R.E.M. - ACCELERATE - April 1, 2008

[Nordling]

From Billboard:

R.E.M. Prepares To 'Accelerate'

January 02, 2008, 10:40 AM ET

Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.

Nobody would ever confuse R.E.M. for Metallica, but the guitars have definitely been turned up for the Georgia group's 14th studio album, "Accelerate," due April 1 via Warner Bros.

Nearly all the material was tested out during a summer run in Dublin, although manager Bertis Downs tells Billboard a few of those songs didn't make the cut, and that a couple of album tunes were held back from live airings.

Mostly gone is the drowsy vibe of 2004's "Around the Sun," with "Living Well Is the Best Revenge," "Horse to Water," "Aftermath" and "Until the Day Is Done" recapturing the old R.E.M. energy. "It's not like we're going to pretend these are ballads. These are rockers," Downs says.

"I feel like there's a confidence in the material, and a communication between the three of us that hasn't been there for some time," frontman Michael Stipe told Uncut. "We didn't talk to each other for a couple of records -- as friends or as bandmates. And we reached a point before this LP where we just sat down at a table and hashed it out."

R.E.M. will tour this spring; for now, the lone confirmed date is an appearance at the Langerado Festival, which runs March 6-9 in Big Cypress, Fla.

[Theta]

It's coming out on April Fools' Day?

[Nordling]

Billboard again:

R.E.M. Rocks Hard On New 'Accelerate'


January 25, 2008, 10:55 AM ET

Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.
After two consecutive albums dominated by mid-tempo fare, R.E.M. gets back to its stripped-down, fast-paced rock roots on "Accelerate," due April 1 via Warner Bros. The 11-track set, which gets in and out in a lightning-quick 34 minutes and change, is led by the single "Supernatural Superserious."

Opener "Living Well's the Best Revenge" sets the tone, with a prominent lead guitar figure from Peter Buck, thumping, melodic bass lines and backing vocals from Mike Mills and a rapid stream of lyrics from frontman Michael Stipe. The track almost seems like a musical cousin to "Just a Touch" from 1986's "Life's Rich Pageant."

The up-tempo approach extends to "Supernatural Superserious," a video for which was shot earlier this week on Manhattan's Lower East Side. "You realize your fantasies are dressed up in travesties / enjoy yourself with no regrets," Stipe instructs on the track, which should hit radio sometime next month.

Elsewhere, "Hollow Man" begins as a piano ballad but quickly morphs into a revved-up chorus, while "Horse To Water" is a noisy, angular rocker with the unmistakable stamp of R.E.M.'s pre-major label days.

Among the slower departures are "Houston," which is vaguely reminiscent of the vintage "Swan Swan H," and the politically charged "Until the Day Is Done" ("The verdict is dire / the country's in ruins," Stipe sings).

A number of the "Accelerate" tracks were premiered last summer during "working rehearsal" shows in Dublin. The album was produced by Jacknife Lee, best known for his work with Snow Patrol and U2.

Here is the track list for "Accelerate":

"Living Well's the Best Revenge"
"Mansized Wreath"
"Supernatural Superserious"
"Hollow Man"
"Houston"
"Accelerate"
"Until the Day Is Done"
"Mr. Richards"
"Sing for the Submarine"
"Horse To Water"
"I'm Gonna DJ"

34 minutes long? Mike Mills doing backup vocals again? A song named after my hometown? Can't wait.

[Vegeta]

I don't know... R.E.M. hasn't released anything decent for about 10+ years, IMO. Can't say I am excited.

[Lord Voldemoo]

I don't know... R.E.M. hasn't released anything decent for about 10+ years, IMO. Can't say I am excited.

The last album I truly loved of theirs was Monster...which is still one of my favorites. Though there are a few diamonds in the stuff released since then.

This sounds leaner and more..."accelerated" than the stuff they have been doing over the past 10 years. Color me intrigued. I'm excited to check it out.

[MasterWhedon]

I don't just love REM; I love REM.

One of my aunts--the "cool" aunt--was into them like whoa around the late-'80s, early-'90s and she passed it onto me. Michael Stipe has probably my favorite voice of anyone ever, and in terms of song quality, these guys are just behind U2 in my book (which is to say second on the list).

Their last two albums haven't really done it for me, so hells yes can I not wait for a "return to form."

[Seppuku]

What was so bad about Up and Reveal? The first contains some really adventurous experiments in songwriting, and the second is chock-full of some quite addictive melodies. Around The Sun I listened to once, shrugged and forgot about.

And I'd even go so far as to say that New Adventures in Hi-Fi was their best since Life's Rich Pageant (I'm sorry, I can't make myself miss out the apostrophe like I should). Then again, I can be a contrarian bastard sometimes...and the Patti Smith duet immediately upped the cool factor of that LP for me.

[burlivesleftnut]

Amen. Up is under-rated. I think it's R.E.M.'s best effort... especially coming after the loss of their drummer.

[Vegeta]

I don't know... R.E.M. hasn't released anything decent for about 10+ years, IMO. Can't say I am excited.

The last album I truly loved of theirs was Monster...which is still one of my favorites. Though there are a few diamonds in the stuff released since then.

This sounds leaner and more..."accelerated" than the stuff they have been doing over the past 10 years. Color me intrigued. I'm excited to check it out.

The funny thing about Monster is it seems that Peter Buck discovered Reverb/Delay mixed with Chorus and some distortion on his amp and used it in every song

Up didn't do much for me, although New Adventures did have a song or two... then I kind of forgot about them and moved on. To justify my comments, I do love the 80's early 90's stuff quite a bit. The late 90's and 00's took a quasi nose dive for me. I do hope that their new album is a marked improvement, however, I just felt they lost their spark.

[TheBaxter]

i thought reveal was a really good record. there are 2 or 3 painfully crappy songs on there, but everything else is pretty gold. up was pretty good, around the sun i can't even remember anything from that one. monster, on the other hand, sounds like diarrhea. rem is not and never was a grunge band, and they should keep far far away from the les pauls and marshall amps. to me, the rem sound is all about the jangle of those early records. so if this is a return to that sound, it would be welcome.

[Nordling]

When they lost Bill Berry is when they lost that something that made them more cohesive. Bery and Mills are a much more formidable rhythm section in rock then they were given credit for. I like UP and REVEAL (really don't like ACROSS THE SUN) but in a lot of ways HI-FI is their pinnacle.

[DinoDeLaurentiis]

I think it's R.E.M.'s best effort... especially coming after the loss of their drummer.

They just a not a the same without a the Ringo, no?

[burlivesleftnut]

I think it's R.E.M.'s best effort... especially coming after the loss of their drummer.

They just a not a the same without a the Ringo, no?

No not the same, but still really dynamic.

[Nordling]

This article goes a long way to making feel happy/giddy about an R.E.M. album again.

http://perpetua.tumblr.com/post/25020780

[TheBaxter]

This article goes a long way to making feel happy/giddy about an R.E.M. album again.

http://perpetua.tumblr.com/post/25020780

it goes a long way to making me feel like i ain't gonna dig it. comparisons to monster, green day or mall rock frighten and confuse me. ultimately though, if they wrote good songs, the rest won't matter, so i'll wait and see.

[Nordling]

I know R.E.M. ain't ever been the most muscular band ever, but I loved MONSTER and the comparisons to IRS days makes me more excited.

If they break my heart, though... it's the kiss off!

[Keepcoolbutcare]

http://perpetua.tumblr.com/post/25020780

is that Matt Perpetua, aka Fluxblog?

he's one damn fine music writer, and one of the best music bloggers the intertubes have ever known.

[Nordling]

First single, streamed:

http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/page/forkcast/48521-rem-supernatural-superserious-stream

Unfortunately I can't hear it at work.

[TheBaxter]

First single, streamed:

http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/page/forkcast/48521-rem-supernatural-superserious-stream

Unfortunately I can't hear it at work.

i like it. nice and upbeat, while reminiscent of their earlier stuff. to me, it sounds very cheerful and summery. i also think it bears some similarity to the replacements, and vocally and melodically, reminds me a lot of bob mould as well.

[Seppuku]

The best thing about that song was Mike Mills' backing vocals. I almost wish he got to do a few more lead vocals, as their cover of I Am Superman is one of my favourite REM tracks.

Nice chorus, but as a whole the song's a little too nondescript for my taste.

[burlivesleftnut]

oh crap, that's a really good track.

[Nordling]

Yeah, it is. It's really old school IRSesque for them.

[MasterWhedon]

Fuck yeah! Love it!

[Nordling]

http://mp3.rem.sk/R.E.M.%20-%20Supernatural%20Superserious.mp3

Right click to save.

[Nordling]

The coolest website.

http://www.supernaturalsuperserious.com/

[Worst Part's Almost Over]

I can't wait for this next album! Around The Sun is the only R.E.M. album I've ever disliked - it's actually boring, which is something I'd never thought I'd say about them. But from the bits I've heard so far of Accelerate, I think they've got their groove back.

And yet I still haven't found anyone who's favourite R.E.M. album is the same as mine

[Nordling]

My favorite's RECKONING, with HI-FI a close second. AUTOMATIC's third.

[Worst Part's Almost Over]

My favorite's RECKONING, with HI-FI a close second. AUTOMATIC's third.

For me, the albums go like this (1 being my fave, 13 my least fave):

1. New Adventures In Hi-Fi
2. Green
3. Document
4. Automatic For The People
5. Murmur
6. Out Of Time
7. Life's Rich Pageant
8. Monster
9. Reveal
10. Up
11. Reckoning
12. Fables Of The Reconstruction
13. Around The Sun

[Nordling]

Ask me again in about 10 minutes, and my list will probably change, except for ACROSS THE SUN being in the cellar.

[Worst Part's Almost Over]

Ask me again in about 10 minutes, and my list will probably change, except for ACROSS THE SUN being in the cellar.

Best place for it, I feel...

[Seppuku]

My favorite's RECKONING, with HI-FI a close second. AUTOMATIC's third.

For me, the albums go like this (1 being my fave, 13 my least fave):

1. New Adventures In Hi-Fi
2. Green
3. Document
4. Automatic For The People
5. Murmur
6. Out Of Time
7. Life's Rich Pageant
8. Monster
9. Reveal
10. Up
11. Reckoning
12. Fables Of The Reconstruction
13. Around The Sun

Here's mine:

1. Murmur. The Byrds crossed with The Psychedelic Furs= R.E.M.'s debut. A murky, muddy masterpiece. This was Buck's finest hour.

2. New Adventures in Hi-fi. A rocking confessional live album that happened to have been recorded in a studio.

3. Lifes Rich Pageant (remember the lack of apostrophe!!!). You can almost imagine some of this music being played around the campfire during the American Civil War.

4. Reckoning. If it weren't for the last couple of songs letting the side down (although they're hardly terrible), Reckoning would have bagged the number 2 spot. This was the apex of their underground college radio stage.

5. Green. One of my faves, mostly for the two-punch knock-out that is The Wrong Child and World Leader Pretend, two songs which I cite any time anyone writes REM off as just a bland FM radio staple. I've never heard an FM band write songs like this.

6. Automatic for the People. The last album Kurt Cobain ever listened to. And their most popular one to boot. Thing is, I just don't get the will to play it as often as the top five.

7. Document. A little fragmented; and again, it ends with a bit of a whimper with Oddfellows Local 151. Still, it's the album which contains It's the End of the World... (whose greatness is almost negated by their sucky cover of Wire's Strange.)

8. Fables of the Reconstruction. Apart from the godawful white funk travesty that is "Can't Get There From Here", this is actually quite an atmospheric album. Apparently it was recorded in London after a long stay away from home, and you can hear that malaise and feeling of distance in every song.

9. Up. Like Reveal, this is actually very tuneful, and it's great to hear Stipe juggling up his narratives a little here- like he did on those two songs I mentioned on Green. You get what you put in with this one, it's just I don't always have the energy to give it the attention it deserves.

10. Reveal. Like a photocopy of a photocopy, but if the band you're cribbing from is The Beach Boys, the result's at least going to be listenable. Still...it's almost like the melodies and Radioheady production are desperately trying to hide the fact that Stipe & Co were going through a dry patch.

11. Monster. It's been so long since I've listened to this one that I just don't feel qualified to speak about it. Apart from a couple of songs (What's the Frequency, Kenneth?), this is REM completely misinterpeting grunge altogether...the result is a leaden dog of an LP.

12. Out of Time. Yep, I'm really not a big fan of R.E.M.'s second biggest seller. Plastic alt-country just isn't my thing. I'd prefer to listen to some Gram Parsons.

13. Around the Sun. £10 beer coaster.

[Worst Part's Almost Over]

2. New Adventures in Hi-fi. A rocking confessional live album that happened to have been recorded in a studio.

Wrong way around, sir. The majority of the album was recorded live, with only one or two overdubs recorded in the studio. 4 songs were totally studio recorded, but I'd still call it a rocking, beautiful, confessional studio album that happened to have been recorded live

[Worst Part's Almost Over]

11. Monster. It's been so long since I've listened to this one that I just don't feel qualified to speak about it. Apart from a couple of songs (What's the Frequency, Kenneth?), this is REM completely misinterpeting grunge altogether...the result is a leaden dog of an LP.

What about 'Let Me In' - you seriously dislike that?!

[Seppuku]

11. Monster. It's been so long since I've listened to this one that I just don't feel qualified to speak about it. Apart from a couple of songs (What's the Frequency, Kenneth?), this is REM completely misinterpeting grunge altogether...the result is a leaden dog of an LP.

What about 'Let Me In' - you seriously dislike that?!

Yeah, that'd be the other song that passed muster (w/ Strange Currencies).

I had that album nicked from me a few years ago, so maybe I rated it so low as a way of sticking it to that CD-stealing son of a Gaffney's bitch!

Edit: New Word Filter?

[Tyrone_Shoelaces]

It's taking a while but "Supernatural Superserious" is growing on me. The guitars are a little punchier but it is definitely classic-sound REM. I imagine this is what "Radio Free Europe" would sound like if they were starting out today.

[Worst Part's Almost Over]

I imagine this is what "Radio Free Europe" would sound like if they were starting out today.

I thought the same thing actually

[Nordling]

The album's fantastic. Easily their best in years. Maybe their best... ever. And this is coming from a seriously disillusioned fan who claims R.E.M. is their favorite band ever.

[Worst Part's Almost Over]

Got the album, love it, massive improvement on their last. Full review coming before the end of the week.

[Fried Gold]

There are loads of session tracks (recorded ahead of their concerts this week) being played on BBC 6Music at the moment, and it does sound pretty good - much better than some of their recent stuff. Reminded me slightly of some pre-Out of Time songs, as well as a bit like Monster.

You can likely find some of the session recordings on the 6Music site - http://www.bbc.co.uk/6music/


EDIT - In fact it looks like their Albert Hall show tonight is being covered live by BBC Radio 2

http://www.bbc.co.uk/musicevents/rem/

[Nordling]

http://chud.com/articles/blogs/305/Album-Review-ACCELERATE---REM.html

[TheBaxter]

i've been listening to this album for the last week or so. i'm a bit... confused... by it. overall it's a good record, but it doesn't sound like an REM record to me. it doesn't sound like classic REM, or Monster, or their recent stuff. there's certainly nothing wrong with that, but it takes some getting used to. there's really only a couple songs on the album that sound like recognizably REM songs. it sounds like a garage-punk record. i don't think there's a single mandolin or accordion on this record. but there's no chiming Rickenbacker arpeggios either, so it's definitely not a return to pre-bloat REM either.

i'd say my favorite songs at this point are Hollow Man and Accelerate, i also like the opening 3 songs, Houston, Until the Day is Done, and Horse to Water. i don't care much for Sing for the Submarine or I'm Gonna DJ, and i pretty much hate Mr Richards.

my biggest issue with the record is sound quality. not only do the play like a garage punk band, but the audio quality is about that level too. i think the album could benefit from better production, it would give the harder faster songs more kick, and a bit more sonic variety to the album as a whole.

[Tyrone_Shoelaces]

MTV MILAN CONCERT
AVAILABLE IN HD THIS MONTH

During their promotional tour back in March for ACCELERATE, the band performed a concert for Italian fan club members and other contest winners at MTV Milano. It was a special night and now you can check it out. The concert will air in the US on Palladia, the MTV HD channel (formerly MHD) on the following dates and times:

Monday 9/8 at 1PM
Friday 9/12 at 11PM
Sunday 9/14 at 6PM

For more information, please go here.