R.E.M. Premiers New Album on iLlike.com

R.E.M. premiered its entire new album, titled "Accelerate," yesterday on social music discovery site iLike.com. It's a first for the Silicon Valley upstart that will surely boost its membership base to record new levels in the coming days. The iLike R.E.M. listening party will continue through March 26th, six days before the album's North American release on April 1st.

"Collaborating with iLike, and debuting 'Accelerate' across the Web is in keeping with the spirit and immediacy of the album." says the band's frontman Michael Stipe in a press release. "We wanted to do something superfast and super real. Music, art, and pop culture are about right now, and nothing else matters. 'Accelerate' is our turbo-charged response to the times we live in."

"With 11 songs clocking in at just 34 minutes, 'Accelerate 'is intense and relevant, with songs inspired by the WTO riots in Seattle, the Hurricane Katrina disaster, and other topical themes," said Ali Partovi, CEO of iLike. "We are honored to play a role in helping R.E.M. introduce this album to their fans across the Web. This is our first-ever Worldwide Listening Party and R.E.M. has set a very high bar."

I created profiles on both Last.fm and iLike.com to test out both services. I'm still figuring out which one I like best. Does any of you have experience with these two? Which one do you prefer?