I’m going to try and start something new and make an R.E.M.-related post on Fridays, with the theme “It’s the End of the Week as We Know It.”

This week is a perfect week to start since the band announced this week that they will release a new album on Oct. 18. That’s awesome, right? They debuted a bunch of new songs in Dublin earlier this year so this is what fans have been waiting for right?

Nope. Yep, the album has a Dublin connection, but has nothing to do with the “live rehearsals” they did a few months ago. The band will release a live album from a concert recorded in Dublin in 2005.

I don’t have anything against live albums, per se. In fact, I probably listen to R.E.M. bootlegs more than their studio work. But the reality is that the set list from this show does nothing to excite me.

Every R.E.M. show features a few nuggets for the fans. The ones for this show are incredibly disappointing – “Ascent of Man” and “I Took Your Name.” What about something from “Chronic Town”? What about anything from the first four or five albums? Only four songs are from pre-1991. That’s not a good mix from where I sit.

With work already started on an anticipated 2008 studio album, the release of this live albumj is even more curious. The band is currently in the midst of a five-album contract with Warner Brothers. The live album is number four. The studio album next year will be number five.

What next? Do they stop recording together? Do they start their own label? Do they stop recording traditional albums and rely on occasional digital releases to support their occasional touring?

I don’t know, but I do know this. I don ‘t care how much of a money grab it is, I’ll still buy it. And they know they have suckers like me out there so I don’t blame them.