OFF: R. E. M. (was re: BOC: Sunday Times review)

[Jonathan Jarrett]

On Fri, Aug 04, 2006 at 12:15:28AM +0200, Denis Regenbrecht typed out:
> As a R.E.M. semi-aficionado I feel the urge to add a few  
> corrections... ;-)

	I should have known there'd be one out there :-)

> That's either Peter Buck or Bill Berry, but neither one's the bass  
> player *g*. That would be Mike Mills.
> Buck is the guitarist, while Berry was the drummer.

	Yeah, on consideration I'm pretty sure the interview was with 
Berry.

> Broken back? Don't know about that, but Berry suffered a brain  
> aneurysm on stage during the 1995-tour (which ironically was later  
> renamed as "Brain Aneurysm-Tour").

	Okay, so I'm not doing so badly given that I'm recalling a bad 
article from more than a decade ago :-)

> "Up!" isn't that bad IMO, but I have to admit, that the last couple  
> of albums are a bit lackluster. The best R.E.M. album is still "New  
> Adventures in Hi-Fi" for me, followed closely by "Lifes Rich Pageant".

	I'd agree that those two are my top ones, but I'd reverse the 
order: LRP is one of those gem albums where there's no flab to be 
trimmed, which _New Adventures_ doesn't quite manage. Those are 
certainly the two I play the most though, with _Murmur_ and _Document_ 
close behind. I never did work out what the point of _Out of Time_ was. 
One gloomy radio hit and a load of nothing. I've never actually bought 
my own copy, after listening to others' and realising that I'd just 
missed most of the album when it stopped.

	Erm, anyway. I'm currently listening to Beefheart's _Lick My 
Decals Off_[1] so I can get away with conversation about chart music 
from when I was still at school, right? Er. Yours,
					           Jon

[1] On 180g repro vinyl because it's *cheaper* that way. But hey, I like 
180g vinyl.
-- 
"When fortune wanes, of what assistance are quantities of elephants?"
	    (Juvaini, Afghan Muslim chronicler, c. 1206)
 Jon Jarrett, Fitzwilliam Museum, jjarrett at chiark.greenend.org.uk