R.E.M. rolls out 'Collapse Into Now' album, film project

Photo courtesy of R.E.M.


Thanks to NPR's "First Listen" online feature, I spent much of the weekend listening to the forthcoming R.E.M. album "Collapse Into Now." My first impression is the album is another great one and worthy follow-up to 2008's "Accelerate." I already love several of the songs, and in particular, the emotive ballad "Überlin" with its haunting melody in the verses and deeply-affecting chorus. The acoustic guitar-anchored "Me, Marlon Brando, Marlon Brando and I" boasts a similarly-powerful impact with its Neil Young-styled dreamy Americana soundscape, while "All the Best" finds the band tearing it up with the fiery passion of the group's early '80s material. Below is a press release I received last week with all kinds of details about a film project related to the wonderful songs that fill "Collapse Into Now. Read on!


R.E.M. ROLL OUT COLLAPSE INTO NOW FILM PROJECT WITH MUSIC FILMS FOR EACH SONG ON UPCOMING NEW ALBUM

DIRECTORS INCLUDE JAMES FRANCO, SAM TAYLOR-WOOD, ALBERT MAYSLES AND
MICHAEL STIPE

R.E.M. is gearing up to roll out the Collapse Into Now Film Project, a selection of films accompanying each song on the band¹s upcoming album, 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. See a full list of directors below.

The films will be unveiled for viewing at broadcast and web outlets over
the course of the next several weeks, so please stay tuned to remhq.com
for schedule and details.

In its four-star review, Rolling Stone calls Collapse Into Now ³a portrait
of full-grown artists who reached the top long ago but decided to stick
together and ride out the decades. You can hear a lot of shared history in
the music, but you can also hear conflict, confusion, doubt ‹ exactly the
kind of recipe that R.E.M. thrive on.² Spin finds the band ³refreshed and
refueled for a new alt-rock reckoning.²

Collapse Into Now will be released by Warner Bros. Records on March 8, 2011.
"It Happened Today" is currently available on iTunes as an Instant Download track for those who pre-order the Deluxe Version. Visit R.E.M.¹s YouTube channel for lyric videos for several tracks on Collapse Into Now at http://www.youtube.com/user/remhq.

R.E.M. Collapse Into Now Film Project
Directors

1) DISCOVERER
Directors: Michael Stipe and
Lynda Stipe

2) ALL THE BEST
Director: James Herbert

3) ÜBERLIN
Director: Sam Taylor-Wood

4) OH MY HEART
Director: Jem Cohen

5) IT HAPPENED TODAY
Director: Tom Gilroy

6) EVERY DAY IS YOURS TO
WIN
Directors: Jim McKay, Chris Moukarbel
and Valerie Veatch

7) MINE SMELL LIKE HONEY
Director: Dominic DeJoseph

8) WALK IT BACK
Director: Sophie Calle

9) ALLIGATOR_AVIATOR_AUTOPILOT_ANTIMATTER
Director: Lance Bangs

10) THAT SOMEONE IS YOU
Director: James Franco

11) ME, MARLON BRANDO,
MARLON BRANDO AND I
Director: Albert Maysles
& Bradley Kaplan

12) BLUE
Director: James Franco

www.remhq.com