The R.E.M. appreciation thread

[tinfoil tiaras]

I thought it was about time we got one of these over here at DU...



How could you NOT love these guys?

♥ (i'm a sucker for HMTL code...:P)

[underpants]

1. The little band that could

:beer:

[Tyrone Slothrop]

2. Unseen Power of the Picket Fence

Some bands I like to name check,
And one of them is REM,
Classic songs with a long history
Southern boys just like you and me.
R - E - M
Flashback to 1983,
Chronic Town was their first EP
Later on came Reckoning
Finster's art, and titles to match:
South Central Rain, Don't Go Back To Rockville,
Harbourcoat, Pretty Persuasion,
You were born to be a camera,
Time After Time was my least favourite song,
Time After Time was my least favourite song.
The singer, he had long hair
And the drummer he knew restrait.
And the bass man he had all the right moves
And the guitar player was no saint.
So lets go way back to the ancient times
When there were no 50 states,

And on a hill there stands Sherman
Sherman and his mates.
And they're marching through Georgia,
we're marching through Georgia,
we're marching through Georgia
G-G-G-G-Georgia
They're marching through Georgia,
we're marching through Georgia,
marching through Georgia
G-G-G-G-Georgia
and there stands REM

[tinfoil tiaras]

4. Did you write that?

Cause I like it... :D

[taterguy]

7. It's a Pavement song

Available on the AIDS benefit CD No Alternative that I highly recommend

[tinfoil tiaras]

9. Oh, cool

Michael Stipe's done alot of AIDS awareness stuff so i could see that....

[Tyrone Slothrop]

12. Nope

As mentioned, it's a Pavement song. It's also on the expanded Crooked Rain re-release.

I originally put Stephen Malkmus's name in brackets at the bottom, but it disappeared... (Must have looked like HTML code or something...)

On edit: Several of the Pavement guys were big REM fans.

[tinfoil tiaras]

14. Oh, awesome

i hate it when people say they hate R.E.M. but they like bands like Nirvana, Radiohead, Bright Eyes, etc because they were all influenced by R.E.M. So no R.E.M.=no Nirvana, Bright Eyes, Radiohead, etc.

[taterguy]

29. Of course with no dB's there would have been no REM

They were the first Southern band with any indie cred. More details available when I have time to compose them

[RetroLounge]

39. Don't forget Lets Active

Without Mitch Easter, I don't think their trademark sound would have happenned...

RL

[taterguy]

52. I didn't forget Let's Active

But since I'm a music snob I mentioned an influential band that formed before REM. The dB's began in 1978, REM in 1980 and Let's Active in 1981. I admit it. I did have to look up the exact dates. :)

[RetroLounge]

56. You got me there...

I thought Lets Active was first...

:hi:

RL

[mitchum]

138. A few years ago, Mitch went and picked up and ran my junky little PA...

his girlfriend's band was opening up for my band. When we got to the venue, we all discovered there was no PA. Mitch and my wife (and singer) took his truck back to our house and retrieved our rehearsal PA. A Shure Vocalmaster. Mitch exclaimed, "Cool! I haven't seen one of those since I saw the Grass Roots!"
My wife said that, as a 80s college music fan, she realized that she could now die happy after having Mitch mix her vocals.
He is truly a nice and extremely talented man.

[driver8]

68. I'm a dB's fan -- here is a little history of the band for those

interested:

http://www.thedbsonline.net/bio/bio2.html

Also -- the Peter Holseapple/Chris Stamey album "Mavericks" is very good. Check it out.

[mac56]

92. "Like This" is one of my desert island discs.

Too cool.

[Dulcinea]

3. One of my all-time favorites.

"Don't Go Back to Rockville"

"These Days"

"Perfect Circle"

"Driver 8"

and of course, "It's the End of the World as we Know It."

Too many to list.

[tinfoil tiaras]

5. Oh lordy, "These Days" is the shit

I hardly find anyone who even knows of that song-they all think it's the Rascal Flatts song or w/e...

[driver8]

72. Driver8?? Hey, I like that song, too! n/t

[southpaw]

6. Oh yeah, man!

Orange Crush
Finest Worksong
South Central Rain
What's the Frequency, Kenneth?
Radio Free Europe

[tinfoil tiaras]

8. Thank god no one has said

"OMGZ REM!!! EVERYBODY HURTS & LOOSING MY RELIGION AND SHINY HAPPY PEOPLE!!! OMG!!"

I mean, i guess they're good songs and all, but it's kinda sad that that's all their known for... :(

[southpaw]

10. I do like 'Losing my Religion'

but I found 'Everybody Hurts' a bit saccharine and I just plain hate 'Shiny Happy People'

[Broken_Hero]

11. *sings*

"losing my religion"...one of my favorite REM songs...very good song.

[malta blue]

13. The last time I saw them live (1999)

they played "Pretty Persuasion". It was, apparently, one of the very few times it has ever been performed live.

:bounce:

I also saw them back in the (somewhat) early days...1983.

I love your enthusiasm!

[tinfoil tiaras]

15. Wow...awesome!!

I saw them live in Atlanta in '04. And they were amazing. I met Mike Mills too, backstage. It was awesome. :D

I would have loved to have been alive in the early 1980s as a UGA college student or something so i could have seen 'em live back in the day...:loveya:

[malta blue]

16. I may have to go track down a show now.

[tinfoil tiaras]

18. You should see them live again when they tour next

Which should be about a year or so from now, maybe next summer, b/c I've heard they're gonna start working on their album this fall :bounce:

[malta blue]

19. Thanks for the info...eom

[CabalPowered]

17. I think Around the Sun is one of the best albums they've ever

put together. It's been in the car player for about two months now. :)

[tinfoil tiaras]

20. Yeah, it's a good cd-better than Up

-i'll give them credit for that. But i hope as their next album, they'll come out with something a little bit more upbeat with more Mills backing vocals and more bass/guitar-(sounding more like their original stuff from the 80s).

[CabalPowered]

21. I didn't like UP

First REM album that I didn't like.

[tinfoil tiaras]

25. Same here

exept i didn't really like the rest of Green (besides "Get Up" and "Pop Song 89") and there were some dull spots on Out of Time, but that's about it. Exept for Up, of course.

[catzies]

147. I loved Up. I thought New Adventures In HI-Fi was their Sgt. Pepper

& Up was their White Album. :D

I didn't like Monster all that much, or (blasphemy alert) AFTP either.

Other than that I love their entire body of work unconditionally.

[jpak]

22. I saw them the second time they played in public

May 15, 1980 Memorial Hall Ballroom UGA.

It was a life changing experience - they raised the hair on the back of my neck (they were that good).

Very different back then (raucous dance/punk) than today.

Bought my first REM single from Pete Buck at Wuxtry Records too...

[tinfoil tiaras]

26. Are you serious!?

I would LOVE to meet him (Peter Buck). He would be so interesting to talk to!

I'm wearing my Wuxtry records shirt right now as i type this...weird?!? :hi:

[jpak]

33. Absolutely

Got acquainted with him talking about music at Wuxtry.

My cousin is a founding member of the Fleshtones and when they came to Athens, I got to hang out with PB et al.,

After I graduated from UGA. I never thought I'd see them (REM) again (moved back to Maine).

They played at U Maine in the fall of 1983. I was standing in the lobby waiting for my GF when Michael Stipe walked up and said "what are YOU doing here??" (I was wearing a Pylon tee-shirt). He recognized me from Athens (it's a small town).

He invited me backstage. I asked him if my GF and brothers could come too and he said yah. He even waited while I rounded them up (!).

Also had his sister Linda (Oh OK, Hetch Hetchy) as a student in my Bio-101 lab...

[tinfoil tiaras]

35. Ooh, awesome

I wanna meet all of the guys. Peter and Michael seem so cool and down to earth (I already know that Mike is b/c I've met him before-happiest moment of my life).

Fo' serious? That's so cool. UGA is one of my possible colleges I might look into (& go to). They better accept me!! :mad: :P

[driver8]

79. Wow -- great stories!!

I saw the Fleshtones a couple of times -- always great live.

When I was a college dj, we used to play Oh OK...sounded pretty good to me.

That is funny that Michael Stipe walked up to you in the lobby.

[driver8]

76. *Bows down*..."We're not worthy! We're not worthy!!"

I would have loved to have seen REM back then. Amazing.

Did they do any of their songs or was it mostly covers??

[jpak]

94. They did mainly covers when they first started out

and the first time I saw them, they had just a few original songs (that they never play anymore and never recorded).

"Action Action" and "Body Count" are the ones I remember.

When I saw them in Maine in '83, they asked me if I had any requests...I said "Action Action" and "Body Count" and they "just about calved" as we say up there.

Bill Berry said "You've got a better memory than me".

They did Pylon's "Crazy" instead (cuz I had a Pylon "Chomp" t-shirt on).

Let's Active opened for them that night so I got a chance to talk to Mitch Easter (and the lovely ladies of L.A. too).

During the course of our visit, one of my brothers mentioned that our cousin was in the Fleshtones and they all howled...

"They told us about you guys!!!"

The jpak clan is everywhere and had a reputation for naughty behavior (and really good after-set parties) at Fleshtone gigs in Bean Town...

:)

[idgiehkt]

23. Fall on me, baby, fall on me

that song makes me high every time I hear it.

And I do adore "Losing my religion" because I was coming out when that song came out and it's an apt description. The guy that I was dating (and leaving) at the time pretty much ruined that song for me because he used to sing the line "that's me in the corner" in a really skeevy high-pitched voice as if to say some perv was in the corner wanking off. And he wondered why I switched teams, lol.

[tinfoil tiaras]

28. Oh, I LOVE Fall on Me

Lifes Rich Pagent has to be my all time favorite R.E.M. album. I never skip a song when I listen to it.

Haha about "Loosing My Religion" & your ex! :rofl:

[CottonBear]

95. Fall on me is Stipe's favorite REm song (and mine). It is beautiful.

I'm an Athens, GA girl. REM is awesome and they are politically active here in our city-county. They donate to Democrats and have played at benefits and political events. I've seen them play for free on the courthouse steps to support greenspace and the environment here in Athens-Clarke County!

I saw Stipe introduce Gore on the campaign trial for Clinton-Gore back in the 1980s here in Athens at UGA's Memorial Hall-Tate Center Plaza! Michael introduced Gore to the tune of REM's I Am Superman! 1000s of people were there!

[tinfoil tiaras]

97. Oh, yeah, i did see alot of political signs in their office windows

I think it's awesome that their politically active AND know what they're talking about (unlike some bands that are just like "Bush sucks! f Bush!" but don't have any idea of what they're talking about). They are such all around good guys....

Nice to see you here in my little R.E.M. appreciation thread, CottonBear! :D :hi:

[HuskerDU]

24. Thank you to Michael Stipe for working on the reunion album

for the New York Dolls. Your voice is perfect for the 'Dancing on the Lip of a Volcano' song.

Still dig most of what REM did in the 1980's.

[tinfoil tiaras]

31. 80s R.E.M.=the shit nt.

[mvd]

27. Have been one of my favorites for a LONG time

I was a fan who started with Automatic For The People and then worked backwards. Here is how I'd grade their albums:

Everything from Green on back A+
Out Of Time A
Automatic For The People A+
Monster B
New Adventures In Hi-Fi A
Up B+
Reveal B+
Around The Sun B+

[tinfoil tiaras]

30. New Adventures is awesome

it's their best 90s album, imho. Better than automatic, though I do love alot of the stuff on automatic.

[mvd]

32. Automatic is still my fave

But New Adventures does have some awesome experimentation. It could be their hardest rocking CD.

[tinfoil tiaras]

34. Oh, yes, more "rocking" than Monster

Monster was kinda a lame attempt at being "rockers". But NAIHF hits the "rocker" nail on the head. Some of my faves from that album are "Bittersweet Me", "The Wake Up Bomb", "E-Bow The Letter" (my username comes from that song), "Binky The Doormat" (my guilty pleasure-besides hip hop of course!) and "So Fast, So Numb". Ah, amazingness...

[mvd]

38. Monster has a few very high points

But really it's just amplified R.E.M. when it comes to rocking. New Adventures was very different.

[tinfoil tiaras]

41. I like "I Took Your Name" , "Let Me In"

& "Crush w/ Eyeliner" but that's about it. New Adventures was poetic, imho.

[mvd]

44. From Monster, I really like

"What's The Frequency, Kenneth?," "Don't Sleep, I Dream," "Star 69," and the touching "Let Me In." A couple songs on that album are downright embarrassing.

From New Adventures, "New Test Leper" is a wonderful song in the traditional R.E.M. vein. Elsewhere, I love how the electronic touches add to the songs.

[tinfoil tiaras]

46. Oh, i forgot about "Star 69", i like that one too

I heard Mike wrote some of the music to "New Test Leper"...just a random fact...

[mvd]

50. I wonder if I'm the only one here who at least likes..

all their CDs? I guess it's just hard for me not to like R.E.M. :hi:

[CrushTheDLC]

36. Love their older stuff

Never would have thought the drummer would be the most essential member in that band, but they never truly were the same band after Bill Berry left. When they finally do decide to call it a day, I only ask for one last tour with Bill behind the drums.

[tinfoil tiaras]

37. Bill B. on drums again would be awesome!

But i doubt that's gonna happen. Bill B. is fine living on a hay farm outside of Athens... :(

Though on the next album, I wish they would incorperate Mikey Mills's bass and Bill R. drumming more instead of this piano stuff...no offence. The piano is a delightful thing but I think it's time for the band to take a little break from the piano-based music they're doing and do more guitar/bass/drums-based music.

Wonder if R.E.M. reads DU?! That would be wierd. But cool. :D

[mvd]

40. Just the addition of more guitar would likely get them in..

the A range again. As I said before, their last 3 albums are pretty, but the same sound gets tiring. If they tried the same stuff, a B+ album would be lowered just on principle. :-)

[tinfoil tiaras]

43. Indeedy

All these "old" bands are getting back in, like U2, Def Leppard (i know R.E.M. isn't in the same category as them-their about 2 tiers higher) but, yeah, it could go for them too.

There have been so many crazy theories about what kind of sound their next album is gonna have...like wow.

[mitchum]

58. Actually, there is talk around town that they may do a limited tour with..

Berry on drums.
A few months ago, Stipe, Buck, Mills, and Berry came out during an Elf Power show and played "Country Feedback" Also, last year all four played an entire set at a friend's wedding reception.

[tinfoil tiaras]

61. Elf Power! OMG...

at the grit, i met this guy who was in that band. He was working at the bar there. I still haven't checked 'em out though, i should... :D

[mitchum]

114. Avoid Elf Power's "Walking With The Beggar Boys", it's a lame...

attempt to "rock out" by a band that can't really rock.
Much better are their other releases where they come off like a poor man's Flaming Lips. But can you really be a "poor man's" anything when your ranks include some trust fund brats? :)

[aquaman]

141. Just curious.....

Which member of Elf Power is a "trust fund brat?"

[catzies]

150. Forget from what website I grabbed these

[tinfoil tiaras]

152. The Athens birthday party concert!!!

I wish I could have been there. That would have been amazing!! All 4 of the guys together again! *sigh*

[merh]

42. I first heard them in New Orleans

they played at the Saenger Theater, before the made it big.

My date was a young republican, with dreams of making it in politics. He later went on to become the head of staff to the repub gov of the state for 8 years. We were political opposites that danced in the isle to REM's music before any of us were anything more than young and in love with life - reality hadn't gotten in the way yet.

I still love their music :p

[tinfoil tiaras]

47. Oh wow, it's hard to find a repub who likes R.E.M.

People think most R.E.M. fans are gay liberal men...:rofl:

Oh their music is amazzzzzinngggggggg....:loveya:

[merh]

65. He was the one that knew of REM before I ever heard of them.

He invited me to go with him to catch their show and I wasn't that thrilled, I had never heard of them.

It was one of the best concerts I ever attended. It was sooooo much fun. I've been a fan ever since. :)

[tinfoil tiaras]

69. Wow

he must be one cool Repub. All the repubs i know are like "OMG U LYK REM!!! THA SINGER IZ LYK GAY THO!!!?!?!?!?! OMG. N HE KISSED THAT OTHER GUY WHO LOOKS LIKE A GIRL (they mean Mike Mills, who by the way, doesn't look anything like a girl and, if i were like 20 years older than I am, i would try to date him) ON STAGE!!?!?!? OMFGZ!!!!!! NASTIII!!!!"

R.E.M. concerts are amazing. Exept for FReeper hecklers (they were booing them whenever they made a political statement and were holding up "W" signs-we were in very Repub Gwinett County, GA) who should get the fuck out if they don't like the show. I wouldn't go to a Lee Greenwood (or a Sean Hannity "Freedom Concert") just to heckle and whatnot. Grr..:mad: But it was an amazing show anyways... :)

[CrownPrinceBandar]

45. Huge fan in the late 80's........

"Reckoning" and "Murmur" are still my favorites. However, many of their albums after "Out of Time" have failed to impress me.

[tinfoil tiaras]

48. Yeah, i know

exept for New Adventures. They reached their creative peak there, imho.

[RetroLounge]

49. My Sad REM story...

I moved to Milwaukee in fall of 1986.

The week I moved there, REM played at the Oriental Theatre, for $12.

I didn't want to spend the money as I was just starting school.

And to this day I've never seen them live...

:cry:

RL

[tinfoil tiaras]

51. Aaawww...I'm so sorry

it's such a joy to see them live. They're one of the most amazing bands out there. I hope you'll see em when they tour next (I'm gonna guesstemate about a year or so from now).

:D Good luck! :D

[fudge stripe cookays]

53. Used to like em.

Until Scott Litt got ahold of em. Half the fun of listening to them used to be trying to figure out what Michael was saying.

I liked some of the stuff around 91 or so, but nothing since. I saw em live in 86 and 88. That was enough.

[mvd]

54. Wow, I couldn't disagree more

I believe he allowed their music to grow. Now they need a producer to work the same magic.

[fudge stripe cookays]

59. Sorry.

:puke:

The over-enunciating destroyed them for me.

[mvd]

60. It never bothered me

In fact, his voice sounds really unique to me that way.

[peekaloo]

55. IRS compilation due out next month.

:-)

I try to catch them each tour and have only seen one mediocre show (San Antonio '99). Then again seeing them on an off night REALLY makes you appreciate how much better they are live than most others.

[tinfoil tiaras]

57. oooh, i know!!

i want that badd. i've only seen one of their shows but it was amazing. Exept for all the FReeper hecklers that were there, holding up W signs and stuff...:mad:

But then again, the concert was in Gwinett County, which is really republican, unlike Athens/Clarke County which is pretty liberal.

[Dulcinea]

115. Excellent!

I have a birthday coming up in October! Guess what's going on my wish list?

I've seen REM twice, both times in Atlanta. During the 2003 tour I was very PG w/ my 2nd daughter. She seems to like them too!

[tinfoil tiaras]

116. Did you see 'em in Atlanta in 04

Cause that's where I was! Hell yes! Best freaking night of my life....

[Dulcinea]

117. Unfortunately, no

I saw them in '95 & '03.

I live in Decatur & buy most of my CD's at our local Wuxtry.

[tinfoil tiaras]

118. Ooh, Wuxtry...

i went to the Wuxtry in Athens (where Peter Buck met Michael Stipe...:loveya:) and it was really cool. I got a t-shirt too... :D

Don't worry. You'll see 'em again in the ATL when they next tour. I think (i've read somewhere) they're gonna start working on the next album (which I hope has a more "rock n roll" sound to it) this fall, which means it'll probably be out about a year from now (maybe, but idk for sure).

[1gobluedem]

62. I LOVE R.E.M.

I was so excited when they were on the same bill with Bruce Springsteen on the Vote for Change tour and were coming to Ann Arbor. I was so ready to go; didn't care what it cost.

Then the venue didn't have the right technical support and the show was moved to Detroit. On a Sunday night and the SO couldn't go with me and I had to work the next day. I still haven't gotten over it...

I even like Shiny Happy People, that's how smitten I am.

[tinfoil tiaras]

64. Oh, boy I know how you feel

The first time I heard In Time, i was hooked. Then, i was in 6th grade and my music tastes consisted of such crap like Britney Spears and whatever was on the Top 20 chart at the time. But R.E.M. changed that for me. :)

Sorry about your show being cancelled. I know i would freak out if an R.E.M. show I was going to was cancelled. I'd probably cry for days. Hell, i was even sad when I left Athens, GA.

I (kinda) like Shiny Happy People too! I like it better than "Stand" and "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight". Those are the 2 worst R.E.M. songs, imho.

One of my life goals (this is tres pathedic) is to meet all 3 of the guys (i know I will have no chance in hell ever meeting Bill Berry, so I narrowed it to Buck, Mills (whom I've already met-ive told the story like a million times already, so I'll spare you and everyone else all the details ;) )and Stipe).

[mac56]

63. I had an out-of-body experience the first time I listened to "Murmur".

Not ashamed to admit it.

[tinfoil tiaras]

66. I was hooked once I heard "Man on the Moon"

on In Time.

Oh, R.E.M. ♥

[driver8]

81. You and me, both. That is one of the most amazing albums

I have ever heard. As I mentioned in another post, it is my favorite album of all time!!

[mac56]

86. I can tell by your user name that you like R.E.M.

"Fables" is a greatly underestimated album.

My favorite, though, has always been "Life's Rich Pageant".

[tinfoil tiaras]

87. Ooh, I love LRP

My favorites on there are "These Days", "Begin the Begin", "Fall on Me", "Cuyahoga", "Superman", "I Belive"..hell the whole album is terrific! :D

[Redstone]

67. I like them a lot. Even though the lyrics to some of their songs are

astonishingly obtuse.

I do like them.

Redstone

[tinfoil tiaras]

70. Yeah, the lyrics are really vague sometimes

especially the early R.E.M. They're almost like poetry, very vague poetry.... :D

[Redstone]

75. Very, VERY vague poetry. As a former songwriter, I do envy them for

being able to get away with it. For some reason, I could never sell any songs that didn't make at least a modicum of sense.

But hey, with the guitar work in a song like "What's the Frequency, Kenneth," who NEEDS lyrics that make sense?

That's still my stereo-speaker-quality-testing song to this day.

Redstone

[tinfoil tiaras]

78. Oh, WTFK...

Yeah, i don't think i could ever pull of the vagueness w/o sounding really stupid.

Peter Buck is a pretty amazing musician. And he taught himself how to play the guitar...pretty amazing.

[driver8]

71. "Murmur" is my favorite album ever!!

I remember being a college dj and receiving this record at our station. (Yes...a record). We put the album on and it was like nothing I had ever heard before...the songs, the lyrics, the music, the singing, the production -- absolutely amazing.

I have been an REM fan for a long, long time and Murmur has always been my favorite. I never get tired of listening to it.

I have to admit, I haven't liked much of their stuff since Bill Berry left the band.

[tinfoil tiaras]

77. Is your username from the R.E.M. song "Driver 8"

or is that just a coincidence?

Yeah, they've lost some of their flair since Berry left. Up was pretty bad. I like 1 song from that album ("Suspicion"), Reveal was a little better ("Imitation of Life" is a really good song) and ATS i guess was okay. I hope they'll get a more rock n roll type sound to their next album though...

[driver8]

80. My name is, indeed, from the song "Driver 8."

I love that song. Plus, it makes a great screen name!!

[tinfoil tiaras]

82. Sweet action...thats one of my favorites from "Fables"

that and "Maps and Legends" and "Can't Get There From Here" are my top 3.

it does. My username is from an R.E.M. song too, E-bow the Letter (from the lyrics). I was a wee bit obsessed w/ it when I joined here about a year ago. :)

[aaronbees]

73. "Nightswimming"

One of my favorite songs of all time. Truly a great band and pretty dang important to my outlook on life.

"Nightswimming deserves a quiet night.
The photograph on the dashboard, taken years ago,
Turned around backwards so the windshield shows.
Every streetlight reveals the picture in reverse."

[tinfoil tiaras]

84. w00t.

I'm so glad you mentioned that, because I've made that song famous at the summer camp I go to every year.

Last year, this girl said that she wanted to go nightswimming (in the swimming pool) and so i started singing (and "playing the piano"...you can picture that... :rofl:) the song and it was an instant hit. :D I did go nightswimming this year, & it was really fun. Something about chlorine and the darkness makes you so free....

It is a pretty song. I saw it live in Atlanta in 04. Amazing. :D

[aaronbees]

88. Ha, great story!

And yes, it's a pretty song for sure -- touching, too. It reminds of "nightswimming" at a lake in Seattle actually. Good times those were. ;) :toast: Would love to see R.E.M. live someday.

[tinfoil tiaras]

91. Ooh, Seattle

Peter Buck lives there. His wife Stephanie owns the Crocodile Cafe (i've never been there, but i hear its a great music place!). That's all i know about him. & that he's in the Minus 5 with Scott McCaughey, Bill Reflin and some other guy...

[Iniquitous Bunny]

74. Don't go back to Rockville

and waste another year.

[driver8]

83. "It's not as if I really need you..."

"If you were here, I'd only leave you..."

One of my favorite songs, too.

[tinfoil tiaras]

85. Aw, and Millsey singing lead vocals on it

Though ive never heard him sing lead on it, i would love to, b/c i think he has a GREAT voice.

it's such a cute love song. Aw.

[driver8]

89. I love Mike Mills' background vocals.

I saw the Life's Rich Pageant tour and Mike Mills sang "Superman". He is a very good singer.

[mac56]

90. He sang lead on "Cuyahoga" on "Out Of Time"

and on an unreleased cover of "Love Is All Around". Great voice.

[fudge stripe cookays]

105. "Cuyahoga" isn't on "Out of Time"

It's on "Life's Rich Pageant."

[mac56]

111. oops..you're right...

I meant "Texarkana".

[tinfoil tiaras]

93. Ooh, Millsey

God, I love him so much. He has to be my favorite member of the band. He is such a sweet, down to earth man. And pretty sexy to boot (okay, weird, i know, coming from a girl thats young enough to be his daughter... :P).

[mac56]

98. Did you know Millsey wrote the lyrics to "Rockville"?

About a girl he was in love with at UGA. She was going home to Rockville, MD for the summer, and he was distraught (so the story goes).

[tinfoil tiaras]

99. Yeah, Ingrid Schorr

Oh, poor heartbroken, Millsey. But never fear, in 20 years, women will be throwing themselves at him.... :P

[mac56]

100. wow! You do know your stuff!

You're my new hero.

:pals:

[tinfoil tiaras]

101. Aw, thanks

I've just read a TON about R.E.M. and know their history fowards and backwards...I'm the biggest R.E.M. fan in the state of Mississippi! :D

i ♥ being people's heros! :D

[fudge stripe cookays]

102. He he...

I saw them at the State Fair Bandshell in Dallas in '86.

Someone threw a Superman cape onstage, and Peter Buck chased him around with it until they got him to put it on. Then he sang the song with it. It was great.

[tinfoil tiaras]

103. Aw, Peter

He's my second favorite, just b/c I haven't met him.... :P

[kwassa]

112. I go to Rockville all the time, I live just north of it.

Rockville is the county seat of Montgomery County, a mere 927,853 people.

some good restaurants there. Lots of traffic, too.

[jpak]

96. When they first started playing that one, it was a wild rocker.

They slowed it down considerably in the studio version.

When I first heard the recorded version, I would play it on 45 (or 78) to get the real feel of the original beat...

:evilgrin:

[Withywindle]

104. maybe these maps and legends have been misunderstood....

...they were really were the Greatest Rock and Roll Band in the World for a few years there. Still pretty damn good, though I don't love them as much as I did in the 80s.

I'm just glad I got to see them live three times when Stipe still had all his pretty blond curls. :D

[tinfoil tiaras]

110. i loved it when Stipe had his blonde curls

he looks wierd now bald...no offence...

[churchofreality]

106. WORLD LEADER PRETEND WAS WRITTEN FOR BUSH

Those lyrics are haunting in the context of the current state of the world.

[tinfoil tiaras]

109. "This is my mistake...

let me make it good."

It could apply to Bush then & * now....

[CrushTheDLC]

145. It was written for Ronnie Reagan but it fits the Chimp even better

I'm sure that Michael Stipe, like all of us at the time, never imagined we could do any worse than Reagan & Poppy.

[NewWaveChick1981]

107. Saw them in Chapel Hill when they were the opening act for

The English Beat. Small but fantastic show! :D I was a big REM fan anyway, but they were only popular in alternative circles then. They made it big shortly thereafter.

Gotta say they're great! :applause:

[tinfoil tiaras]

108. Oh, they are

such terrific musicians and such down-to-earth guys (i know that Mike is but I've read about other people meeting the other guys and that was their sentiment too).

I know I've probably repeated that same sentiment throughout this thread but whatever... :D

[CottonBear]

124. I saw REM open for the English Beat in 1982 at Legion Field, Athens, GA.

It was one of the most awesomne concerts ever and it was free! :)

[tinfoil tiaras]

127. Aw, do you think that R.E.M. will do more free concerts in the future?

like promos for "The New Album"? I hope they do... :D

[CottonBear]

128. More likely: a surprise show in Athens at ? Only those in the know

will know or you might just stumble upon a live REM show. (I've never been to one of these only the free or announced ones...I'ved nver paid to see REM.)

You just have to be in the know or lucky!

Peace out! CB

[tinfoil tiaras]

129. i wanna be in the inner circle of R.E.M.-ness!!

:D :D :D

or lucky @ next year's AthFest...do they go to that? i hope so.. :D

[kwassa]

113. It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine!

My favorite REM lyric

[kwolf68]

119. REM

REM is just one helluva, high qualty band...no frills, just damn good music. Excellent career these lads have had.

[tinfoil tiaras]

121. hells yes

[SKKY]

120. If it's Monster and everything before, sure, I'll join in...

...everything after that, IMHO, has been crap.

[tinfoil tiaras]

122. New Adventures was after Monster & it's exellent

but everything else...yeah...not that good.

[SKKY]

125. And that's why I put the caveat, IMHO...I did not care for New Adventures.

...and haven't cared for anything else since Monster. In fact, most of it is just self-indulgent garbage that makes
me realize just how important Bill Berry was to the group.

[tinfoil tiaras]

126. Bill was really important

and added something extra to the music. I mean the piano stuff is pretty in moderation, but w/o Bill, the band's seemed to rely on the piano WAY too much. I hope the next album will have more of a rock n roll feel to it. Up is horrible though, imho.

[Rabrrrrrr]

123. As soon as they all kill themselves, I'll appreciate them.

:grr:

[idgiehkt]

130. ouch.

that hurt me, lol, and I'm not even a fanatic.

[tinfoil tiaras]

131. same here

& i am a fanatic! :evilgrin:

[idgiehkt]

132. well, Freddy Mercury got it earlier

I think it's 'shit on an Icon' day, lol.

[tinfoil tiaras]

133. haha, probably

and boy are R.E.M. icons! :D

[Rabrrrrrr]

134. Icons of the ultimate sellout is what they are.

I liked them when they first came out, and were alternative, and wrote good music. And then, they got popular, ceased being alternative, and started writing shitty pop tunes to make more money. That was, what, around 1987? Just before Orange Crush. THey used to be good.

[mac56]

151. Yeah, well, your favorite band sucks.

Neener-Neener-Neener.

[mac56]

148. Have a nice day.

nm

[electron_blue]

135. Yay! what a great thread. Fan from the start - first heard them in '84

and saw them live in the mid 80's, small concert, an ampitheater really. They've been with me my whole adult life. I remember when they first came out I thought "they're too good to last" and I was just grateful for each record that came out. Finally after bout 4-5 records I thought "okay, maybe they're here for good."

Perfect Circle is still one of my all-time favorite peaceful/blissed/ethereal songs.

[tinfoil tiaras]

143. Does yo name (username) come from the song Electron Blue

from Around the Sun? I'm pretty good at picking out R.E.M. song usernames on here... :D

[electron_blue]

144. Yes, of course.

:D

[Jamastiene]

136. Stand in the place where you live...

Losing my religion

Two of my most favorite lines from songs of theirs. I like them too. Very listenable and IMHO, very punk.

[electron_blue]

137. And I actually never liked losing my religion.

I do love "stand" - some songs are just totally nuts.

[Jamastiene]

139. What I liked most about Losing My Religion was the bass line.

I'm a tortured soul though, so I sort of projected my own meaning into that song anyhow.

[catzies]

140. I believe in coyotes, and time as an abstract...

Explain the change, the difference between
What you want and what you need, there's the key,
Your adventure for today, what do you do
Between the horns of the day?

I BELIEVE!

[tinfoil tiaras]

142. I LOVE THAT SONG!!!

:D :D :D :D

& change is what i belive in.....oh R.E.M.! ♥

[Arugula Latte]

146. One of my favorite bands ever!

My favorite favorites are: Pretty Persuasion, Driver8, Fall On Me ... lots of others.

[tinfoil tiaras]

149. All 3 of those are EXELLENT songs!

Some of my favorites too!! :D

You live one state away from Peter Buck! Lucky...:D :D