R.E.M.Live: Ich Bin Ein Dubliner?

Last week, R.E.M.LIVE went live to a [insert favorite corporate retail outlet here] near you.

Now, I love this band. Love their music
more than any other four guys playing great rock and roll. Love their longevity. Love the songwriting. In fact, I love this band so damn much I can get past their politics.

But do we really need to hear Mr. Stipe, pictured doing a mediocre Boy Wonder impersonation above, tell the Dublin audience that they "come from a strange, far away and often-confusing place called the United States of America?" I would hope that R.E.M. esteems their country higher than that. I can understand that you don't like G.W. Bush or the war--or conservatism--for that matter. After all, Mr. Stipe did go on Anderson Cooper recently. But maybe love for country during a 2005 concert in Dublin isn't the best place to profess love of country. Mr. Stipe, I welcome your comments.

At any rate, I do appreciate the two songs Mr. Stipe calls "our state of the union address." Great stuff, especially a rare R.E.M. fight song called "Final Straw." A great thing about R.E.M.'s music is a conscious choice on part of the songwriters to allow for personal meaning plug-ins. Their songs might be a musical flipping of the bird to them but to me they mean something else. So that's great, thanks for playing. I'll still buy the next record in April on day one. Like I have with each since New Adventures in Hi-Fi.

Anyhow, the setlist is mostly good, but I wish to all that's sacred and holy that they permanately retire "The Great Beyond" and "Imitation of Life" from all setlists. The R.E.M. catalog is replete with oustanding songs and these two aren't holding water over time. Maybe one day we can hear "Bittersweet Me," "Texarkana" or "Try Not To Breathe."

But speaking of songs that hold water, "Boy In The Well" sounds fantastic and I absolutely was floored by the show opener, from 1994's Monster, "I Took Your Name." "So Fast, So Numb" sounds equally fantastic and not just because it's from Hi-Fi.

I recommend viewing the DVD with a shot of Dramamine and sunglasses. I get the high energy style and trick pony photography, but only on Orange Crush is it well executed. Definitely postpone watching if you've got a headache.

Perfect Square, on the other hand, is an absolute gem and if you've got a hankering for R.E.M. live, give that DVD a whirl. I'm afraid it has the aforementioned waterlogged songs, but still well worth your time.

Guys, thanks for the live release and I hope when the Democrats take back the White House nothing changes. Would that be so terribly uncool?