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 […]

Happy Birthday, R.E.M.

Something remarkable happened in a very unremarkable fashion 30 years ago tonight. A young woman named Kathleen O’Brien threw herself a birthday party. From all reports, she wanted it to rival any party that Athens, Ga., had ever seen. She arranged for some bands to play, including one which featured her two roommates at the […]

ITEOTWAWKI: Recognition

The time has come for columnists and bloggers to do their “Best of” lists for 2009. They fill some needed space for many writers and do serve a good purpose in this day and age when the fads seem to come faster and faster. I’m waiting for the day when someone declares that a TV […]

ITEOTWAWKI: Crushed

I usually like to know all the facts. I don’t like to believe in myths or legends. I want cold, hard facts. In the case of former major league pitcher “Black” Jack McDowell and The Baseball Project‘s song “The Yankee Flipper,” I wish I had stayed ignorant. A quick summary: the song chronicles a night […]