It's good to see that Monster was just a momentary diversion instead of a Zooropa-style permanent devestation. The sound of New Adventures In Hi-Fi is like blending all the different styles R.E.M. ever persued into one solid state. You've got a bit of the early Murmur and Reckoning sound, a dab of Reconstruction of the Fables and Life's Rich Pageant, a teaspoon of Green and Out of Time, and a pound of Automatic for the People, marinated ever so lightly in a Monster-esque production broth.

"E-Bow the Letter" (for those of you who haven't heard it on the radio or MTV) is possibly one of the greatest songs ever written with its Patty Smith-ish freestyle poetry lyrics (that's her in the background) and subtly catchy chorus. "Bittersweet Me" is rockin' enough to make you swing your head around a bit and sing along with apathy. ("I don't know what I'm hungry for/ I don't know what I want anymore.") "The Wake-Up Bomb" comes at you with its straight-on stinging distortion and balls-out rock 'n' roll. Hi-Fi's real champ, though, has got to be the opener, "How The West Was Won and Where It Got Us", which words can't accurately describe. If there has been an R.E.M. record this decade worthy of your cash-- and until now, there hasn't-- New Adventures is it. The photography in the liner notes is awesome, too.