Weird, I've been listening to the old "Best of R.E.M." album tonight for no particular reason.

I'm not lying when I say that I remember watching that when it was on originally and thinking, "They suck." I learned differently as time went by.

It was my first year in college, and I thought I knew way more than I really did. It's a wonder I've survived this long.

Damn, forgot how young the boys once were. Stipey with hair, Mike all spastic, Peter sober, Bill with fully functioning brain vessels. Always a great tune. Nice coup for Letterman, too. Happy birthday, Mr. Berry, thanx for all the beats.

For fans of the band back in the early days, there's an entire concert on YouTube beginning here. It's from the tour I first saw them on -- I remember how odd it seemed for them to come onstage to so much excitement and then start their set with a song as slow as "Pale Blue Eyes." Kind of brought down the energy for a bit there. Another great band, the dB's, opened at the show I saw.

I've mentioned this before, I suppose -- I had 3 different opportunities to see them in clubs before this (guess it must have been their first "concert" tour), and for one reason or another screwed up and missed them each time. Dang.

The hardest working eyebrow (s) in the business.

bill's a good guy. my college band played the old 40 watt in athens years ago, and bill was there. he helped us load our gear! nice to have a millionaire lift your amp for you!

I still have no idea what the hell he's saying.

Back when REM was good and before Stipe caught the whiney sickness from Morissey and the self important douchiness from Bono.

I cannot listen to anything past Green.

Fables, Reckoning, Tales, Murmur, always on rotation in the car.

Gotta say, that was pretty kickass. I'm a big fan of that 80s jangly rock stuff. Early REM, Fire Town, Guadalcanal Diary, Hoodoo Gurus, and the like. Great stuff!

I've got the raw footage from that performance. Here's the tape from Camera 3 that was isolated on Mike Mills:

theflatline: Back when REM was good and before Stipe caught the whiney sickness from Morissey and the self important douchiness from Bono.

Stipe isn't the only one to catch that affliction.

I cannot listen to anything past Green.

Fables, Reckoning, Tales, Murmur, always on rotation in the car.


"Accelerate" is very good. Best work they've done in at least 15 years. It reminds me of why I became a fan of the band in the first place.

Jim R: I cannot listen to anything past Green.

Fables, Reckoning, Tales, Murmur, always on rotation in the car.


"Accelerate" is very good. Best work they've done in at least 15 years. It reminds me of why I became a fan of the band in the first place.

agree.... I liked Out of Time and Automatic... not real keen on anything after, but Accelerate reminds me of the early stuff, and I love that...

the Rickenbacker 4003 should never ever ever ever
be played with a farking pick

mavrick45:

the Rickenbacker 4003 should never ever ever ever
be played with a farking pick


I dunno... I'm generally not a big fan of people playing bass with a pick (though I used one when I first started playing -- a thumb-pick so it wouldn't go flying away while I played), but it seems to work for Mills -- to my ears, his parts stand out better as a counterpoint to Buck's rhythm style.

FlashHarry: bill's a good guy. my college band played the old 40 watt in athens years ago, and bill was there. he helped us load our gear! nice to have a millionaire lift your amp for you!

What band were you in? I used to hang there a lot, back in the day.

Oh, and REM is the greatest American band. Ever. Just in case anyone was wondering.

Mr_Fabulous:

FlashHarry: bill's a good guy. my college band played the old 40 watt in athens years ago, and bill was there. he helped us load our gear! nice to have a millionaire lift your amp for you!

What band were you in? I used to hang there a lot, back in the day.


Yeah, what year was that, FlashHarry? I only played there once, back in '88 with a New Orleans band I was in.

theflatline:

I cannot listen to anything past Green.

Fables, Reckoning, Tales, Murmur, always on rotation in the car.

What, no love for Automatic For The People? Granted it is not jangle-y guitar pop, and does not sound like the early stuff, but taken in isolation, as if it were by a band you have never heard of, that is one great album.

theflatline: Back when REM was good and before Stipe caught the whiney sickness from Morissey and the self important douchiness from Bono.

I cannot listen to anything past Green.

Fables, Reckoning, Tales, Murmur, always on rotation in the car.

Well I CANNOT listen to anything past Murmur. They were really only listenable when they were children--I have some home movies of them in a Christmas play when they were 11, back when they knew how to ROCK.

BTW, I was TOTALLY into the Velvet Underground, like, five years before they even formed. I wasn't even born yet, but I knew they were IT.

Well I CANNOT listen to anything past Murmur. They were really only listenable when they were children--I have some home movies of them in a Christmas play when they were 11, back when they knew how to ROCK.

Anything past R.E.M's Chronic Town EP is just utter garbage. They were good for those first four songs of their career, but then just sold out.

Chronic Town was five songs...

They were good up until their dad's sperm united with their mom's egg... after that, they just went downhill.

I prefer their time as zygotes.

Valdes: Well I CANNOT listen to anything past Murmur. They were really only listenable when they were children--I have some home movies of them in a Christmas play when they were 11, back when they knew how to ROCK.

Anything past R.E.M's Chronic Town EP is just utter garbage. They were good for those first four songs of their career, but then just sold out.

Pffft...any music committed to vinyl is just so much detritus commodity... Tanzplagen was the crowning achievement of Stipes career.

Chronic Town was five songs...

See? R.E.M. crapped out 4/5 of they way through their first release.

Wow. Great find. Thanks subby. (no, not sarcastic. great find!)

yeah so i did see this when it aired ... i was living in an oklahoma college town at the time. thought it was awsome . went ourt and got the album and still have it.

Bill Rieflin needs to get some love and respect. The dude was on about 99% of all industrial albums in the 90s and is superior to Berry in every way other than coolness.

R.E.M. sucks

asmodeus224: Valdes: Well I CANNOT listen to anything past Murmur. They were really only listenable when they were children--I have some home movies of them in a Christmas play when they were 11, back when they knew how to ROCK.

Anything past R.E.M's Chronic Town EP is just utter garbage. They were good for those first four songs of their career, but then just sold out.

Pffft...any music committed to vinyl is just so much detritus commodity... Tanzplagen was the crowning achievement of Stipes career.

After they dropped the name Twisted Kites, I lost all respect for them. St. Mary's Episcopal should never have let them denigrate their fabled institution.

I love me some old REM, but Accelerate is a damn fine album for a band that's pretty much sucked since the mid 90's. Living Well Is The Best Revenge rocks hard.

Watched it live back in '83 from WPTZ channel 5 Plattsburgh, NY was the NBC affiliate that Montreal picks up.
Nice blast of fresh music compared to the endless progressive rock they played at CHOM-FM back then.
Radio in Montreal still sucks.