If it came down to compilations I'd much sooner suggest And I Feel Fine which I think is much more comprehensive than Eponymous (particularly the two disc version). I also wouldn't weigh my decision to recommend that album based solely on the hits as there is so much more to R.E.M. than their hit singles. I agree about the different eras. To me, there's at least three: the I.R.S years (my favorite time period for them), the Warner Brothers years Part 1 and the Warner Brothers years Part 2: post-Bill Berry. As I mentioned, my favorite from the I.R.S. years would have to be Fables of the Reconstruction. My favorite from the WB years (Part 1) would be New Adventures In Hi-Fi and my favorite from the post-Bill Berry period (so far) would have to be Up. It took me a long time to get into that record but that's only indicative of how dense and multi-layered it is. Plus, it was just so hard to get used to their new sound after Bill's retirement from the band.

The clip below is from the version of "Buttholeville/State Trooper" that can be found on the Sometimes Late at Night EP that could be found in independent record stores on the day Go-Go Boots was released. It features guest appearances from Cody Dickinson of North Mississippi All-Stars and the Truckers' long time producer, David Barbe. 1. When I Ran Off and Left Her (Vic Chesnutt cover from Go Go Boots Sessions) 2. Used to Be a Cop (recorded live in Atlanta, GA) 3. Everybody Needs Love (recorded live in Madison, WI) 4. Get Downtown (recorded live in Atlanta, GA) 5. Mercy Buckets (recorded live in Atlanta, GA) 6. Buttholeville/State Trooper (recorded live in Atlanta, GA)

I'm not sure that any of their albums are considered a "masterpiece" but Automatic For the People is probably their most highly regarded work. My favorite is Fables of the Reconstruction but it's not one I'd recommend to folks that are new to R.E.M.

Haven't heard of Plant covering "Mr. Bojangles". Personally, I've always preferred the original by Jerry Jeff Walker:

Isn't the name of that song actually "Midnight Moonlight"?

There's already a Charlie Sheen thread here.

At one point I was about to eject the movie because I thought it was completely fucking stupid and thought there would be nothing that could possibly redeem it. Then, the dinner scene happened and it turned around significantly.

I wouldn't pay good money to see the Monkees then or now but I found this piece on their place in rock n' roll history that aired on Sound Opinions to be rather interesting. To listen to the stream, click here.

I thought they did a pretty commendable job of "Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You" on Unplugged but what Page, Jones and Jason Bonham need is someone that can bring something new to the table, not a Plant soundalike or wannabe. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOV7kAGt1vs

That has already been discussed to death in this thread: Why didn't they invite John Paul Jones for the Page - Plant "Reunion"

As long as Page, Plant and Jones are still around there will always be the possibility of some sort of reunion so the topic will never go away. I don't necessarily want it to but the least folks could do would be to check the site first to see how this has been discussed ad nauseum.

Yes, it is. Funny, the song I always think of when it comes to The Sweet is "Ballroom Blitz". As far as I know there is no protocol as to what you can post. As I've mentioned before, I've posted about lots of artists no one here is familiar with. At least I didn't think so until I posted so you never know until you throw it out there.

I took French in high school and college but the old saying is true, "if you don't use it, you lose it". I've forgotten pretty much everything I learned about it. Then again, there's not a whole lot of French speaking folks in my neck of the woods that would have helped keep me in practice. Other high schools taught Spanish which would have been much more valuable to me. I've been to Costa Rica a couple of times and the Spanish speaking population around here has grown considerably in the years since high school.

Try to find someone online that also collects Zeppelin records and/or go to a record collector. The second one is easier said than done because vinyl isn't the commodity it once was but it's still worth a shot. When my parents died I inherited their record collection. I wanted to keep it but it was just too many (especially considering I already had close to 1000 albums of my own). Plus, there was a lot of stuff I just wasn't that interested in but figured others of their age group might want so I was willing to part with a good chunk of it. I began doing some research and found the ones that are usually worth the most money are the misprints. So, no telling how much this might bring. On the other hand, if it's a fairly common misprint (not very likely) then it obviously wouldn't be worth as much.

I liked this one way much more than I was expecting to. Well, I really didn't know what to expect other than the brief summary I'd read on the back of the box and that it was a Rob Reiner film. I've seen my fair share of coming of age films over the years but this one has a nice twist which makes it markedly different.

How very closed minded. How horrible, musicians have learned from the past and are trying to take better care of themselves so maybe they can stick around a little longer. Funny too, that he cites pop stars like Mayer and Bieber when there's still plenty of decadence in rock n' roll (look no further than Scott Wieland). Apparently there's some in the pop world too as every report I read about the Grammys mentioned how fucked up John Mayer was.

Some reviewer said they liked this better than Sofia Coppola's other great heralded work, Lost In Translation but I can't say I agree. Good movie? Yes but beyond that there's really not much (if anything) in common between the two.

That's usually the type of albums that are worth the most.

The current cover of the Italian edition of Rolling Stone.

Ed Helms' new movie, Cedar Rapids, seems to be getting some pretty good notices as well. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezXN2pQQj04

Join NPR live at 2 p.m. ET on Tuesday, March 1, as they play COLLAPSE INTO NOW in its entirety as part of a special R.E.M. online listening party. All Songs Considered hosts Bob Boilen and Robin Hilton will share and discuss the new record here. Also on Tuesday, NPR will hold a live chat where you can give your thoughts on the record track-by-track with other fans. Bob and Robin will announce track names and discuss the album during the playback. Beginning Wednesday, March 2nd, NPR will stream the entire album on-demand as part of their First Listen series.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y17Me8uL6mA I read about this movie a few months ago but unfortunately it was already out of theatres by then. Thus began my not so patient wait for it to appear on DVD. Watching the bonus features revealed what a struggle it was for the filmmakers to bring it to the big screen because these type of movies (i.e., something original) simply don't fly with the major movie studios these days. That's such a shame and a major indictment of the movie going public in 2011 that all some people want to see are blockbusters with car crashes, explosions, mindless comedies, remakes of other movies, TV shows turned into movies, etc. I'm not saying I never watch those other kinds of movies as I most certainly do but it's not all I want to see.