So here I am, listening to the The B-52's and R.E.M. and Counting Crows.

I decided to check out R.E.M.'s new album, Accelerate after seeing a couple of favorable reviews. Now you have to understand: it would be an understatement to say that I was a MAJOR R.E.M. fan in junior high and high school. R.E.M. was the most important band ever as far as my friends and I were concerned. They were even bigger than U2. They were the first concert I ever went to... Spring of 1989 in Birmingham with the Indigo Girls as the opening act. I honestly believe that their album artwork played a big role in my becoming a designer. But I grew less and less interested with each of their releases after 1987's Document, with the exception of New Adventures in Hi-Fi, the last album to feature the original lineup. Unlike U2, which continued to grow and produce great music, R.E.M. stagnated. I bought UP, listened to it a handful of times, and then tuned out, believing that they should have quit.

So I got a copy of Accelerate today, and I like it. Feels a lot like New Adventures part 2. Not going to end up being my favorite album of the year, but it's a strong release. It's back to the basics R.E.M.

And then there's the new B-52's album Funplex. They haven't released an album since 1992's weak Good Stuff, and even with that album, one of the members sat it out. But now they're all back together, with an album that is pretty good. Oddball, suggestive lyrics? Check. Post-punk new wave groove? Check? It really is the B-52's. An album of material that was worth getting the band back together. It's a fun release.

Like I mentioned in my last post, this new Counting Crows album is worth checking out as well. And the Presidents of the United States of America have a new album that's a good listen too. They are still writing songs about bugs and stuff, but they're fun. The hold 3 string guitar thing is less dominant, but it's a good sound.

They're still airing those Live at South by Southwest specials on DirecTV's 101 channel. I actually discovered several acts I liked from it. The Ting Tings, Sons and Daughters, Tift Merritt.