Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Waking dream
One good thing about R.E.M. breaking up is that it may keep the real band, the band it once was, from getting lost in the shuffle of history. I don't mean just that they haven't been the same since Bill Berry retired from music. They haven't been, of course, but it was honorable to soldier on after that, and they've still put some neat sounds together.
What I mean more is that people have come to think of them as a slick, professional pop group focused on liberal politics. Whereas I like to think at heart they were always a goofy outfit all about the hammy stones covers.
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2 comments:
I really liked their early albums a lot but when I think back I'm pretty sure the compilation one, Eponymous, was the last I ever bought. I heard a new song every so often afterwards but the thrill had gone. It's certainly true that bands can keep going far beyond their sell-by date - ie, the RS.
Your choice of one to feature is a good one.
Yeah, the Stones thought they had it made in the early seventies when the Beatles broke up and left the #1 rock band position open. It just turns out that their time at the top of the creative heap - as distinguished from the commercial one - was limited.
This seems to have been a fun concert.
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