Ok. I admit it. I am not a fan of R.E.M. I should be. I was in high-school when the mega-smash album that was Green took the country by storm but outside of the song Orange Crush I just couldn’t get into the album.
Over the years I’ve heard all the hits that made it to the radio and nothing else. That said, today when and article about R.E.M. entitled “The R.E.M. That Never Fully Was” popped up in my twitter I decided to go read it.
I was a really good read and possibly struck to the root of why I’ve never really gotten into R.E.M. with this line: “Although the band’s pining melodies have long lent themselves to acoustic treatments—and still do—the band has never recorded a true acoustic album, or even a follow-up to Automatic for the People, preferring instead frilly, one-dimensional studio-pop albums or, for last year’s comeback record, electric-rock throwbacks.” In the piece there was a video of a track I’d never heard of called Country Feedback. So I played it and I like the song and as it was playing I started thinking how it kind of reminded me of Dan Bern’s track, Wasteland (only not as good) so I decided to post both of them here.
You should really listen to the Dan Bern song.
R.E.M. – Country Feedback
Dan Bern – Wasteland
and just for good measure: R.E.M. – Orange Crush
6 Responses to “COUNTRY FEEDBACK / WASTELAND”
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Darn Bern has Big Balls. (big as grapefruit)
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It ain’t braggin’ if it’s true.
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Having been a long time fan of R.E.M. and knowing a bit of your musical taste, I would suggest checking out the album Document, it was the one before Green. Heavy on the Folksy/Country twang with a few punk lite moments. The non radio tracks (Lightin’ Hopkins, King of Birds, Strange, Oddfellows Local 151) are some of my all time favorite tunes. IMO Green, while a solid album is not one to base a like or dislike of the group on.
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you missed all the good stuff before Green – Murmur, Reckoning, Fables of the Reconstruction, Fables of the Reconstruction, Document. There have been glimpses of that early greatness, most notably the excellent Automatic for the People. But I miss the creepy Southern Gothic art band they used to be.
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Yeah, I’m not sure REM will ever win you over, but judging them based on their Warner Bros catalog (which started with Green) is like judging Joe Montana by what he did with the Chiefs. I think Life’s Rich Pageant and Document are probably the best fit for you. Check out I Believe, These Days, and Begin the Begin. I’ll be surprised if you don’t like those tracks.
I like the Dan Bern track a lot.
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Back in college REM played an unannounced concert on the Athens courthouse steps for the Green party (think election year 2000). I just happened to be across the street and there were maybe 20 of us out there for the maybe 8 songs they played. They played all old stuff and even to be in the middle of downtown it was very intimate. That kinda killed me on listening to anything but the old stuff because I couldn’t recapture that feeling, especially at the huge venues they play now.
I will admit that I keep Everybody Hurts on my ipod at all times in case of mass traffic exodus.