Laughing

Bass solo, stop and go hooks, Bill sounding a bit like Stewart Copeland (who was also on IRS at the time), arpeggio 12-string guitar, grand piano overdub, sweet melancholy chorus, tight sit-com wrap at the end. What's not to like?

Pilgrimage

Man, I just love this song. How do I love it? Let me count the ways:

1. A guitar-driven band starting the second track on their 1st album with a piano riff, doubled with the bass.
2. The effect of a crazy time signature (it's really 4/4 throughout, just feels off kilter).
3. The southern religious imagery of speaking in tongues and pilgrimage.
4. The lyric "your hate, clipped and distant".
5. The big lift at the chorus, and how it demands you sing along.
6. The punchy staccato bridge.
7. Everything going on with the background vocals.
8. The messy alternate chorus near the end.

Radio Free Europe

So here it is - the first single, REM's big public outing, the first real splash into pop culture, and frankly I don't really care for this song. I'm sure that's heresy to some, but c'mon, listen to it objectively and ask yourself if it's the best cut on Murmur. Not even close. It's got a jaunty little chorus, but the boys break the cardinal rule of pop songs - the chorus doesn't show up until 1:40 into the song!

I do remember long before I had ever heard of REM or considered myself a fan, Alex Bennett used to play this single on his morning show on KMEL. And I suppose like the young comedians Bennett had on who went on to bigger and better things, "Radio Free Europe" is something of a starting point.

I think the final word on this comes from my daughter who overheard me play the song while writing this. She asks, "Is that a song you made up on 'Garage Band'?" Ouch.

"Murmur"

Continuing our circuitous route through the REM catalog, we pause now at their first full-length studio album, Murmur. What's with the random order (thus far, Pageant, Reckoning, and Chronic Town)? Well, I am more or less going in the order of my own exposure to the band's stuff when I became a fan in the 80s.

I seem to recall hearing (from Tad maybe?) that according to Stipe Murmur was so-named because it is one of the easiest words in the English language to say. For that matter, I guess we can count ourselves lucky that the record wasn't called Knob or Lamprey. Nonetheless, the real beauty of the album is the space the band and producers allowed themselves, both aural and linear. Here are twelve tracks - some murky and mysterious, some wry and fun - wherein the whole is truly greater than the sum of the parts. This is a complete project that highlights the range of a young band on the edge of greatness. REM's southern folk roots share the same vinyl with forward-looking post-punk alt rock. Time to crawl through the kudzu.

1,000,000

To roughly paraphrase Forest Gump, Chronic Town is like a small box of chocolates, and there's not a bad one in the box. "1,000,000" (pronounced "a million") is sheer fun poppy punk with a slightly macabre lyric about death - or at least cheating death. And not only is the guy in the song outliving you by about 999,915 years, but he's smarter too.

I know this is cheating, but I looked at a REM fan site message board to see what the kids were saying about this song. My favorite comment was:

I wanted this to be about aliens…so much.

Smarter too.

Carnival of Sorts (Box Cars)

An early reviewer called Chronic Town "unforced and cunning", which certainly is true of "Carnival". It is at the same time a product of it's day - sprightly early 80s New Wave - and a glimpse into what REM would become - singular and individual. From the calliope opener, to the crisp percussion, the jangly guitar, and the distinct Stipe sound, all the hallmarks are there. Is it a favorite? Not really, but I'd be willing to bet had there been a little promotional and distribution muscle at IRS at the time, it could have done well as a single.

By the way, is anybody else irked that CT is slapped onto the end of Dead Letter Office these days, and doesn't get its own packaging? Bring back the gargoyle sticking out his tongue!

Gardening at Night

According to wikipedia, Michael Stipe called Gardening at Night R.E.M.'s first real composition. Sure seems true. Its a young sounding song. Simple folky strum riff, easy-going rhythm section. Pretty straight forward. I do like the turn-around part towards the end that ramps into the main musical riff. I think the inclusion of that bit of music qualifies the song for "composition" status. It's the smartest part of the song. While I don't love G.A.N. I do think it has a simple charm to it.

Wolves, Lower

The opening song on R.E.M.'s first release has everything that made them great: Hooky guitar riffs, counter-melodic bass, mysterious lyrics and lead vocal, pretty harmonies, cacophonous bridge, driving off-beat hi hat and musical drum fills. It also makes great use of Bill Berry's voice to fill out the chorus harmonies. His singing was their most under-rated asset in my opinion.

There was something about this song that sounded so familiar the first time I heard it. Its certainly "weird" and a little unsettling, but in true form, its layered with a sweetness that brings it back to earth.

The fact that they would put a comma in a two word song title is just hilarious to me. They had a way of riffing on the English language that's pure fun.

Wolves, Lower is upbeat, charming, part brooding and part optimistic . An appropriate first song in their career's catalog.

here's an early fast version of the song:

Little America

Reckoning ends on a great note. I'm not exactly sure what is intended with "Little America", but it sounds like a road song - a light-hearted ditty with a cheery riff that incorporates little glimpses of the guys' early days together touring our great land. How many bands make multiple references to their manager in song? For some reason I always think of Ian Faith's rant in Spinal Tap defending his contribution to the band: finding mandolin strings in Austin, Texas, and "prizing the rent from the local Hebrews".

Of note, after half the tunes on Reckoning end with some unresolved chord, Little America has a big definitive ending that is drawn out in a twelve second fade. And so ends probably the most catalytic album in REM's catalog.

(Don't Go Back To) Rockville

Ok, lots that could be said about this cool little country number, but for better or worse (probably worse) when I hear this I often think about Mike Mills' awkward appearance on Live with Regis and Kathie Lee in 1992. I remember watching this train wreck as it happened. For some reason, Mike goes on the show solo, gives a crappy interview, then proceeds to play a song that (at the time) was ten years old.

And yes, someone put it on YouTube!
click here to gape at the horror.

Camera

Lush, textured, and effective - this tune is one of REM's best ballads. I'm sure if it came out twenty years later, it would be featured on many a reality show, scoring their "meaningful" moments. I dig Michael's take on an old-time crooner, I like the metronome, and the simple organ strains in the back.

But it's the plea of the song and its central metaphor that makes this more than a ballad, but maybe an important song. There's longing and relationship uncertainty, but if I should be your camera, I can capture this moment in time. As memory of our time fades, I can capture little moments, little nuances of what we had. Nice.

Letter Never Sent

After the brilliant bright light of "Second Guessing" I guess we need to anticipate a turd. This song is lame, no getting around it. Do I need to dissect it? Well, for starters it's built around an amateurish riff, the vocals are Michael doing a caricature of himself mumbling, and Mike just figured, "what the hay, I'm gonna sing whatever I want!" God bless Bill, he's trying so hard to salvage this crap-fest with solid and even interesting drumming.

Ok, to be fair I do enjoy the bridge, but only because it's pretty much a different song: key change, the melody and harmonies mesh, and Pete has the good sense to just strum at the top of the measure. Then it's back to turdsville. BUT... fourth unresolved ending on the album so far!

Second Guessing

Is it possible this is one of the great, underrated REM songs of all time? I mean, let's go back and go over why we connected with these guys in the first place: Driving, rock drums with pop sensibilities - check. Tunes with a "live" energy that work in studio and on stage - check. Bright, big guitar - check. Smart but not too linear lyrics (who will be your book this season?) - check. Harmonies with personality - check. Choruses that lift and invite us in - done and done.

Time After Time (annElise)

I read once where Mike Mills stated that while this song and Cindy Lauper's song of the same name came out about the same time, he thought hers was better. Really? I don't know about that - especially coming from the guy about whom at least part of this song is. I'm referring, of course, to the "water tower" thing (apparently young Mike had a romantic liaison on a water tower that resulted in a sunburn and criminal record).

Nonetheless, here is a great haunting song, complete with eastern inspired drone sounds. Bill seems to be playing a different song, but I think the rolling toms kind of work. Oh, and this is the third song out of the five so far on Reckoning that ends unresolved.

Pretty Persuasion

If Reckoning has a signature sound, I think it's the opening eight bars of this tune: bright, jangly guitars, well-defined bass line, and something a bit unusual (in this case a random harmonica blow). The song is loaded with some, uh... intimacy issues. I choose to ignore that and just grin along with the happy tune.

There's one part I've always particularly thought was cool. Just prior to the second chorus, Michael changes up the melody line just a smidge - "wear that on my sleeve" has a couple blue notes and gives the melody a brief minor feel. Doesn't do it the first and third times. I know, not exactly Bach, but it's just sort of cool.

So. Central Rain

This was the song of my youth. The song carves a path of winding shifting emotions: melancholy, hope, regret with moments of rest and reflection. These shifts come at measure intervals, but the song as a whole remains focused and concise. It plays out like a narrative with a menagerie of jangling chords - Many more chords than you're likely to find in another pop song, but even with the open pallette, there's no fluttering off into jazz territory.

For a few years in a row I made sure that on New Years Eve, this was the first song that I listened to after the clocks turned midnight. In retrospect, that looks like some serious OCD playing out, but for me it was a sort of creative anthem. At a time when I was trying to figure out where to go and what to do and what to strive for, this song gave me a sort of tone to approach my highschool graduation.

Check out this video of the song. The vocals are live and so are the goatees.

Seven Chinese Brothers

Here's a classic example of the dual texture of REM: musically, this is a straight ahead pop song. There are big fat drums, droning bass, simple shimmering guitars, and a sweet lift in the chorus. Lyrically and emotionally this song is conflicted, murky, and just plain odd. Try this, keep Michael's melody line but replace the words with the lyrics to "Eight Days a Week". It kinda fits... sorta.

Harborcoat

The first track on Reckoning is a song that I'm convinced exists simply to confound. I have no clue what's going on with this tune. I've purposely avoided looking up the lyrics because I enjoy the ambiguity. Take the first line - does it say:

The crowd, it was delayed because their noses wore off...
or
The crap it was to Lenon was the Moses runoff...
or even
We crept up there delighted, but he knows we want off...

Oh the song is fine, very catchy, very REM, just an odd way to kick off the album. Then again, the chorus swells to something approaching a mainstream pop song: Find my harborcoat, can't go outside without it. It's almost sweet. But then again, maybe it's dark. I don't know.

One other conundrum: on the last chorus, the guitar just sings. Where have you been the whole song, Pete? Was it there before, just buried in the mix? Is it a totally new track? I'll defer to Tad on that.

Reckoning

I know this will frustrate some purists, but rather than going to the beginning of the REM catalog, I've opted to cover each album according to my own chronology, that is, the order in which I encountered them. It just so happens that after Pageant, the next album I gravitated toward was indeed the guys' second studio album: Reckoning. If it's any consolation, starting with Document, I'll be in step with the release dates.

Reckoning was released in April of 1984. As with Pageant, it's rather odd to think of this recording in light of its contemporaries. Big in 1984 were Michael Jackson (Thriller), Prince (Purple Rain), and the Footloose soundtrack. And even though it didn't chart in the US the year of its release, Reckoning turned out to make a huge splash, setting the bar for college rock and southern art bands for years to come. Reckoning is really the definitive sound of early REM - not quite as experimental as Murmur, but didn't need to try as hard as Fables. I don't know if anyone tracks such things, but I would venture it's one of the best sophomore efforts ever of a rock band. It's the "Empire Strikes Back" of alt rock.

But more than any of these things, this album is heavy with memories and association of friends and events. I look forward to hearing some of yours.

I Am Superman

Pageant rounds out with this unlikely little ditty. "Superman" was a 1969 song from little-known English band, The Clique. The story goes that Pete really wanted to do this cover, Michael was not too keen on it, ergo the lead vocals by Mike. I've always liked this song, and it's two chord structure made it one of the first REM songs I ever learned to play on guitar.

But the real mystery about this song has always been the intro - what is that crazy sped up spoken word intro to the song? Well, the crack staff here at This Is Where We Walked did some digging, and we have uncovered the mystery: The sound comes from an old Japanese Godzilla toy with a pull string talking feature. The toy says something loosely translated to: "This is a special news report. Godzilla has been sighted in Tokyo Bay. The attack on it by
the Self-Defense Force has been useless. He is heading towards the city. Aaaaaaaaagh...."

And thus ends our reflections on Life's Rich Pageant.

Swan Swan H

I fell in love with this song, not from Pageant initially, but through watching the live version on Pete Buck's porch in the film Athens: Inside Out. That video sent me on a years long quest to find the ideal front porch to hang out with friends and play music.

This is the quintessential REM tune in many ways: minor key, acoustic guitar driven, Southern themes, cryptic but engaging word pictures.

A personal memory: In college I took an audio production class and my final project was my own version of this song, recorded on an old TEAC 4 track - doubling up tracks, doubling guitars, vocals. I didn't have any percussion available, so I recorded my own dry hands rubbing rhythmically like a shaker. Good times.

Just a Touch

This is an odd little song. It wouldn't crack my top 50 REM song list, but on the other hand, it's always a good listen. It's just plain fun: it's got that out-of-place feel in context to the rest of Pageant, it's got that three chord thrash punk riff, and it's got Michael's wildly abandoned vocals. His singing here sounds like a 25 year old preschooler, and I mean that in a good way - mumbling, howling, stunted nonsense phrases.

Any complaints? Yeah - piano sounds like it was in the studio at the time and they wanted use it. Also seems like a tune that was fun to play and hear live, but little more than a filler piece for the album. But overall a fun song. Vintage REM? Just a touch.

What If We Give It Away

Buried near the end of an album that itself is often buried in REM's discography, is what I feel is one of their purest songs. Best song? Nah, but a simple, pure song. I remember hearing years ago an early version of this tune on a vinyl bootleg. At the time it was an uptempo country ditty called, "Why Don't They Get On Their Way". The shift from a Southern lament to a call to self-sacrifice is part of the purity.

Musically, the verses end with a nice lift that send you right into the airy chorus. Lyrically, it's vintage Stipe: emotional, personal, slightly unaccessible, yet comfortingly familiar. Here's the last verse:

Here's the trailer Tom
A year has come and gone
We're not moving, was it right?
Take the order, sew it on your tie
We couldn't follow, couldn't try.

I Believe

Q: What do you do between the horns of the day?
A: Ponder "Q".

In the same way that folk art uses homey familiar themes, Stipe creates a collage of "sayings" that alone would be invisibly trite, but collected and tweaked here speak of a culture of good intentions and subtle superstitions.

In a way I can't help but see this as a religious song. And not just one that pokes the underbelly of a believer, but one that tries to make sense out of what people put their hope in. In a way the lyrics come across as hearing one side of a heated debate. We hear the side of a persecuted hopeful who pushes forward despite his shirt wearing thin (doubt).

The music is driving. The guitar hook fulcrums on a sus4 shimmy. And the banjo opener is a killer. Isolating it like that was a perfect setting for the folky story to come.

There's so much to say on this song, everyone has their favorite line and interpretation and story, so why don't ya write a comment below.......

1986 interview

the "Let It Be" style quadtich

This is the image on the t-shirt that I got at the Pageant concert. I loved that shirt, but it was way too small. It was fine when I bought it, but my body was in the throes of puberty and I quickly out-grew it. I was so proud of it I considered wearing it as a half-shirt (which is how badly it came to fit). Instead I just kept it in my t-shirt drawer and looked at the photos from time to time. I think I still have it somewhere.

The Flowers of Guatemala

On itunes I have a playlist of mellow REM songs that are nice for driving at night, reading, whatever. This song did not make the cut. Not sure why - it's got all the classic mellow vibe features, just doesn't do much for me. Might be Michael's free-form whiny counter melody. It does have some really nice moments in the third act: Hammond organ (had they used that before this?) that simple but hooky guitar solo, and Bill's cotton candy drums (miss ya, Bill).

Underneath the Bunker

Belmont Mall Studios, Belmont, IN, circa May 1986:

Mills: No, Michael, we're not gonna put that lame ass "Bunker" song on the record!
Stipe: It's not lame, it's scathing social commentary.
Mills: No one can even understand what you're singing through that phone!
Stipe: Your point is?
Mills: I just think it undercuts what we're trying to do on this album.
Stipe: I'll let you sing lead on "Superman".
Mills: Ok.

Hyena

Not my favorite track on Pageant. Not a bad tune, kind of a throw back to early 80s live REM. The intro and ramp up of the song always bugged me - the piano sounds like mid-80s Bruce Springsteen. And then there's the lyrics... "the only thing to fear is fearlessness". C'mon, Michael. That sounds like a junior high valedictorian speech.

I do like the counter melody stuff Mike does on the chorus. And they end it unresolved, the the 2nd of the root I think. That's kinda fun.

Cuyahoga

I know I'm gonna sound like I'm gushing again (there really are songs I don't like) but these first four tracks just happen to be great tunes! Cuyhoga is about the river in Ohio so polluted it caught on fire on more than one occasion. The old joke is, you don't drown in the Cuyahoga, you decay.

But it's also a song about youth, about longing, and about hope for stronger times ahead. This is where we walked, hunted, danced, and sang. This tune makes solid use of a bridge - you know how sometimes bridges seem like they're an afterthought? This bridge soars, and adds a poignancy to the song. And you gotta dig the tambourine.

Fall On Me

First few times I heard this song, I knew there was something that it was attempting to say. I guess this was one of the first "political" songs I had heard that wasn't overtly preachy, but used beauty and imagery and urgency to present a point. Musically, it's a classic example of Pete's jangly up-and-down guitar style.

And a bonus: Bill Berry contributes to the backing vocal! It's a subtle part of the last few choruses: "It's gonna fall".

Playlist Interruption

While Garrett is going track by track through Pageant, I thought I'd throw in some more general commentary on R.E.M.'s greatest album. Life's Rich Pageant is pure. As far as their approach to the recording of the album it lands perfectly between the cleverly mixed Murmur and the understated simplicity of Reckoning. Pageant is a rock record that is beautifully stylized while remaining messy in all the right ways. Stipe's vocals are buried in just the right way. This was before he got cheeky, throwing around punch lines like "...and I feel fine". It was just before he realized that he could use his voice as a means to an end. Up through Pageant, the lyrics didn't matter in and of themselves. The words were to be deciphered and toyed with and to be no more meaningful than a guitar riff. This was the beauty of R.E.M. The mystery made the songs new with each listen.

These Days

This is a truly great song, it's got all the elements coming together: Pete's driving guitar never takes center stage, but fills the tune with sonic goodness. Bill's drums - just great drumming, and solid production. The chorus has one of my favorite bass lines, and I really like Mike's backing vocals. This is a pretty early example of Michael's growing confidence in his voice, he never let's up and then reaches this great crescendo: "All of a sudden these days...".

Keep in mind, this is 1986! Top hit for that year? "That's What Friends Are For".

By the way, I always thought the first line was "I'm not beating off, you are". Turns out I was wrong.

Begin the Begin, part 2

In 1986 I was a senior in high school. Late in the first semester my good friend's sister died in an accident. He turned inward after that, dealing with loss privately. But one thing he opened up with as part of the grieving process was music. He gave me a mix tape (remember those!) with an odd collection of indie stuff. One of the more mainstream songs in his somewhat hang-dog playlist was from this up can coming foursome from Athens, GA. They were no novices, having just released their fourth studio album, but they were fairly new to me at the time.

In you grew up in the Bay Area you listened to Live 105. I recall a couple older REM tunes from those days, "Radio Free Europe" for one. But the song on this friend's tape grabbed me and started me on a long journey. Fittingly, it was called "Begin the Begin".

That quick opening riff, built on a simple scale in D suddenly and jarringly lands a half step below where it should, on a C#. From there we're off and running, building a progression on the "wrong" chord. Michael Stipe seems to agree that something's not quite right: "I can't even ryhme". But we were good with that, right? We were 17. People we knew were actually dying. Music could really mean something. We didn't want tidy pop songs with cute rhymes. We wanted something different, something to reform and enlighten - like Martin Luther zen...

Begin the Begin, part 1

Yesterday, I purchased by first REM album in over ten years. Accelerate shines in some really nice moments, and seems to be what it's hailed as - a return of the band in a lot of ways. More than the actual tunes, the process of popping the disc into the deck and listening with new ears took me back to what I recall as a pretty good times. Probably like you, I grew up with the soundtrack of REM both in the background as well as the foreground of my younger years. And probably like you, I moved on to different music, different priorities. Every now and then, like dropping an email to an old college friend, I'd check in to see what they were doing. Soon thereafter, I'd be reminded why I moved on...

But maybe there's a place for REMiniscing (I know, get used to it). Maybe it might be fun to look back on what we connected to with these songs and that era. Maybe it will just be a colossal waste of time, that's a certain possibility! But regardless, I started this little blog to offer up some thoughts, and invite some reflections on REM, good, bad, and ugly. My plan is to go by album, and not necessarily chronologically. We can get nitty-gritty into musicology, lyrics, and production, or feel free to inject some personal history and thoughts. I'll start next time where one should: "Begin the Begin" from Life's Rich Pageant.