Hey, blog buddies, sorry it has been so long!

Recently while on long car rides, I have been attempting to mentally reconceptualize some of my favorite albums — ya know those albums that could have been so much better if you just got rid of half the songs, for real, try it.

Here’s an example: I always thought REM’s album New Adventures In Hi Fi was WAY too long and in need of some pruning. Here is what I would do, if I were to magically be given the ability to retool it.

Before: (original order)
“How the West Was Won and Where It Got Us ” – 4:31 Seattle Studio
“The Wake-Up Bomb” – 5:08 Charleston
“New Test Leper” – 5:26 Seattle Studio
“Undertow” – 5:09 Boston
“E-Bow the Letter” – 5:23 Seattle Studio
“Leave” – 7:18 Atlanta Soundcheck
“Departure” – 3:28 Detroit
“Bittersweet Me” – 4:06 Memphis Soundcheck
“Be Mine” – 5:32 Seattle Studio
“Binky the Doormat” – 5:01 Phoenix
“Zither” – 2:33 Dressing Room Philadelphia
“So Fast, So Numb” – 4:12 Orlando Soundcheck
“Low Desert” – 3:30 Atlanta Soundcheck
“Electrolite” – 4:05 Phoenix Soundcheck

My version:
1. “Wake Up Bomb” (it’s a rocker, and a hell of an opener)
2. “E-Bow the Letter” (cause it’s a good contrast to my track 1, plus Patti Smith)
3. “Electrolite” (nice, short, sentimental, but not overly — cleans the palate)
4. “Departure” (a fun silly song that’s over in three minutes)
5. “Low Desert” (cool, slow sassy number with actual slap bass)
6. “Zither” (a quick little interlude that sounds Mexican — always a good thing)
7. “How the West Was Won” (encapsulation of the Western baby boomer stuff throughout — great atmosphere, you can see cactuses)

Try listening to the album as I have imagined it. I think it makes for a swell EP.

Why I cut:
“Bitter Sweet Me”: CORNY, and sells itself way too much. We get it — you’re detached and unable to love this man
“So Fast So Numb”: 8th-grade English workshop called; they want their lyrics back
“Binky the Doormat”: BORING. Get to the point, sir, and get the big-league chew out of your mouth
“Be Mine”: Sounds like a song you write for your partner for their birthday, but they break up with you four minutes in – ‘cause it’s THAT DULL
“Leave”: This one makes me wanna “Leave” the room. Would be cool with just the siren noise and a distorted guitar for, like, one minute. Thanks, Stipe! (:
“Undertow”: Because you can say you’re an atheist in under five minutes and seven seconds“New Test Leper”: Save it for the Web site “daily reflection” journal,. Boo hoo, you’re the anti-Christ. REM does this better when they’re cryptic

OK, guys, your turn. What albums do you wanna make over? Show us your stuff, blog buddies!

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