I guess so

So Accelerate, R.E.M.'s fourteenth studio album, dropped today (see how I said "dropped" like an industry insider? I know, I know, it seems like I must be part of the biz or something (see how I said "biz"?)), and I guess I should purchase the album at some point. More out of obligation than anything else. Messrs. Buck, Mills, and Stipe (along with their back-up band) apparently commemorated the release of Accelerate by performing on the Today Show this morning (video here and here and here). Comment cards left by patrons at the Dean & Deluca in Rockefeller Plaza indicated that the performance was very enjoyable (but that there was not enough caramel in the macchiato).

So this is kind of where we're at, people.

In probably more interesting news, The Raconteurs' new album, Consolers of the Lonely, also came out this past week. While this album probably won't chart well, I'm thinking that SoundScan will show that Warners will move over 250,000 units in the first month on the strength of online and independent media buzz. (Sorry, there's that rad music industry jargon again. I really wish I weren't such a hardcore insider!)