I Could Live A Million

I've been listening to a fair bit of early R.E.M. recently, in the car mainly. Their records on IRS and when Stipe had hair struck me deeply at an impressionable age. It's easy to break the constituent parts down- Michael Stipe's incoherent vocals and delivery, Peter Buck's Rickenbackers, Bill Berry's insistent drumming, Mike Mills' melodic bass playing and his backing vocals- but it doesn't explain the magic. A commenter on Youtube reckons it's their ability to do both melancholy and extreme joy and hope at the same time, which sounds about right. I had a cassette of Chronic Town, never shelling out for the vinyl second hand and all these years later it's still upwards of twentyfive quid for the five song e.p. but what a great set of songs- Stumble, Carnival Of Sorts (Boxcars), Wolves Lower, Gardening At Night and the song here- 1,000,000, which is a stunner. It's an m4a file I've just noticed, which I hope doesn't cause anyone any problems.

04 1,000,000.m4a

When You Tire Of One Side The Other Suits You Best

As far as I'm concerned R.E.M. couldn't put a foot wrong throughout the five albums they released on I.R.S. in the 1980s, and they more or less kept that strike rate up until Bill Berry left in 1997. Their first three albums- Murmur, Reckoning and Fables Of The Reconstruction- are chock full of mystery, drama, murk, guitars, tunes and wonder, even if you haven't got a clue what Michael Stipe is on about. In fact his vagueness and slurred, mumbled vocals add massively. This is Life And How To Live It, one of the highlights of Fables. This version was recorded live at a gig in Utrecht, Belgium in 1987. The guitars fizz and chime, the rhythm section's tight, and the whole band sparkle. As a bonus Stipe gives an introduction to the song for a minute or so, where he explains what it's about- a man who divided his apartment into two and lived in each half depending on how he was feeling. When he leaves they find a cupboard full of self-published books, all entitled 'Life and how to live it'.

06 Life and How to Live It [#][-][Live].wma