This is for Peter and all the other REM fans. Taken from remison.com- a RELIABLE fan site which I often go on.

R.E.M. is back in the studio working on songs for the new record to be released sometime in the Fall of 2004. According to REMHQ and some other sources, the as yet untitled release will be followed by a tour of the USA in the Fall and a world tour in early 2005.

"We're working on 22 songs, and 15 or 16 of them are completed. Sometimes it's hard to squeak out 12 songs, but right now every time I sit down, something flies out of me.", Michael Stipe told Billboard.com.

Among the cuts being targeted for the as-yet-untitled Warner Bros. set, which will be produced by the group with Pat McCarthy, are "Wanderlust," "Electron Blue," "Aftermath" and "Magnetic North." Adds Stipe, "We'll finish the record in late spring, take a little bit of time off and then start preparing for the tour, making videos and doing remixes."

Principal members Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck and bassist Mike Mills have been joined in the studio by frequent collaborators Scott McCaughey and Ken Stringfellow as well as drummer Bill Rieflin, who toured with R.E.M. last year.

Stipe says the tour will be "worldwide," starting in September and October. "It'll take us through Europe at least twice," he offers. "I'm really excited; [touring there] last year really set us up for that. I think [the upcoming concert DVD] 'Perfect Square' shows the band's in really good form. We've found a great team of musicians to work with."

"I'll probably change my make-up a little bit for the next tour," he jokes. "It got a little extreme, so it has to get more extreme." The trek is being tipped to visit cities in which R.E.M. has never previously played during its 20-plus-year existence.

"We'll be on the road for probably six to eight months and I'm really looking forward to it," Stipe says in another interview.

And although the group's most recent studio set, 2000's "Reveal," met with lukewarm reviews, Stipe insists he is "excited about what's coming up. I know what we've got up our sleeve and I think people are really going to like it."

Finally, let's remind that tomorrow, on March 8th, Warner Bros. Records will release "Perfect Square", the full length DVD of the Wiesbaden, Germany, concert from R.E.M.'s 2003 tour, internationally. The DVD will be available in the United States on March 16th.