A new look for "Auctioneer's R.E.M. Blog" + Why you should go deluxe

Snazzy.

Hi all. As you may have noticed, Auctioneer's R.E.M. Blog has changed slightly from its usual format. The normal title image (of the band playing at Hansa studios) has been removed for the time being and replaced with a brand-spanking shiny new one to celebrate the release of Collapse Into Now. This alteration is only temporary - it'll only be up for the next week or so - but I just felt that this was the time to show the band how much I enjoy their new album! :)

I had a great time last night listening to the record, but I couldn't help feeling a little spoilt by the great bonuses I received by buying the deluxe edition from iTunes. By purchasing the iTunes LP for £10.99, you don't just get the three 'live in studio' bonus tracks offered (although buying it with the deluxe album still constitutes a better deal than going for the normal version and buying those extra tracks separately). In fact, I was incredibly surprised with what I finally found once I had downloaded. Here's the lowdown:

• The official 12 Collapse Into Now songs (duh!)
• Three 'live in studio' songs: Discoverer, Oh My Heart and Alligator_Aviator_Autopilot_Antimatter
• A new, previously unseen live in studio video for That Someone is You
• Lyrics to all the songs on the record
• Publicity photos of the band
• Liner notes written by producer Jacknife Lee
• An awesome user interface to package it all up in!

Another interesting point of note is in the credits for the album, which lists one of the technical assistants as DeWitt Burton. Doesn't sound very attention-grabbing, until you realise that R.E.M. played at his wedding in 2005! Lucky guy!

On the whole, the iTunes LP sounds like a pretty amazing deal for a hardcore R.E.M. fan. Of course, for the average viewer, the normal version would almost certainly suffice, and for £7.99 it's not to be sniffed at considering the quality of songwriting present on Collapse Into Now. Fans will love it, those who prefer 'old-school' R.E.M. and can't get over Bill Berry's departure will hate it, and most of the general public will wonder what all the fuss is about. But in my opinion, it's worth every penny. ;)

Finally, I have a little bit of news courtesy of REMfan.it - the latest video to come from the CIN film project will be aired on Dazed Digital, Thursday afternoon. Stay tuned for a link, and possibly even a review!

Yours truly,
Auctioneer

UPDATE: Why does this keep happening - I write a post about an upcoming event, and then suddenly the event happens an hour later! Get over to IFC and watch the film of Oh My Heart!