REM- music really misses them

locked wrote:

As a hard core old school rem fan, who swore off anything they did after orginal drummer Bill Berry retired from the band, I was shocked to discover how great their
" live at the Olympia theater" cd is..,!
Seems in 2007 the allowed fans in Dublin to attend their tour rehearsals and the cd was a result .
Almost feels like a "artists den" or "vh1 storytellers " type event.
Stipe and the band very competently rip through gems from their entire discography (including a rare and lyric revealing "kohatek "!)

I reordered the tracks in the cd by album and it's quite an awesome listen !

As a massive fan I can concur that the Olympia Theatre CD is awesome. They played 5 nights at this tiny theatre in Dublin and played 39 different songs. Releasing them was the best idea ever. Loads of early songs including Romance. Even a casual fan would love this.

morello wrote:

nickburrows14 wrote:

locked wrote:

As a hard core old school rem fan, who swore off anything they did after orginal drummer Bill Berry retired from the band, I was shocked to discover how great their
" live at the Olympia theater" cd is..,!
Seems in 2007 the allowed fans in Dublin to attend their tour rehearsals and the cd was a result .
Almost feels like a "artists den" or "vh1 storytellers " type event.
Stipe and the band very competently rip through gems from their entire discography (including a rare and lyric revealing "kohatek "!)

I reordered the tracks in the cd by album and it's quite an awesome listen !

As a massive fan I can concur that the Olympia Theatre CD is awesome. They played 5 nights at this tiny theatre in Dublin and played 39 different songs. Releasing them was the best idea ever. Loads of early songs including Romance. Even a casual fan would love this.

Oooh, where is this available do you know? Sounds good.

It's called "R.E.M. Live at the Olympia in Dublin, 39 Songs" and well worth checking out. I have the CD set and it's great! I wanted to get it on vinyl but just too pricey. See here:

http://www.ebay.com/sch/Music-/11233/i. ... ve+olympia

aspoonfulweighsaton wrote:

They are my second all-time favorite band behind Pearl Jam. While I can't argue the love for their earlier work, I'm a big fan of some of the later albums. I actually think New Adventures in Hi-Fi is my favorite and I never thought Accelerate got the praise it deserved.

I will also add that while most albums are front-loaded to a degree, I think that the last three songs on Automatic for the People are the greatest last three tracks of any album ever.

Spot on about AFTP. Find The River is absolutely stunning. Perfection.

locked wrote:

As a hard core old school rem fan, who swore off anything they did after orginal drummer Bill Berry retired from the band, I was shocked to discover how great their
" live at the Olympia theater" cd is..,!
Seems in 2007 the allowed fans in Dublin to attend their tour rehearsals and the cd was a result .
Almost feels like a "artists den" or "vh1 storytellers " type event.
Stipe and the band very competently rip through gems from their entire discography (including a rare and lyric revealing "kohatek "!)

brianlux wrote:

morello wrote:

nickburrows14 wrote:

I reordered the tracks in the cd by album and it's quite an awesome listen !

As a massive fan I can concur that the Olympia Theatre CD is awesome. They played 5 nights at this tiny theatre in Dublin and played 39 different songs. Releasing them was the best idea ever. Loads of early songs including Romance. Even a casual fan would love this.

Oooh, where is this available do you know? Sounds good.

wow, e.t.a. looks like there's a 2ndhand copy at the store in town. Sweet.

It's called "R.E.M. Live at the Olympia in Dublin, 39 Songs" and well worth checking out. I have the CD set and it's great! I wanted to get it on vinyl but just too pricey. See here:

http://www.ebay.com/sch/Music-/11233/i. ... ve+olympia

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Hmmm, OMG, ok, somehow I have to track this down. Sounds great. Thanks.

2-feign-reluctance wrote:

Lucky to have seen them 3x live. Each time a knock out concert. Maybe even better than Pearl Jam live?

I really have to say, I may agree with you! I've seen PJ 50+ times, and REM some 18 or 19 times. PJ is clearly (and has been for 20 yrs) one of my all time fave live bands, but in all my years of seeing shows, one REM show still stands out as in my top 5 shows ever in terms of it being an astounding show, my going into a total trance of joy, bliss and just pure energy, and it featuring most of my fave REM album (Life's Rich Pageant). It was the Document tour (another incredible album!!) so imagine getting most of LRP, Document, and songs from all the previous amazing albums: the first album through Fables of the Reconstruction! It was an astounding show and one of the single best times I've ever had at a concert. Having seen 1,000+ shows overall, that's saying a lot!

The other 4 best ever were a Radiohead show, a Clash show (unquestionably the best live band ever ever ever!), a Jeff Buckley show, and a Frames show.

smarchee wrote:

I have been spinning New Adventures in Hi-Fi a lot recently

this is one of my favorite records of any band ever. just greatness.

So I was at my local library and happen to see a "Best Of R.E.M In Time" Cd and decided to check it out...

I loved it! Time to start with the first album then...

keep hoping they will come back together or at least Stipe will do something on a solo basis....

I have great memories of REM shows. Loved them, everyone who saw them is so lucky to have seen them.

What has Michael Stipe been up to since they disbanded? Mike Mills and Peter Buck are out and about in various other bands, but they always did that even when REM was still together. What's Michael doing, when's the last time he was the public eye for music? And I suppose Bill Berry is still happy being a farmer... wouldn't it be funny if all of a sudden now, after all those years of the other members wishing he was up for being the drummer again but him doing his thing on the farm, if he busted out now like "Ok, I want to drum again! Who's with me?"

I have a couple of really surreal non-concert REM experiences too. Once I went to a bar after one of their Document shows and we all went in at the same time and I basically got carded with Mike Mills and Bill Berry. Being asked for i.d. with them was so weird and funny! Another time I went to a Katrina and the Waves show in NYC with them (yes, the "Walking on Sunshine" chick"). I still don't remember the connection that brought us all there, but it was kinda weird. Fun, but weird.

They also used to donate to a non-profit I worked at. Somewhere I still have a xerox of a couple checks that just say "REM" on them in the upper left corner where regular people's names usually go. I almost wanted to not deposit the checks because they were so cool! But, that woulda kinda defeated the purpose of their donation, wouldn't it have!

3/4 of them came back about a month ago and performed "Don't Go Back Ro Rockdale" in their home town of Athens :thumbup:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gLqa2aHYdg