Sorry CJ fans, but my first love, my own true obsession, is and will always be R.E.M. They don't need my help, they have a nice long career behind them and years of more beautiful music ahead, so I haven't devoted my every waking moment to them. But don't mistake that for lack of interest. So when I hear that they just finished work on their latest album, my heart skips a beat. Which, at my age, is not necessarily a good thing!
According to the article on SPIN.com, they recorded both in Nashville and in Berlin -- an odd, but oddly R.E.M.-like choice. The album was produced Jacknife Lee who also produced their last album, Accelerate, which was a much better record than the disappointing Around the Sun which left even this R.E.M. fanatic cold.
To commemorate this announcement, here are some of my favorite R.E.M. songs:
Carnival of Sorts (Boxcars):
Harborcoat (when they, and the rest of us, were young)
Fall on Me (From MTV Unplugged)
So. Central Rain (great photos of Michael Stipe!!)
In the off-chance that a certain someone is reading the post today, here's something you haven't seen. It's very cute. But for others, a warning. There's lengthy intro and if you're are really easily offended you might want to skip to 2:30.
Harborcoat
Thank you Shari, I enjoyed listening to all the REM vids. Nice music.
ReplyDeleteREM is not simply "nice" music. They have defined rock and roll in a way that no current artist -- with the possible exception of U2 -- can even understand, let alone achieve. They have provided over thirty years of the finest songwriting ever, which is why their acceptance into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was as predictable as today's sunrise. They are life and how to live it.
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