REM: Classic or dud?

yeah, it's a draft version of It's The End of the World.

Really disappointed that the new Chronic Town 40th anniversary reissue doesn't have anything at all in terms of demos or live stuff.

it does seem kind of strange, give the kitchen-sink approach to (imo) much-lesser R.E.M. anniversaries ... I feel like a pre-Murmur box set of some kind could be really good.

Yeah I would be totally into that box set!

Totally -- I don't know whether any of these songs exist outside live recordings, but stuff like "Wait", "Body Count," ... love it, raw energy

"Bad Day"is so much more than a draft version of EotW, it's its own song parts of which were repurposed -- that and "Romance" are the two songs from the era so good it's shocking they weren't on a real album

oops I forgot we were supposed to be talking about post-Berry, in which case I'll stick up for Discoverer (which I just nommed for the 2010 tracks poll, go vote!)

sorry to derail!

The latter-day era has some compassionate dirges that haven't been mentioned:

Parakeet
Boy in the Well
High Speed Train

and other great up-tempo songs:

Walk Unafraid
Accelerate
All the Best

Chronic Town strikes me as one of the few EPs that doesn't just seem like half an album; five songs is just enough in that style for them to move on to the more eclectic Murmur (not to excuse re-releasing it with no extras).

For up-tempo, I like "Mine Smell Like Honey" too, it's got one of REM's better choruses from the last few records

Parakeet is great, I should've remembered that one

I just re-listened to The Lifting, and it kinda sounds awful out of anything except a crisp 1990s CD player

Am I the only one that reads that song title as Stipe referring to his farts?

farts or feet

We're talking about "The Lifting", right?

"The Lifting" ranks with "Begin the Begin" and "Radio Free Europe" among my favorite R.E.M. openers.

So is "Me in Honey" about Stipe in a roomful of his own farts then?

"That's a fart, that's a fart of meeee!"

I can't remember where I saw this, but somewhere out there (probably on a blog) an R.E.M. fan wrote about an awkward encounter with Stipe in the mid-'80s where they were waiting in line for something and laughed to a friend how the guy next to them smelled like pee. To their surprise, it was Michael Stipe, who then berated them for saying that.

"That's a fart, that's a fart of meeee!"

― BrianB, Friday, July 8, 2022 12:31 PM (forty-eight minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

kudos

I went looking for it, and found several other stories about how Stipe smells bad. I didn't realize that was a thing with him.

Anyway, here's the anecdote, buried in an old thread in a film-related forum:

As a native Athenian, I've had plenty of run-ins w/the members over the years (I worked in a Kroger that literally everybody shopped at, so it was bound to happen from time to time)...

Stipe is known around town for not bathing too regularly. Once in college, I was with my roommate at Jackson St. Books, and the guy ahead of us reeked as if he hadn't bathed in a week, and my roomie turned to me and whispered "That guy smells like pee." "That guy" apparently heard, because he turned around and surprise!--it was Michael Stipe, demanding to know why she'd said that.

I worked in a record store in Boulder, Colorado back in the 80s. Once, a couple came in who I thought were probably homeless (the store was on the outdoor mall downtown, there were a lot of unhoused people who ended up there esp. in the summer), or possibly just traveling people. Only after they left did I realize it was Michael Stipe and Natalie Merchant, who were in town to perform that night.

“beat a drum” is the best song on reveal

otm, always loved that one

I owned the album and can remember almost nothing about it.

It's looooooooooooooooong

Stipe is known around town for not bathing too regularly. Once in college, I was with my roommate at Jackson St. Books, and the guy ahead of us reeked as if he hadn't bathed in a week, and my roomie turned to me and whispered "That guy smells like pee." "That guy" apparently heard, because he turned around and surprise!--it was Michael Stipe, demanding to know why she'd said that.

Take oasis, Stipe's not bathing

Try Not to Bathe

More like 'Michael STINK', amirite?

Aromatic for the People

"It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Need A Shower)"

Mike’s Rich, Pungent

Reekoning

Deodorant (IRS Records 1987)

Smelly
Smelly
Smelly
Superman

everybody pees

Sweatiness Follows

Where's the fragrancy, Kenneth?

Swan Swan B.O.

Can Smell That From Here

Legit dying at “Aromatic for the People” lmfao

All the Way to Reno (You're Gonna Need a Gas Mask)

The Scent of Man

BO Free Europe

What’s the Reekquency, Kenneth?

Supernatural Superodious

Losing My Basic Personal Grooming Habits

Smelt And I Dealt It

Stinky the Doormat

Shiny Happy People Holding Noses

Wolves, Odor

B-O The Letter