常规、不断突破。
Though Songs of Innocence doesn’t cost a dime, should you bother clicking a few buttons on iTunes to get it? Well of course, but don’t expect the record to be as breathtaking as U2 at its best.
虽然《天真之歌》不需一分一角，但是它真的值得你在iTunes上点击下载么？当然值得，只是不要期待它能像U2鼎盛时期的歌曲那样惊天动地。
Looking up
不断向前
Named after the first of a two-volume William Blake poetry collection, the album is filled with openly autobiographical songs in which band members talk about their personal view of life, hope, loss, fear and newfound resolve.
这张专辑以威廉姆•布莱克两卷诗集中的首卷名称命名，歌中充满了自传式的描写，表达了队员们眼中的人生、希望、迷失、恐惧，还有重拾的决心。
The album may not provide that miracle moment or have instant ear-grabbers like greatest hits Beautiful Day and Vertigo, but it’s filled with typical Bono buzzwords, and the lyrics are as transcendent as ever.
这首专辑也许并不像《美好的一天》或是《眩晕》一样立刻迷住你，也鲜有奇迹般的段落，但波诺式的口号依旧随处可见，歌词也是一如既往的出类拔萃。
“You can’t return to where you’ve never left,” Bono sings in the hometown ode Cedarwood Road. “I’ve got your life inside of me,” Bono croons, internalizing a mother’s wisdom in Iris (Hold Me Close).
在《香柏路》中波诺用家乡颂歌唱着，“你永远无法回到你从未离开的地方”，而在《彩虹女神》中波诺则低吟着关于母亲的回忆，“我心深处有你生命的存在。”
Lyrics like that — or Cedarwood Road’s “A heart that is broken is a heart that is open” — makes Songs of Innocence a perfect title for U2’s latest. Some might argue that those lines are simply naive, or the band should expand their themes, but this is the perspective of a cynic. Returning to that place of innocence is a conscious choice for U2, and it’s in this realm that the album finds its strength.
还有《香柏路》中的“敞开的心也是破碎的心”，这些歌词都让《天真之歌》成为U2最完美的最新制作。有人也许会认为这些歌词过于简单天真，乐队应该拓展主题，但这不过是吹毛求疵者的一家之言。返璞归真对U2而言才是明智之选，正是在这一领域他们找到了自己的优势所在。