I've made much of the part R.E.M. has played in my life on this blog, but back when I was doing From Inside The Pod, they broke up. I marked the news by compiling a podcast of R.E.M. cover versions. It was one of my most popular postings when it first appeared.
Here it is again for your enjoyment, complete with the original notes. Enjoy.
Pod 19: A Carnival Of Sorts
(first published 23 September 2011)
REM
split up this week. In a way I'm glad. They kind of lost the plot a
while ago, and of the last five albums, there's only one I think I can
honestly say I truly like - 2008's 'Accelerate'.
But
I used to love REM. I mean really, really, really love them. When I
was 16, a mate at college lent me the cassette of 'Document'. It was
REM's fifth album, but the first thing I had ever heard by them. It
blew me away, and for the next 15 years or so, I was a hopeless addict, a
"DiStiple". When I think of the time and money I spent tracking down
rare early singles, promos, collectables, bootlegs, videos... you name
it, if REM had as much as breathed on it, I had to have it.
When
Bill Berry left, something changed but I carried on regardless,
defending the rather bloated 'Up' album in 1998 to the hilt. But when
'Reveal' came out in 2001, I just couldn't do it any longer. It was a
poor, poor record by their standards, and by then, I had discovered the
White Stripes who were infinitely more exciting. I hoped it was a
one-off, but sadly, 'Around The Sun' was so stupendously dire, it was
the first REM record I never bought. The candle was burning out.
Today,
I still listen to 'Document', 'Lifes Rich Pageant' and 'Fables of the
Reconstruction' (my top 3) with great fondness, and all those 80s
records, going right back to Radio Free Europe in 1981, really
mattered. REM mean a lot to me for all kinds of personal reasons too
(which I won't bore you with here), but the time was right to call it a
day.
So, as a mark of respect, I dedicate this very special, hastily-compiled podcast
to one of the most important and influential rock & roll bands of
my lifetime. A collection of REM covers by a myriad of artists ranging
from the sublime to the ridiculous, which in essence I suppose kind of
sums up REM's career. I've tried to avoid most of the obvious ones -
great songs they may be, but I'm just so utterly sick to death of Losing My Religion, Everybody Hurts and Man On The Moon - and in
the interests of brevity (a technique REM should have employed a little
more often in their later years), I've kept it to 9 tracks which still
takes it over the magic 30-minute mark.
The
eagle-eyed among you may notice that for the first time there is no
Welsh artist here. That's because I couldn't find any good REM covers
by Welsh acts. The nearest I got was Feeder's Everybody Hurts, but
aside from it being one of those aforementioned tracks, it really wasn't
very good. However, Gene vocalist Martin Rossiter is Welsh. Not
enough to merit a little Welsh flag though...
Finally, I could find no covers of any REM songs post-'Monster'. That in itself is telling...
1. Editors Orange Crush (2006, 'Q: Covered - 86/06')
original from 'Green', 1988
R.E.M.'s
first Top 40 hit in the UK, it saw them debut on Top Of The Pops. At
the song's conclusion, the moronic presenter that evening said: "Mmm,
that would be nice on a hot day - 'Orange Crush' by R.E.M.", completely
missing that the song was about chemical warfare and the use of the
nerve gas Agent Orange in the Vietnam war! Editors' brilliant
full-blooded cover was so well liked by Messrs Stipe, Buck and Mills
that they returned the compliment and covered the Birmingham band's
single Munich.
2. The Decemberists Cuyahoga (2011, free download only)
original from 'Lifes Rich Pageant', 1986
The
latest album from the Portland, OR. folkies was not only heavily
influenced by R.E.M., but also featured a certain Peter Buck. This
version of Cuyahoga simply oozes the folk traditions the band tries to
emulate while staying true to the utterly wonderful original which is
one of my faves.
3. The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Stand (1999, 'Plays the Music Of R.E.M.')
original from 'Green', 1988
The
RPO have made a number of tribute albums, most of which are patchy, but
contain the occasional gem. This is undoubtedly one of those gems.
It's so unashamedly upbeat, it makes the original sound almost funereal!
4. Weezer Oddfellow's Local 151 (2008, b-side of Pork And Beans)
original from 'Document', 1987
'Document'
has to go down as one of the most significant records in my life. It
was my epiphany in so many ways. The first time I heard Stipe's rasping
voice I was unsure what to make of it, but by the time the album's
closer came around, with its almost desperate strains of
"FIIIRRRRRRREHOOOOOOUUUUUUUSE!", I was totally convinced this was a band
I would adore for a long time to come. Weezer's Rivers Cuomo doesn't
attempt to emulate Stipe's conviction, but the menacing muted guitars
are retained.
5. Grant-Lee Phillips So. Central Rain (2006, 'nineteeneighties')
original from 'Reckoning', 1984
This
has to be right up there with the Editors on my list of best R.E.M.
covers. While the original shimmers with Buck's Rickenbacker arpeggios,
Grant-Lee Phillips' beautiful rendering adds a dark, almost vulnerable
tenderness to the song and seems to also incorporate an element of Drive from 'Automatic For The People'.
6. The Moog Cookbook The One I Love (1996, 'The Moog Cookbook')
original from 'Document', 1987
I
know I said I'd tried to avoid the obvious songs, but I just couldn't
resist this. If it doesn't make you grin like a fool, you're probably
dead. The Moog Cookbook were a duo who used nothing but vintage
analogue Moog synths in their music. They released a couple of covers
albums in the 90s, this version of R.E.M.'s breakthrough hit appearing
on their debut.
7. Gene Nightswimming (1997, b-side of Where Are They Now?)
original from 'Automatic For The People', 1992
Despite
being touted as a Britpop band, Gene had an awful lot more about them
than the vast majority of others in that short-lived scene, releasing
some of the best singles of the decade. The Morrissey-esque delivery of
Martin Rossiter was definitely suited to Michael Stipe's paen to
skinny-dipping in the dark.
8.Pavement Camera (1994, b-side of Cut Your Hair)
original from 'Reckoning', 1984
Californian
indie legends who were simultaneously loved by fans and critics and
loathed by the likes of Mark E. Smith, Billy Corgan and Beavis &
Butthead! This re-styling of Camera featured on their classic single Cut Your Hair and features some rather, erm, challenging vocal work from
Stephen Malkmus...
9. Blanche Find The River (2007, 'Drive XV: A Tribute To Automatic For The People')
original from 'Automatic For The People', 1992
At
one time voted the best R.E.M. song of all time by fans, Find The
River closed their biggest-selling and most well-known album, and it
somehow feels appropriate to round off this tribute to the band's
amazing career. This version appeared on a Stereogum covers project
for 'Automatic For The People''s 15th anniversary, and is performed by
Detroit's very wonderful Blanche who really do need to release a third
album soon. It's been too long.
