One of the reasons R.E.M. continues to fascinate me is their commitment to openness. They seem genuine and honest when they sit down and discuss how they do what they do. They don’t put on airs even though Stipe can be pretentious, it’s not in a condescending way. At least not to me.

That’s why I love this video (sorry, I can’t embed it) they did for MSN.com about the upcoming album. They discuss motivations and how they record and play parts of a bunch of songs. They lift the curtain back as much as any other group will. Each little piece like this gets me more and more excited about “Collapse Into Now.”

And to continue that, let’s enjoy something I can embed – a live in studio version of “Mine Smell Like Honey.”