R.E.M. Prepares 14th studio album

[Jahfin]

Speaking of Mr. Holsapple, thought I'd pass this along:

I'll be celelbrating Peter's 52nd (2-19-56) by playing lots of his music

with The dB's on this week's "Hidden Treasures" show. The show is

broadcast tomorrrow (and every Monday) from 12-4 PM CST at

http://uicradio.org. I hope you can join me! John Rose

[SIBLY]

I'm a big R.E.M. fan although they haven't quite hit top form on any of their recent albums. Saw them twice on the last tour and enjoyed every minute. Looking forward to hearing Accelerate and catching the new tour.

[Jahfin]

R.E.M. launches a site devoted entirely to Accelerate:

http://www.remaccelerate.com

[Jahfin]

[Guan Yu]

I was lucky enough to catch them on the tour for "Green", I wasn't into R.E.M at all the time, but I went along as a favor for my friend who needed someone to go with. Well sir, was I ever proven wrong! They completely blew me away and remain one of my fav bands to this day!

[hot dog]

UK stadium dates just announced:

Manchester Lancashire County Cricket Club (August 24)

Cardiff Millennium Stadium (25)

Southampton Rose Bowl (27)

London Twickenham Stadium (30)

I'll no doubt go to the Cardiff gig - they played there in '05 too. This'll be my 7th concert of theirs - 1st was at London's Hammersmith Palais in 1985.

[Jahfin]

http://onlineathens.com/stories/030608/liv...030600330.shtml

Good R.E.M. things come in plain packages

By Julie Phillips

In a plain envelope bearing a CD suspiciously labeled R.P.I. "Accelerate," R.E.M.'s new release (slated for April 1 release in the U.S.) arrived last week - hush-hush with that secret-code name, R.P.I. - and of note, on careful inspection, I found my very own name printed on the CD with a number underneath. Hmm.

After numerous failed attempts to play it and finally a call of plea to the R.E.M. office, I got the skinny. Such are the times in the music industry that these are the necessary measures to avoid piracy. My name on the CD will trace it back to me if indeed I choose to upload the songs and sell them on the Interwebs - never mind that I have no clue how to do that.

Manager Bertis Downs doesn't want to bemoan these piracy prevention methods; he was graciously diplomatic in his response, though apologetic. But you have to figure that's a frustrating phone call to answer from the press: "I can't play the new CD!"

So, with his assurance it would play if I kept trying CD players, I took it home and popped it in ye olde boombox, the one that won't play CDs burned post 2000. It's too sensitive.

And do you know, out from that lovable old '90s-era player poured R.E.M.'s rockin'-est-best stuff since "Document," maybe. I don't know. I'm still listening to figure it out. And I'm not even sure I care to compare.

Sure, I'd heard this album was "it," the reviews are shouting praises and reports from the road-tested songs from last summer's Dublin shows were garnering big-time hype for "Accelerate" as well.

It was that kind of praise you could see in people's faces when they told you. And I can now vouch: Dude, it's really, really good. (I have that look now, too.)

So when you make your way to the record store or online on April 1 to get your copy of "Accelerate," you can purchase with confidence that your ears will be filled with the R.E.M. you love.

In the meantime, DO NOT ASK IF YOU CAN BORROW MY COPY.

Published in the Athens Banner-Herald on 030608

[Jahfin]

R.E.M. Reborn

Michael Stipe photographed in New York in January

Their last three albums dismantled their reputation as the world's greatest band, but REM are returning to full speed with a new record, Accelerate. Craig McLean asks them how they got their mojo back. Photographs by Jim Goldberg

REM have just emerged from a sex shop. Babeland is one of the Lower East Side's finest emporiums of kinky toys and accessories. Accompanied by a tiny camera crew the band thrashed out a song then swiftly withdrew. They would repeat the performance in a restaurant, two wine bars and a deconsecrated synagogue.

It is a bright, cold morning in late January and all over New York city, singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck and bass player Mike Mills have been conducting themselves like fleet-footed guerrilla musos (who just happen to be 50-year-old multi-millionaire rockers). Twenty-eight years after forming and 12 years since they last released a wholly satisfying and critically acclaimed record, REM are back with a bang. A video that shoots from the hip (band rush in and out of commercial establishments, tailed by a lo-fi camera crew) to accompany an album that does the same? 'We tried not to overthink this one and tried to make it short and sweet,' Mills says.

You can read the rest of the article here.

Edited March 10, 2008 by Jahfin

[Jahfin]

http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/articl...t_id=1003722772

R.E.M. Launching New Album On iLike

R.E.M.

Jessica Letkemann, N.Y.

Forget the traditional radio premiere: R.E.M.'s new album, "Accelerate," is set to debut on the social networking application iLike.

The roll-out, the first of its kind for a major act, will allow fans to stream and share "Accelerate" in its entirety beginning March 24, a week ahead of the album's April 1 release date.

"It was one of those ideas that was presented to us and it seemed like a good one so we ran for it," R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe tells Billboard.com. He also noted that the way people embrace music "has certainly changed in the last 5 or 10 years. I think you can either go with it or sit back and watch it happen, and I would rather be out on the field than in the bleachers."

Accompanied by an exclusive video of the band talking about the album, the iLike launch will make the 11-song set freely available to anyone using iLike.com, Facebook, iTunes or any of the other social networks and sites that offer an iLike application for their platforms.

The iLike premiere of "Accelerate" is R.E.M.'s latest example of using direct-to-listener online initiatives to present their music. As previously reported, the band recently launched a Web site of raw footage and invited visitors to edit their own video for the album's first single, "Supernatural Superserious." The trio has also been doling out downloadable glimpses of the new material one day at a time via Ninetynights.com.

R.E.M. played its inaugural show of the year last week in Florida at the Langerado festival. Aside from mixing old favorites with a large sampling from "Accelerate," Stipe revealed his presidential candidate of choice by sporting a Barack Obama t-shirt.

[Jahfin]

Live Tonight: R.E.M. and More at SXSW

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.p...toryId=87923295

R.E.M. performs live with Dead Confederate, Papercranes and more at Stubbs, Wed., March 12. Scott Gries/Getty Images

NPR.org, March 12, 2008 - Coming out of a post-punk world that had little tolerance for pop, R.E.M. has spent 25 years as the bastion of pop music with a weird glimmer in its eye. Hear the legendary rock band perform a full concert at SXSW, webcast live on NPR.org from Stubbs in Austin, Tex., on Wednesday, March 12.

With the band's 14th studio album (Accelerate) coming in April, many fans expect a return to form for R.E.M. After original drummer Bill Berry quit the band in 1997, R.E.M. experimented more in the studio, adding more textures to its songs while simultaneously stripping away the usual methods of crafting rock songs. The album's first single, "Supernatural Superserious," looks to the prime of R.E.M.'s '80s discography, while maintaining a modern sheen.

Dead Confederate

Both in name and in sound, Dead Confederate aims to further the cause of Southern rock. The Georgia band does indeed mix its Neil Young with its Lynyrd Skynyrd, but underneath all those heavy chords is a group of guys raised on Nirvana, Sonic Youth, and other titans of early-'90s alt-rock.

Papercranes

Fronted by Rain Phoenix (her brother is actor Joaquin), the Florida-based band Papercranes conjures images of pop bands such as The Cranberries and Belly, while drawing much of its atmosphere from Radiohead. Papercranes' music has already turned a few heads — including that of cult singer-songwriter Vic Chesnutt, who made a guest appearance on the band's 2006 debut, Vidalia. The group is currently working on its sophomore album.

Summerbirds in the Cellar

Summerbirds in the Cellar shares members with the moody pop-rock band Now It's Overhead, and the two bands do share similar sounds. The group spends half its time in Athens, Ga., so R.E.M. comparisons are inevitable, but there's a bit more polish to R.E.M.'s ragtag jangle. Summerbirds' latest is With the Hands of the Hunter It All Becomes Dead, an album densely layered with pulsing synths, cooed vocals, and jagged guitars.

Johnathan Rice

When Washington, D.C., native Johnathan Rice graduated from high school, he opted out of college and headed straight for New York City. Rice struggled for a year, but just when he was heading back home, he received a call from the major record label that had spawned many of his influences: Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, and Lou Reed among them. Rice has since recorded two full-length albums. His latest, Further North, is a tribute to his new environs in Los Angeles. Appropriately enough, it takes on a laid-back pop and country-rock vibe, akin to the late-'60s records by his hero Neil Young, as well as The Byrds.

-------------------

CONCERT SCHEDULE

Wed., March 12 (Stubbs)

(All Times ET/CT)

9:00/8:00 p.m.: Johnathan Rice

10:00/9:00 p.m.: Summerbirds in the Cellar

11:00/10:00 p.m.: Papercranes

12:00 a.m./11:00 p.m.: Dead Confederate

1:00/12:00 a.m.: R.E.M.

Dead Confederate Skylar Reeves

[Jahfin]

I'm unable to attend SXSW this year but that didn't stop me from tuning in NPR's webcast of R.E.M. from Stubb's BBQ in Austin last night:

R.E.M. came rarin' out of the gate at last night's Stubb's show with a shitload of new songs and seldom visited classics such as Auctioneer (Another Engine) and Second Guessing. Even more significant may be the songs they didn't play, namely, Losing My Religion. As refreshing as that was it may have been needed after the momentum stopping one-two punch of the ballads Until the Day Is Done and Final Straw. The loss in momentum might also be attributed to folks that simply weren't all that into the band and were in attendance more on a business nature (this is SXSW afterall). Otherwise it was a very strong and energetic set. The new songs are vastly improved since their first airing at the Dublin "working rehearsal" shows this past summer and fit in very nicely with the old stuff.

Last night's concert is already available for download at Murmurs.com. Otherwise it has been archived here. Photos can be seen here. I later found out one of the NPR commentators was Carrie from Sleater-Kinney. I would have never known going by some of the totally clueless comments she made during the proceedings. Still, a very fun evening of listening.

Today, R.E.M. will tape a segment of Austin City Limits which is scheduled to air in May (debut show of the season if I'm not mistaken). Tonight at 8 pm they will appear on WXRT for an interview regarding their new record, Accelerate (due April 1st). It will be broadcast live from the ACL studios. You can listen in here.

NPR's coverage of SXSW continues tonight with live performances from Bon Iver, Vampire Weekend, Yeasayer, A.A. Bondy, Jens Lekman and the Shout Out Louds. More info here.

-----------------------

R.E.M.

Stubb's BBQ

Austin, Texas

3-13-08

1. Living Well Is the Best Revenge

2. Man-sized Wreath

3. Second Guessing

4. Drive

5. Hollow Man

6. Animal

7. Auctioneer (Another Engine)

8. Mr Richards

9. Fall On Me

10. The Great Beyond

11. Houston

12. Electrolite

13. Accelerate

14. Until The Day Is Done (For Heath Ledger)

15. Final Straw

16. Bad Day

17. Horse to Water

18. Walk Unafraid

Encore

19. Supernatural Superserious

20. Imitation of Life

21. Happy Birthday (For R.E.M. road crew member DeWitt Burton)

21. I'm Gonna DJ (For R.E.M. guitar tech "Microwave" who pased away recently)

22. Man On The Moon

[Jahfin]

Austin City Limits setlist from today's taping, the episode premieres in May:

living well's the best revenge

man-sized wreath

drive

so. central rain

accelerate

hollow man

houston

electrolite

supernatural superserious

fall on me

losing my religion

final straw

bad day

horse to water

i'm gonna dj

walk unafraid

imitation of life

supernatural superserious (2nd take)

until the day is done

man on the moon

[AxlRose]

I like the new single a lot. I love R.E.M., they're probably the best alternative band ever.

[Jahfin]

From Rolling Stone:

When their original drummer, Bill Berry, quit in 1997, R.E.M. became more than "a three-legged dog," as singer Michael Stipe famously put it at the time. Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck and bassist Mike Mills actually turned into a pair of trios, two very different bands, for the next ten years. One was the studio R.E.M. of Up, Reveal and Around the Sun: wounded but determined, making a stately, reflective pop rich in psychedelic luster and heavy with ballads about faith and doubt. Then there was the concert R.E.M. Armed with longtime second guitarist Scott McCaughey and, in recent years, ex-Ministry drummer Bill Rieflin, Stipe, Buck and Mills charged the musical exploration and internal debate on those records with the dirty-silver jangle and get-in-the-van surge of R.E.M.'s quartet-era classics, such as 1986's Lifes Rich Pageant and 1987's Document.

Accelerate is the first studio album by that post-Berry stage band, and it is one of the best records R.E.M. have ever made. Much of Accelerate was cut in live-band takes and even tested onstage during a run in Dublin last summer, and it shows. Guitars are front and center, in slashing-chord and rusted-arpeggio crossfires, as if you've got R.E.M.'s 1982 EP Chronic Town and the Sex Pistols' Never Mind the Bollocks spinning in your CD tray at the same time. "Man-Sized Wreath," "Supernatural Superserious" and "Horse to Water" rattle and zoom like buried treasures from an old club-tour set list. And there is nothing soft or shy about the slower darkness either. In "Houston," a stark snapshot of post-Katrina exile ("If the storm doesn't kill me/The government will"), crude fuzz drones and ham-fisted organ chords roll over Buck's acoustic guitar and the fighter's will in Stipe's voice ("I was taught to hold my head high. . . . Make the best of what today has") like oily floodwater.

But the R.E.M. on Accelerate is also the one I saw at New York's Madison Square Garden right after 2004's Vote for Change Tour — and two nights after Bush's re-election. Bummed but unbowed, they opened the show with loud, fast defiance — "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" — and they do the same thing here, with "Living Well Is the Best Revenge." "Don't turn your talking points on me/History will set me free/The future is ours, and you don't even rate a footnote," Stipe sings in a rapid, ecstatic near-shout over flying fists of guitar and racing bass and drums. And that's just the start of the blowback. "Nature abhors a vacuum/But what's between your ears?" he snaps in "Man-Sized Wreath," a bitter laugh at empty pomp and sound-bite patriotism, aimed at sheep and herders alike. And whoever "Mr. Richards" is, he gets his just deserts — "Mr. Richards, your conviction/Had us cheering in the kitchen" — served with Buck and McCaughey's bristling-glam guitars.

Stipe has not sounded this viscerally engaged in his singing and poetically lethal in his writing since the twilight of the Reagan administration. But he is not merely protesting the mess of the nation. Accelerate is total-victory rock, Stipe making promises he knows he can keep — "You weakened shill . . . Savor your dying breath" ("Living Well") — because he's not alone. The apocalypse is obvious in "Sing for the Submarine," an urban-holocaust update of Crosby, Stills and Nash's hippie-escape plan "Wooden Ships." So is the strength in numbers. "It's all a lot less frightening/Than we would've had it be," Stipe insists, as Mills swoops way behind him in guardian-angel harmony. (Mills' vocals, too often taken for granted, are frequent literal high points on the album, the reassuring sunlight on Stipe's gritty delivery.) And in "Hollow Man," Stipe concedes his own needs and fuck-ups, then calls for help — "Corner me and make me something" — in a stunning mix of tender-piano ballad and big-guitar chorus that sums up the commitment that makes true loves, democracies and great rock bands possible.

Ultimately, the best thing about Accelerate is that R.E.M. sound whole again, no longer three-legged but complete in their bond and purpose. "Music will provide the light you cannot resist," Stipe crows at the end of the record, in the atomic frivolity of "I'm Gonna DJ." And you can believe him — because he and his band believe in themselves again.

DAVID FRICKE

[jimmie ray]

Isn't "Wooden Ships" more of a Paul Kantner song, than CSN? I know Crosby co-wrote it with him, but it feels more Kantner-ish.

[Jahfin]

Isn't "Wooden Ships" more of a Paul Kantner song, than CSN? I know Crosby co-wrote it with him, but it feels more Kantner-ish.

It's a CSN song so I imagine that's why it was mentioned as one, the bigger point being the supposed themetic similarities between Wooden Ships and Sing for the Submarine.

[jimmie ray]

Actually, Kantner wrote the lyrics - as he was quite obsessed with the future/apocolypse/rebuilding thing. He didn't take credit on the CSN album, but also did the song with Jefferson Airplane. Crosby wrote the musical parts for this song, and also collaborated with Kantner and othe JA members in future projects. Just thought that since you're a REM fan (and writer?), that it would be of interest - if their current album has this theme to it?

[Jahfin]

Actually, Kantner wrote the lyrics - as he was quite obsessed with the future/apocolypse/rebuilding thing. He didn't take credit on the CSN album, but also did the song with Jefferson Airplane. Crosby wrote the musical parts for this song, and also collaborated with Kantner and othe JA members in future projects. Just thought that since you're a REM fan (and writer?), that it would be of interest - if their current album has this theme to it?

Thanks for the clarification but by Fricke mentioning CSN I don't think he meant all three wrote the song, just that it was a "CSN song". In regards to Sing For the Submarine being the overall theme of the album, I don't get that at all, he was just comparing it's similarity to Wooden Ships. In recent interviews Stipe has said Accelerate refers to the rate at which the world is moving in the year 2008. The buildings crowding each other on the cover also allude to this.

In case you missed it, Jody Denberg of Austin's KGSR conducted a very good interview with all of the members of the band last week that will replay on WXFX in Alabama on Thursday (March 20th) at 9 p.m. (Central Standard Time). In addition to the interviews the band plays a couple of tunes live from the Austin City Limits stage and debuts quite a few cuts from the new record.

In between the radio special, some recordings of the Dublin "working rehearsals" from last summer and their recent SXSW NPR broadcast from Stubb's BBQ in Austin I've heard everything from the new album but Sing For the Submarine. The record itself leaked this past weekend but I'm holding off on the official release date of April 1st to hear it.

[Wesley]

I just heard this new REM cd yesterday and will be picking it up on it's release Tuesday. I think it's great!

It's short which is a bummer, but the quality of the music makes up for it.

It'll only be my 3rd REM cd.

[kirchzep27]

I saw a good interview with them on a sunday morning show on cbs. It seems like they are wanting to make some waves with this record. I've heard a couple of songs on the radio, guitar and up beat, sounded good. They said in the inteview they havent been the same since their drummer left. I havent heard anything from those last 3 records that made me want to buy the albums.

[Jahfin]

I saw a good interview with them on a sunday morning show on cbs. It seems like they are wanting to make some waves with this record. I've heard a couple of songs on the radio, guitar and up beat, sounded good. They said in the inteview they havent been the same since their drummer left. I havent heard anything from those last 3 records that made me want to buy the albums.

I believe the whole album is available on iLike to listen to, otherwise it isn't too hard to find online since it leaked a few weeks ago. I've refrained from listening to it other than the recent radio special and the SXSW showcase (not to mention the Dublin "working rehearsals" themselves). The one song I still haven't heard is Sing for the Submarine.

As for the last three records, I don't totally discount them as there's definitely some good stuff on them. Once Bill Berry left they made a conscious effort not to sound like the R.E.M. of old and I can't blame them for that. That said, as a longtime fan I have reached a sort of make or break point with them and this new record. According to some of the recent interviews, they feel the same way. I'm sure many will accuse of them of trying to sound like the R.E.M. of old with this new album but I don't get that impression at all with what I've heard.

You can check out some footage of a few of the new songs shot by Vincent Moon (he did the Supernatural Superserious video) here:

http://www.blogotheque.net/rem

[kirchzep27]

^i'll check that out on a cable connection sometime. The song i heard on the radio was good, like i said the guitars are back, also had a bit of a 60s vibe to it.

[Jahfin]

From remhq.com:

ROCKLINE TONIGHT

Be sure not to miss Rockline tonight. Peter, Mike, and Michael will talk with host Bob Coburn who will play ACCELERATE in its entirety.

You can call to speak with the band by dialing 1-800-344-ROCK (7625).

For a station near you and for information about the webcast go to ROCKLINERADIO.COM

Also, the broadcast will be repeated in its entirety on Wednesday April 9, 2008 on ROCKLINE’S Classic Rock affiliated stations but please note that tonight is the only night you can call.

[Jahfin]

R.E.M. on The Today Show Edited April 1, 2008 by Jahfin

[Jahfin]

From RollingStone.com:

From Art School to the Hall of Fame: R.E.M. Gives a Tour of Their Discography

To celebrate their excellent new album Accelerate, R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe, Mike Mills and Peter Buck look back on their nearly three decades as one of America's great modern rock bands.