Evidently, R.E.M. has a project in which different directors create short films that accompany each song from their latest album, Collapse Into Now. I haven't heard their latest album and, I'll confess, I really have no interest in hearing it either.Part of the reason why can be explained in this very project. Is Michael Stipe that pretentious that he needs to refer to a collection of videos for his band's latest album as a "film project?"
Add to this is Peter Buck's comment that the band won't be touring to support Collapse Into Now, stating that touring doesn't help album sales and how "less and less people are buying albums."
Brilliant!
Has Buck considered that less people are buying R.E.M. albums because they suck?
It almost seems like Buck is blaming us for their downfall, evidently oblivious that there was a time when you could play an R.E.M. from start to finish. He's lost on the notion that over a third of their tenure featured albums where you could pick the good material on one hand while using your other hand to cover your nose from the stink of their shitty filler.
Get back to making a decent record and maybe you'll see an uptick in interest.
And I'm betting that the reason the band isn't touring for this record is because they're afraid that many of the venues will feature a bunch of open seats.
Either that, or R.E.M. is getting lazy in their old age.
More and more, Bill Berry is looking like a fucking genius.
If rock and roll really means anything to this band at this point, they'd put a lid on their egos and get back to some smaller venues where they'd be forced to prove their mettle on stage again. Maybe they should devote an opening set of Murmur, Reckoning, or Life's Rich Pageant. Christ, I'd even settle for Monster at this point.
Evidently, hanging with James Franco is better than slumming it with a theatre crowd filled with the few loyal fans that are buying new product at the same levels as their first few albums.
Remember when 250,000 copies made for a comfortable existence?
Today it only makes Peter Buck bitch like an ungrateful prick.
And for you little people, the band is gracious enough to let you watch their little art project at no charge for twenty-four hours.
April 26, 2011 — Burbank, CA — Every Day Is Yours To Win, the latest film in R.E.M.’s Collapse Into Now Film Project, is currently streaming on YouTube’s homepage for 24 hours. The film features an introduction by Michael Stipe and co-director Jim McKay, who are the guest curators for the day. Stipe and McKay are also sharing some of their all-time favorite YouTube clips, also featured on the homepage of YouTube. Every Day Is Yours To Win was directed by McKay, Chris Moukarbel, and Valerie Veatch.
The Collapse Into Now Film Project is a selection of films accompanying each song on R.E.M.’s current album Collapse Into Now and directed by notable artists and filmmakers and personally curated by singer Michael Stipe. The list of directors includes Oscar-nominated actor James Franco, filmmaker, photographer, and conceptual artist Sam Taylor-Wood, and Oscar-nominated documentary filmmaker Albert Maysles.
Several films have already premiered online with more to be unveiled for viewing at broadcast and web outlets over the next several weeks, so please stay tuned to R.E.M. HQ for schedule and details.
6 comments:
Buck isn't making sense: albums may not sell as they used to but artists w/the necessary clout just factor that into their steep ticket prices. In other words, it literally pays to tour if you have a big enough fanbase. Maybe they should just admit to not wanting to tour anymore and get it over with.
...and they did!
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/mar/09/rem-collapse-into-now
So, they did 77 dates in 2008 and they're still "exhausted?"
Pussies!
In today's music climate, touring has become the last means that any band could ever hope of making money. I'm glad that they're in a position they can afford to do what they'd like, but it's further evidence that R.E.M. has become increasingly out of touch with their fan base and that success has instilled a sense of entitlement within them so deep that it's clear they have no intention of winning back the fans that they've lost in the past decade or so
Agreed, Mr. T.
Seriously, what happened to these guys?!? They were HUGE. Has there ever been another band as big as REM was that was still a functioning unit that seems to have just disappeared? I mean, aside from the occasional playing of "The One I Love" on light rock radio, they don't receive any airplay. They don't get any mentions but new bands as having been influential. They don't sell any cds anymore. I bet there are ttons of kids who have never even heard of them. Seriously, has this ever happened before? Am I way off the mark here or were they only huge in my head. This same thing happened to the Cars as well but I swear that REM was much bigger. Thoughts? Comments?
For me, I lost interest in the band the moment that Bill Berry left. The last album he was on, I bought the day it was released and-strangely enough-it's the last really good album they did. Even though it doesn't seem that he really did much during the creative process aside from drumming, he must have provided some amount of chemistry that even out Stipe's bullshit or Buck's arrogance. No idea. But the facts are on record: they have still yet to release an album on par with their stuff when Berry was in the band. And to be fair, I don't think R.E.M. will ever be able to release another landmark album like they used to in the 80's. That ability died the moment you could understand Stipe's words in the mix. Sure, they were more popular in the 90's and I continued to support them, but I will not admit that I enjoy any of their 90's output more than the stuff they released on IRS.
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