I didn’t intend on rushing out to buy the new live R.E.M. CD/DVD. I wasn’t impressed by the track listing and really didn’t know when I would sit down and watch the DVD.

That’s why I bought it the day it came out.

I had to go to the mall to get a gift for a co-worker. I bought the card at one end of the mall, then walked to the other end to buy the gift card the whole office had pitched in for. On the way, I saw a record store. I just had to go in.

When I got inside, I headed right for the “New Releases” section. I scanned the entire rack, but couldn’t find Michael Stipe’s face. I looked all over the front of the store. Still nothing.

I wandered back toward the Rock section and found my way to R.E.M. There is was – one single copy of “R.E.M. Live.” And it had already been marked down. I just had to buy it. I couldn’t let the band’s brand-new CD sit there all alone on sale the day it was released. I kind of felt bad for them. I really doubted that hordes of people arrived at the mall the second it opened to buy copies of the album, forcing FYE to lower the price on its final copy.

I have been pretty harsh on the live DVD, but enjoyed what I listened to. Of course, I skipped through songs I knew I didn’t want to hear, which helped. They still bring a whole lot of energy to the stage, which you find in “Orange Crush” and “Rockville” and “Kenneth.” But I don’t see why they need to water those songs down with “Ascent of Man” and “Electron Blue” and “Everybody Hurts.”

I’ll probably copy a bunch of the songs to my laptop to enjoy while I am writing or playing video games. And I’ll probably keep the CDs in the car for occasional enjoyment. But mostly, I will listen to more energetic live performances from bootlegs and wait until I can see them live sometime next year when the new album comes out.