Excerpt from JUST LIKE A MOVIE (dir: Laura Levine, 1984)
“Pale Blue Eyes” written by Lou Reed
Performed by Michael Stipe
Puddlefoot aka Jeremy Ayers
Guitar by Matthew Sweet
“Walter’s Theme” written/performed by R.E.M.
Incidental accordion music by Michael Stipe
Edited by Matt Danowski and Laura Levine
Directed, filmed and recorded by Laura Levine on location in Athens, Georgia, 1983
An excerpt from photographer Laura Levine’s unreleased underground Super-8 film, JUST LIKE A MOVIE (45 min.). Shot over a two week period in Athens, Georgia, in 1983, the film was an improvisational project involving a group of friends who shared a love of creativity for the sake of creativity (and fun). Levine felt it was important to document a place and a time that would not exist for very much longer.
Levine, twenty-five at the time and living in New York’s Chinatown, packed a small bag that contained a vintage Nikon movie camera, sixty minutes’ worth of black-and-white Super-8 film, a sixty minute cassette tape and her Sony Walkman, and flew down to Georgia. She planned to spend her time in Athens hanging out with her friends, doing some band photo shoots, and making a movie. Her only certainty about the movie was that it would be no longer than 60 minutes.
R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe singing “Pale Blue Eyes” by the railroad tracks. (The song itself was recorded earlier that day on a Walkman, with Matthew Sweet on guitar). Jeremy Ayers makes a magical appearance as Puddlefoot.
On this day in 1991, R.E.M. released its seventh album, ‘Out of Time,’ featuring the singles “Losing My Religion,”“Shiny Happy People,” “Near Wild Heaven” and “Radio Song”
“Out of Time” was the seventh studio album by the American alternative rock band R.E.M., released on Warner Bros. Records in 1991. R.E.M.’s status grew from that of a cult band to a massive international act. The record topped the album sales charts in both the U.S. and the UK, spending 109 weeks on American album charts and enjoying two separate spells at the summit, and 183 weeks on the British charts, and spending a single week at the top. The album has sold over four and a half million copies in the US and over 18 million copies worldwide. The album won three Grammy Awards in 1992: one as Best Alternative Music Album, and two for the first single, “Losing My Religion.”
“Out of Time” combines elements of pop, folk and classical music as heard on their previous album “Green“, with a new concentration on country elements that would continue on 1992’s “Automatic for the People“.
Preceded by the release of “Losing My Religion“, which became R.E.M.’s biggest U.S. hit, Out of Time gave them their first U.S. and UK #1 album. The band did not tour to support the release. In Germany, it is the band’s best-selling album, selling more than 1,250,000 copies,it was also the first R.E.M. album to have an alternative expanded release on compact disc, including expanded liner notes and postcards. Check out this different demo for the song ” Near Wild Heaven
The third single from 1991’s Out Of Time chronicles a relationship at loose ends: “Whenever we hold each other, we hold each other/ There’s a feeling that’s gone/ Something has gone wrong.” Despite the gloomy outlook, “Near Wild Heaven” sounds surprisingly upbeat. (Consider it the musical equivalent of winter’s chilly sunshine.) Chiming guitars, daybreak piano and lead vocals from Mike Mills provide graceful levity, while the chorus boasts Beach Boys-caliber harmonies dotted with longing falsetto and gorgeous counter-melodies. “Near Wild Heaven” both exemplifies Out Of Time’s plush instrumental palette and illuminates R.E.M.’s inventive perspective.
The supporting tour for “Green“ had exhausted R.E.M., and they spent nearly a year recuperating before reconvening for the recording session for “Out of Time“. Where previous R.E.M. records captured a stripped-down, live sound, “Out of Time“ was lush with sonic detail, featuring string sections, keyboards, mandolins, and cameos from everyone from rapper KRS-One to the B-52’s‘ Kate Pierson. The scope of R.E.M.‘s ambitions is impressive, and the record sounds impeccable, its sunny array of pop and folk songs as refreshing as Michael Stipe‘s decision to abandon explicitly political lyrics for the personal. Several R.E.M. classics — including Mike Mills‘Byrds-y“Near Wild Heaven,” the haunting “Country Feedback,” and the masterpiece “Losing My Religion” — are present, but the album is more notable for its production than its songwriting.
In the hands of many bands, “Half a World Away” — a song about the persistent ache of distance, in both the romantic and traveling sense — would sound far too busy. R.E.M.’s lush arrangements, however, have the perfect balance of texture and velocity. “Half a World Away” is dominated by harpsichord and mandolin, which are braided together to create an ornate melodic foundation, and Michael Stipe’s conspiratorial vocal tone. Swaying organ provides oceanic swells underneath. And, near the end of the song, proud strings jump into the fray to underscore the music’s sweet melancholy.
“It’s a kind of dark and brooding song, “It has this low, fronting cello and spectral organ. and when, winter is very cold, and it’s also very dark. When the sun has set by 4 o’clock, that song particularly reminds me of the winter time.
It’s always hard to tell exactly what Michael Stipe is singing about. He’s notoriously hard to pin down, but it sounds like he’s singing about burying your father and your mother and, you know, a falling out with siblings. And whether he’s talking about literally being at a funeral or whether he’s talking about the dissolution of a family or a family fight, the emotions seem the same. And he’s talking about how we’re all lost in our little lives, and you can be distanced from one and blind to the other. The song is called ‘Sweetness Follows,’ and so whether he’s singing about heaven or whether he’s singing about forgiveness or just the inevitable rise of the song after a dark night…
In the song, he talks about still striving to find a way to live your life filled with joy and wonder and staying all together, No matter how dark the times are, there’s always a sunrise ahead. You just have to stick together.”
R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe took to the stage Monday night in New York City as the unannounced opening act for Patti Smith at Webster Hall, performing a six-song set that included two numbers by his old band and four covers — including ”Theme From ‘New York, New York.’” Performing on keyboards and joined by two other musicians, Stipe performed R.E.M.’s “Saturn Return” and “New Test Leper,” plus covers of Vic Chesnutt’s “Lucinda Williams,” Smith’s own “Wing,” Perfume Genius’ “Hood” and the aforementioned “New York, New York,” popularized by Liza Minelli and Frank Sinatra.
REM have always put a few covers in their set and its interesting to see some of them recently appearing on their webpages, from Beat Happenings “Indian Summer” to Aerosmith’s “Toys In The Attic” certain songs make sense like Mission Of Burma “Academy Fight Song” and the jangly guitars of Television “See No Evil” .
On the autumn tour of 1987 the band became fond of playing the ex Foreigner singer Lou Gramm song “Midnight Blue” also contained in the song are lines of the Psychedelic Furs “Heartbreak Beat” lots of jangly guitars and Micheal’s great vocals. Blue Oyster Cult “Don’t Fear The Reaper” a tune they played in 1983 then again in 1995 on the Monster tour with the familiar chords from Peter Buck,the same venue the band played Fleetwood Mac’s “Tusk” . Fan club member used to get a 7″ single along with other goodies one such was Jay and the Americans “Only In America” with a most surprising B-side of Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive” sombre and stripped down with just reed organ and acoustic guitars.Fan club members also got the track “Sex Bomb” by the San Francisco punk band Flipper raucous and abstract sound. Another strange punk cover was the “Where’s Captain Kirk” by the band Spizzenergi.
The band have always had a country flavour and covers like “Wichita Linesman, Galveston and the cover of Charlie Rich hit “Behind Closed Doors” which the band performed on a 1985 appearance on the German Concert Series “Rockpalast” on the end of “We Walk”. In 1983 the band did an all covers set at Halloween the band ripped through a collection of songs and influences like T.Rex, The Byrds and of course The Velvet Underground,Micheal is a fan of 60’s pop and a rare cover of Donovan’s “Atlantis” covered in the Halloween set in 1995. REM are huge Iggy and the Stooges fans covering “I Wanna Be Your Dog” but with the David Bowie produced and co written album “The Idiot” they picked off “Funtime”
CRAZY originally by “Pylon” released on “Dead Letter Office”
JESUS CHRIST originally by “Big Star” issued as a fan club only single released in 2002
GHOST RIDER originally “Suicide” on the B-Side of the “Orange Crush”
STRANGE Originally by “Wire” on “Document”
DARK GLOBE originally by “Syd Barrett” on the single “Everybody Hurts”
INDIAN SUMMER originally by “Beat Happenings” from the single “Hollow Man” in 2008
WALL OF DEATH originally by “Richard Thompson” on “E-Bow The letter” single in 1996
FIRST WE TAKE MANHATTEN originally by “Leonard Cohen” from the single “Drive”
REM at South African Freedom Day April 29th 2001, in Trafalgar Square in Central London, an amazing performance by Micheal Stipe and the band Micheal looks so animated and exhilarated to be there at such an important event.
R.E.M’s “Reckoning” was the second album from the alternative rock band released this day in 1984, 30 years ago on IRS Records label, The five albums REM issued on IRS were among the best music ever of the 80’s. Produced by Mitch Easter and Don Dixon and recorded over a sixteen day period the pair who had also produced their debut “Murmur” stepped in after some 22 songs had been recorded with Elliot Mazer who had worked with Neil Young but Peter Buck wanted a more live and crisper sound.
The Intro into “Pretty Persuasion” even now is still magical, With its jangly, arpeggiated chords and driving rhythm section, “Pretty Persuasion” doesn’t seem out of place on 1984’s Reckoning, even though R.E.M. allegedly penned the song years earlier. There’s a clear power-pop influence here, and Peter Buck’s sparkly intro riff sets the tone for a darker, more ominous version of The Records’ “Starry Eyes” (released a year before R.E.M. formed, in 1979). Michael Stipe almost sounds like a punk singer as he rails against the “hurry and buy” impulse of consumerism, his anger intermingling with the jangly melody to create something odd and inexplicably captivating.
Other stand out tracks “Harbourcoat”, “South Central Rain (I’m Sorry)” are still as fresh as ever. Micheal Stipe was exhausted after the 1983 tour and the sessions were difficult for him ,his vocal evolved after some of the mumbling on “Murmer” although Mitch Easter had to coerce Stipe to sing the songs in a more pronounced manner. The songs have a darker edge lyrically with Water a recurring theme. Peter Buck had wanted the album to be a double with some of the songs that had been played in the live set since 1980.
Released this day in 1983, Murmur was a seminal album, the debut from this alternative rock band from Athens,Georgia. featured the singles “Radio Free Europe” and “Talk About The Passion” produced by Don Dixon and Mitch Easter for IRS records It received Critical acclaim. Once in awhile an album comes along that changes perception and times. REM re-introduced the straight four piece guitar fronted band, Peter Bucks jangly chiming guitar sound and Micheal Mills melodic bass lines along with the indistinct obscure Vocals from Micheal Stipe. Rolling Stone Magazine voted MURMUR as the best album of 1983
The Fat Angel Sings 