Classic R.E.M.

[Rickygirl]

Teee hee heee....

[danbind]

+1 for Fables--my favorite REM record, but not by much over the rest of the early ones. "kohoutek" came up on the iPod on the way to work this morning--WHAT a song that is!

Definitely my favorite band for Murmur through Green years, but then I (and they) drifted off to other things...those early records have never left my listening rotation, though.

[Sweden]

And tonight there's a big party in Athens, GA to celebrate the 30 year anniversary of the band's first ever show - a birthday party in an abandonded church there in Athens. The real anniversary is on Monday, but tonight should be good as well I think. R.E.M. themselves are "not scheduled to attend", as always on this type of events, but who knows...

/D

[blue330]

You all should have been there! It was fun night. I don't think anybody played Rickenbackers except us, but anyway it a good vibe, as things in Athens tend to be. Before the show we ate at the famous Taco Stand and they were playing Chronic Town... they are always in the air! The band were actually recording in New Orleans on the night of the show. When I was learning the songs it dawned on me that part of Peter's sound, at least back then, was his use of big flatwound strings, so I put some pretty stout ones on my 365, and dang, it did sort of make That Sound, although we know that it's all in the fingers...

[harborcoat26]

What helped make the early R.E.M. recordings so great were those that recorded and produced them, that goes without saying. When Reckoning came out in '84 I was 15 and caught up in the Dead Kennedy's and the whole punk scene. My mom lost a long battle with cancer in '85 and I turned to music as my refuge. I was filled with all the anger and rage of the punk scene, but more and more often I found myself coming home from school and sitting in front of our record player and reaching for Reckoning. I played "Left" and loved the opening drum and guitar riff to Harborcoat and by the time Time After Time was over I was feeling good - it was comforting. To this day it is my all time favorite album. Their music was the only thing left that mattered to me then and is like an old friend.

I guess what I'm saying is - thank you Mitch for helping make my all time favorite album, an album that helped me through a very dark and difficult time, and makes me happy to this day!

[Rickygirl]

Ha! Just seen this post!! I was there on the 4th July too!! Right at the front.

I totally agree that this is a fantastic album, but I have to say that I thought it was an out of this world "not a.." Show. The guys were really enjoying themselves and the atmosphere was brillant.

I was lucky enough to be at a Robyn Hitchcock and Venus 3 show in Oxford when Mills and Stipe joined them on stage. The Stipe was not in such a good mood that night!

...I LOVE R.E.M.!!

Lucky a**... I could only go to the next gig that year - the Carling Academy (or whatever the venue's name is) in London - we got a horn section, which sometimes is just what JMS sounds like when he's not having a good voice night

Ah, I was at that one too.... I was lucky, I know.

Hey, we might have seen each other!!!

[Rickygirl]

What helped make the early R.E.M. recordings so great were those that recorded and produced them, that goes without saying. When Reckoning came out in '84 I was 15 and caught up in the Dead Kennedy's and the whole punk scene. My mom lost a long battle with cancer in '85 and I turned to music as my refuge. I was filled with all the anger and rage of the punk scene, but more and more often I found myself coming home from school and sitting in front of our record player and reaching for Reckoning. I played "Left" and loved the opening drum and guitar riff to Harborcoat and by the time Time After Time was over I was feeling good - it was comforting. To this day it is my all time favorite album. Their music was the only thing left that mattered to me then and is like an old friend.

I guess what I'm saying is - thank you Mitch for helping make my all time favorite album, an album that helped me through a very dark and difficult time, and makes me happy to this day!

Music is our refuge and our friend. Your post touched me Brian.

+1 to Mitch.

Harborcoat is one of my favourite songs ever too.

[rkbsound]

You all should have been there! It was fun night. I don't think anybody played Rickenbackers except us, but anyway it a good vibe, as things in Athens tend to be. Before the show we ate at the famous Taco Stand and they were playing Chronic Town... they are always in the air! The band were actually recording in New Orleans on the night of the show. When I was learning the songs it dawned on me that part of Peter's sound, at least back then, was his use of big flatwound strings, so I put some pretty stout ones on my 365, and dang, it did sort of make That Sound, although we know that it's all in the fingers...

Sounds like it was a great time -- was there any video taken?

[s4001]

Those early albums were the soundtrack for my college years.

I remember most of it...

[electrofaro]

Ah, I was at that one too.... I was lucky, I know.

Hey, we might have seen each other!!!

With the amount of people at these shows: I bet we did!

So, did you go to the whole Minus 5 tour of the UK (like two gigs - the best one being the Colchester gig, imo) a couple of years ago, as well?

When I look back at my teens one of the few positive things would be R.E.M. - I would go on the day of release to the store to get the album... to devour it and then after about a year the wait for the next would start, plus listening to songs over and over again and always finding something new.

As I type World Leader Pretends is playing... wonderful song!

[Sweden]

Sounds like it was a great time -- was there any video taken?

Lots of video stuff on Youtube, including this great version of Moral Kiosk with Mitch and band:
http://www.youtube.com/user/AthensMusic ... U6GdwoSw5I
And this very cool version of Stumble:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4qLP96POIE

Awesomely cool to see you playing R.E.M. stuff, Mitch! Would have loved to be there, but travelling over to Athens from Sweden twice in six months was a bit too much (I was there on a slight pilgrimage back in September). Did you meet our mutual acquaintance from Norway, Ole? He mentioned he had visited you a year or two back, so I guess you two sort of know each other.

And BTW, is the lyrics for the chorus to Moral Kiosk actually "inside moral kiosk, fire, twilight"? I've always sung it as "inside, the-e, co-old, dark, fire, twilight" which is what everyone has transcribed it as. You if anyone should know though, so I'm curious...

So Peter used flatwounds back then? Or maybe he still does. It's always been reported that he played with .013 or something, but I never knew they were flatwounds.

/David

[electrofaro]

And BTW, is the lyrics for the chorus to Moral Kiosk actually "inside moral kiosk, fire, twilight"? I've always sung it as "inside, the-e, co-old, dark, fire, twilight" which is what everyone has transcribed it as. You if anyone should know though, so I'm curious...

Not just you, David! I've always been puzzled by that line, as well, and I assume a dozen others, too!

[marc61]

Would have loved to have been at the anniversary show. I remember meeting them in Athens at the 40 Watt club like it was yesterday. Very nice folk.

[rkbsound]

Hey, those videos of the party are really cool. Mitch, you look like you're having the time of your life!

[blue330]

I'm not sure about the words to Moral Kiosk! I was singing what it sounds like to me, with a bit taken from looking at lyrics posted online, plus the general confusion you have with a minimal-rehearsal show like that... I will say that there are a LOT of WRONG lyrics posted, and the same mistakes seem to repeat everywhere. The drummer at that show called Bill Berry up to ask him what he was singing in the background, and he said, "I don't know, "ooooh", I guess..." These songs are so old probably nobody quite remembers, although Michael typed out every one of the lyrics on the excellent IBM typewriter at Reflection Studios, a point I must make to those who are still convinced there aren't "real" words to those songs!

Yes, Peter had flatwounds on his guitar the first time I met him. He definitely went his own way; I can't think of ever encountering anybody using flatwounds in those years. I'm sure they were pretty hard to find sometimes, although, of course you sort of never have to change them. But those guys did. They'd change their strings (guitar and bass) after every show once they got busy, which always seemed kind of, you know, expensive! But they were pretty ferocious and probably found that new ones wouldn't break as easily.