new music

I may hardly leave the house as much nowadays, but I have had time to buy some more new music to provide the soundtrack to my reading and writing.

I finally got my hands on R.E.M.'s I.R.S. best of And I Feel Fine. The reason to buy this package is the bonus second disc with lots of extremely rare demos and outtakes. Most bands don't have songs half as good as songs that R.E.M. leave off their albums. "Theme From One Step Onward" would make a killer album track, and possibly a single, if it was produced nicely. "Mystery To Me" is a great, jangly 2 minute song. It's one of the first songs they wrote, so it's pretty simple and catchy but lots of fun.

I also bought The Killers' new album Sam's Place. I've only listened to it thoroughly a couple times, but it sounds pretty great so far. Not as catchy as their last one and not quite as many synths as their last one, but it might be one of those albums that will stand up better ten years from now. It kind of sounds like Bruce Springsteen (who I guess they were listening to a lot while recording) fronting a New Wave band. "When You Were Young" is a contender for single of the year. Killer tunes. Ouch.