I've heard that some fans are upset about the band releasing a greatest hits album. Apparently, some people interpret it as a sign that Warner Bros. no longer sees them as current creators of hit music and are raiding their catalog to recoup some of their investment. If that's true, it makes me very sad.
It's conceivable that the IRS stuff could be included on the greatest hits CD. Around the time that Time-Warner merged with AOL, they made some other acquisitions that gave them control of Capitol Records, who own the rights to the IRS recordings. (I think it was Capitol... maybe it was EMI... who cares... aren't all record companies owned by the same guy now?) Anyway, as much as I love the IRS stuff, I doubt it will appear on a new greatest hits album since most of it can be obtained on
Eponymous.
In other R.E.M. news, TF's favorite album,
Document, will be released in DVD-A format next month. The disc will have all of the tracks mixed in Dolby 5.1 surround sound and include videos for "Finest Worksong," "ItEotWAWKI(aIFF)," and "The One I Love."
Reveal and
AftP are already available on DVD-A.
grass stains, airplanes, anything and everything