I didn’t intend on rushing out to buy the new live R.E.M. CD/DVD. I wasn’t impressed by the track listing and really didn’t know when I would sit down and watch the DVD.
That’s why I bought it the day it came out.
I had to go to the mall to get a gift for a co-worker. I bought the card at one end of the mall, then walked to the other end to buy the gift card the whole office had pitched in for. On the way, I saw a record store. I just had to go in.
When I got inside, I headed right for the “New Releases” section. I scanned the entire rack, but couldn’t find Michael Stipe’s face. I looked all over the front of the store. Still nothing.
I wandered back toward the Rock section and found my way to R.E.M. There is was – one single copy of “R.E.M. Live.” And it had already been marked down. I just had to buy it. I couldn’t let the band’s brand-new CD sit there all alone on sale the day it was released. I kind of felt bad for them. I really doubted that hordes of people arrived at the mall the second it opened to buy copies of the album, forcing FYE to lower the price on its final copy.
I have been pretty harsh on the live DVD, but enjoyed what I listened to. Of course, I skipped through songs I knew I didn’t want to hear, which helped. They still bring a whole lot of energy to the stage, which you find in “Orange Crush” and “Rockville” and “Kenneth.” But I don’t see why they need to water those songs down with “Ascent of Man” and “Electron Blue” and “Everybody Hurts.”
I’ll probably copy a bunch of the songs to my laptop to enjoy while I am writing or playing video games. And I’ll probably keep the CDs in the car for occasional enjoyment. But mostly, I will listen to more energetic live performances from bootlegs and wait until I can see them live sometime next year when the new album comes out.
The solution to everything is more RAWK.
And good beer.
That’s the problem with a lot of rock concerts these days. Too many ballads and not enough RAWK.
The band has to keep the audience awake and engaged for hours.
The answer is loud guitar anthems.
Leave the ballads on the CD.