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R.E.M. previews new album at Texas music fest
03/14/2008 4:00 AM, Reuters
Jonathan Cohen
R.E.M. ditched the hits and dusted off some old gems while previewing its new album during a politically charged concert at the South By Southwest music festival underway in the Texas capital. The 22-song set at Stubb's BBQ., webcast live on NPR.org Tuesday, offered a generous 10-song sampling from the hard-rocking "Accelerate," due in stores on April 1. New tunes included the album's opening couplet, "Living Well's the Best Revenge" and "Mansized Wreath," as well as "Mr. Richards," "Horse to Water," "Hollow Man" and the title track. Hits were in short supply -- "Drive," "Fall on Me" and "Man on the Moon" came from that distinct minority -- but R.E.M. dug into its catalog for rare fare such as "Second Guessing" (from 1984's "Reckoning") and "Animal" (from 2003's "The Best of R.E.M."). Frontman Michael Stipe delivered some sharp political comments appropriate for an election year. He saluted Austin for its support of presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama and railed that he's "sick to death of politicians telling me what I should be scared of and what I should fear." He acknowledged that the "Accelerate" track "Houston" was inspired by former First Lady Barbara Bush's caustic comments about Hurricane Katrina refugees who had moved to Texas, and before "Electrolite," Stipe said that he was "terrified history is gonna look back on this decade and the terrible overreaction of the (presidential) administration to 9/11. We have almost two years to make this decade worth something, and I think we have the power to do that." Stipe also dedicated the new "Until the Day is Done," part of a trilogy of political songs with "Final Straw" and "Bad Day," to the late actor Heath Ledger, who Stipe said had heard the song and liked it when R.E.M. began working on it. He closed the performance with the salutation, "Goodbye Heath, we loved you." R.E.M. begins a short North American tour on May 23 in Burnaby, B.C., and will spend most of the summer in Europe where its sales are better. Reuters/Billboard
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