‘It’s the end of the world as we’ve known it,’ how ya feeling?
Earlier in the week, I was trying to decide which John Coltrane cut I was going to post tonight, given that this would have been the saxophonist’s 85th birthday. Then, well, news happened. R.E.M. announced it was disbanding, which means Trane got pushed aside.
Sorry John (although the guys at R.E.M. are big fans of yours, I hear).
I came to R.E.M. relatively late, at least compared to a lot of folks here in Georgia. But from my first exposure I marveled at their distinctive sound and the fact that somehow, they could come off both lush and economical in their music. Their lyrics were special as well, often funny if absurdly opaque, reaching for and sometimes attaining poetry.
More than any band I can think of, you always wanted to know what their next album would sound like, because it was bound to head off in a new and interesting direction. Following their career was a musical adventure, and after 31 years it has now come to an end.
Thanks, guys. Here’s one of my favorites, as much because of the memories it inspires as much as the music itself:
– Jay Bookman
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445 comments Add your comment
Adam
September 23rd, 2011
3:43 pm
I know my friend is very VERY upset R.E.M. is disbanded.
Adam
September 23rd, 2011
3:44 pm
Whooo! First!
josef
September 23rd, 2011
3:51 pm
REM fan from way, way back…
My favorite and a good video with it…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pudOFG5X6uA
Bosch
September 23rd, 2011
3:52 pm
I’m sorry, but I thought they had already broke up — it’s not like they’ve actually produced anything worth listening too lately, but maybe that’s just me.
1811/0311
September 23rd, 2011
3:53 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8S46OE902tM
Kamchak
September 23rd, 2011
3:54 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVzvn3iB1qs
1811/0311
September 23rd, 2011
3:54 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Otv6SqWJYuE&feature=related
Bosch
September 23rd, 2011
3:55 pm
Here’s my fav REM:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7oQEPfe-O8&ob=av2e
Joe the Plutocrat
September 23rd, 2011
3:57 pm
as I mentioned on KW’s blog, I was a casual REM fan at best, but they were the real deal from ‘82 (when I first heard a catchy Rickenbacker-driven tune called Radio Free Europe) through Monster in the mid-90’s. so tonight when I hit the pub, I’ll probably drop a few quarters (actually, my debit card) into the jukebox (actually, just a touchscreen on the wall) and spin (actually, sellect a MP3 file) from Life’s Rich Pagent, Murmur, or Automatic For the People. and given their street cred, I like the fact we won’t have to suffer through any “reunion” tours, and I doubt we’ll see them at Lakewood in 2020 playing a double bill with (what’s left of ) the Replacements, Smithereens and Oingo Boingo.
Equinox Matti
September 23rd, 2011
3:57 pm
Furry Happy Monsters!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoc8_aJLpes
Paul
September 23rd, 2011
3:58 pm
End of the world?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwYNWYaS3bI&feature=related
Joe the Plutocrat
September 23rd, 2011
3:59 pm
Bosch, my band used to cover that one. We called it The One-Eye Glove
Schrodingers cat
September 23rd, 2011
4:01 pm
saw them at the 688 club @688 spring st back in the day…I think it was after their first album
Bosch
September 23rd, 2011
4:01 pm
Joe!
That song has alot of personal connection for me. Reminds me of alot of things.
Here’s another one of me REM favs:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWkMhCLkVOg&ob=av3n
Jay
September 23rd, 2011
4:02 pm
Sounds like Deb will have an interesting evening…
Joe the Plutocrat
September 23rd, 2011
4:03 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASjvzZoH-mE
(ir)Rational
September 23rd, 2011
4:04 pm
Why did REM have to break up and ruin a day of what could have been great music? The Trane rocked. Especially (for me anyway) in that time period when it was him and Thelonius Monk. Ah, takes me back.
Seriously though, THAT was music.
(ir)Rational
September 23rd, 2011
4:06 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GByoYKEq8Dg
Paul
September 23rd, 2011
4:06 pm
And for the end of the world with a hopeful note.
From a one-hit wonder.
Hopeful, if you think the lyrics at the end make any sense at all -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izQB2-Kmiic&feature=related
josef
September 23rd, 2011
4:06 pm
matti
Yay! It is FNM and you’re nobody ’til…
Joe the Plutocrat
September 23rd, 2011
4:07 pm
Begin the Begin is like Jack Keruoac writing lyrics for the Byrds…
moonbat betty
September 23rd, 2011
4:08 pm
Loved REM back in the day. Reminds me of Athens.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpP4gGYuZSU
Bosch
September 23rd, 2011
4:08 pm
Paul,
For some reason that song has always seriously creeped me out.
Mudfoot
September 23rd, 2011
4:08 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mSmOcmk7uQ&ob=av3e
Wow 31 years… time sure flies
out of the blue
September 23rd, 2011
4:09 pm
Paul great lyrics and music from a former member of the New Christy Minstrels!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cazfL4eFZg0
Paul
September 23rd, 2011
4:11 pm
Bosch
The first one?
I always liked the timbre of his voice.
Paul
September 23rd, 2011
4:14 pm
out of the blue
You were in that group? Or a former member wrote it?
For all our farfarfarfarRight friends. Heaven knows they really want to sing along but are wound just a tad too tight…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jr9hPbYmBo
Bosch
September 23rd, 2011
4:18 pm
Paul,
That song “In the Year 2525″ — is that what you meant by “the first one?” I was confused…imagine that!
out of the blue
September 23rd, 2011
4:18 pm
No Paul….I can’t sing a lick…Barry Mcguire was in that group.
Kamchak
September 23rd, 2011
4:19 pm
For all the Coltrane fans:
With Duke Ellington: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sR13ECD71xU
With Miles Davis: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SfbKXEtkvM
Oakhurstdawg
September 23rd, 2011
4:20 pm
Bosch, the Stones haven’t done too much lately either. So maybe it is just you.
Bosch
September 23rd, 2011
4:22 pm
“So maybe it is just you”
Yeah, I think you’re right.
Paul
September 23rd, 2011
4:22 pm
Bosch
My first was 3:58 Barry McGuire on the eve of destruction.
I was into the sci fi stuff when 2025 came out so it was right up my alley. Plus I liked the way it progressed every thousand years.
out of the blue
know what you mean about the singing thing. Have a son with an absolutely beautiful voice. He’s like “yeah, what’s the big deal?” about it.
jt
September 23rd, 2011
4:24 pm
I was ten thousand miles away during the REM decade…Doing the dirty work for Banksters and Politicians.
.
But when I heard this song…………with the crickety sounds of a southern night at the beginning………I knew I was hooked.
It made me homesick as hale……………………..(I couldn’t find the crickety one on the tubes).
.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-3JA750Zxc
(ir)Rational
September 23rd, 2011
4:25 pm
And just for fun: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atBg9zLI2bA
josef
September 23rd, 2011
4:28 pm
PAUL
Oh, why stop there….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IL2VGI44hoo&feature=related
(ir)Rational
September 23rd, 2011
4:28 pm
Kam – Thank you.
out of the blue
September 23rd, 2011
4:29 pm
I see, and hear Kamchack is getting me in a sentimental mood. So, here’s my two cents worth. I think he rates right up there with miles davis…But, unfortunately he died in a car accident when he was 25 years old.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mm-Bj2b5OQw&feature=fvst
Paul
September 23rd, 2011
4:31 pm
josef
If that doesn’t get our Rightie friends out of their straitjacket, I don’t know what will -
Paul
September 23rd, 2011
4:35 pm
josef
I think this is what our Rightie friends must be feeling long about now –
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvR6d08L3nc
Disgusted
September 23rd, 2011
4:35 pm
I was ten thousand miles away during the REM decade…Doing the dirty work for Banksters and Politicians.
Sounds a lot like the comments of Gen. Smedley Butler, USMC, twice awarded the Medal of Honor. In 1935, after retirement, he looked back on his military service and wrote
I spent 33 years and four months in active military service and during that period I spent most of my time as a high class thug for Big Business, for Wall Street and the bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism. I helped make Mexico and especially Tampico safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefit of Wall Street. I helped purify Nicaragua for the International Banking House of Brown Brothers in 1902–1912. I brought light to the Dominican Republic for the American sugar interests in 1916. I helped make Honduras right for the American fruit companies in 1903. In China in 1927 I helped see to it that Standard Oil went on its way unmolested. Looking back on it, I might have given Al Capone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate his racket in three districts. I operated on three continents.
jt
September 23rd, 2011
4:42 pm
Disgusted
.
I’m familiar with that.
We mainly just irritated the heck out of Syria.
.
Youth…………………easily led.
Easily influenced.
.
Although, I was paid well, had the time of my life, and I don’t regret one minute of it.
.
It was weird getting scooped by my Spaneye friends..about a band from my own state. They worshiped REM.
Especially this song.
.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ac0oaXhz1u8&ob=av2n
getalife
September 23rd, 2011
4:45 pm
I feel fine:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWLJegqXIgM
Kamchak
September 23rd, 2011
4:48 pm
blue
VERY COOL Clifford Brown and I noticed Art Blakey on the drums.
Another trumpeter taken from us too soon Bill Chase, die in an airplane crash 1974 — http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVt_M1bY_Sw
What is it with musicians and aircraft crashes?
josef
September 23rd, 2011
4:50 pm
PAUL
Another for them…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4AoE7iKWQI&feature=related
out of the blue
September 23rd, 2011
4:57 pm
PAUL
Another for them…
how about one from them?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzMZGL-Z2E4
carlosgvv
September 23rd, 2011
4:57 pm
Disgusted
Isn’t there a song with these lyrics – “that’s just the way it is, some things just never change”?
The Military-Industrial-Complex is getting stronger every year.
josef
September 23rd, 2011
5:06 pm
blue
Well, we HAVE been here before…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkRIbUT6u7Q
Paul
September 23rd, 2011
5:06 pm
josef
Isn’t that just like’em? Complain, complain, but when it comes time to actually contribute anything….
Maybe they just aren’t the musical type.
AmVet - A conservative is a man with two perfectly good legs who, however, has never learned how to walk forward. ~Franklin D. Roosevelt
September 23rd, 2011
5:07 pm
Nice choice from getalife @ 4:45 is.
A native son from Atlanta…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7KtF9FX4JQ
JamVet
September 23rd, 2011
5:07 pm
Oops, time to change monikers…
Tom Middleton
September 23rd, 2011
5:19 pm
Love the old stuff, Jay, and please keep ‘em coming. Meanwhile here’s another for the mix – Sheryl Crow and Steve Earle singing the Chambers Brothers’ “Time Has Come Today.” Great Friday!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3WOGOJknQU&feature=related
Normal
September 23rd, 2011
5:20 pm
End of the world? Then gaze into…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fE92fD-kIs8&feature=related
JamVet
September 23rd, 2011
5:22 pm
Some super sweet steel guitar on this Eagles tribute to Graham Parsons.
Like a flower he bloomed until that old hickory wind called him away…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75IZ4ZL9joI&feature=related
Equinox Matti
September 23rd, 2011
5:22 pm
Today marked the end of a different world, (PV, USA). You won’t want to watch this unless you were an addict for at least some portion of the last four decades. **sniffle, sniff, sob!**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dq-sx0dMIEM
Normal
September 23rd, 2011
5:23 pm
End of the world? Then…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CohG31ecYfA
out of the blue
September 23rd, 2011
5:25 pm
Who mentioned Gram Parsons….kudos Vet…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AG7CQ0YugFc
josef
September 23rd, 2011
5:30 pm
What was that question the other night about Rikki…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfZWp-hGCdA&feature=related
Tom Middleton
September 23rd, 2011
5:34 pm
If we’re talking the great Gram, here’s Emmylou Harris’ tribute to him, especially since she was his greatest discovery.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgzlNxUF3b0
out of the blue
September 23rd, 2011
5:35 pm
How many of you have left a gathering and said “wasn’t that a party?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPLyr2yYdVk
JamVet
September 23rd, 2011
5:40 pm
Matti, what a hoot!
My mom started watching it back in the 1970s.
Not sure why Tom, but I always got the feeling that lots of people liked putting Sheryl Crow down. She is one of the rockinest chicks out there. And what a great cover of a great old song.
blue, back in the day, I really had no idea who he was. Or the obvious impact he had on a bunch of other artists in tow different genres.
But you know he was the real deal when he played with these guys. Here, doing a fine Dylan cover…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RS6OhC-4Zyw&feature=related
wet wiccan
September 23rd, 2011
5:48 pm
In a world filled with uncertainty and change, take comfort in the constancy of our Mother Earth and find joy in the beauty of Her rhythm.
Happy Autumn Equinox, Merry Mabon!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0exj4f-ZlY4&feature=related
godless heathen
September 23rd, 2011
5:49 pm
Jamvet, You heading to Waycross for the weekend?
http://www.gramparsonsguitarpull.com/
My sweetie Elizabeth Cook is appearing.
http://youtu.be/oy99vOtdb14
Hootinanny Yum Yum
September 23rd, 2011
5:53 pm
One of my favorite groups. I have more of their songs on my hard drive than anything else.
josef
September 23rd, 2011
5:53 pm
blue
“wasn’t that a party?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CgcQJLsYaQ&feature=results_video&playnext=1&list=PL8B425337352BA35B
JamVet
September 23rd, 2011
5:53 pm
blue, just got back from Colorado. What a fine place.
The women there are laid back and love to smile. And man do they look fine in those cowboy boots and tight jeans.
Fogelberg loved it so much he bought a place in Nederland, and named his fourth album Nether Lands…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zmw3MINdaTw&feature=related
out of the blue
September 23rd, 2011
5:54 pm
Jam….Not only fine, but right up there with Mr. Tabourine man…..
speaking of tambourines!!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIAzQ6M2Bow
midtownguy
September 23rd, 2011
5:56 pm
Losing my Religion has to be one of the greatest rock songs of all time. And as a Tech fan I always say the REM is the best thing that ever came out of Athens, Georgia.
1811/0311
September 23rd, 2011
5:58 pm
To my lib. friends !
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkcYKC8ANt8&feature=related
godless heathen
September 23rd, 2011
5:58 pm
Has that satellite fallen yet? I’m tired of wearing this motorcycle helmet?
http://youtu.be/VuPtOtGF4TY
Equinox Matti
September 23rd, 2011
5:58 pm
midtownguy,
Um, you don’t have to be a Tech fan to know that!
out of the blue
September 23rd, 2011
6:00 pm
Josef if it was up to me I I think I would have to choose having a ball with Emmylou!
JamVet
September 23rd, 2011
6:01 pm
heathen, damn I wish I was. That looks like fun.
Lots of great rockers back then were into some kind of country crossover…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hz5PYxEHb6o
carlosgvv
September 23rd, 2011
6:03 pm
JamVet – “The women there are laid back”
You might want to re-phrase that.
midtownguy
September 23rd, 2011
6:06 pm
One of my favorites was when they asked Michael Stipe about being a total out gay rocker he said “I was never in”.
godless heathen
September 23rd, 2011
6:08 pm
I thought the best thing to come out of Athens was US 78.
Normal
September 23rd, 2011
6:10 pm
JamVet,
When I moved to Denver in ‘73, I was told the woman to men ratio was 9 to 1. all I knew was it was a lot of…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbIOJ7GjouQ&feature=related
JamVet
September 23rd, 2011
6:10 pm
And as a Tech fan I always say the REM is the best thing that ever came out of Athens, Georgia.
Now that’s funny.
And so was that clever CCR choice, heathen.
You gotta love the youtubes; you can find almost anything you never heard of…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmQa2BRNIr0
marty
September 23rd, 2011
6:12 pm
FWIW Alton Brown shot the video for “The One I Love” using a steadicam.
godless heathen
September 23rd, 2011
6:16 pm
Jam, the Saint Theresa thing. I don’t even want to know how you got there.
Finn McCool
September 23rd, 2011
6:19 pm
Pretty Persuasion
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLODwr4BnSs
Normal
September 23rd, 2011
6:21 pm
Enough with the Rapid Eye Movement (get it?)
It’s time to get psychedelic! How many remember this group?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qja2ptq_p7I&feature=related
JamVet
September 23rd, 2011
6:22 pm
Normal, nice.
Even in this little town, Eagle, that I was in, it was great.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWGa9TSIcfA
Normal
September 23rd, 2011
6:25 pm
I think this is Bachmann’s favorite group…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAZihUomBMs&feature=related
Schrodingers cat
September 23rd, 2011
6:26 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxny60ZUsnA
music to my ears anyway – is Bro around?
SOUTHERN ATL
September 23rd, 2011
6:26 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miZWYmxr8XE
josef
September 23rd, 2011
6:33 pm
Normal
Bachmann? My sentiments….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJ0s00HCfRA
out of the blue
September 23rd, 2011
6:34 pm
Vet …Eagle huh? Any Kobe memoralbia for sale?
I used to ski in most of the trendy spots in that great state, both as a resident, and a member of the Atlanta Ski Club.
And, afterwards head off to the local pubs for a toddy or two, and this was the song the juke box got the most plays for…………..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ID1_15EK-Ck
JamVet
September 23rd, 2011
6:36 pm
heathen, too funny.
I was looking for that scene in Dumb and Dumber with the words in that title. And started listening to it and really liked it. Something about it tells me to check them out…
That Bubble Puppy was great, Normal. And I actually did remember it. (Barely.) But not the next one. (LOL at the new Sarah reference. Ditto, jo)
Hi SOUTHERN ATL. Killer choice as usual!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-R_AgxhMUg
josef
September 23rd, 2011
6:38 pm
Southern
@ 6:26
Timeless, isn’t it?
SOUTHERN ATL
September 23rd, 2011
6:44 pm
Hello JamVet I liked yours too…..what about a little E.W.F.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQ0vNTzbwtM
Paul
September 23rd, 2011
6:44 pm
a better Bachman
kinda reminds me of AmVet in Colorado – but he’s not tellin’
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJmBPCYt5LY
out of the blue
September 23rd, 2011
6:46 pm
Dedicated to my granddaughter of the same name…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ID1_15EK-Ck
josef
September 23rd, 2011
6:48 pm
speaking of….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuVq1HC_YAc
SOUTHERN ATL
September 23rd, 2011
6:50 pm
Josef@6:38 …yes indeed…”Classic”…..
JamVet
September 23rd, 2011
7:02 pm
blue, weird, I had forgotten. And it seemed to me so incongruous, I guess I never even thought about it.
I’ve skied Breckenridge, Keystone and A Basin, but never Vail (or Aspen). But even from I-70, it looked impressive. And that drive out to Glenwood Springs is just so fine. We drove to Leadville and to this neat little place called Sylvan Lake. (8500 feet) I was drooling to do some fishing up there.
I’m just glad I’ve skied as much as I have, there and elsewhere, when I had the chance.
Always loved that sweet Byrds jangle, jo. Kind of an Americanized Beatles feel to it…
Paul, right you are…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzIAiyxS-nk
JamVet
September 23rd, 2011
7:11 pm
Think I’ll pack it in and buy a pickup
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efFXoCLY_wI
pogo
September 23rd, 2011
7:27 pm
“What’s the frequency Kenneth?”. I think all of us wish we knew!
FrankLeeDarling
September 23rd, 2011
7:34 pm
late to the party, but along with R.E.M in the 80’s this was one of my favorite records
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-_G7A0RbjU&feature=related
josef
September 23rd, 2011
7:40 pm
From one front running GOPer to the other…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldsrmD6nEto