A pochi giorni dall’uscito dello splendido Live At The Olympia arriva la notizia del rientro in studio di registrazione dei R.E.M. La leggendaria band di Athens, Georgia, sta infatti lavorando all’album numero 15 della propria carriera insieme con Jacknife Lee, già dietro al mixer per Accelerate e il succitato disco dal vivo.

Sul sito del gruppo sono intanto apparse due clip che Michael Stipe, ora barbuto, sta girando durante le sessioni. Le potete vedere qui sotto.

Pornim o nouă rubrică periodică. Debut va descrie, cât se poate de bine, începuturile unor formaţii sau artişti solo de succes şi se încadrează în capitolul Zoom. Începem cu REM, că mi-a plăcut foarte mult la vremea respectivă.

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• An înfiinţare: 1980
• Localitatea: Athens (Georgia) SUA
• Nume iniţial: Twisted Kites

R.E.M. a fost o trupă de studenţi din Athens (oraş studenţesc din statul american Georgia). Michael Stipe (solist), Peter Buck (chitară), Mike Mills (bas) şi Bill Berry (tobe) alcătuiesc componenţa de aur a formaţiei. Înfiinţată în 1980, iniţial Michael Stipe şi Peter Buck au început să cânte împreună sub numele Georgia Peaches şi au lansat chiar un album de debut, Ripe; Mike Mills şi Bill Berry repetau împreună în altă sală. Un prieten comun le face cunoştinţă, iar cei patru se adună să cânte la petrecerea unui alt amic sub numele Twisted Kites. La scurt timp după aceea au început să cânte în baruri micuţe şi să facă turnee în zona respectivă a Statelor Unite, cu un repertoriu de coveruri. Concomitent, se lucra la un sunet propriu în sala de repetiţie şi se încerca să se adune un grup de spectatori fidel. În anii 80 au reuşit să devină cunoscuţi în campusurile studenţeşti, REM fiind considerată un pionier al muzicii rock alternative. Pe măsură ce muzica rock alternativă a început să prindă la mai multă lume şi să fie acceptată pe radio comercial, REM a ţinut pasul cu dezvoltarea scenei respective, devenind un nume cunoscut la nivel internaţional. În timp ce punk rock-ul a scăzut în popularitate şi muzica alternativă care folosea clapele ca element predominant a preluat ştacheta în topuri, REM şi-a menţinut stilul rock interpretat în mod tradiţional, fără artificii (voce, chitară, bas, tobe).

1982. August. REM debutează discografic cu un mini-album cu câteva piese (EP)
Chronic Town (editat de IRS Records) având succes la ascultătorii de muzică alternativă, considerată o muzică underground la vremea aceea.

1983. Mai. Se lansează primul album (lung) de studio (LP), Murmur.
1983. August. REM intră prima dată în topuri cu o piesă re-trasă în studio (special cu această ocazie), Radio Free Europe.

Revista Rolling Stone a considerat Murmur Albumul anului 1983.

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Dacă daţi un search în site folosind acronimul R.E.M., veţi găsi interviurile făcute cu cei trei membri fondatori din actuala componenţă a formaţiei.

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Rubrica Zoom. Debut va prezenta preponderent artişti străini, iar pe măsură ce obţinem informaţiile direct de la artiştii noştri (mai mult sau mai puţin consacraţi) vom documenta şi scena autohtonă.

Originarios de Athens, Georgia en Estados Unidos, R.E.M. se ha colocado como una de las bandas de rock alternativo mas influyentes del mundo. Integrado por Michael Stipe (vocalista), Peter Buck y Mike Mills, la banda surgió en una atmósfera de punk que no era precisamente el género que ellos tocaban, de ahí que les costara tanto trabajo abrirse paso en esa escena rockera, pero también fue eso lo que los hizo ganar adeptos que estaban ávidos de algo mas que no fuera punk.

Sin ni si quiera grabar un solo LP, la banda ya hacía giras por todo el país,ganando cada vez mas y mas adeptos y sus sencillos se colocaban en los primeros lugares de la radio. Fue precisamente en uno de esos conciertos, en Aberdeen, Washington; que R.E.M. fue escuchado por un joven que estaba buscando un nuevo ritmo, algo distitno para crear su banda de rock. Ese joven era Kurt Cobain y la historia ya la conocemos. Si, tal cual lo leen y tal cual el mismo Kurt lo dijo: R.E.M. siempre fue su inspiración y el mismo Michael Stipe, uno de sus mas allegados amigos.

En 1991 lanzaron su album Out of time, que los lanzara a la fama mundial y el en 2007 fueron incluidos en el Salón de la Fama del Rock. Se convirtieron en todos unos íconos de la época junto a Nirvana, Pearl Jam y Radiohead.

El nombre de la banda, un nombre bastante peculiar, fue elegido abriendo el diccionario y al azar, seleccionaron una frase que llegaría para quedarse. La frase era Rapid Eye Movement, que quiere decir Movimiento Ocular Rápido y es una de las etapas del sueño profundo del ser humano.

Michael Stipe, el estandarte de la banda, es un activista político por los derechos humanos. Junto a su banda participaron en los conciertos del Live 8.

Y como ya era de esperarse, entremos en materia musical. Esta primera canción es una de las mas expermientales, de sus primeras canciones que les hizo ganar muchos seguidores en sus primeros años. Una canción muy aguda y fuerte. The one I love.

Por supuesto que no podría faltar su gran himno: Loosing my religion. Una canción bastante fuera de lo común, pues al no poseer coro, ni un orden estricto, sumado a lo enigmático de su letra; la hicieron todo un éxito! El video también es genial; su arte con contenido soviético y una trama obtenida del libro Un señor muy viejo con alas enormes de Gabriel García Márquez.

Y por último esta canción que no solo es muy buena, si no que el video también tiene lo suyo. Pónganle mucha atención al video, porque lo curioso es que la filmación es de solamente 8 segundos!!! Lo que sucede es que el trabajo de edición, hace énfasis es algunas partes del cuadro general, enmarcando escenas y situaciones distintas. Impresionante!

Interview with Scott McCaughey for all 37 Metromix (Gannett/Tribune Co.)

Singer-songwriter-guitarist Scott McCaughey likes to stay busy. He leads two bands of his own (the Young Fresh Fellows and the Minus 5), plays bass for Robyn Hitchcock’s Venus 3, and has toured and recorded with R.E.M. since 1994. If that wasn’t enough, McCaughey formed the Baseball Project last year with R.E.M.’s Peter Buck (also of the Minus 5) and Steve Wynn (the Dream Syndicate). 

McCaughey, Buck, Wynn and Wynn’s wife, Linda Pitmon, are currently touring in support of the Minus 5’s excellently twangy new album “Killingsworth” and the Baseball Project’s “Volume 1: Frozen Ropes and Dying Quails,” an album of songs that are, as the band’s name suggests, all about baseball.

“The four of us are all three bands on the bill: the Minus 5, the Baseball Project, and the Steve Wynn IV,” McCaughey explains by phone from his home in Portland, Ore. “We’ll probably do two fairly long sets with a break in between to go make a fresh margarita or something.”

Continue reading Q&A.

by Belle

Some bands stay with you through the years, others are just a passing trend.

In high school, I listened to Fuel and the Foo Fighters and Live and Counting Crows.  In college, my freshman year, I would listen to A Perfect Circle and Tool.  Later on, I would listen to The Shins and Elliott Smith.

I’ve listened to R.E.M. for many years, and their songs have stuck by me through good and bad times, thoughtful and emotional times.  The first R.E.M. album I got was New Adventures in Hi-Fi.  Because of my age, I was joining them late in the game.  It has been a treasure trove of albums to discover.  I admire how unique R.E.M.’s career has been and how they seem to continually challenge themselves to keep being creative. Of course, besides the music and instrumentation, I am a huge lyrics person.  My ears always strain to make out the singer’s words when I’m listening to any music.  Michael Stipe’s lyrics and delivery never fail to be poetic.  One of my favorite songs is “Find the River,” the last song on Automatic for the People.  In high school, my favorite R.E.M. song was “Strange Currencies.”

R.E.M. does not seem to fit into any mold.  I am glad for my sake that they have had so much commercial success.  Of course, a favorite band is a very personal thing.  It’s nice to know that sometimes unique and eloquent music can be widely recognized.

I’ve been to two R.E.M. shows, at different amphitheaters.  I especially have fond memories of the first one, in the late 1990’s it must have been.  My friend and I stood in the crowd watching from the lawn.  It was the tour for the album Up, with a backdrop on the stage of a fun neon lights collage.  The place was packed with people and the crowd’s energy was amazing.  R.E.M. performed encore after encore, at least three encores if not more.  I remember they even performed “Sweetness Follows” because Michael Stipe mentioned on stage that it was one of Peter Buck’s favorites.  Partway through the performance a really drunk woman in the front row had to be removed at Michael Stipe’s request.

Peter Buck, live, with R.E.M.

I think I was completely mesmerized during the entire concert.  I must have been in high school, that age when you are still particularly prone to awe-inspiring experiences that you didn’t quite know existed.

What can I say?  Life is rich and wonderful.  I’m just so happy that a group of accomplished musicians has been sharing some of the beauty of life as they see it for so many years.

This is Belle’s 2nd post for meandthestereo! You can also check out an article she did on Pop Music, here. And check out her “duel” review with Renato, here! Look out for more of Belle every Wednesday where she discusses lifestyle and music!

These guys could have performed at Central Perk

PREVIEW: Gin Blossoms “Found Out About You” MP3

The ’90s were just as self-absorbed as the ’80s were, but at least we had a Democrat in office — and we had bands like Gin Blossoms. These guys were just one of many alternative rock bands from the 1990s that were never distinct enough to make their mark, but still qualify as legitimate musical comfort food. In “Found Out About You,” Gin Blossoms sound like a poor man’s R.E.M. with the melodic-yet-simple bass line, the chiming Buck-ish guitar licks and the double-tracked Stipe-esque vocal harmonies.

They never played music regarded as genius. However, there is something charmingly ordinary about this song as their words piece together innocent imagery and settings of “last summer” and “nights out in the school yards” all leading to the recurring title line about what is presumably infidelity — not exactly the most original lyrics or themes.

In the pile of repetitive knock-offs that have permeated music throughout the decades, Gin Blossoms find a perfect balance. They’re listenable and not even a guilty pleasure.

– Charlie Weeks

Año de Publicación: 1992
Nacionalidad: EE.UU.
Discográfica: Warner Bros.
Producción: Scott Litt & REM

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Lista de temas:

01 Drive

02 Try Not To Breathe

03 The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight

04 Everybody Hurts

05 New Orleans Instrumental nº1

06 Sweetness Follows

07 Monty Got A Raw Deal

08 Ignoreland

09 Star Me Kitten

10 Man On The Moon

11 Nightswimming

12 Find The River

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“Everybody Hurts“

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“The One I Love” en vivo

The Minus 5's Killingsworth is pretty miserable -- in a good way.

PREVIEW: Killingsworth on ReverbNation

In an always admirable move, The Minus 5 decided to stream their new album, Killingsworth, on ReverbNation. They join the ranks of Radiohead, Wilco, and Girl Talk.You have to wonder why, though. The Minus 5, a sixteen-year-old act from Seattle, are not trying to make a point, like Radiohead, are not in danger of leaks or record company troubles, like Wilco, and are not putting out already copyrighted material, like Girl Talk. Are The Minus 5 just that cool that they’ll release an album and stream it just for the hell of it? Apparently so.

The brainchild of Scott McCaughey, The Minus 5 have been around in one capacity or another since 1993, fronted by McCaughey and featuring R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck. McCaughey has long been known as a close associate of R.E.M.’s, playing second guitar on tour for them and appearing on both live and studio releases. That said, The Minus 5 is very much a McCaughey solo act (plus Buck), with rotating guest musicians from The Decemberists, Wilco, and The Posies. Young Fresh Fellows, the other band he fronts, released their own album on July 7, 2009, the same day as Killingsworth.

The two albums couldn’t be more different, though; I Think This Is a more straightforward pop/rock record, and Killingsworth a folky, alternative country rock effort.

Overall, the tone of Killingsworth is pretty is pretty miserable. It’s safe to say that McCaughey essentially released fourteen country pop-rock sing-alongs, with the catch of heart-wrenching lyrics. With Neil Young-influenced impending doom, “Dark Hand of Contagion,” “Big Beat Up Moon,” and “The Disembowelers” speak to a more widespread degenerating state of affairs in the world of Scott McCaughey. Comparisons of a decaying relationship to disease (“Contagion”) and laments for the lonely and depressed everywhere (“Moon”) run the course of these expertly written lyrics.

These songs play against tracks like “Gash in the Cocoon,” “Ambulance Dancehall,” and “Tonight You’re Buying Me a Drink, Bub” which present a more localized viewpoint. On the latter McCaughey calmly sings about jukeboxes, guns, and references Hamlet and while he’s at it, always coming back to the titular line on the logic that he deserves that drink. Regardless of the strength of the other songs on the album (and they are great), the last one is a fine way to close it off.

People shudder when they read the word country in anything. They expect Willie Nelson to start banging chords out on a rickety old banjo and call it revolutionary. Thankfully The Minus 5 insert more nuances into their work, and Peter Buck is a much better guitarist than Willie ever was, and it shows. Moreover, McCaughey, active as a musician for more than 25 years, proves he can still punch out a decent album–perhaps two on the same day–and even support R.E.M. while he’s at it. The cohorts he’s assembled (all five of The Decemberists as well as The She Bee Gees) are nothing to scoff at either. And the best part? Dude let us listen for free.

–Eric Vilas-Boas

Hey Andy, did you hear about this one?

Tell me, are you locked in the punch?
Hey Andy, are you goofing on Elvis?

Hey baby, are you having fun?

If you believed they put a man on the moon, man on the moon,
If you believe there’s nothing up my sleeve, then nothing is cool…

Here’s a little agit for the never-believer, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Here’s a little ghost for the offering, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Here’s a truck stop instead of Saint Peter’s, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Mister Andy Kaufman’s gone wrestling…

The Minus 5
(Featuring Peter Buck & Scott McCaughey)

With Very Special Guests Slo-Fi & Paul Burch

Thursday, September 17th, 2009
$28, All-Ages, General Admission
1960 Bardstown Road, 456-6394

THE MINUS FIVE (a brief compendium)

Scott McCaughey. Charioteer, optometrist, master brewer, or corpse? The blatherers rage on. What HAS been established is that “McCoy” is long addicted to rock’n’roll and its variable sidekicks, at great expense to family and friends. To wit:
Young Fresh Fellows (1983 – present) – songwriter, singer, instrumentalist
The Minus 5 (1993 – present) – songwriter, singer, instrumentalist
R.E.M. (1994 – present) – intrumentalist
Tuatara (1996 – present) – instrumentalist, songwriter.

With these groups Scott has made many records (best seller: 5 million; worst seller: 450) and played many shows (highest attendance: 125,000; lowest: 8). “McOi” is always available and enthusiastic when it comes to these activities. In fact, there have been many other bands that have “benefited” from Scott’s talents (first documented stage appearance: 1972, with Vannevar Bush & His Differential Analyzers). A complete discography may never exist.

Thee Minus 5 itself started when McCaughey realized he had a dumptruckload of songs that the Young Fresh Fellows would either never get around to, or wisely chose not to. His friends and fellow Seattleites Peter Buck, Ken Stringfellow, and Jon Auer were quick to volunteer to help Scott capture his “Let The Bad Times Roll” vision, and these early sessions produced The Hello EP and Old Liquidator. Many other luminants have since joined the ranks of the Minus 5. (See Down with Wilco, the recent pop masterpiece that’s a collaboration uniting the Minus 5 with Wilco.) It’s a bit like a cancer, really.

The Minus 5- Cigarettes, Coffee and Booze

The concert featured, Roky Erickson and the Explosives, Spoon, Robyn Hitchcock and Peter Buck, Stuart Braithwaite of Mogwai, Tommy Hancock, Black Lips, Powell St. John, Sumner Erickson of the Texcentrics.

The Ice Cream Social is co-sponsored this year by the Coalition for the Abolition of Electroshock in Texas (CAEST). Many artists have been hurt over the years by the labels and biological treatments of the mental health system. Roky Erickson, Townes Van Zandt and Jim Franklin are Austin music legends who suffered from psychiatric electroshock, also known as electroconvulsive therapy, or ECT. Families Rock Productions is also a co-sponsor.

Links
Coalition for the Abolition of Electroshock in Texas
http://www.endofshock.com/

http://www.youtube.com/psychetruth
http://www.myspace.com/psychtruth

Same as it ever was, same as it ever was...

Although far from a household name, Tommy Keene has been around for a long time and has a strong following in power-pop circles. He’s never had a hit record per se, but those who are knowledgeable about the indie and melodic rock scene are very familiar with the singer-singwriter’s catalogue; he’s been a critical favorite for almost thirty years. Not exceedingly prolific, there have been a couple of breaks in his career, but just as interestingly, a couple of kick-starts. (I really thought the Alias retrospective The Real Underground would have launched him into the stratosphere…maybe with a Warner Brothers or Columbia budget it might have).

He’s been on the cusp of stardom for so long he probably has an office there. Geffen Records tried to promote him as a pop hero in the post-New Wave era. He’s had credible players like Peter Buck, Jay Bennett and Robin Wilson helping out on albums where his strong originals are often accompanied by great cover songs like Lou Reed’s “Kill Your Sons” or “Tattoo” from The Who Sell Out. He’s partnered with Bob Pollard and hit the road as a lead guitarist (where he rocks considerably harder than on his own material) with Paul Westerberg and Velvet Crush. But despite often great critical acclaim, he’s managed to stay on the cult side of the popularity fence while far less talented artists landed on the front pages.

Tommy Keene live performing “Run Now“

There are a lot of artists who haven’t hit a high note in their catalogue to touch “Places That Are Gone“, “Run Now” or “Back To Zero“, and while I don’t think he’s recaptured that majesty in a while himself, there’s a great body of work out there well worth exploring. I think at this stage of the game he’s just in it to please himself, which allows him to wallow in the areas he enjoys without concern for the headlines. It gives him a chance to dabble in artistic relationships he enjoys, do his own thing or pinch-hit with others, and every four years or so drop another project out there for the fans (while that group may not be massive, they are loyal). Sounds like a nice life to me.

You can read my review of In The Late Bright in Blurt Magazine.

Tour info, clips and tons more at Tommy Keene’s website.

What a weekend! I flew out to Norfolk, VA to play with John Prine Friday night. Then we drove to Durham, NC the next morning for another concert Saturday night. Sunday John and the rest of the guys headed back to Nashville, and I drove down to lovely Southport, NC to play a solo benefit concert for the Amuzu Theater.

The Amuzu is a cool little theater right on the main drag in Southport. It was used as a set for the movies  “Crimes of the Heart” and “I Know What You Did Last Summer”.  We had a full house of wonderful folks and raised some money to help with the restoration of the theater. A big thank you to Bill from the Amuzu, Ken and Nancy Perrin for setting up the concert, Dale McPherson for sitting in on harmonica and vocals, Jeremy and Lisle at Lois Jane’s B&B, and to Martha and the wonderful folks at WUIN 106.7 THE PENGUIN in Wilmington for telling everyone about the concert.

Monday morning I got up and drove to Raleigh, then flew to Nashville for a recording session with John Prine, David Jacques, and awesome producer/engineer Gary Paczosa.  We had a great afternoon cutting a Shel Silverstein song for an upcoming CD. Monday evening I met up with my old buddy (and guitarist extraordinaire) David Steele and we went to see Robin Hitchcock at the Exit Inn. His back up band The Venus 3, featured R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck, and sidemen Scott McCaughey and Bill Reiflin on bass and drums respectively. Yes, a really GREAT BAND! It was a pretty rockin’ show. REM bassist Mike Mills even got up and played a song with the band on the encore.

The next morning I got up and flew home. All in all, a good weekend!

My review of the fantastic tribute to the music of R.E.M. that was held on Wednesday, March 11th at New York City’s Carnegie Hall is now online on the main Powerline A.D. site.

Twenty artists paid homage to R.E.M. before R.E.M. members Michael Stipe, Mike Mills, and Peter Buck took the stage to close out the night. Among the artists performing in the show were Patti Smith, Marshall Crenshaw, Darius Rucker, Bob Mould, and Jolie Holland.

To read the review, click here.

Welcome to the weekend good people, bad people and those who aren’t sure. It’s time to let your hair down for a couple of days, well metaphorically in my case! It’s 14th March and just one day away from those dastardly Ides, so remember to stay bewared so to speak.

Did you make a donation to Comic Relief yesterday? If not it’s not too late and if you did feel free to donate more. Just click here and remember just £5 will buy a mosquito net for an African child. This could help to eradicate Malaria which is one of the biggest killers of children in Africa. Just think that if everyone who read this blog yesterday donated just £1 that would total £450! For the latest update on Comic Relief click here, the ‘on the day total’ topped £57m!

I have a confession to make about last night’s show though and I can’t believe that I’m about to say this. But Robbie Williams was bloody good last night in the Little Britain sketch. To be fair he wasn’t singing, thankfully but nonetheless he was good. Click here to see the sketch. What do you think of it?

That little devil Robbie Williams raids the tranny dressing up box with David Walliams and Matt Lucas

We continue todays post with a few contributions from some regular readers. Firstly thank you to Tom who passed on a great video and indeed a potentially great band today. We were talking at the Hospital Radio Station on Wednesday night about Ringo Starr’s solo efforts, which in my opinion have been somewhat patchy. Anyway Tom mentioned that there was an excellent video on YouTube promoting the current single from a band called Blame Ringo, click on the song title to see it, it is all filmed at the famous Abbey Road zebra crossing that was featured on the cover of the Beatles Abbey Road album. The song is called “Garble Arch (A Day In The Life Of Abbey Road)” So tell me, how many of you have had your picture taken on that crossing? Feel free to mail a copy to me and I’ll happily publish it in the blog for you. Blame Ringo’s website is pretty good too, click here to check it out.

This Beatles fan makes his feelings clear about Ringo having a bum deal even if he wasn't the best drummer in the band. To be fair Meg White wasn't the best drummer in the White Stripes either!

I found this while I was searching for a Blame Ringo picture. So I had to include it. Why? Because I can of course! Indeed it even features Catwoman as well

Secondly here’s a great tip off from Nick H who lives in what used to be the hometown of Mary Shelley who wrote the rather spiffing Frankenstein. Nick has given us an excellent link to a brilliant cover of Gary Numan’s “Are Friends Electric?” by Jack White’s new band ‘Dead Weather’. It consists of Jack himself, obviously, Allison Mosshart from the Kills on vocals, Jack Lawrence from the Raconteurs and Dean Fertita from Queens of the Stone Age. Click the song title for the video and click here for the band’s web site.

Jack tried to warn Allison that she was about to feel a little prick....... from the thorn bush of course, you readers are just sooooooo rude!

And finally for those readers contributions here is a brief one from Marcy. She wanted me to let you know that she lives a mere stones throw (well if you can throw a stone 7.1 miles) from Mr Davy Jones off of the Monkees. Davy also plays a few shows in Marcy’s home town too. Do any other readers live near a celebrity? Let me know and maybe I can include it in a future post

A horse walks into Davy's Bar and orders a beer, Davy serves him and says "why the long face?"

Anyway let’s move on with the trivia and useful/ useless (delete as appropriate) information for today.

Firstly the birthdays and today is the 63rd birthday of Jim Pons who was the bass player for classic 60s band the Turtles who had a massive hit with the classic (ok so I’ve overdone the classic superlative, so what?) “Happy Together”. Jim didn’t join the band until after that though. He was also a member of Frank Zappa’s Mothers Of Invention. The Turtles first hit was a cover of Bob Dylan’s “It Ain’t Me Babe”. Before this they were called Crossfires From The Planet Mars. Another classic Turtles hit was “She’d Rather Be with Me” which does indeed feature Jim on bass.

Everyone else had walked across the Abbey Road crossing, but the Turtles had to show off by crawling across

The second and last of our birthdays today is the 26th birthday of Jordan Taylor Hanson. He was, somewhat obviously, a member of Hanson who had a massive hit with “MMMBop“. I must confess that I love that song, a true guilty pleasure is that one I suppose. Does anyone else admit to liking it? Jordan preferred to be known by his middle name Taylor and he was just 14 at the height of “MMMBop’s” success. The band have the honour of appearing twice in TV’s Celebrity Death Match. The first time they fought the Spice Girls and both they and the Spice Girls were killed by a chainsaw toting Marilyn Manson. Bizarrely they came back for a rematch with Manson (hey I wonder if it was billed as Manson vs Hanson?), they lost again after Zac Hanson lost control of the chainsaw. Please note that Celebrity Death Match was not real and no stars were harmed during the making of it. Although there are some I would like to see on a real version! any guesses or suggestions? Incidentally fact fans, “MMMBop” has been featured as House’s mobile phone ring tone in House MD.

On further investigation it became clear that Hanson were in fact Triamese twins who shared four legs and three heads

On this day in 1985 the mighty Frankie Goes To Hollywood played a show at the Sheffield City Hall in the UK. The band were absolutely mega in 84/ 85 with their first three singles all reaching number one in the UK. At that point they were only the second group ever to achieve that feat after Gerry and the Pacemakers in the 60s. There are various stories as to how the band got their name all relate to a newspaper or magazine headline of a star going to Hollywood. To be perfectly Frank it was one of the following Franks; Frank Sinatra, Frankie Vaughan (one of my Mum’s favourite singers!) or English comedian Frankie Howard (titter ye not!). “Relax” had reached number 6 in the UK charts after an appearance on Top Of The Pops and then the infamous Mike Read banning incident occurred. Allegedly Mike objected to the sexual content of the lyric, this of course gave the band and the song such publicity it shot to (read no innuendo into that smutty people) number one, where it stayed for 5 weeks. The follow up “Two Tribes” went to number one and stayed there for a phenomenal 9 weeks at the same time “Relax” climbed back to number 2. The third single “The Power Of Love” was number one for a short period in December 1984. It’s nativity themed video means that is still seen as a Christmas song by many, but I’m not convinced! The rise of Frankie also led to a proliferation of ‘FRANKIE SAY……’ Tee shirts. Here are the Frankie’s with “Relax” on Channel 4’s the Tube in late 1983.

They had reached page 42 in the Kama Sutra but now neither of them had a hand free to turn to the next page

And finally on this day in 1991 REM played the first of two nights at London’s Borderline billed as Bingo Hand Job. Not only did they come up with a different name for the band they also gave each other new names for the shows; Michael Stipe was the Reverend Bingo, Peter Buck became Raoul, Bill Berry was the Doc and Mike Mills had the honour (?) of being Stinky. Out of those I would rather have been called the Reverend Bingo but a number of people have told me that Stinky would be more appropriate. Hmmmmmm I’m not sure why that is Anyway to finish here are REM with the Muppets on a cracking version of “Furry Happy Monsters“

Michael had heard that many dog owners resembled their dogs, but.......

..... he hadn't realised that he was starting to look like his gargoyle!

Telling someone how you feel about them can be way harder than it should.  This song features a narrator who obviously has some pretty serious feelings (and romantic interest) towards someone he has known for quite a while now, and he’s trying to figure out how he’s going to let her know that he wants his relationship with her to move from friendship to something heavier.  It looks like telling her is his only option, too.  He openly admits “There ain’t no way I’ll ever stop from loving now.”  This doesn’t necessarily mean that he’s going to be telling her soon, though.  When he says “I’m gonna try and show you somehow/Somehow…/Someday…” 

Who knows when “someday” will come?  To be honest, there’s a really good chance that it never comes… 

I’ve always really enjoyed this song, and I feel like it would have been a great choice for a single.  As an R.E.M. fan, I find the guitars pretty much irresistable, and I imagine Peter Buck would definitely be proud.  This song just has such a big chorus, it’s a shame that it wasn’t sent out to promote Gold.

To celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of the release of R.E.M.’s seminal debut full-length LP back in the year of my birth, 1983, Murmur was re-released at the end of last year in the US to much acclaim. It’s now finally had a UK release, after an unexplained delay. This new version sees the original cut remastered and given a bit of a dusting, with the added bonus of a second disc showcasing a typically thrilling performance in Toronto from the album’s lengthy promo-tour.

There’s so much that is special about Murmur, and it’s difficult for me not to get emotional about one of the very best albums by my favourite band ever. Rightly lauded by the critics at the time as a definitive post-punk album, Murmur was completely unique for its time, combining folky guitars, a subtle yet sure dance beat and, in Michael Stipe, a mysterious cross between a snarling punk prophet and a country crooner. This is the kind of album that cannot be judged on the first listen, revealing as it does new layers of soul, beauty and foot-thumping angularity over time. But Murmur is much, much more than a ’grower’ in the hackneyed sense of the term: instead of simply achieving memorability through familiarity, Murmur rewards and grows in esteem because it manages the rare feat of bringing new ideas to the table years after its first spin; it renews with each and every listen.

While Murmur delux has received all-round excellent reviews in the mainstream music press, it has been criticised for lacking some of the treasured murkiness and opacity of the original cut. I’d disagree and contend that the use of new digital technologies has maybe allowed the ‘Murmur’ imagined in R.E.M.’s collective minds to come closer to being realised. Apparently they were never satisfied with the quality of the original transfer from vinyl to cd, while Murmur’s production duo, Mitch Easter and Don Dixon purposely recorded extra sonic layers based on the prediction that these echoes would eventually be retrievable with the aid of future technological developments.

On the other hand, and to be frank and honest, the reason I love Murmur deluxe is precisely because it still sounds very similar to the original! The only real differences are the higher volume of the music, which brings it in line with newer records, while there is subtle extra clarity given to the guitars, most noticeably on ‘9-9′. Meanwhile, Murmur’s popularity as a college rock album is reaffirmed with the slight bounce given to the drums, making songs such as lead-single ‘Radio Free Europe’ more danceable than ever. Mike Mills’ bass is also more prominent throughout. Therefore, the whole package is indeed more polished, but this in no way dimishes from the overall atmosphere of Southern mystery it evokes. It just makes the record sound less like a badly-recorded cassette.

The single best reason to get hold of Murmur deluxe is for the second cd, which contains only R.E.M.’s second full show available on CD (after R.E.M. Live, released in 2007). Live at Toronto (1983) is R.E.M. at their early best– that is, frenzied, passionate, slightly shambolic, a band far greater than the sum of its parts. The quality of the recording is excellent when you consider how old it is, which is in part thanks to the tiny, relatively quiet Canadian crowd. Perhaps as a result it sounds like R.E.M. have something to prove at this show; they seem to realise that they’re a special band, and they use this self-belief to carry them through the rather muted reception. They sound musically tight and hungry to get the crowd dancing, while there are moments of pure, chiming and uplifting beauty on tracks such as the appropriately-titled ‘Pilgrimage’. The addition of early, yet well-developed versions of  ‘7 Chinese Bros.’ and ‘Harborcoat’- songs which ended up as highlights on second album Reckoning (1984) is a real treat, while their stunning performance of ‘Gardening at Night’, from 1982’s EP Chronic Town is the ultimate high point in a mesmerising display that demonstrates why Rolling Stone magazine declared R.E.M. to be ‘America’s Best Band’ of 1983.

In summary, Murmur did, and still rocks. Furthermore Peter Buck has confirmed that the band will release remastered versions of more of their early albums, which means I’ll undoubtedly be forking out for Reckoning deluxe soon, if only to hear the next exciting step in R.E.M.’s live development on the (hopefully inevitable) bonus CD. I am very excited at that prospect, in an unashamedly obscure, fanboy-ish way.

Written and recorded live during their notorious “Monster” tour of 1995, R.E.M.s tenth album is a much darker, complex affair than any of the bands previous releases.  The events of this tour, most infamously drummer Bill Berry’s near fatal brain aneurysm, appear to lie deep in the roots in much of Stipe’s lyrics and perhaps even in many of the song titles themselves.  Yet, underneath this initial dark surface, most visible in songs like Stipe’s almost chilling duet with punk hero Patti Smith on ‘E-Bow the Letter’, there‘s much more going on.  Perhaps the most unique feature is the raw feeling in the music that comes from recording live on tour.  It’s debatable whether such experimental tracks as the epic, seven minute, guitar and synthesizer led ‘Leave’, or the instrumental jam ‘Zither’, would have appeared on a purely studio created album.  Alongside these, there’s plenty of other fast, almost glam rock inspired tracks like, ’The Wake-Up Bomb’ and ‘Departure‘ which really give the record a live rock feel.  With a bit of classic, poppy R.E.M. (the piano driven ‘Electrolite’) thrown in for good measure, the result is one the bands most interesting, edgy, but underrated, albums in their extensive catalogue.