This is the first week this year where we’ve showcased a true mix in music genres for the Album of the Week article. March looks promising with a large amount or releases, and this week we’ve discovered some good and bad CD releases in rock, country, and hip hop. Check them out below:
R.E.M. has just released a new video from their upcoming 39-song release Live at the Olympia. The beautiful black and white video was filmed at the Olympia club in Dublin where R.E.M. tested out new songs for their 2008 studio album Accelerate. The video comes complete with Michael Stipe reading through the lyrics and accidentally jumping into the chorus when he shouldn’t. Hey, not even the pros are always perfect!
Check out the video below…
Still a fan of R.E.M.? Well you’re in luck! The group will be releasing a live digital EP, entitled Reckoning Songs From The Olympia, through iTunes and all digital service providers on July 7th, 2009.
The EP features live versions of four songs from the band’s beloved second album Reckoning that were recorded during R.E.M.’s “working rehearsals” at Dublin’s Olympia Theatre in July 2007. The track-listing is “Harborcoat,” “Letter Never Sent,” “Second Guessing,” and “Pretty Persuasion.”
According to their press release:
R.E.M lead singer Michael Stipe is trying his hand at clothing design, designing a polo shirt for Locoste. The limited-edition shirt (pictured above) features a picture of a crowd that the product description claims “contrasts against colors of the Lacoste petit pique fabric that both obliterates detail and accentuates silhouette.”
The shirt comes packaged in an LP inspired sleeve, and is available now in a variety of colors wherever you traditionally purchase your Locoste-wear.
R.E.M.’s groundbreaking 1983 debut album Murmur has been slated for deluxe reissue on November 25. The release will feature a newly remastered version of the album as well as a second disc featuring a rare live recording.
The live disc was recorded at Larry’s Hideaway in Toronto, three months after Murmur was released in 1983. Included in the set was most of Mumur as well as a wealth of R.E.M. songs that had yet to be released at that time. The most notable rarity in the set is a cover of The Velvet Underground’s “There She Goes Again” which was recorded as a b-side to “Radio Free Europe” and was later included on the 1987 rarities collection, Dead Letter Office.
Check out the complete track listing for the deluxe release below.
