We have all been wondering whether R.E.M. will tour to promote their latest outing Collapse Into Now, due out in March 2011. So far, no signs of tour schedule; however, my friend Adrian has found this encouraging Peter Buck tidbit. Namely, TourDates reports the following:
The album features guest appearances from electro pop singer Peaches, Pearl Jam vocalist Eddie Vedder and punk legend Patti Smith, and although the band has toured extensively in recent years, Peter said he feels they could be tempted back onto the road.
He added to NME magazine: “I’d really like to do it, but we’ve toured a lot, so we’ll see. What I will say is that when Eddie Vedder was listening to a playback of the album he said, ‘This would be great to take on tour’. But we’ll see.”
However, please don’t get overexcited just yet, and here’s why. My friend Christophe with Universal Trendsetter reports that The Baseball Project’s second album, titled Volume 2: High and Inside, is also due out in March. Not only that the two releases will coincide, but Peter Buck and Scott McCaughey will be busy touring with The Baseball Project: as reported by Christophe, “The Baseball Project will devote much of 2011 to touring in support of this new release, beginning with a run of Cactus League appearances in Arizona during Spring Training and multiple shows during this year’s SXSW Music Conference in March.” In normal circumstances I would have said “YAY!”, however, this announcement kinda questions the whole idea of an R.E.M.’s tour – unless they decide to merge the two tours at some point, which would be super awesome. Anyway, we’ll keep you updated; meanwhile, as soon as The Baseball Project announce their tour dates, grab those tickets just in case!
Speaking of The Baseball Project, Christophe has also found this very cool bootleg DVD of their show at La Lunera Festival in Spain, where Mike Mills was pinch hitting for Peter. The show is recorded from the TV broadcast, so the video/audio quality is pretty good. You can download it from DimeaDozen (but you’ll have to register first). Thanks Christophe!
Also, I would like to warmly welcome Kirsten as the latest addition to the small but dedicated team of MMT’s news hunters! Kirsten is from Germany, and just like the rest of us, she is a die-hard R.E.M. and Mike Mills fan. Thanks to her, I was able to update our Reflections on Mike page, and she has also alerted me to some cool old interviews recently uploaded on Youtube by Whirp and PeterBuckRocks. Enjoy!
Mike Mills, 1985
Mike Mills & Peter Buck, 1985
Mike Mills & Michael Stipe, 1991
Mike Mills, Peter Buck & Bill Berry, 1993
Tags: Bill Berry, Collapse Into Now, Eddie Vedder, Michael Stipe, Mike Mills, Patti Smith, Peaches, Pearl Jam, Peter Buck, R.E.M., Scott McCaughey, The Baseball Project, Volume 2: High and Inside
January 13th, 2011 at 10:26 am
Thanks so much Ivana for introducing me and for your kind words! I’m honoured!
BTW guys, if you like you can befriend me on Facebook, I’m quite new there and I’d be happy to welcome new friends!
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000357693865
Also thanks Ivana for the big news update!
The thoughts of a “no tour scenario” let me shiver with fear. I can’t wait to see them live, and if they don’t tour for Collapse Into Now, we will have to wait at worst many years for a next chance…
No no no – I hope for the best!
*Yaaay* Thanks for the torrent link! GREAT!
Somehow I didn’t notice this one up on Dime although I was browsing there quite often lately – aw shit man, shame on me!
Aaah, Gift Of The Fathers is such a wonderfully beautiful masterpiece.
January 13th, 2011 at 11:10 am
Hello Ivana,
I’ve been visiting your site for a long time now since I first stumbled upon it, and I feel I must express my admiration for your blog – it’s a really informative site, and your piano covers are incredible!
I’d also like to apologise, as being a newbie I added a link to your site from my blog without your permission. I’m new to the blogging scene, so I don’t quite know all the ins and outs of ‘netiquette’ yet… it seems I’m on quite a learning curve! Anyway, to that end I’d like to ask if I could link to your blog on my sidebar. I do have a link up now, but if you don’t want it up I’ll happily take it off.
If you’re interested, my site is http://listentotheauctioneer.blogspot.com/ . Have a look if you like and tell me what you think!
Yours truly,
Auctioneer
January 13th, 2011 at 11:54 am
Awww thanks Auctioneer! I love your blog, I’ve just added it to our Links & Favourites! Great selection of worst R.E.M. covers, although my No. 1 would be last year’s Haiti charity single, with everyone from Mariah to Robbie mangling “Everybody Hurts”. That single really… hurts! But since it’s a charity thing, it’s sorta politically incorrect to criticise it…
January 13th, 2011 at 12:31 pm
My personal welcome to Kirsten. It’s great to have you here!
About the tour, I don’t ask for a worldwide-big-endless tour but, guys, PLEASE think about a little-intimate-just for fans tour
About the download, thanks to Christophe, to the one who uploaded it on Dimeadozen, and to you, Ivana. This is a wonderful gift!
January 13th, 2011 at 12:34 pm
That one never even occurred to me! But yes, perhaps its inclusion wouldn’t have been a smart move on my part. As Mike himself has said, it’s not really their song anymore, seeing as how everybody covers it for charity so much. Still, it’s for a good cause… but Simon Cowell should have at least taken a little initiative when producing it.
Yours truly,
Auctioneer
January 13th, 2011 at 12:43 pm
And welcome to Auctioneer too. I looked at your website. Really nice. I’m interested in your statistics of who and from where, follow your blog. Go ahead!
January 13th, 2011 at 12:46 pm
Dol, you lucky girl, you were there @ La Lunera!
As for the tour, fingers crossed! Obviously Peter is happy with the new songs and eager to play them live, so…
January 13th, 2011 at 12:49 pm
Thanks Dol – it’s great to finally be a part of the R.E.M. fan community! The Clustrmaps section on the sidebar is fairly new, so it doesn’t use the old stats. I don’t know why I need to know what operating systems people use, but it’s fun to look at when you’ve nothing to do!
Yours truly,
Auctioneer
January 13th, 2011 at 1:42 pm
OOPS!!!Double posted….the technically challenged Linda strikes again!! Sorry all
January 13th, 2011 at 3:16 pm
Don’t worry Linda, it happens all the time. I’ve removed the duplicate post.
January 13th, 2011 at 4:49 pm
Dol, many thanks for the warm welcome! I’m blushing…
Auctioneer – great site, thank you!!
Oh yes, I also dread the Helping Haiti Everybody Hurts charity single – they butchered our heroes’ song!! Couldn’t they have covered any other song?
I think the same about it, it feels like EH doesn’t belong to them anymore. And such covers don’t help to ease that feeling…