ITEOTWAWKI: Getting Closer

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 […]

ITEOTWAWKI: Disappointed

The trickle of information about R.E.M.’s upcoming album Collapse Into Now continues. The first single is out and another “lyric video” for a new song has popped up. But the real news comes from an interview Mike Mills gave to a radio station in Los Angeles. How did you come to the decision to not […]

ITEOTWAWKI: Getting Closer

Three months ago, I expressed my wish that R.E.M. wouldn’t wait until spring to release their new album. They indicated that they had finished work so I wondered why they would wait until March or April to let us in on the secret. They chose a different tactic, of which I heartily approve. They have […]

ITEOTWAWKI: Info Overload

Well, a lot has happened since I last focused my geekery on R.E.M.’s upcoming album. The band has announced a release date (March 8), posted the track listing and released the first song from the album, Discoverer. You can get it too by visiting the band’s website and joining their e-mail list. I like the […]

ITEOTWAWKI: Acceptance

With several months to wait before R.E.M. releases its next album, I have decided to take one simple approach to the release – I can’t change it so why worry? Mike Mills gave some details to Rolling Stone this week. I have seen a couple of blog posts showing angst about some of the comments, […]

ITEOTWAWKI: The Anticipation Begins

We have known for a while that R.E.M. was working on its 15th studio album. The guys had reportedly finished the bulk of the work earlier this year. Now we have some news (second item), courtesy of lawyer/advisor/guru Bertis Downs. Downs also confirmed previous reports that REM’s new album had been completed in the last […]

ITEOTWAWKI: Leakage

We have just a short time until the remastered version of Fables of the Reconstruction, R.E.M.’s third album, hits the stores. The bonus goodie for this one will be a set of demos the band did before they headed to London to make the record. As I said before, there was some consternation from some […]

ITEOTWAWKI: New Fables

Earlier this month, R.E.M. announced the remastered version of “Fables of the Reconstruction,” the third of the band’s early albums to get this treatment. Like the first two, this July 13 release will include a bonus CD. But they are mixing it up. Instead of a concert like we got with “Murmur” and “Reckoning,” the […]

ITEOTWAWKI: New and Improved

As the glow of the 30th anniversary celebration wore off, we got news from REM HQ that the band had headed back into the studio to work on the next album. They had started work last year on some demos, but now that we know they have re-convened with producer Jacknife Lee, speculation can begin […]