I finally got around to listening to R.E.M.'s first live album, the creatively titled R.E.M. Live, and must admit I liked what I heard. I held off on purchasing it this fall when it came out, figuring the Around the Sun-heavy set would be a snoozer. Christmas rolled around and it seemed like a good thing to ask for, and I'm glad I did. The live performances of songs like "Boy in the Well" and "Electron Blue" -- so stilted on the underwhelming Around the Sun -- made me appreciate the craft in those tunes, and the run through new song "I'm Gonna DJ," while a bit hamfisted, leaves me hopeful about the band's forthcoming new disc.

That disc, Accelerate, is due April 1. The band seems excited about it; much more so than it was about Around the Sun, and that positive attitude is hopefully justified. If nothing else, the band seems to realize that the ballad-heavy Around the Sun pleased no one, and set out to craft an upbeat disc.

The promotional push already is underway. The band has started a web site, Ninety Nights, on which it is showing 30 second film clips. Thus far, there seems to be little in the way of a tie-in with the album, but we have three months to go, so perhaps things will become clearer as they progress. If nothing else, it's nice to see the band try something unusual, recapturing a bit of the mystery and envelope pushing for which it was known in its heyday.

Here's the first video:

Labels: music, R.E.M.