R.E.M.

[Proud]

well, my heart refuses to let me give up on around the sun. i'm going to listen to it again and again until i find something great, something innovative, something as touching as reveal. i think it just might be there, but it's out of my reach. maybe it's in the lyrics or the melody and i'm just not getting it yet. i have too much faith in r.e.m. to think that they made a record like what i've perceived so far.

[Proud]

heh, how about that. i gave it another listen, and now i can't get the stuff out of my head. mainly "boy in the well". daaaaamn is that an awesome track...

[ScottsyII]

It just takes time and a bit of digestion I think...

I admit it struck me as a bit plain at first, but when I opened out the music, listened to the words and got the true thrust of the songs... it all fell into place!!!

Boy in the Well is GREAT!!! I have been loving Aftermath lately too...

Perhaps its my mood lately, I've had a few things sorta give my world a little bit of a jolt in the last few weeks, nothing detrimental, Mellie and I are strong as ever... the world's just being a challenge for us lately...

There is something irresistably emotional in a lyric like...

so you work it out, overfeed the cat
and the plants are dry and they need to drink
so you do your best and you flood the sink
sit down in the kitchen and cry

[Proud]

scott, i'm also loving "aftermath". i love stipe's astronomical allusions... they tickle my fancy, for some reason. planets, stars, the moon, whatever. those symbolizations always feel genuine.

to be honest, i felt there was something i was missing... i felt there was a certain charm that, for whatever reason, i couldn't grasp. it's just very subtlely produced, very soft and emotional, but not in a reveal-like way. reveal thrived off of heavy production and inner revelations of a happier, more straight forward charm. around the sun rambles a bit more, but it isn't necessarily a bad thing.

either way, r.e.m. certainly hasn't released a dud. i'm glad i trusted my instincts.

[ScottsyII]

As am I, for sure...

I have been reading negative review after neagtive review about Around the Sun, and each negative review just turns me closer and closer to the music.

Some have pointed to its sound being too "perfect" or "it has too much sheen and gloss". Some have said they don't like Stipe's more straightforward lyrics, some continue to bemoan the lack of Bill Berry... (god god, they're three albums too late now...)

But what I hear is a finely produced, subtle, nuanced album, that surely isn't going to have people from the Jet Brigade rolling up with their money in hand... but it provides essential what is the antithesis of the popular crap of our day... its not spontaneous, its not short, it requires concentration and attention and doesn't requite you to bring your leather jacket and scruffy jeans.

It's a considered think piece, you can hear that in every strain of Stipe's voice, in every subtle note played by Buck and Mills, you get enveloped in the feel of the songs when you let them seep in.

OK, it's all far more serious than Reveal, which had a far lighter, airy tone to it... if you like it was more the band's summer as this was it's winter.

Lets not forget Reveal was released early in 2001... as opposed to this post - Iraq War 2004 album... the feel is going to be markedly different in three years under normal circumstances but look at the change in the world that has wrought itself upon us in the last three years...

OK, so now to deal with the straightforward nature of Stipe's vocals and lyrics... he doesn't mumble as much, and he doesn't mince words as much, but in each word there is a strong sincerity, a commitment and a belief in what he is saying. He will always be a unique lyricist, with interesting phrasings and combinations of images... but honestly the repetition of "I love you, I love you, I love you" in Leaving New York is one of the most heartfelt and beautiful, moving moments on the album.

Around the Sun is no dog, it's far from it.... it's a mature album, a questioning album, and a statement to hold on in the face of adversity... amongst all of the gloom that befalls us we should "take another trip around the sun"...

REM have quite often painted themselves outside of the current scene and this album is no different. While the world rocks out to its two chord wonders and thinks its getting something new... I'd prefer to sit and listen to the thoughtful contemplation of Around the Sun any day, hear a band passionate about the direction of this world, hear a band that wants to make a difference and can say so ever so eloquently.

And I don't care how damn middle aged that makes me sound. This album inspired me alot, and keep me warm through a really tough month when I faced my own personal adversities... and I all the better for owning it and listening to it.

REM have done it again for me... created something timeless that is now inseprable from a crucial time in my life.

Thanks again guys.

[Proud]

A man walks away when every muscle says to stay
How many yesterdays - they each weigh heavy
Who says what changes may come?
Who says what we call home?
I know you see right through me, my luminescence fades
The dusk provides an antidote, I am not afraid
I've been a million times in my mind
This is really just a technicality, frailty, reality

Uh, it's time to breathe, time to believe
Let it go and run towards the sea
They don't teach that, they don't know what you mean
They don't understand, they don't know what you mean
They don't get it, I wanna scream
I wanna breathe again, I wanna dream
I wanna float a quote from Martin Luther King
I am not afraid
I am not afraid
I am not afraid

I am not afraid
I am not afraid
I am not afraid
I am not afraid

[ScottsyII]

I think I may be going to see REM live soon... they play Adelaide Entertainment Centre on Apil 6th... going to be looking into getting tickets soon... to say I'm excited would be an understatement!

Looking forward in particular to seeing all of their post - Monster material live.... something that I haven't seen before since they haven't played Australia since the Monster Tour!

[Proud]

Here's a good place to discuss the merits of Accelerate! Welcome back to 3 1/3 years ago (may I take your order? perhaps an Automatic, or a Monster, or, if you're feeling daring... a Fable of the Reconstruction?)!

The opening chords of "Living Well..." tore my face off. It was a rather untimely death. By an old friend who I usually come to for coffee and, you know, to glue my heart back together (or, at the very least, provide me an empathetic ear) when a love interest or the social sects I buy into have gone astray, or pep me about how everybody hurts, sometimes. Now it's about all my sad and lost apostles humming his name and flaring their nostrils. But you know what? I like it. A lot. I'm ready to be bad... and to be the one on the opposing end, for the first time in a great while. 'Sides... one Leaving New York is one Leaving New York enough.

Man-Sized Wreath... it's like the floor we cleared with Fireplace needed to be thrown into the fireplace. But remember how we were so sluggish and cultish about it last time? It's kinda like we're flipping our finger to that mind control. We didn't need to throw the chairs or the floor into the fireplace. We needed to throw the entire goddamned floor into the fireplace. Welcome to the new era. Glad we are together again, for these two and a half minutes.

And then our old friend returns for Supernatural Superserious. But no decaf, this time.

[maarts]

I liked Accelerate when I heard it the first few times but it lost its appeal for me. Happens with quite a few albums lately. Dunno but so often I have this 'thanks for comin'-attitude towards albums i dig in the beginning. It's like there's so much good music out there but not something I can listen over and over again.

[bowiglou]

well, I'm giving Accelerate an enthusiastic two thumbs up...true, I may be contrasting it with recent releases, but I think its quite a galvanizing LP...kinda along the lines of U2's 'how to dismantle a bomb'

[Proud]

I love Jacknife Lee... but How To Dismantle is some of the shoddiest arena rock wannabe stuff that I've ever heard from a band that I expect to be better than that. imo.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=fY-1XM3M79s

Live video of "Living Well..." from last year. It really makes me smile. God, I love these guys.