A Government for Hire in a Combat Site.

Another choice link by way of Web Goddess. Until half an hour ago, I probably would’ve told you my favorite apocalyptic-pop Youtube video was this creepy-weird German mashup set to Johnny Cash’s “The Man Comes Around”. But now it’s probably this ska-happy rendition of Dubya crooning “ITEOTWAWKI (AIFF).” Both are worth watching, if you can get around their innate “not lovely lovely Ludwig Van” eeriness.

Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger.

:The vista I see now is changing. Uncertainty is suffocating. Our hope has never felt so great…” It’s become fashionable of late to hate on R.E.M.’s last album, 2004’s Around the Sun, so much so that even the band has been badmouthing it lately, dismissing it as a result of them not really getting along at the time. Well, they’d know better than me, but I won’t go there. Sun is clearly overproduced at times but I still think it has its grace moments, all the more so because it’s an album drenched in melancholy and compromise. (And I still like it better than Reveal, and even the back half of New Adventures in Hi-Fi, their last venture with original and much-missed drummer Bill Berry.)

That being said, Accelerate, which officially came out yesterday, is no Around the Sun. It’s just as political as AoS — in some ways, Accelerate is their most overtly political album since Document. But, now, Stipe, Mills, and Buck have gotten the band back together. And, imbued with that sense of team confidence, they’re picking up the pace and taking no more prisoners. The end result is short, fast, and dirty, a half-hour-long album which (as one of my colleagues in US history, southern upbringing, and R.E.M. fandom noted yesterday) probably most recalls 1986’s Life’s Rich Pageant.

From the first track, “Living Well is the Best Revenge,” the difference is manifest. In Around the Sun, R.E.M. were just as political, but much more tentative and unsure of themselves. Remember all the relationship anguish of Sun? Well, now the men from Athens have the wind at their backs. “All your sad and lost apostles hum my name and flare their nostrils, choking on the bones you toss to them. Well I’m not one to sit and spin, ’cause living well’s the best revenge. Baby, I am calling you on that.” The equally aggressive second-track, “Man-Sized Wreath” (i.e. a huge, ridiculous emotional ploy and substitute for thought) takes up the standard with enthusiasm: “Nature abhors a vacuum but what’s between your ears?” That heady sense of being not only on the right side of the argument but — at long last — on the right side of history persists throughout Accelerate and keeps it afloat. “Mr. Richards” jauntily takes glee in a Cheney-esque figure (or at least one of Dubya’s Dicks) finally receiving his comeuppance and going to prison for his transgressions, and “Horse to Water” is equally mad as hell and won’t take it anymore. (“I’m not that easy, I am not your horse to water. I hold my breath, I come around.“) And even the slight downers, such as the beautiful and too-brief post-Katrina ballad “Houston” (“If the storm doesn’t kill me, the government will“) still mostly resonate with hope of change to come: “It’s a new day today, and the coffee is strong. I finally got some rest.” (By the way, as a note to the R.E.M. fans out there, I love how that fog-horn sound in “Houston” calls back to “Leave” and particularly “Undertow” from Hi-Fi, which in retrospect also seem rather Katrina-esque.)

On the Peter Buck end, Accelerate interpolates and reconfigures the jingly-jangly riffs of Life’s Rich Pageant with the (much-underappreciated) sonic grunge of Monster, and I can’t wait to hear these cuts live. Still, Accelerate‘s secret weapon is probably bassist Mike Mills, who brings back the harmonizing of Out of Time and earlier albums, and single-handedly elevates tracks like “Living Well” and “Sing for the Submarine.” Speaking of the latter, “Sing for the Submarine” is, for the time being, my high point of Accelerate, a dense, moody track that hearkens back to much of the R.E.M. canon. (“Electron Blue” and “Feeling Gravity’s Pull” are explicitly name-dropped.) I haven’t come close to unpacking it yet: “It’s all a lot less frightening than you would have had it be. But that’s the good news, my darling, it is what it’s going to be.” But I’m definitely enjoying the attempt, and I love the Pink Floydish power-chords as the song builds to chorus. (If negativity is required, I could honestly take or leave the first single, “Supernatural Superserious,” — it’s a lot like “Imitation of Life” on Reveal — and I tend to skip over it. And “Until the Day is Done,” the sole mid-tempo ballad here, is less interesting than most of AoS. But neither are deal-killers.)

So, the short answer is this: if you thought R.E.M. has lost a few steps lately and have thus skipped the past few albums, then the reviews for Accelerate are true: They’re back in a big way, and you should definitely check this one out. And if you’ve stuck with ’em all the way, then you’ll be pleased to discover that they’re on the same page as many of us this election year: To wit, after eight years (and arguably more) in the mire, it’s nigh time we progressive-minded lefties started kicking ass and taking names. “Don’t turn your talking points on me, History will set me free. The future’s ours and you don’t even read the footnote now!

We are hope despite the times.

The band’s revitalization is most evident in Michael Stipe. Wearing an Obama shirt that he prevalently displayed amidst the sea of flashing camera lights, he sang with the passion of a 24 year old.” Probably not a huge surprise, but R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe has boarded the Obama train. “Stipe said that he was voting for a candidate that provided hope rather than one that tells him what he already fears.” And, also in musical endorsement news, Rolling Stone also backs Obama: “Obama has emerged by displaying precisely the kind of character and judgment we need in a president: renouncing the politics of fear, speaking frankly on the most pressing issues facing the country and sticking to his principles. He recognizes that running for president is an opportunity to inspire an entire nation.

Love Songs ’08.

Happy Valentines’ Day, everyone. As per previous years (2005, 2006, 2007), I’ve gone ahead and thrown up some songs for the day (for the first time via the magic of Youtube.) The obligatory once-a-year update from behind-the-curtain: Sadly, no romantic life to speak of around here, uh, whatsoever. But, that’s fine. Particularly given that my last serious break-up metastasized into Something Awful, and I spent basically all of 2007 with a virulent case of the broken-hearted blues, I’m actually feeling pretty happy about being single right now. Even as little as two months ago, I might’ve gotten defensive about it, and, to paraphrase our dear Senator from New York, grumbled that “false hope” is not a luxury I can afford to indulge in at the moment. But, these days, all the old wounds feel cauterized, and I’m actually just content to live as I am, I am Legend-style, with Berk, new movies, the most exciting election in a generation, and goodly amounts of dissertoral work taking up my plate. There are much worse ways to spend your days. Anyway, to the music:

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If Kraftwerk’s “Computerlove” didn’t tip you off two years ago, there’s a certain kind of cheesy, toe-tapping, heart-on-your-sleeve love song to which I’m highly susceptible. Yep, I’ll admit it, occasionally I can be a huge softy. I saw Titanic five times…in the theater. I’ll go hit the dance floor when somebody plays Madonna. I thought “Cry Me a River” was an inordinately good pop song. And I’ll admit to digging such obviously embarrassing groaners as “Always,” “Truly Madly Deeply,” and “Your Body is a Wonderland.” (Hey, admit it: Sometimes, only sometimes, you must be as embarrassing as me.) Still, I figured, if you’re really going to commit to outing your cheesy streak this Valentine’s Day, you might as well go straight to the source. Sigh…so, here it is. All I’ll say is, God help me, I can’t not smile and shimmy a little when I hear this tune.


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Sunlight, sunlight fills my room
It’s sharp and it’s clear
But nothing at all like the moon….

From its fragile opening to its shimmering close, “If You Wear that Velvet Dress” may just be U2’s sultriest song. (I mentioned this the other day, but I’d have loved to hear this one through the IMAX system during U2 3D.) As in Achtung Baby‘s jauntier “So Cruel” (today’s U2 runner-up), all is not right with Bono and his ladyfriend here — The end is obviously near, but neither party wants to talk about it. (“It’s ok, the struggle for things not to say. I never listened to you anyway.“) In fact, the two have fallen into a self-destructive pattern that’s only making things worse. (“We’ve been here before, last time you scratched at my door.“) But, when the moon is in the sky, and she’s wearing that velvet dress, the clock stops, and nothing else matters. (This isn’t the official video — I’m not sure if there even is one — but it gets the point across: Whatever else is going on, something about that certain someone under a certain light will always take your breath away.) [Update: The fan video is down now — it’s just the song below.]

(See also the Live in Rotterdam version.)

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I’m close to Heaven, crushed at the gates,
They sharpen their knives on my mistakes.
It’s the same old world, but nothing looks the same…Make it rain.

I ran a Leonard Cohen ballad (“I’m Your Man”) last year, and Tom Waits is of the same gravelly, take-no-prisoners persuasion. But while the older Cohen sings with grim resignation, and often sounds like he’s got a handle on his heartbreak (even when he clearly doesn’t — see “In My Secret Life“) Waits is flailing about in the center of the maelstrom. You’ll either see it or you won’t, I guess, but I find this performance of “Make it Rain” from Letterman a few years ago almost frightening in its intensity. It’s like Waits crawled out from the black, primordial, whiskey-soaked depths of the male Id to bellow away his rage and hurt. (He can sometimes ruminate on the happy times too, of course, such as in this lovely waltz (and a close runner-up for this post), “All the World is Green.”) One wretched soul’s undiluted howl of pain, anchored and drowning in a bluesy murk, “Make it Rain” is a song to beware of in concentrated doses. (But, as Bob Dylan once said of another classic, play it f**king loud.)

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It’s the poison that in measures brings illuminating vision.
It’s the knowing with a wink that we expect in southern women.
It’s the wolf that knows which root to dig to save itself.
It’s the octopus that crawled back to the sea.
Instinct. Gut. Feeling…feelings.

Looking at the ledger of my 33 years thus far on Earth, I’d say I’ve been in love four times and had three all-consuming (unrequited) crushes, none of which I will delve into here. Nevertheless, for those seven women — and, even though none of you are in my life anymore, y’all know who you are — this one’s for you.

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You’ll be given love
You’ll be taken care of
You’ll be given love
You have to trust it
Maybe not from the sources
You’ve poured yours into
Maybe not from the directions
You are staring at
Twist your head around
It’s all around you

As a bonus track, I’m recycling this one from 2005, and why not? Even notwithstanding all the imagery from this jaw-droppingly beautiful Chris Cunningham video that I’ve pilfered for GitM over the years, it’s really the best Valentine’s Day message one can hope for. So, happy V-Day, y’all. Have a safe and happy one.

We are young despite the years.

It’s almost impossible not to hear Accelerate as an attempt to win back old fans and regain the critical respect they’ve lost in the past ten years. That said, the music doesn’t sound desperate, forced, or designed for maximum commercial impact, as with U2’s last two records. If anything, they sound pissed-off and eager to brawl.” Matthew Perpetua of Fluxblog and Pop Songs previews R.E.M.’s Accelerate for Stereogum.

I’m totally superserial.

“I tried to explain how it all began, how it’s all been destroyed…and built again.” R.E.M. releases a trailer for their new album, Accelerate, featuring 30 sec of its first single, “Supernatural Superserious.” My reaction upon first listen: Hey, drums! And Mike Mills backing vocals! It looks like the new album may be, as rumored, an All That You Can’t Leave Behind-style throwback to old-school R.E.M. We’ll know for sure on April 1.

Another Engine.

News leaks that the next R.E.M. album is titled Accelerate, and it’ll be out April 1, 2008. The tracks appear to be: Living Well Is The Best Revenge | Man Sized Wreath | Supernatural Superserious | Hollow Man | Houston | Accelerate | Mr. Richards | Until The Day Is Done | Horse To Water | Sing For The Submarine | I’m Gonna DJ. Further information should pop up on New Year’s Day, when R.E.M.’s promo site ninetynights.com goes live.

Rainbow Connection | Pop Song 360.

As noted in countless Woeful State of the Industry pieces over the past week, In Rainbows, the new Radiohead album, is now available for download directly from the band. (I figure I’ll give ’em ten bucks.) Also, it seems R.E.M. is premiering a new song on Anderson Cooper 360 tonight. The song, “Until the Day is Done,” will be featured in a CNN ecodocumentary, Planet in Peril, later this month. (If you’ve watched the Youtubes of the Dublin rehearsal shows a few months back, you’ve already heard it.) Update: 160kbpgate for Radiohead?

Tie Another One to your Back.

For the R.E.M. fans among us, Stereogum has compiled Drive XV, an Automatic for the People tribute album to commemorate that record‘s fifteenth anniversary. (The album’s site also contains thoughts on the songs by Mike Mills and, as a special treat, an essay, Sweetness Followed, by Matthew Perpetua of Fluxblog and Pop Songs ’07.) AftP came out the fall of my senior year in high school and, as I said in my top 50 REM songs post of a few years back, it hasn’t aged with me as well as I’d hoped. (In fact, I’d probably put both Monster and Up above it these days.) Still, while “Man on the Moon” and “Everybody Hurts” may be well beyond played out (and “Nightswimming” might be getting there), the mournful record also features “Drive” (still an amazing video), “Sweetness Follows,” and “Monty Got a Raw Deal,” all minor-key dirges which resonate now as they did then. In any case, I’m looking forward to seeing what the bands here came up with.