Actually, they can get there from here

Finally, R.E.M. has announced some tour details in support of their new album, "Accelerate," which is set for release April 1.

A North American tour is in the works with dates set for May and June, according to their official website. The Athens, Ga.-based band will start May 23 in Vancouver. [Click here for more dates as they're announced.]

Touring with R.E.M. will be Modest Mouse and The National.

The band also has launched a new website to promote the new album -- Ninetynights.com. According to Pitchfork.com, the new album is "fast."

"The lethargic (read: forgettable) touch of 2004's 'Around The Sun' is nowhere to be found, replaced with what band manager Bertis Downs calls 'rockers,' Pitchfork writes. [Click here for the full article.]

FIVE R.E.M. TUNES THAT DON'T GET ENOUGH PLAYTIME:

• Can't Get There From Here
• Just a Touch
• (Don't Go Back To) Rockville
• Radio Free Europe
• Cuyahoga

[AP photo]

Comments

[jane]

Love the list, especially "Can't Get There From Here", but have a couple (OK, more than a couple) of additions:

* Pop Song 89
* Talk About the Passion
* I Am Superman
* Gardening at Night
* Feeling Gravity's Pull

Might check this out if they come 'round these parts -- I've seen them twice before -- what's one more show...

[Spears]

I had "Superman" on my list at first, but pulled it off in favor of "Just a Touch," which my band used to cover back in the late 80s.

[jane]

"Just a Touch" is a great choice -- great drum (I love Bill Berry) and smokin' keyboard parts.

[Christine]

I know this is an 80s blog... but mmmmm... the National is a great band. Steve, I think I put them on one of your mixes, Mr. November maybe?

[Douglas Arthur]

how weird...I was just going through old papers in my filing cabinet last night and came across an old ticket stub from an REM show I went to see at Maple Leaf Garden in Toronto in 1989. It was their "Green" tour. I believe the Indigo Girls opened. I was never a huge fan of REM, though I have grown to appreciate thier music over time. I really liked Monster a lot when that came out, though it was in the 90's.

[Brad]

I know Out Of Time is a 1991 release but there's some really good stuff on there.

"Low" is one of the most depressing songs ever. I remember driving across the desert at the end of a vacation, heading back to my lousy dead end job after burning my ONE WEEK of annual vacation in the fruitless pursuit of the opposite sex, and having this song come on the CD player. Damn near just swerved off the road and ended it all right there.

[Christine]

PS--Green tour with The The opening :) Hooray!

[jane]

Douglas -- what a great bill you saw in Toronto. I am a not-so-secret fan of the Indigo Girls (love their harmonies and stripped-down sound.)

I also like Monster a lot -- "What's the Frequency, Kenneth" and "Crush with Eyeliner" are big faves.

[Jeff in Cuba]

I know I've told this story before, but I first saw R.E.M at Red Rocks in 1982, opening for Bow Wow Wow and the English Beat.

At the time I was only mildly impressed, but by the end of the decade I was a true believer.

[GlennS.]

REM was the beginning of the end of 80s music.

At its peak, 80s music was highly creative and varied. You had everything from tribal rhythms (Bow Wow Wow) to synth pop (Soft Cell and a number of others) to jazz influences (Haircut 100) and so on. Then along came REM. While their music had some creativity and innovation, it was also a return to the basic bass/guitar/drums line-up. Traditional-minded rock critics and fanboys loved them for this, and praised them to the hilt. This encouraged other bands with less talent to go the same route, which in turn led to grunge music... and you know the rest.

[Walter Cox]

If Rockville never got another play, ever, I'd be ok with that.

Odd that R.E.M. has so many songs from the I.R.S. years that would be considered mainstream these days that never get played on "classic rock" radio. I'd much rather hear "These Days" or "Moral Kiosk" than crap like "Lunatic Fringe" again.

[Bassnote]

I didn't get into REM until 'Life's Rich Pageant' came out. I really got hooked on the song 'Fall On Me'. here's a few tunes I would like to hear more often:

So. Central Rain (I'm Sorry)
I Am Superman
Can't Get There From Here
Finest Worksong
Gardening At Night
Fall On Me

[Bassnote]

Honorable mention to - Turn You Inside Out

[Big Tex]

Saw them in San Antonio in 89 touring with 10,000 Maniacs. What a great show - it was before Stipe became a Bono wannabe and then started with the face paint.

Simply put, Superman is probably the best cover song ever (even though I've never heard the orginal!) Lifes Rich Pageant has always been my fav REM release.