Throwback Thursday VIII
When I was in Lawrence for a wedding a couple weeks ago, I went crate digging at the awesome Love Garden (I highly recommend stopping by when in town) and came across a vinyl copy of R.E.M.'s debut EP, Chronic Town. Now I've heard this particular album many times before now, first on a dubbed tape and later on the CD version of Dead Letter Office, but there was something very striking about listening to this on its original intended medium. I sat on the floor, transfixed by the blue gargoyle on the album cover and heard this band in a way I'd never heard them before. They sounded so fresh and vital. I've always been a so-so R.E.M. fan, but the '90s output has always been my favorite - in fact, I still happen to think that and New Adventures in Hi-Fi and Monster are two of their best albums period (okay, except maybe Murmur). But I'd never really spent a lot of time scouring the back catalog for the early stuff. I picked up Murmur and Fables on the Reconstruction when I found them on vinyl for cheap, but I'd never gone out of my way to explore further. As I listen again to Chronic Town, Murmur, and the rarities from last year's And I Feel Fine; I can't help but think that I've really been denying myself some great stuff. Yeah, Michael Stipe is mumbly and nearly unintelligible at times, but there's a strong urgency about this stuff that really stirs me. Check out the pair of songs below and see what you might be missing...
R.E.M. - "Sitting Still" (taken from Murmur)
R.E.M. - "1,000,000 (Live)" (taken from And I Feel Fine... The Best of the IRS Years 1982-1987)
(For more wonderful insight on R.E.M. songs old and new, be sure to check out Matthew Perpetua (he of Fluxblog fame) and his new Pop Songs 07)
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