Michael has recorded the Joseph Arthur song "In The Sun" to benefit Gulf Coast relief. Six versions of the song were released as an EP and are available to download on iTunes. Featured on the EP are special guests Chris Martin from Coldplay, James Iha, Joseph Arthur, and a special mix from Justin Timberlake and Will.I.Am from the Black Eyed Peas. To learn more about it go to inthesunfoundation.org. If you're an R.E.M. fan or just appreciate good music, please consider buying it. All proceeds go to Mercy Corps.
Instant Karma: The Campaign To Save Darfur
R.E.M. recorded the John Lennon Song #9 Dream to benefit Amnesty International. The album consists of 20 songs by Lennon recorded by other artists like Green Day, Christina Aguilera, Jack Johnson, Snow Patrol and others. The album was released on June 12th and R.E.M.'s single is available for purchase on iTunes. The song was recorded last September after the band was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame. Bill Berry is on drums and this is the first song featuring all four members since he left in 1997.
Here is is something I posted on my myspace blog on the occasion of R.E.M.'s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame:
I post this blog a little earlier than normal and with good reason. Monday night was the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Among the inductees of The Ronettes, Van Halen, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five and Patti Smith was a band that truly deserved this recognition. A group of four guys from the small college town of Athens, GA that were alternative before alternative was alternative. That band is R.E.M. It's a little strange when something you know will happen some day actually does and this was the particular "something." R.E.M. and their music mean alot to me being a fan for over 12 years. I find that it speaks to me. I never liked it when I told someone that I liked them and I get a quizzical look like "R.E.M? Why them?" These days, people are too fickle and look for the next big thing to come and go mainstream. A band like R.E.M. doesn't fit in today's music world. Its because they stick to their guns. Its about integrity and doing what you want to do not what someone else wants you to do. R.E.M.'s stubborn stance may have lost them a bigger audience but that doesn't matter. What matters is putting out good music that they like and what they want to do. It's giving a collective fuck you to the establishment. I've always admired them for that. I read a quote from Mike Mills about the many inductees who mostly are not active in the biz. "There's often a perception that you are no longer relevant and your career is over. I think that's a horrible misconception. I guess the fear is that...you're being honored for your post work and won't be able to measure up again. But what to do is keep going and try to do good work." That's what they are all about. Doing good work and they will continue to do that for however long they want to. To R.E.M. I say thank you for your 27 years of doing your thing. Your toil and hard work and dedication have finally been paid off. You are Hall of Famers now. From your biggest fan, you've earned it.
R.E.M. with Eddie Vedder perform Man On The Moon at the HOF induction
The band will release R.E.M. Live from the Olympia, a 2-CD set from the band's five night stint in Dublin, Ireland in the summer of 2007. It was what the band called an "experiment in terror" as they worked out songs in front of sold-out audiences in what was dubbed "working rehearsals" rather than actual shows. In the meantime, a four song EP from those shows, "Reckoning Songs from the Olympia" is available for download on iTunes. The songs are Letter Never Sent, Harborcoat, Pretty Persuasion, and Second Guessing..
New Album in the Works?
Peter and Mike were recently in Portland, OR recording demos for the next album. While the band doesn't usually record demos, they are making an exception this time laying down the skeletons of 14 songs that may or may not appear on the new album. Accelerate producer Jacknife Lee was there along with producer Tucker Martine. According to Buck the next record will be "broader" and the type of songs are "pretty acoustic things, some real total noisy rock and some kind of poppy stuff." Buck says he wants to move quickly but of course that depends on how fast Michael can think of lyrics.
UPDATE: According to Scott McCaughey, the band does not plan to go back into the studio until the end of the year. He expects a new record not to come out until 2011
