R.E.M. - "Crush With Eyeliner"

Happy 25th anniversary, Monster.

R.E.M. - "Pilgrimage"

On April 12, 1983, R.E.M. released their full-length debut, Murmur. They have probably made better albums since, but none of them feel as cohesive as this one. I said a lot about the record back in this 2008 piece (scroll down), and I still stand behind every word. On an album full of highlights, perhaps my favorite deep cut is "Pilgrimage." No idea what the song means, but Michael Stipe and Mike Mills' vocals say so much.

R.E.M. - "Electron Blue"

R.E.M. fans can argue about what the band's best album is, but most agree what's their worst: 2004's Around the Sun. An oddly dispassionate, almost diffident record, Around the Sun was around the time that most observers decided that R.E.M. were "over." And yet, there are a few gems on it. Including this one.

r.e.m. - try not to breathe

Yeah, I'm still bummed out about the R.E.M. news. So here's a little "Try Not to Breathe."

top 40 R.E.M. songs

Normally for About, I make Top 10 lists of bands' best songs. But with R.E.M., it became a much bigger task. Even cutting it down to 40 took some doing. Well, after a lot of soul-searching, I've come up with R.E.M.'s top 40 songs of all time. Let the debate begin.

the national - mistaken for strangers

I'll be seeing the National tomorrow night at the Wiltern. This will be the second time I've caught them live -- the last was as an opening band for R.E.M.'s Accelerate tour. I'm curious to see how their well-toned mope-rock works in an intimate setting. (They were good at the Hollywood Bowl, but the sun was still out, and most of the crowd couldn't have cared less about them.) They'll definitely play "Mistaken for Strangers" -- I think it's the best of their "for once, let's try to rock" songs.

r.e.m.'s murmur

Murmur just received the deluxe reissue treatment. It makes an excellent holiday present for the R.E.M. fan in your life who doesn't own any of their pre-Document albums. (Note: You have to scroll down a bit on this page, but, trust me, my write-up is on there as part of the Metro Times gift guide.)

rem: until the day is done

If your favorite R.E.M. album is Automatic for the People, then your favorite song off Accelerate is probably "Until the Day Is Done." For a "comeback" album that was hyped as their rock-out record, it's funny that Accelerate's best moment might indeed be this one.

hancock is underrated, wanted is terribly, terribly overrated

So says I in my latest Consumables column for The Simon. Also included are reviews of Garden Party, R.E.M.'s Accelerate and Erykah Badu's magnificent New Amerykah.

r.e.m.'s mike mills speaks

Not to me, sadly. But the Chicago Tribune's Mark Caro got R.E.M.'s bassist to talk about the band's writing process and why he's sick of critics calling Accelerate their "return to form." (I'm with you there, Mike.) Also fun: We finally find out who actually wrote "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?"

r.e.m.: well, this is encouraging

I don't condone Monster bashing, but Josh Modell's review at Spin about R.E.M.'s forthcoming Accelerate has me very excited. 

how good is the new r.e.m. single?

My answer is here in the latest Consumables. Also, my reviews of The Counterfeiters, The Band's Visit, the Ting Tings and the revamped B-52's.

white stripes

Icky Thump is easily the band's loudest record. It's also one of their best. Elsewhere in Consumables, I take on Wilco, Bruce Springsteen and R.E.M.'s cover of a John Lennon song.

r.e.m. enters the rock and roll hall of fame

Looking around the Web for an appropriate piece that paid homage to R.E.M.'s greatness, I was left unsatisfied. So I turned to my man Robert Christgau. This article came out in '96 as a review of their underrated New Adventures in Hi-Fi, but it serves as a nice little encapsulation of what the Athens band accomplished. It's at least as good as Eddie Vedder's induction speech.