The first thing one might think when hearing that R.E.M. has a new album out is "are those guys are still around?"

Yes, the boys of R.E.M. (Peter Buck, Mike Mills, and the baldheaded wonder Michael Stipe) have been on the airwaves since 1981 and continue to make sweet music for alternative music junkies, old and new.

It would be too easy to fill this review with clever jabs that play off of R.E.M.'s famous song titles in order to poke fun at their slightly annoying longevity. For example: "Losing My Religion?" More like, losing my lunch. Or "It's the End of the World as We Know It," because R.E.M. is still making music. Or "Everybody Hurts" when they hear R.E.M.'s new album.

However, after listening to their new album, "Accelerate," released earlier this month, it is safe to say that R.E.M. has continued to make music for a good reason: they're still incredible.

This isn't the R.E.M. of 1992, mind you. The first thing you'll notice about the R.E.M. of 2008 is that Stipe's voice has accumulated some wear and tear. It no longer has that fresh and borderline-whiny musicality. Stipe is now 48 years old, after all.

But don't be scared away by the lead singer's older and wiser voice. Through "Accelerate," one can't help but fall in love again with R.E.M. Upon hearing Buck's guitar riffs and Stipe's vocals, the listener will say, "This is the reason I started liking alternative rock music in the first place ten years ago!" It is, no doubt, a good nostalgic feeling.

The album has only 11 tracks, and fairly short tracks at that, offering just a brief taste of what is missing on the current mainstream music scene.

Listening to "Accelerate" is like reliving the '90s: watching "Empire Records," learning that Cobain died, and throwing on ripped-up jeans and studded jewelry. Songs like "Horse to Water" bring back that head-banging move that seemed to go out the window once softie emo music arrived on the scene.

R.E.M. has always had excellent lyrics, speaking to disenchanted youth everywhere. The lyrics in "Accelerate" are no exception, proving the band still has the skill to reach the young adult masses.

The band gives listeners some good advice in their oddly-titled track "Man-Sized Wreath," "kick it out on the dance floor like you just don't care." The song's upbeat nonchalance urges the listeners to forget about the things that get them down and have a little fun because life is short.

And in the album's title track, Stipe asks, "Where is the rip cord, the trap door, the key? Where is the cartoon escape hatch for me? No time to question the choices I made. I've got to fall in another direction." Then, the song ends with the lyrics, "I'm incomplete." If that doesn't give a voice to today's struggling 20-somethings, I don't know what does.

R.E.M. throws in political commentary as well in the track "Until the Day is Done." The song, addressing the war in Iraq, expresses a sense of restlessness and waiting for an end to this dark time in history. In the CD booklet, the lyrics to "Until the Day is Done" are preceded by a quote from Sinclair Lewis: "When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying the cross." R.E.M. successfully pulls off the political-message song by riding the thin line between extremity and indifference.

Their last track, "I'm Gonna DJ," is definitely on the corny end of the music spectrum. It's as if they are trying too hard to be young again or trying too hard to reach a "young" and "hip" new audience. But it is quite a finale for the record, just plain fun, and very different from the rest of the album. The sophomoric lyrics, "death is pretty final, I'm collecting vinyl, I'm gonna DJ at the end of the world" show that R.E.M. is still defiant and still young at heart.