Thanks to my obsession with R.E.M., Accelerate‘s tidy running time of around 40 minutes and the fact I heard it for free a week before its official release on iLike, I have listened to the new album more than a few times. Here are a few completely and utterly biased thoughts.
- As a big fan of loud and raucous R.E.M., I love the album. They don’t hide their instruments this time around. I don’t care if the songs are simplistic at times, they are fast and fun. That’s what I want from rock and roll.
- Reviews have often centered on how the songs hearken back to older albums, and I agree. Sometimes I feel like I’m listening to Green, sometimes New Adventures and sometimes Automatic. I don’t ever feel taken back to Pageant like one reviewer did, but I keep that album at a very high level so that would be hard to reach.
- There is nothing wrong with re-writing End of the World over and over again, especially since that was a re-write of PSA which was eventually re-tooled again as Bad Day. I actually like the fact that I feel like singing the words to Bad Day as the chorus of Living Well starts.
- I hope Michael Stipe never tells us the meaning behind Supernatural Superserious because I am enjoying my interpretation that it is about his shyness as a youth and how he learned to come out of his shell thanks to his performances on stage.
- The little bass run before the final chorus in Hollow Man make you remember how amazing Mike Mills really is.
- I love the small touches like the laughs at the end of Sing for the Submarine and the quick transition between songs by producer Jacknife Lee. I also like the notion of a producer named Jacknife.
- The album blows away anything they have done for ages, but I still miss Bill Berry.
- I am a total sucker and bought the special edition with DVD film and two B-sides, neither of which I have heard yet.
His voice does have an edge. Not sure if it’s smokes or production.
And Mike Mills puts himself back in the front where he belongs. That bass line is unreal. Most underrated bass player ever.
-I like your interpretation of Supernatural Supersious.
-Speaking of Mike Mills, I love his bass line during the intro to Living Well Is the Best Revenge. I also love the raw feeling of the album, but this song in particular. You can hear Stipe get out of breath during the verse. Awesome.
-This album is awesome but I don’t have enough listens of it yet to say too much more about it.
-Did Michael Stipe start smoking (or has he always)? His voice sounds extra raspy at times during the album. And that is not a knock, I think it sounds amazing.