HBO to Air Madonna Concert

May 25, 2001 -- If you can't get tickets to the fast-selling Madonna Drowned World Tour, you may want to sign up for HBO.

The cable network will broadcast her Aug. 26 concert from her home state of Michigan. HBO has the exclusive TV rights to her show, and it could be the only way to see her perform her hits. This is Madonna's first tour in eight years, and it's quickly selling out across the country.

The movie channel is making a name for itself in the concert world — it also aired a concert by Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band in April and plans to broadcast Britney Spears from Las Vegas in November.

Shiny Happy R.E.M.

Michael Stipe and his bandmates are looking to the future with their new album, Reveal. It debuts at No. 6 on the Billboard charts this week. While some critics have been describing the sound as a return to their roots, R.E.M. bassist Mike Mills disagrees.

"For us it was in no way about looking back. I think if anything harkens back, it's that you have a record that has great songs that maintains a mood throughout better than maybe our last two or three records have," said Mills.

He says they decided on a summer release date to reflect their happier mood. "This is the first record we've made in a few years where we didn't have some sort of ongoing external crisis or problem to deal with. We were all free to focus and concentrate on what we're doing," said Mills. "We're all in really good spaces as a band and as people right now."

The band broke barriers and helped propel alternative rock in the 1980s. Frontman and songwriter Stipe says they're still at it.

"We've always tried to push those out. If we fall on our face, we fall on our face, and that's that," said Stipe. "I think there wasn't a lot of falling on our face with this record."

Bono's Presidential Praises

Apparently all of Bono's political campaigning has brought him some friends in high places.

While on a trip to Ireland, Former President Bill Clinton recently made a personal visit to congratulate the U2 singer on the birth of his fourth child. Bono's wife, Ali, gave birth to the healthy boy on May 21.

The Allstar Web site reports while in Dublin this week, Clinton stopped in the Clarence Hotel, which is owned by U2. He hung around with Bono and one of his friends until 2 in the morning, sharing cocktails in a private room.

ABCNEWS Radio and ABCNEWS.com's Nancy Chandross contributed to this report.