ITEOTWAWKI: Buried Treasure
With more than 27 years passed, you would think almost every piece of R.E.M. history would be well out there in the public eye, especially with the band's support of…
ITEOTWAWKI: Worth the Trip
Eighteen years and four days ago, I went to great lengths to go see R.E.M. at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh. I don't remember a ton about the show, partially…
ITEOTWAWKI: Leaving New York
I really didn't know what to write about today. I haven't blogged all week because it's just been an insane week. We spent the weekend in New York for an…
ITEOTWAWKI: New Album News
R.E.M. must know that I started this weekly feature because it was reported today that the new album is "two-thirds to three-quarters of the way through," according to bass player…
It’s the End of the Week as We Know It
I'm going to try and start something new and make an R.E.M.-related post on Fridays, with the theme "It's the End of the Week as We Know It." This week…
You Learn Something New Every Day
I am a pretty big R.E.M. fan. I have all their CDs, lots of special releases and a bunch of bootlegs. I have seen them in concert seven times, know…
R.E.M. Never Ceases to Amaze Me
The boys from Athens are working on their new album. They recorded up in Vancouver for a month or so, but last week held five nights of "working rehearsals" in…
Top 5 Concert Songs
Now this is the kind of weather I can get behind. When the sun shines like this, all I can think of are care free days, drinking something cold and listening to good music. While I generally abhor columns that are lists, I couldn’t resist this time. I wish I have had more to choose from, but here are the top five songs I have ever seen in concert.
Biko, Peter Gabriel: My buddy Paul and I totally lucked out with outstanding seats for this show in 1987 at Meriweather Post Pavilion.
Thank You, R.E.M.
Twenty-six years ago, an event took place that changed my life. And I wasn’t even there. The rock group R.E.M. played together publicly for the first time on April 5, 1980. The event was hardly something that signaled a long career – they didn’t even have a name and had only practiced together for a month or so before playing at a beer-soaked party.
But that night changed my life, even if I was probably at home watching television or making a fool out of myself at a junior high dance.
I don’t make a habit out of making heroes out of celebrities. I have a low tolerance for those who see entertainers as anything other than just that.
I suspend that rule for R.E.M. In reality, I don’t think they have done anything extra special. But the fact that they have achieved great success while not doing anything special is what makes me feel the way I do.