R.E.M.’s fourth album may be 40 years old by the Gregorian calendar, but its cockeyed self-determination and wistful mistrust make it seem younger than many of the band’s ’90s records. Full of ambivalent emotions expressed in clear, ringing tones, the songs of Lifes Rich Pageant show a band waking up to its potential (commercial as well as artistic) and recognizing the extent of that discovery and what remained to be mapped out. Take a picture here, take a souvenir.
Category: R.E.M.
Transmissions :: Michael Shannon and Jason Narducy on R.E.M.
Welcome back to Aquarium Drunkard Transmissions with Jason P. Woodbury. We’re kicking off our 2024 season with two very special guests: Michael Shannon and Jason Narducy, discussing their love of and tribute to R.E.M.’s Murmur. Plus: Lou Reed, Sunny Day Real Estate, and best of all, Michael’s run in with Bob Dylan.
R.E.M. :: Viceroy Park, Charlotte, NC, November 7, 1981
We’re rapidly approaching the 40th anniversary of R.E.M.’s debut single, the epochal “Radio Free Europe,” released on July 8, 1981. The band has a few things in the works to celebrate, but in the meantime, let’s dip into the band’s live archive.
Peter Buck :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview
R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck isn’t especially geared toward nostalgia. Since the pioneering alternative group disbanded in 2011, Buck has operated at a prolific clip. He’s released a string of vinyl-only solo albums on the venerable Mississippi Records label, […]
R.E.M. :: Lifes Rich Pageant (25th Anniversary Edition)
To the faithful—to the true believers—R.E.M.’s fabled five-album run on IRS Records was one of the strongest in contemporary rock/pop history. And in that run, 1986’s Lifes Rich Pageant in many ways marked the end of an era as the […]
R.E.M. :: Fables of the Reconstruction (Reissue)
As the last remnants of Summer began to burn off throughout the length of September, the stage was set for taking in the reissue of R.E.M.’s third LP, 1985’s Fables of The Reconstruction, as a […]
R.E.M. :: Reckoning (Reissue)
“Reckoning was a chance to turn up the volume, tear up the rule book, and instead capture R.E.M.’s on-stage mojo.” – Don Dixon (producer, Reckoning) My relationship with Reckoning began roughly twenty years ago via […]
The Clique :: Superman
Beginning last year with Murmur, the R.E.M. catalog is once again getting the redux treatment — up next, Reckoning (more on that next week). Listening the reissue I’ve been digging out my IRS -era vinyl including […]
R.E.M. 12/10/83 :: Backstage, Skyway (Interview)
An early R.E.M. interview, backstage, with a very young Michael Stipe and Peter Buck post-show, at the Skyway New York. 12/10/83 on Real George’s Backroom. Related: Sevens (Politiko) :: Randy Newman- Burn On and R.E.M. […]
Sevens (Politiko) :: Burn On and Cuyahoga
( Sevens , a new feature on Aquarium Drunkard, pays tribute to the art of the individual song. From now through the election, Sevens will focus on political songs) While the environment shouldn’t seem like […]
R.E.M. :: Wolves, Lower (10/10/82, Raleigh, NC)
Watch other tracks from this show HERE
I’m Gonna DJ…
Don’t let anyone ever tell you that good blogging ain’t a two way street. It is. One recent example are the reader comments from an AD post, on R.E.M. , from last Fall ( REM :: Wrangling In The Monster ). It […]
R.E.M. :: Wrangling In The Monster
Athens, GA: Earlier this Fall, R.E.M. were at work on their next, as of yet untitled, album in a 19th century Athens chapel that had been carefully converted into a makeshift studio. Those familiar with […]