Vivek’s Blog

I got into R.E.M. a while back when my then roommate told me to listen to Automatic For The People. I liked it and then moved to other good albums such as Murmur, Reckoning, Life’s Rich Pageant, etc. But I found their work from the last decade or so somewhat lackluster. It was missing the spark from their early work. When I heard that they were making a new album, I was apprehensive - could R.E.M. possibly turn things around?

Turns out, they could. Not only that, but they also show that they can still rock. Hard. The new album, Accelerate, gets off on a strong note with the raw and angry “Living Well’s The Best Revenge”. The one thing you’ll notice right from the start is Peter Buck’s loud guitar work is back. That, combined with Mike Mills’ meaty basslines and Michael Stipe’s vocals give this album a tremendous amount of energy. Don’t forget that these guys have been around for 25 years and are called the “grandfathers of alternate rock” for a reason.

“Mansized Wreath” continues the good work of the album opener and has some typical Michael Stipe “wow” moments. My personal favorite, “Supernatural Superserious” comes up third and immediately brings back memories of early R.E.M. Some reviewers said that this is typical song that the band could write in their sleep - but that doesn’t stop it from being good. After the weird experimentation on the last few albums, it’s great to hear R.E.M.’s old sound back.

The album is given a sense of balance with the slower tracks “Hollow Man”, “Houston”, “Until The Day is Done”, and “Sing For The Submarine.” The title track is again, quite excellent in my opinion and the lyrics seem indicative of R.E.M. as a band: I’ve got to follow another direction/Accelerate. The album might seem to slow down with all these slower tracks but it ends just as ferociously as it began, with “Horse to Water” and “I’m Gonna DJ” proving to be great closers. The latter will remind fans of “End of The World As We Know It” with its lyrics about the world coming to an end.

The production on this album is raw, not clean. I think this was intentional. A clean production would’ve taken some of the energy out of this recording. The jangly guitars sound great and Mike Mills’ backing vocals are back! I also love the drumming on this album - it adds to the overall energy (sorry for overusing this word). I was initially skeptical about going to see them live in June, but this album has me excited. R.E.M. have shown that they’re still in the game and are not going anywhere. I highly recommend this album!

Rating: 4/5

Video for Supernatural Superserious:

As some you might know, I recently bought a new LCD monitor because the backlighting on my laptop’s display gave up. After a frantic research session, I settled on the ViewSonic VX1940w. It’s a 19″ monitor with a resolution of 1680×1050 with a static contrast ratio of 1000:1 and a dynamic ratio of 3000:1. The result is a sharp, clear, and bright picture.
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Yes, I finally caved in and bought the N95-3. For those not in the know, this is the US 3G version of the classic N95 with a better battery and more RAM. Everything else is identical to the original version that came out in April last year. Since there are numerous reviews of the classic N95 as well as the N95-3, I’ll spare you the usual review bullshit and get down to the main points in brief.

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Ok so there was a third band in the line-up called the 1990s. Pretty good stuff. I had heard their album a couple of times before the show and thought it was okay but live, they sounded a lot better. But I’d like to keep this review short, so I’ll move straight on to the two main acts.

Art Brut put on a crazy show, and I mean it in the literal sense of the word crazy. Eddie Argos was insane. In the middle of Modern Art, he went crowd surfing and then came on to the floor to dance and jump with the audience. In fact, he was right next to me at one point! They played a lot of their good stuff although the focus seemed to be on the new album. I was initially not impressed with the new one, but it has since grown on me. Eddie was making comments and talking all the time. He made us clap for the drummer because he has no history of sexual problems. Also, the song Rusted Gun of Milan is about Jasper (guitarist) not getting any sex. Jasper for his part was making weird faces and generally acting nuts. At one point, Ian (guitarist) was playing his guitar with his left hand wrapped around Jasper’s head. The song ended with Jasper spitting out a drum stick! The drummer was playing the drums standing up.

The only complaints I had from Art Brut’s set were minor: the vocals were sometimes buried in the mix and the set was too short! But considering that The Hold Steady were the real main act, this was an acceptable set.

When I started listening to The Hold Steady, I realized that their shows would have a lot of drunk and stoned people. What I did not anticipate was just how drunk some of these people would be and how much they wanted to jump around and push people. I had gotten to the venue relatively early and was standing well in front. But once THS came on, I had to move to the side to avoid ending up with broken bones. I was almost regretting coming to the show.

But once I had moved aside to a quiet section of the crowd, I was able to relax and enjoy the show. I stood next to this big, bald guy who was pushing anyone who dared to mosh near him. THS sound great live and I was so glad they played my favorite, The Swish. It came right in the middle of their set too. They played four new songs for us and they sounded great. Obviously, more work is needed but it looks like the next album will kick ass too. The band ended their main set with Southtown Girls which was a surprise to me. I love the song and I didn’t think they’d play it live. The encore consisted of First Night, How a Resurrection Really Feels, and Killer Parties. Eddie Argos and Ian came on to end the show. Ian played lead guitar and Eddie sang a duet with Craig Finn.

The energy throughout the show was terrific. All bands were feeding off the crowds’ enthusiasm and it reflected in their performances. I enjoyed the show and got back home quite tired. Hence the delay in the posting of this review!

Setlists:

Art Brut

Pump Up the Volume
Bang Bang Rock and Roll
Blame it on the Trains
Bad Weekend
18000 Lira
St. Pauli
Modern Art
Rusted Gun of Milan
My Little Brother
Post Soothing Out
Emily Kane
Nag Nag Nag
Direct Hit
Good Weekend (with Formed a Band in the middle)

The Hold Steady

(Not in order)

Hot Soft Light
Stuck Between Stations
Chips Ahoy!
Stay Positive *
Ask Her for Some Adderall *
Multitude of Casualties
The Swish
Lord I’m Discouraged *
Party Pit
Massive Nights
Hornets! Hornets!
Joke About Jamaica *
You Can Make Him Like You
Your Little Hoodrat Friend
Southtown Girls

Encore:

First Night
How a Resurrection Really Feels
Killer Parties

* New Songs

Let me start by saying that Porcupine Tree are a great live band. Their songs are great on the albums but live, there is an energy to them and they burst into life. Plus, Steven Wilson being the technical genius that he is, their sound in a live concert is very close to the album versions. And the icing on the cake was the venue: this was my first time at the Nokia Theatre at Times Square and it is a terrific venue. The construction looks futuristic and the lighting and decorations are well-done. They have seats in the back and standing room up front and can hold 2100 people at once. Plus you can ogle at Nokia’s line of cell phones to kill time! Anyway, let’s get to the actual concert!
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