Ask any fledgling band who their influences are, and one group always tops the list. Talk to college students, even from years past, and ask what band’s tunes have a permanent place in the CD player, and one throng of guys consistently make the grade. This powerhouse of rock, of course, is R.E.M.

These four boys from Athens, Ga. (the same musical hotbed that germinated the B-52’s and Mudhoney), Michael Stipe on vocals, Bill Berry on drums, Mike Mills on bass and Peter Buck on guitar, are actually making a stop in Ames (their only Iowa appearance) on the second leg of their Monster tour. That meeting of the minds is tonight at 8 p.m. at Hilton Coliseum.

This particular tour is the first time R.E.M. has packed up and taken their act on the road since their Green stint (that means six years to the non-fanatic). Three albums later, they finally decided to embark on another tour. Apparently, their choice to brave cramped buses and exhausting schedules actually helped them make Monster, their most recent release on Warner Bros. Records.

“The decision to play live helped to shape the album,” Berry explained in a press release. “We wanted to be able to do this stuff on stage.”

Monster hearkens back to those glory days of yore, the times when the word “alternative” had much more meaning, the band had yet to score a Top-40 hit and their albums didn’t clean up at the MTV Music Awards.

“In those days, we used to write songs during sound check and play them that night at the show,” Berry explained. “We wanted to get a little of that feel across on this record.”

And while R.E.M.’s reign on the throne of alternative music has spanned over 14 years, the guys don’t hesitate to admit that there was always room for improvement. Monster is a step toward perfection. “We’ve never sounded anything like this before,” Buck said. “We were kids when we started out, and the distance we’ve come is reflected in these songs.”

“We’re not trying to reproduce anything,” Mills added. “There’s too much going on right now. What remains consistent is the songwriting. That, and the fun of making loud noise.”

Although a lot of once-devoted fans have fallen off the R.E.M. bandwagon (perhaps for a lack of room), those who dig their older stuff — Life’s Rich Pageant, Murmur, Fables of the Reconstruction — will fall in love all over again during their live show. These guys are smart: they realize that their new music is vastly different from their classic stuff, and they’re not afraid of shuffling up the song list.

“This album [Monster] is a great way to get back into playing live,” Stipe said.

“I can’t think of anything more boring than playing all that music from the last three years, although I’m sure we’ll do some of it. We’ve got big plans.”

“We’ve always loved to play live,” Mills added. “It’s an integral part of what we do, which is part of why we recorded Monster as a quasi-live setting. Now we’ve got a chance to do the real thing.”

Part of these plans, of course, include their world tour. Don’t miss them (who knows when or if they’ll tour again?) when they hit Ames. Tickets are still available for $37.75 and $27.75; they can be purchased at the Iowa State Center Box Office, all Ticketmaster outlets. Showtime is 8 p.m.