|
|
R.E.M.
Jul 10, 2004 0:11:16 GMT -5
Post by ScottsyII on Jul 10, 2004 0:11:16 GMT -5
Never disliked the song myself! A nice catchy pop song with a big hook andb up vibe feel... there is no problem with it in my eyes! Seems to fit in the mood of Out of Time as well, so no issues here!
|
|
|
|
R.E.M.
Jul 10, 2004 11:05:07 GMT -5
Post by Proud on Jul 10, 2004 11:05:07 GMT -5
yup, that's pretty much the case. honestly, i don't think out of time has a single dud on it. i like some songs more than others, but still, i like them all.
i've also recently 'fallen in love' with "near wild heaven". really beautiful, soothing. and catchy... i've had it in my head so much...
|
|
|
|
R.E.M.
Jul 10, 2004 21:27:58 GMT -5
Post by ScottsyII on Jul 10, 2004 21:27:58 GMT -5
Near Wild Heaven has that great feeling that only REM can infuse into a song... you get a sense of hope and joy amongst a darker background, a theme that was perhaps emboldened in later albums like Automatic for the People... I love that song, though, and it does get into your head and stay there, and Mike Mills' vocals are so good in it.
|
|
|
|
R.E.M.
Jul 10, 2004 22:06:32 GMT -5
Post by Proud on Jul 10, 2004 22:06:32 GMT -5
well, what i always loved about r.e.m.'s music is that it gets you thinking, but is catchy and sticks in your head... i love the southern rock charm/personality. i guess that's why i've been such a supporter of document.
also, it's the cleverness of the lyrics... sometimes they're harder to decipher than usual, though. if you just look at the depth of songs like "disturbance at the heron house" and "summer turns to high", you know these songs weren't just randomly created. it's simply musical and poetic genius. for fans of wit in music, r.e.m. delivers.
|
|
|
|
R.E.M.
Jul 27, 2004 17:48:55 GMT -5
Post by Proud on Jul 27, 2004 17:48:55 GMT -5
The first single from R.E.M.'s next Warner Bros. album will be "Leaving New York," which is tentatively set for a Sept. 27 commercial release in the United Kingdom. A group spokesperson had no information regarding the single but confirms the as-yet-untitled album will arrive Oct. 5 in North America.
It will be the follow-up to 2001's "Reveal," which debuted at No. 6 on The Billboard 200 and has sold 411,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Among the other tracks being eyed for the new release are "Wanderlust" and "I'm Gonna DJ."
The song "Final Straw," which was previously released online and debuted during R.E.M.'s 2003 tour, will appear on the "Future Soundtrack of America" compilation, due Aug. 17 via Barsuk Records.
R.E.M. is planning a fall tour in support of the new disc, which is expected to encompass some concerts in swing states in the run-up to the U.S. presidential election.
As previously reported, R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck can also be heard guesting on Irish rock act the Thrills' new album, "Let's Bottle Bohemia," due Sept. 14 via Virgin.
sounds great, but i'm a bit disappointed with reveal's sales...
|
|
|
|
R.E.M.
Jul 31, 2004 21:13:34 GMT -5
Post by ScottsyII on Jul 31, 2004 21:13:34 GMT -5
I'm so hungry for that new R.E.M album... I'm thinking it really will be my musical purchase highlight of the year... at last something to get REALLy excited about this year, the major interest artist releases have been a bit thin on the ground for me this year... this one's right on the money!
|
|
|
|
R.E.M.
Jul 31, 2004 22:56:34 GMT -5
Post by Proud on Jul 31, 2004 22:56:34 GMT -5
i want the new r.e.m. and green day's american idiot (i'm positive this album will be a rocking breath of fresh air to mainstream "pop/punk") more than anything else. the only album i bought this year is franz ferdinand's, and though it's okay, i'm not too thrilled with it. must have new, cutting edge music...
|
|
|
|
R.E.M.
Aug 4, 2004 23:33:07 GMT -5
Post by Proud on Aug 4, 2004 23:33:07 GMT -5
R.E.M.'s next Warner Bros. album will be titled "Around the Sun," according to the group's official Web site. As previously reported, the set will be released Oct. 4 internationally and the following day in North America. First single "Leaving New York" will be released commercially Sept. 27 outside North America.
Among the other tracks being eyed for the new release are "Wanderlust," "I'm Gonna DJ" and "Final Straw," which was previously released online and debuted during R.E.M.'s 2003 tour. It will also appear on the "Future Soundtrack of America" compilation, due Aug. 17 via Barsuk Records.
"We wanted to say something immediately about our displeasure with the invasion of Iraq," R.E.M. bassist Mike Mills told radio host Al Franken this afternoon about the track.
The release of "Around the Sun" will come in the midst of the just-announced Vote for Change tour, which will find the band teaming with Bruce Springsteen, John Fogerty and Bright Eyes for five shows in U.S. presidential election battleground states. The artists will play Oct. 1 at Philadelphia's Wachovia Center, Oct. 2 at Cleveland's Gund Arena, Oct. 3 at Ann Arbor, Mich.'s Crisler Arena, Oct. 5 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn., and Oct. 8 at the TD Waterhouse Centre in Orlando.
Tickets for the shows go on-sale Aug. 21 to the general public; it is unclear if members of the R.E.M. fan club will have special pre-sale opportunities, which will be available to members of tour sponsor MoveOn.org. Organizers told reporters today that Springsteen had personally invited the other acts to join him at the shows.
"It just shows you how desperate times are," Mills told Franken. "[Defeating President Bush] is a life or death matter. [But] we're trying to keep it on the high road as much as possible. We can still make our point and do it with some class and dignity."
|
|
|
|
R.E.M.
Sept 4, 2004 7:28:38 GMT -5
Post by ScottsyII on Sept 4, 2004 7:28:38 GMT -5
"Around the Sun" sounds like a great title and should go down well amongst all other REM titles... thye album is certainly starting to sound intriguing indeed!
As a HUGE REM fan, i have to say this has been the album I have anticipated the MOST all year 'round, and I will certainly be very excited to pick up my copy... Only one month to go too!!! Hurrah!!!
The countdown begins now! :-)
|
|
|
|
R.E.M.
Oct 4, 2004 7:43:25 GMT -5
Post by ScottsyII on Oct 4, 2004 7:43:25 GMT -5
Well... I have the new album in my hot little hands, and I am enjoying it as I type this... very interesting direction they have taken on this album!
Kinda mellow all over but far less processed and produced than Reveal... really haven't heard a dud song on it yet, and I think it's going to do well in my CD of the year rankings compiled annually!!! :-)
Of course this is only my first listening, and I loathe to make in depth commentary after only a few listens, so I won't!!! But it's looking good... strong set of songs, definitely a diufferent sound to previous albums, but recogniseable trends and sounds from previous albums blended in to the mix... I like it!
Leaving New York is a beaut opener, Electron blue sound sgreat with its strange synths, and I quite like The Outsiders, even with Q - Tip's rap in it, it fits nicely!
Prepare for plenty of future commentary on this album from me, that's for sure!
|
|
|
|
R.E.M.
Oct 5, 2004 5:39:35 GMT -5
Post by ScottsyII on Oct 5, 2004 5:39:35 GMT -5
OK, so even though no one is probably going to read this...hahahahahahaha... I am going to do a track by track on "Around the Sun". I am personally falling in love with this album, it's got so many classic REM overtones and beautiful melodies, I just can't help it... coming up next post, impression written as the album plays it's way across my CD player... :-)
|
|
|
|
R.E.M.
Oct 5, 2004 6:38:35 GMT -5
Post by ScottsyII on Oct 5, 2004 6:38:35 GMT -5
Leaving New York - begins with that lovely jangly sound and interesting chord progressions... ends out beautifully and emotively melancholic, with verses sung in a round with Mike Mills and Stipe... this is a slowly burning and beautiful track, completely underrated, and a stunningly good way to begin the record... almost gets me in tears when I hear it.
Electron Blue Reveal - esque synths and a few electronic bass beats, a great vocal from stipe and some lovely piano notes, a lighter feeling track but does fit quite nicely as a follow up to the opener and doesn't stray too far from the general theme and feel of the album.
The Outsiders A different sort of rhythmic vibe for an REM, but it takes up that melancholic feel that Leaving New York establishes, lovely big electric notes from Buck at the Chorus raises the song to a new high, very pensive, very thoughtful. Am I with you or am I against, I don't think it's that simple beautiful line which says alot in this War on Terrorism era we are enduring, this track again, another poignant post 9/11 tale.... rap by Q - Tip actually fits beautifully into the track and fits melancholic mood perfectly. Never thought I'd like a rap in a song so much... adds to the beauty of this track.
Make it all OK Another track that virtually brings tears to my eyes... a sort of scorned love ballad that just has a few overtones and resonances with a not so positive chapter of my life a few years ago, again follows that melancholic tone, which is certainly a theme of this album.
Final Straw We all know this one, and why it was written, and this is some of the most pointed, jaded political stuff REM has done in years, and I personally love it... it's ballsy, slow burning and it says "no Mr. Bush, it's just not all ok. It's wrong. We've had enough."
I Wanted to be Wrong The opening of this track reminds me of "The Chorus and the Ring" from Reveal, but it's more gentle, more lullabye - like, but still there's some absolutely beautiful lyrical poetry going on in this song, feels like a nice light moment after the lyrical heaviness of the Final Straw, and the music follows suit, nicely textured, gentle stuff.
Wanderlust Possibly the album's most up - vibe track, this reminds me of a live cover REM did of "Passenger" by Iggy Pop... which I really liked! This is a bit more poppy though, and quite catchy, quite a different feel from the rest of the album! Possibly another lighter moment before moving back to the heavier subject matter, methinks...
And I was right because along comes...
Boy in the Well We're back in dark territory now, that's for sure... the low strumming guitars and impending doom synths, lyrical darkness, this is classic dark, Automatic for the People toned sort of stuff, has a really impending doom sort of feel to it though... It's that sinking feeling, you know what that's bringing on
Aftermath More up vibe than Boy in the Well, but still has that air of dark melancholy floating about in the air but almost like you're pulling out, this doesn't sound like "Man on the Moon" at all, but it performs a similar function for this album, and it has some incredibly emotive lyrical parts if you listen closely, it's kina a song about an emotional epiphany of sorts, sorta like you've just worked out something that isn't good and you're finding your way out...
Now you see it all and you've worked it out
High Speed Train Ooooooo... I like this one... all this talk of Trains reminds me pleasantly of Driver 8 and Fables of the Reconstruction... then Buck sorta cuts in with this spanish guitar sound which brings in something totally different and it works well with the song... the chorus has asort of sense of malaise about it, really recalls the dark tones and melancholy of Fables quite nicely!
The Worst Joke Ever Sounds like it could have been written as a partner piece to "I'll Take the Rain" but a more mournfull, reflective piece than the afformentioned and then it brings in these strings which sorta capitalise on the feel of "The Lifting" This definitely picks up on the theme kicked off by "Leaving New York" in terms of feel and... boy this is a beautiful melody though, the way it troughs out and then soars, makes me want to laugh at those people saying REM have lost their skills as songwriters... I couldn't ask for better, this is an amazingly beautiful track.
The Ascent of Man The mood lightens considerably here, and the howl of stipe as he reaches the chorus (yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah) has that "get up out of your seat" feel to it, lifts the mood as the album is coming close to a close...
Around the Sun Big closer for an album making a few big statements! "I want the sun to shine on me" sounds like the ultimate conclusion for all this dark lyricism going on throughout the disc... "hold on world cause you don't know what's coming, hold on world because I am not jumping off" is as far as Stipe goes towards saying, "come on everyone, lets fight this off and start to build a better world" and as a parting sentiment, it fits so damn well after the material of this album.
This in my opinion is a MASSIVE return to form for REM, who never, in my opinion really lost form... Reveal was excellent, but this is focussed, emotively raw, beautiful, and although it makes it's point quietly without bluster or your latest Jet riff or Coldplay chord progression, it just engages me from start to finish, holds my emotions, my head and makes me feel something in my music listening... these songs have been in my head since their first playing last night and I can't shake them... this is yet another great REM album.
Tune out to the detractors. This is one seriously beautiful, evocative, political and globally focussed masterpiece.
And another reason why I continue to love REM.
|
|
|
|
R.E.M.
Oct 5, 2004 6:51:52 GMT -5
Post by Dr. Drum on Oct 5, 2004 6:51:52 GMT -5
Well I have to say, you've given me some hope for this record, Scottsy. I was never able to form much of an emotional connection with the last couple R.E.M. records but it certainly sounds like you have with this one.
|
|
|
|
R.E.M.
Oct 5, 2004 8:33:01 GMT -5
Post by ScottsyII on Oct 5, 2004 8:33:01 GMT -5
Thanks Dr. Drum! I have enjoyed it immensely so far, and i must admit I still feel like I am discovering it a fair bit...
I think people's main grip thus far in the negative reviews I've seen of the album is that it is fairly slow paced, with mostly downbeat songs, which I'll admit it keeps an evenly slow pace, but there's nothing wrong with that.
Other's will say they are trying to re - hash Automatic for the People, but lets face it, REM just have to have an accoustic guitar in a song for someone to say that.
It's a far different album from Automatic by it's very nature.
|
|
|
|
R.E.M.
Oct 5, 2004 11:52:36 GMT -5
Post by Proud on Oct 5, 2004 11:52:36 GMT -5
ah crud, i forgot about the album's release!
i scraped together 15 bucks so if that's enough i'll go pick it up now...
|
|
