300 Chinese Brothers (R.E.M. Reference!! Like the song "7 Chinese Brothers" But Our 300th Post.)

What a day! Today marks the Blogulator's 300th post. Now, there are a number of wacky ways we could commemorate this historic event, such as making fun of the movie 300 (although the last ten minutes I keep catching on Cinemax are vaguely inspirational to me and visually stunning!), talk about how television isn't as good as it once was (but HBO's In Treatment ended its first, and hopefully not last, season as one of the most compelling dramas on television today), or rip on the blandness of Death Cab for Cutie's new material (although, while still bland, leads many with reason to believe that maybe they are trying something different in a good way.)

A lot has changed, though, since I, Qualler, started blogging over 2 1/2 years ago -- I morphed into a certified Pat Hayden. I love everything! I love the new HBO miniseries John Adams, despite its old clothes. I love bad horror movies in a genuine way, and not in an ironic way. I even loves me some reality programming -- America's Next Top Model was thrilling this week, and the new season of The Hills is alive with promise! So, the only way I can think of commemorating post 300 is by talking about a band that used to be great, and now aren't as great as they used to be, probably because they're more popular or something, but now put out a new album that is a little bit less than great but more than not great.

R.E.M. -- Accelerate

As long as I can remember listening to music (and I'm sure as long as millions of music fans in the general 21-39 age bracket), I remember R.E.M. being a part of my life. It started with vague six-year-old memories of "Stand" and its corny-yet-sing-along-able chorus. At some point between "Stand" and "Losing My Religion", I decided that I hated them. I found "Losing My Religion" to be the weirdest song I've ever heard, and why couldn't they all just rock like my Ghostbusters II soundtrack? Some time between "Losing My Religion" and "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" I decided that this band that I kept seeing in issues of Rolling Stone must be pretty important. In fact, I recall deciding that I did, actually, like R.E.M. after reading an interview with Michael Stipe in Newsweek about the new album (at the time) Monster and reading that Kurt Cobain was good friends with Stipey boy, and that the song "Let Me In" on Monster was about him. Yes, it was my first musically snobbish decision of my life, but it turned out to be a good one.

Of course, the rest is history -- after I bought Monster I gradually became more obsessed. I discovered their other albums, and discovering the magical avant-pop beauty of Murmur, the stomping chiming guitars of Reckoning, the downbeat folk of Fables of the Reconstruction, the anthemic message rock of Life's Rich Pageant and Document, and the surprising perfect mixes of pop rock and confessional poetry of Green, Out of Time, and Automatic for the People. 1996's New Adventures in Hi-Fi was at first a disappointment, but it revealed itself to me gradually to be a perfect summation of their entire career, and most importantly, cast the band truly in the role of kings of music -- both accessible and artistic, New Adventures in Hi-Fi was, and still is to me, the band's best album of their storied career.

Which leads us to tomorrow -- R.E.M. releases their 14th studio LP, Accelerate. Now, I've been genuinely excited about every R.E.M. release since 1998's Up came out, but 2004's Around the Sun was an unmitigated disaster. Not only was the production muddled, and not only were the lyrics embarrassing, but the songwriting was genuinely boring. The flourishes of music that seeped into the brain, like the chaotic electronic buzz mixed with stream-of-consciousness lyrics in Up standout track "Hope", or the same album's wall of sound beauty of "Why Not Smile", or 2001's Reveal standouts like "Imitation of Life" and "All the Way to Reno". Around the Sun offended me not only because it was boring, but because the band had been able to maintain a high level even after former drummer Bill Berry's departure, while this album seemed to be giving up completely to the AOR crowd.

Needless to say, I've been skeptical about this new studio album Accelerate. The fact that it is called Accelerate (Get it? This album ROCKS harder than anything they've done in a long time!), or the fact that it was released this week for free streaming online on iLike.com, aka Facebook's answer to MySpace (why not just put it on MySpace), or the fact that it is produced by a guy named Jacknife Lee, who also produced Bloc Party and "comeback" records by U2 have all made me more than a little weary. But something good happened -- the album is actually much better than what it appears to be on paper. (Kind of like what hopefully this year's Minnesota Twins will be like, but I'm not holding my breath.)

Thanks to the streaming Facebook application, I listened to this new album at work a few times, and although it can be seen as somewhat of a "comeback" album, both in its not-so-surprisingly slick production and its possibly forced "return to rock" aesthetic (and when has R.E.M. been all about "rocking" in the first place?), the songwriting is, in general, stronger than it has been in recent years. First two tracks "Living Well is the Best Revenge" and "Man Sized Wreath" both open with a jangling Peter Buck guitar riffs very remniscent of the opening two tracks from 1986's Life's Rich Pageant. Lead single "Supernatural Superserious" is a solid rocker that doesn't rely on gimmicks (i.e. reverbed guitars from Monster) and finally brings Mike Mills back to the background vocal fold, something that has been lacking since New Adventures in Hi-Fi. Meanwhile, songs like "Mr. Richards" and "Houston" actually genuinely sound like the band carving out a new path for themselves, while not getting too heavy-handed with their messages.
Of course, there are a few clunkers, too -- "Hollow Man" would completely collapse on its own lyrical mediocrity (and when did Michael Stipe's lyrics go from being generally ambiguous to painfully sincere, anyway?) if it weren't for the song suddenly picking up musically at the chorus. "Accelerate", the title track, suffers the most from the conscious decision to make a "rock" album, incorporating elements that don't really belong in an R.E.M. song (i.e. electronic-type drums a la our friend Jacknife Lee that will sound dated in a few years), and closing track "I'm Gonna DJ" has Michael Stipe's newfound enthusiasm for everything a little gagifying.

But overall, despite its potential shortcomings, this album is pleasantly good. Regardless of expectations, or of any intention by the band to make a hit album, the truth is that R.E.M. has come back to what they do well -- make catchy, nuanced, and meaningful pop music. While it's impossible for them to make an album as unique as Murmur (of course, it was made the year I was born, 1983) and probably will be difficult to continue to push forward in truly new directions, like Automatic for the People did and New Adventures in Hi-Fi did, I can't help but be pleased that R.E.M. can still make interesting, solid albums. And as long as I enjoy music, I hope they can continue to be a part of my music. Sure, their new albums will not resonate with me as strongly as my favorites (Murmur, Document, Green, Automaic for the People, New Adventures in Hi-Fi, Up) but it is wonderful to know that favorites can continue to be extremely popular and still make interesting music.

This entry was posted by Unknown, on Monday, March 31, 2008. You can leave your response.