Three months ago, I expressed my wish that R.E.M. wouldn’t wait until spring to release their new album. They indicated that they had finished work so I wondered why they would wait until March or April to let us in on the secret.

They chose a different tactic, of which I heartily approve. They have now released three songs with “lyric videos” for each available on Youtube along with a “trailer” for the album.

The full album drops on March 8. I wish I could get it earlier, but the pieces they have let out to this point make me more excited that I could imagine.  When you see a song title like “Alligator Aviator Autopilot Antimatter,” you wonder how weird the album will be. That fear goes away when the trailer starts off with the rocking beat to this song which I can’t wait to hear all the way through.