Now that it's remasterd and everything lets do an R.E.M.'s Murmur poll

When I was in high school, I assumed a "moral kiosk" was one of those four-sided bulletin board things (with little roofs to keep the flyers dry) you see on college campuses... because R.E.M. was a "college band"

combien, combien, combien du temps

Michael Stipe and I were in the same Elementary French class in 1980; he sat very quietly in the back and seemed to be hiding under his long hair. While I was struggling with pop quizzes, he was probably writing cool lyrics.

somehow gets better every time i listen to it

it’s an incredible album, there’s nothing else quite like it

I always imagine Lucy in her booth, dispensing advice to Charlie Brown, whenever I think of the phrase “Moral Kiosk”.

Brad C., that’s awesome!

Minty breath, minty mouth
It’s Gumby in reaction
Minty breath, minty mouth
Talk about the passion
Gumby in
Gumby in
Gumby into town

Lol

he was probably looking out the window murmuring “combien de temps?”

I remember our TA very sweetly congratulating him on a story in the student paper about his band

from early 1980 to the release of Murmur was a long time in R.E.M. years

It must have been astonishing to watch their trajectory after that. And the B52s of course.

we were such tiny children we took it for granted

the B-52s were the only frame of reference and they were rarely in Athens by that time

Just looked up official lyrics to Shaking Through, and concluded that the ones I made up in my head over many years are much better. I had forgotten how great Laughing is precisely because he sings something like 'Largeing' or logic?, so I never can put title to tune. It you can't be a great lyricist, be an ambiguous one. Wonderful instrumental work in 9-9 - in fact right through the album. The song that hit me most emotionally was Perfect Circle. It's the way that depressed, wallowing verse transforms into an upbeat country jangle, always got me there.

i always knew he was saying “lighted” in “laughing” but for decades i have been assuming “Laocoön” was “your rocker mom”

Michael Stipe and I were in the same Elementary French class in 1980

this isn't quite as impressive, but as i was traveling yesterday i stopped in a collinsville, IL for gas and a filet of fish value meal at mcdonalds. turns out Collinsville is where michael stipe graduated from high school!!!!!!!!!

You cannot fuck with this album.

― Mr. Snrub, Monday, December 15, 2008 6:38 PM (ten years ago)

I can remember the exact moment I first heard the 7" version of "Radio Free Europe" on my friend's mom's car radio, they stood out right from the start

'we walk' is probably objectively the least-good song on here, but that hasn't stopped me from singing it in my head every single time i walk up more than one flight of stairs.

thinking about stipe in a college classroom really reminds me one of the amazing and distinctive things about them - maybe sometimes aided by not always being able to hear clearly - which is how stipe's lyrics and delivery managed to convey a ton of maturity and wisdom or at least lived experience from people who were actually quite young at the time. the earnestly political stand-taking songs, and a handful of over-reaching or too-literary metaphors, are the only ones that really jump out to me as "young man's" lyrics, and in that vein they're way less distracting than most. mostly it's this great and confident scramble of half-remembered college course stuff (Lessing's Laocoön essay, "the consul a horse," etc.), folk tales or things that feel like folk tales, and weird southern idiom overheard by an arty California transplant .... and it ends up being poetry, where either of those things by themselves would feel affected at length.

wonderful post Dr C

It is still a pretty astonishing debut album; I can't think of anything quite like it.

If I started an R.E.M. cover band, I'd call it "Dreams of Elysian"

Seem to recall that I had a cassette dub of a bootleg with this on it, but with considerably worse fidelity. Pretty amazing to hear. I think the difference in the guitar sound is as almost as significant as the presence of the dreaded synthesizer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUv4tn3zGj0

do not like

that makes me sort of queasy

imagine if every song on Murmur sounded like that

boy that's missing a lot of momentum. not sure if it's the performance or the mix or what. the rhythm section doesn't feel locked in. stipe's vocals are dangerously easy to make out. mills's have echo on them which loses the reedy, byrdsy texture that's so key to the IRS-era records.

the synth isn't horrible imo but it's hard to add an element to a super familiar song and it does make them sound less unique. like without the murk and the kudzu they sound a lot closer to their obvious post-punk peers, like early U2 or idk The Teardrop Explodes...? it's weird. i dunno this recording works better for me as it goes on, but they so obviously made the right choice with Easter that even before i looked up the full backstory on this i was like "the hell, how would you record Chronic Town and then get amped up that your next record should sound like this? well, they didn't.

OMG

😳

Even the arrangement of the song is worse — the omission of the initial “Oooooooh....”s; the backing vocal lines coming right on top of each other in the chorus, with no breathing room...

Er I like this more than the studio version. But I would, considering how much I prefer U2 and the Church and similar groups to REM. Super curious to hear any other tracks Hague did for them.

I don't really mind it either. Though "less unique" is OTM.

Dunno if this has ever been posted on ILX but man, check this out. I had no idea there was evera recording of it made. Kind of a fabled gig in Rem history.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sq3zzeA40Q8

set 1: (Murmur) Radio Free Europe / Pilgrimage / Laughing / Talk About The Passion / Moral Kiosk / Perfect Circle / Catapult / Sitting Still / 9-9 / Shaking Through / We Walk / West Of The Fields

set 2: (Green) Pop Song 89 / Get Up 1 / You Are The Everything / Stand /
We Live As We Dream, Alone - World Leader Pretend / The Wrong Child /
Orange Crush / Turn You Inside-Out / Hairshirt / I Remember California / Untitled

encore 1: Get Up 2 / Wild Thing / Fall On Me
encore 2: Low / Finest Worksong

yo what

THANKING YOU

i am still such a murmur stan, so this is a dream setlist. i love green too (i love all of them, pretty much)

Seem to remember a thread on here somewhere about bands who peaked on the first track on their first album - Radio Free Europe is a good candidate for this

I mean, they topped it with “Pilgrimage”

it's gained momentum!

My dad maintains that they peaked even earlier, on "Carnival of Sorts."

yes, also Wolves Lower and especially Gardening At Night

They peaked with I Can’t Control Myself (Troggs Cover)

Wow

recent interview with mitch easter about his work with r.e.m.: https://aquariumdrunkard.com/2021/08/10/mitch-easter-the-aquarium-drunkard-interview

Going back to Oct 1982 this is a great show with surprisingly ok audio and video. A mix of Chronic Town and Murmur. Stipe pretty loose, having fun.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sBVX9kRmBE

love that video

lol at Stipe's Tri Sigma sorority shirt

Watching that reminds me how spot-on Fred Armisen is, talking about Bill's drumming style (starts at 1'40")

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoUWmZo_t1s

That Mitch Easter interview was interesting. I didn’t know Peter Holsapple originally hooked the guys up with him.

Seems weird - https://news.yahoo.com/michael-shannon-jason-narducy-perform-163000856.html

Michael Shannon seems to always be doing these kinds of tributes. He did one for The Blue Mask, I believe.

Or at least participated in it.

They were a really fun live band up until around the time Green came out.

inside the cold dark fire twilight