Two new films released - CIN film project

Well, happy birthday to me, it seems! I've turned 16 today, and to celebrate I have a little surprise for you all - two new offerings from the Collapse Into Now film project. First up, we have Every Day is Yours to Win, which actually came out a while ago (but I was being sneaky and left it out my last post!). Accompanying this is an introduction from Michael and one of the directors, Jim McKay.

An interesting video, no doubt, with some quirky choices of actors. In the intro video, Michael and Jim state how they were inspired by Chris Rock (Google her), and her antics on the Internet. Things then took a very weird turn when Chris, a fan herself, actually wrote a comment on the video! Small world, eh?

I can't embed Discoverer onto this page, so you'll have to head to Nowness.com to see it (WARNING: Very flashy). The interview below the seizure-inducing film is also rather insightful, with Michael explaining that the song's inspiration came from New York. We also find out the name of Lynda Stipe's pitbull. ;)

I would write more today, but I can't be bothered... it is my birthday, after all! Later today I will be heading to a recording studio to play a few songs: one which I have written, and a cover of that Mikey Mills classic Near Wild Heaven. Until then!

Yours truly,
Auctioneer

P.S. Funny, this - Lynda's experimental band is called Flash to Bang Time. Upon checking out the band Myspace page, I discovered that their record label is "Happy Birthday to Me"! Synchronicity or what?

Me, Michael Stipe, Michael Stipe and I...

Michael trying to keep track of all the questions sent to him.

I'd like to start off by saying that today has been a great day, and it's all thanks to DazedDigital. To begin, we were given a new film from Collapse Into Now - which up until earlier today had been a tight-lipped secret. However, I can now reveal it to be Walk It Back:

As much as I'd like to review this video, I'm having trouble loading it. The opinion of the majority seems to be that it is utter crap, but I'll leave you to decide that. Anyway, we still have much to get through!

The next thing that DazedDigital gave us was perhaps the most unique and special one of all. If you weren't aware of it, then I'll fill you in. R.E.M. fans at 1pm GMT were given the opportunity to actually participating in a live chat with Michael Stipe himself! Even if that didn't set your pulse racing, it was for me at least the cause of some extreme excitement. I knew I had to be there this time - I became a fan in 2009, just after the Accelerate tour, the Supernatural Superserious video remixes, the TV performances... I was crushed when I found out what I had missed. This time, I vowed that things would be different.

Sadly, there were a number of obstacles that stood in my way:
1. The chat was during school time, at lunch.
2. Facebook, which was being used for the chat, is blocked in my school.
3. The sheer number of people that were bound to arrive if I didn't get there early would mean I wouldn't be able to get on the chat.

Something had to be done. Thankfully, my mum is a teacher at the school I go to, meaning I could use her login in which Facebook is not blocked. However, I just had to trust my luck with 3 and in the case of 1, I just missed lunch and prayed that the room containing the computer I was using would not be discovered by a teacher. The plan was in place, but concentrating during the morning classes was near to impossible. The clock ticked idly by, prolonging my suffering time and time again. Nerves shook my body. I needed to be there!

Surprisingly, I turned out to be the second person to arrive at the chat, despite it being on eight minutes before  Michael was due to arrive. Soon though, the conversation was flooded with people from many countries (I counted at least three from the UK). One of the employees at DazedDigital informed the wildly-expanding crowd that Stipe was on his way to the company's offices in London, and he would be about five minutes.

Alas, at 1:10, ten minutes after the start time, there was still no sign of our favourite frontman. I did my best to help keep the crowd busy, asking questions such as what everyone thought of the album, who was a fanclubber here, what their favourite song from Collapse Into Now was etc. (The answers to the latter question, if you're interested, seemed to be mostly UBerlin.) But even with a healthy conversation going, it was easy to tell we were getting agitated. Where was he? Where was Michael Stipe?


At eighteen minutes past one, we got our wish. A user, "Rem Dazed", appeared on the chat - his profile pic was of the man himself. He was here, at last! Instantly, the whole chatroom went crazy, overwhelmed with excitement and happiness at his arrival, myself included. We thanked him for giving us the chance to talk to him, and told him what we thought of the new album. He thanked us for our comments on Collapse Into Now (which were, of course, extremely favourable) and allowed us to ask our questions.

To be perfectly honest I didn't even expect a reply. There were so many there that the school's crummy Internet connection almost couldn't handle it. Fingers crossed, I posted my comment:

"I have a question about the sound of the album, which is very ambient. Did you know early on how you wanted it to sound, or did it just develop naturally?"*

My comment disappeared under a mound of others. No way was he going to see my question. But it turned out I was wrong:

"to Lewis, we had no idea what is was going to sound like.."

My heart skipped a beat. Not only did Michael personally answer my question, my question was the first one he answered.

And he used my name.

Instantly, I was hit with elation. It was all worthwhile - I chatted to Michael Stipe! He answered my question first! He used my name! (Which you now all know. Sigh - that's what I get for directly quoting.)

To any casual or non-R.E.M. fan, this whole thing probably doesn't sound like a big deal. But to me, the boy who has spent literally months living and breathing the band, it has been the highest point in my fandom so far. Soon, more people joined, my Internet connection slowed even more - something that didn't even seem possible - and Michael was struggling to cope with the sheer amount of traffic on the chatroom. The poor guy was forced to answer questions from five minutes ago. It was hectic.

But a lot of good questions were answered in this chat. Here's a couple of pieces of interesting information that came from the event:

• Michael uses an iPhone and a Canon G10 when taking photos.
• According to Stipe: "Aligator is one of three songs in what we laughingly refer to as the 'testosterone trilogy'"
• He recorded a duet with Courtney Love not long ago (UPDATE: Last week, as it turned out).
• Newest music on his iPhone: The Knife, Die Antword, Grizzly Bear, Karen Elson, The National, Peaches, Salem, Tired Pony,  Walkmen, INXS, Courtney Love, Brian Eno, Burial, Alva Noto.
• Confirmation that Oh My Heart is a sequel to Houston.

He even answered a second question of mine! I asked him what his website, Michaelstipe.com was about. If you've ever been there, I'm sure you'll understand why I raised this question. Again, in his own words:

"Michaelstipe.com is a record of a year of looking at my computer"

Pretty neat stuff, eh? Sadly, my school's Internet packed in about two-thirds of the way through the chat. But I was happy. He spoke to me - as cheesy as it sounds, I think everyone there today was especially pleased of connecting with Michael. I know I was!

Finally, as if that wasn't enough, DazedDigital gave us another video - Alligator_Aviator_Autopilot_Antimatter:

Err... interesting! Its weirdness reflects the strange lyrics, in a way.

So, that's it for now. My adrenaline has fuelled with writing of this post, but I must go as Michael is appearing on The One Show in 15 minutes. Apologies for making you sit through my giddy speech, but I'm riding the excitement 5 hours later. Goodbye!

Yours truly,
Auctioneer

*This may not be the actual wording I used. Thankfully, I have a saved copy of what I typed, so I'll update this page later with what I said.

UPDATE 2: Here's a couple of screenshots I took of the chat, with Stipe answering my questions. Just in case you doubted me!

"It Happened Today" music video

Sure, he looks sweet, but he's actually a pyromaniac.

We have some progress! As you may recall, yesterday I went on a bit of a tirade against the music video for Überlin, which was meaningless and not even in time with the song (the latter issue I hammered home enormously, but that was mostly for comedic effect). The point was, it just wasn't relevant.

Now, however, we see an improvement with It Happened Today, along with the news that there will be a video for every track on the new album, each to be directed by different film-makers. In this new offering, the story seems relatively simple. A child wakes up in the morning and is bored with the monotony of his day (shown by the greyscale effect present in the first part of the film), until he has some sort of revelation and goes out into the snow. There, he befriends some sheep and a dog and finds a mysterious box with some roses in it... as you do. Cut to night time, and a hunter is watching the child set fire to one of his roses, which he then uses to light a hay bale before he runs away gleefully. He goes home, and the greyscale returns as he drifts off to sleep.

So, what do we get from the story, apart from that the child is obviously dangerously obsessed with flames? Well, on a serious note, this film fits the music much better than Überlin did. We get a feeling, partly due to the expression of realisation on the boy's face and the immediate transition into colour, that something really is happening here. Rather than make a video to fit the 3:47 track running time, the director (Tom Gilroy) has actually used the multitracks to remix the song, and push the music to just over six minutes. This gives him time to develop the plot, although what the true meaning of this plot is still eludes me.

NME has revealed the names of all the directors participating in this art project. Here they are in full:

• Discoverer - Michael and Lynda Stipe
• All the Best - James Herbert
• Überlin - Sam Taylor Wood
• Oh My Heart - Jem Cohen
• It Happened Today - Tom Gilroy
• Every Day is Yours to Win - Jim McKay, Chris Moukarbel and Valerie Veatch
• Mine Smell Like Honey - Dominic DeJoseph
• Walk It Back - Sophie Calle
• Alligator Aviator Autopilot Antimatter - Lance Bangs
• That Someone is You - James Franco
• Me, Marlon Brando, Marlon Brando and I - Albert Maysles and Bradley Kaplan
• Blue - James Franco

I, for one, am particularly excited about the choice of director in two cases, for the simple reason that I think James Franco is a fantastic actor. Naturally, that may not mean he's a good director, but Michael must have faith in him if he's directing both That Someone is You and Blue. Incidentally, Michael is pairing up with his sister Lynda for Discoverer.

If you haven't seen Franco in his latest film, 127 Hours, then I implore you to do so. His acting ability is so great, that I nearly cried at the end of the movie. And no, I'm not ashamed in the slightest to say it!

Oh, you want to see It Happened Today as well as read about it? Well, here you go. :)

Before I go, there's one last thing I'd like to mention. I could be wrong on this one, but do I get the feeling that Gilbert is paying homage to Stipe at 1:21. The action the girl uses here is almost identical to that used by Michael himself during most live versions of Man on the Moon:

This could be an interesting point. If you have any thoughts on it, feel free to contact me. Until next time!

Yours truly,
Auctioneer

Über-fail

...right...

The free Überlin giveaway at iTunes UK can't have been a coincidence, as immediately following that comes a new music video for the song. Many R.E.M. fans around the Internet are unhappy that they don't get to see the whole band - so far we've just had Michael being carried upstairs by a group of men, in black and white. As interesting an experiment as it was, we wanted something a bit more mainstream... and something which Peter and Mike could be involved in too.

Sadly, our prayers have not yet been answered - in fact, the complete opposite has happened. Not even Michael appears in the new music video, as he has instead given complete artistic control to another director, by the name of Sam Taylor-Wood, who in turn has decided to create a video revolving around a man (Aaron Johnson) dancing down a street in London. Not only that, but it's her boyfriend!

He's wearing an R.E.M. T-shirt. That's about where the connections between the video and the music end.

Oh yeah, and it's not even in time with the song.

Granted, some of the moves Johnson pulls off are nothing short of spectacular, involving flipping himself around a lamp post and jumping over a bicycle. Never in a million years could I do that! But the point is, the concept is all wrong. The character portrayed in the song Überlin seems to me like a reserved, tired individual, who is looking for solitude - the last thing I would expect him to do is strut down a street pulling off dance moves and doing squirrel impressions (see above). No... this is just all wrong. And did I say it wasn't even time with the song?

There's a place for obscure art in this world, and there's a place for things that appeal to the general public. Music videos fall under the latter category, an idea which R.E.M. sometimes just don't get - in 1984, the first twenty minutes of Reckoning were put to film. The video was - wait for it - the band members walking round a farm.  Well, perhaps I'm being too harsh here, as it was quite a good movie, with interesting camera effects and editing, but the public at large would not want to see Left of Reckoning (for that was its name). No, what they wanted was something like Man on the Moon, with Peter serving drinks at a bar and Millsy shooting pool! Or was that just me?

Überlin was a fantastic, emotive and moody song, a quality lost as soon as you press 'play' on the flash player. The video, for UK users, can be found here.

Now, as my hand is cramping (thanks to a massive post I did last night on Collapse Into Now), coupled with the fact that my doctor has warned me of repetitive strain injury, I think I'll stop there... but not before sharing with you my favourite R.E.M. music video: Near Wild Heaven. Check it out - it's much better than the band's most recent offering.

And have I mentioned it wasn't even in time with the song?

Yours truly,
Auctioneer

"Discoverer" video - Hansa Studios

Another one from the CIN trailer, and in the same venue as Oh My Heart, R.E.M. has just released a video for Discoverer, track one from the new record. Rolling Stone Magazine calls it "seemingly live", which to my ears sounds a little harsh. That fact that Michael's vocals have minor differences in them is obvious to me, but the website doesn't seem to agree.

On some unrelated notes, the box with the band's name on it (behind Michael) makes its first appearance since the working rehearsals in 2007. I'm probably wrong on this second point, but the carpets in that studio look awfully familiar... are they the same ones used by System of a Down?

Er... maybe not. But hey, it's Discoverer and it rocks!

Yours truly,
Auctioneer

Mine smell like honey... huh?

Is it me, or is this just... wrong?

Ethan from Murmurs got a sneak preview of this video, and now that I've seen it I agree with him - the music video for Mine Smell Like Honey is BANANAS.

The whole thing is shot with still images, and involves Michael getting carried up a flight of stairs by a group of men and women. Mostly, the video is in black and white, with the exception of the odd picture (see above for an example), and the end in which Michael is lying on top of a bunch of chairs... with green eyes. I'm sure his eyes are really blue, but perhaps I'm wrong.

Though the video itself isn't in particularly high quality in full screen, it's an interesting watch, and you may even find yourself laughing a little! I do hope this embed code works:

Err... nope. I had hoped to post an embed code, but it seems to not be working. To view the video, click here.

Now that I've had time to reflect on the video, I have to say that, on the whole, I like it - it would have been good to have seen the other band members in it, but a bearded Michael Stipe (not dissimilar to my PE teacher at school, I might add) will do just as well. The general consensus amongst fans seems to be is that this is a strange video, a point that would be impossible to argue against - all one needs to do is view the first ten or so seconds to get a flavour of what the rest of the music video will be like. So far, there has been no word of the track being made available for purchase on iTunes, but seeing as most of R.E.M.'s music videos are up there we should be able to get it soon.

Finally, I'd also like to take the opportunity to say Happy Birthday to Ivana and Elena from Mike Mills Tribute, who started the site one year ago yesterday, on their birthdays. Have a good one!

Yours truly,
Auctioneer

Update: R.E.M. posted a higher quality version of the video on YouTube! Here it is:

Ahh... that's better. :)