Newsgroup: it.fan.musica.rem
Titolo: PRE-RECENSIONE (.....!!)

 da 
http://stereogum.com/archives/premature-evaluation/premature-evaluation-rem-accelerate_008061.html
Premature Evaluation: R.E.M. - Accelerate
Although we usually give our knee jerk reactions to anticipated
releases every Friday, there was no waiting 'til the end of the week
to share first impressions of this one -- particularly when we have a
friend so highly qualified to offer insight. Help us welcome Drive XV
essayist/Pop Songs 08 proprietor/R.E.M. master Matthew Perpetua as he
evaluates the latest from our favorite Athenians...
Back when I interviewed R.E.M.'s Mike Mills for the Drive XV project,
he mentioned that one of the objectives the band had going into their
fourteenth studio album was to write shorter songs. Well, they
succeeded: Half of the tracks on Accelerate clock in at under three
minutes, and a quarter of them are just barely over the two minute
mark. In total, Accelerate zooms on by in 34 minutes, making it the
shortest full-length in the band's discography, and nearly half the
length of Around The Sun, Up, and New Adventures In Hi-Fi. Despite a
few folky dirges on the second half, the cumulative effect of
Accelerate is a bit like a roller coaster ride -- you wait forever to
get on it (it's been four years since Around The Sun!), it's a total
rush in the moment, and when it's over, it leaves you wanting to go
back and do it again.
Brevity probably wasn't the band's only motive in writing Accelerate.
Whereas most everything R.E.M. has done since the departure of
original drummer/co-songwriter Bill Berry a decade ago has come off
like either a formal experiment or an exercise in craft, they sound
positively hungry on this record. It's almost impossible not to hear
Accelerate as an attempt to win back old fans and regain the critical
respect they've lost in the past ten years. That said, the music
doesn't sound desperate, forced, or designed for maximum commercial
impact, as with U2's last two records. If anything, they sound pissed-
off and eager to brawl.
The rockers sound like juiced-up versions of their IRS-era rave-ups,
but the songs are almost entirely devoid of nostalgia. Sure, they are
certainly reconnecting with the sound of their early records, but they
aren't trying to recapture their youth. The thing is, they've never
sounded older: Michael Stipe sings every number in his gruff, low
register and comes across as being much older than he actually is, and
even though the band have never sounded as aggro as they do on songs
like "Horse To Water" and "Living Well Is The Best Revenge," the music
conveys a bitter, resigned sort of anger that is increasingly typical
of aging punks from the '80s. (For example, check out Bob Mould's new
one, or anything Ian McKaye has done since the start of this decade.)
Let's get into the individual songs, shall we?
1. "Living Well Is The Best Revenge"
Ideally, this should've been the first single, if just because no
other song on the record is as effective in making the listener think
"OMG R.E.M. IS BACK!!!" Basically, this is the band coming out
swinging, with a tight, fast rocker that quickly establishes the
aggressive, defiant tone of the album.
2. "Man-Sized Wreath"
It's shocking to think that the band had originally relegated this one
to b-side status. It's a catchy, dynamic rocker that features some
very inspired backing vocals from Mike Mills, and a nearly subliminal
deep voice intoning the lyrics of the chorus just after Michael sings
them.
3. "Supernatural Superserious"
Upon hearing the album in full, it's easy to understand why this was
pegged as the lead single. It may not be the best track, but it's
certainly the most commercial song on the record with its several
instantly ingratiating hooks and a lovely backing vocal from Mike
Mills. Lyrically, it's basically a rewritten version of "Imitation Of
Life" from Reveal, and yet another in Michael Stipe's ongoing series
of pep-talk tunes.
4. "Hollow Man"
This one has the best fake-out in the R.E.M. catalog: You think it's
going to be a tinkly piano ballad, but then it bolts off in the
opposite direction, and shifts into a jumpy power-pop anthem. The
lyrics are a bit on-the-nose, but eh, what can you do?
5. "Houston"
Consider this exhibit A for why the band were wise to become fixated
on the length of the songs. On the last few R.E.M. albums, "Houston"
would've been at least twice as long and would've likely worn out its
welcome. However, at just over two minutes, the grim folk number has
an air of mystery, and a potent atmosphere provided by a keyboard part
that sounds a bit like Mike Mills accidentally leaning on an
overdriven organ.
6. "Accelerate"
I can't imagine that this is at all intentional, but some of
Accelerate actually reminds me of late-period Guided By Voices,
specifically the Isolation Drills album, and the way that record cross-
breeds the jangle of early '80s R.E.M. with cold, angular post-punk
riffs and pseudo-prog structures.
7. "Until The Day Is Done"
This dour ballad isn't the album's finest moment, but it serves as a
cool-out period in the running order, and its similarity to "Final
Straw" from Around The Sun provides a connecting thread from
Accelerate to the band's more recent material. Don't let that freak
you out too much, though -- it also sounds a bit like "Swan Swan H"
from Lifes Rich Pageant.
8. "Mr. Richards"
Undoubtedly one of the highlights of Accelerate, "Mr. Richards" sets a
gorgeous quasi-Simon & Garfunkel ballad to a blaring, somewhat
shoegazer-ish guitar part, resulting in something that would've been a
huge hit if it had come out in 1994. Perhaps not coincidentally, it
bears a slight resemblance to R.E.M.'s biggest hit of that year,
"What's The Frequency, Kenneth?"
9. "Sing For The Submarine"
"Sing For The Submarine" begins as a dirgey ballad, but morphs into a
moody epic with a blistering solo and a thundering drums. Fans will no
doubt be pleased to hear that the lyrics make deliberate references to
oldies such as "Feeling Gravity's Pull," "Electron Blue," and "It's
The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)."
10. "Horse To Water"
Imagine "Little America" from Reckoning, but at triple speed and a
hundred times more aggro. Imagine Mike Mills and Peter Buck with 'roid
rage. Imagine Michael Stipe running after you, threatening to "pound
the daylights out of you." You have just imagined this song.
11. "I'm Gonna DJ"
There are a few cringe-inducing lyrics in this Around The Sun tour
staple, but it's easy to forgive when the song is so joyful and
urgent. It's an inspired conclusion to the record, mainly because it
so effectively contrasts its glee and humor with this apocalyptic
paranoia. In other words, it's R.E.M.'s version of "1999."
Accelerate is out 4/1 on Warner.
Non male eh? ;)


Si concordo sul fatto che sia una bella recensione che dipinge un quadro che
un pò tutti qui dentro speravano di rivedere da un bel pò di anni...chitarre
in evidenza, cori in prima linea e produzione semplice ma incisiva...l'unica
cosa che mi spaventa è la brevità delle canzoni non del disco...canzoni di 2
minuti e poco più o sono veramente folgoranti oppure rischiano di lasciare
un pò di senso di incompletezza...poi spero e sono convinto che saranno 2
minuti di goduria però per ora continuo ad avere qualche timore...
ciao
d.
--------------------------------
Inviato via 
http://arianna.libero.it/usenet/

 Inviato viahttp://
arianna.libero.it/usenet/
...Io sono ottttimista (con 4 "t") !!! :P

la recensione fa davvero ben sperare!!!
però io ho troppo bisogno di un chiarimento... nel live di dublino che
circola in rete da un po di tempo compare "Staring Down The Barrel of
The Middle Distance"... che fine ha fatto? tra l'altro è anche sul
sito ufficiale in uno dei video che hanno messo a disposizione quindi
penso che il titolo sia diverso... qualcuno (a parte curlygirl :-)) sa
darmi spiegazioni??
ciaociao
chdrillo

news:8b92e820-0808-4556...@n75g2000hsh.googlegroups.com...
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Purtroppo è stata esclusa e non dovrebbe esserci nemmeno nel dvd :-((.
Peccato xchè era proprio un bel pezzo e, data la brevità dell'album, ci 
sarebbe stata benissimo :-((
Ciao,
Valentina 

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E' diventata "Hollow Man"....credo... O NO??

DVD???
ma xke uscirà anche un dvd?

ma xke uscirà anche un dvd?
Magari!
No, è semplicemente il dvd allegato alla limited edition.
http://store.warnerbrosrecordsstore.com/prod.aspx?pfid=1687369
<<CD/DVD special Amray package with a 64-page booklet inside. The DVD 
includes a Vincent Moon 48 min. film of behind-the-scenes footage, and 
performance pieces of various songs on the album. Plus 2 Audio only mp3s of 
B-Sides: Red Head Walking (audio) and Airliner (audio).>>
Il documentario immagino sia quello di NinetyNights. Quello che mi fa girare 
le scatole è che le canzoni live sono state girate nello studio di Athens e 
NON a Dublino.
Ciao,
Valentina