AM

Filmando el vídeo del primer sencillo de su nueva producción, “Accelerate“. Hasta ahora se desconoce si habrán comprado algo allí.

Vídeo del tipo “cómo se hizo”, cortesía de Ethank en Murmurs:

Billboard:

New Yorkers who happened to be on Rivington Street on Monday (Jan. 21) caught R.E.M. performing in both a local sex toy shop and the restaurant next door. The band convened on Manhattan’s Lower East Side to film the video for the first single from its forthcoming album, “Accelerate,” due April 1 via Warner Bros.

Varias fuentes reportan tracklists con algunas diferencias entre ellos. La gran sorpresa resulta la ausencia del track “Staring down the barrel of the middle distance”, que en sus apariciones en los conciertos de Dublin el año pasado impactó sobremanera a crítica y fans. Sorprende de la misma forma la inclusión de “I’m gonna DJ”, una tonta diversión rockera que Stipe escribió en sus comienzos hace un par de décadas (”Death is pretty final / I’m collecting vinyl / I’m gonna DJ at the end of the world!” entra guitarra: tarararararara…) y ha aparecido por mucho tiempo en conciertos de la banda, pero nunca había sido grabada. En honor a la justicia, si me preguntan.

En todo caso, Billboard ya escuchó el disco completo y éste es su temprano reporte sobre el regreso de R.E.M.

Repito. Sobre el regreso de R.E.M.:

Billboard
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”

Opinión: Después de 4 años de espera, 34 minutos es muy poco. Muchas gracias. La admnistración.

Eriksez predice: Será una versión popera de “New adventures in Hi-fi”.

Si se van a la página oficial de R.E.M. encontrarán dos banners a mabos lados de la página. A la derecha un ringtone con los 30 primeros segundos de “Supernatural superserious”, y el mejor a la izquierda, un banner que anuncia una gira de un mes que R.E.M. llevará a cabo en Norteamérica promocionando el disco, con la música de “Horse to water” pero con vocales de Mike Mills cantando/gritando “Hey Bertis Downs you know I think we might be touring / Hey Bertis Downs we just might tour this year” en vez de las originales de Stipe. Downs es manager de la banda.