Back in the mid eighties I'd heard so much about R.E.M. that when it actually came time actually buy a record it was incredibly exciting. I didn't even know what they sounded like. I just remember being in this record shop in Elwood when they were talking about the new R.E.M. record and that you could actually hear some of the words. Well this got me really interested. What was this band all about. Especially since I heard the words Indie, Rickenbacker guitars and the Monkees bandied about.
So my first album I bought was Life's Rich Pageant. At first I played Superman incessantly but as the album took over my life Fall On Me seemed to be the one that stayed with me. And yep, it does sound like a Monkees song.
At the time I was DJing at Rubber Soul. Playing sixties tunes. At home I would listen to R.E.M. and I went chasing down any records of theirs I could find. Murmer was another one I got into. I think it was that jangly guitar that got me every time. And singing along to words I couldn't make out. I'd sing them when I was out. I was singing this one out loud one night at Inflation in King Street. Or maybe I was singing Cuyahoga. Billy Bragg was on the next table with his small entourage. He gave me a funny look. In fact I'd been to his concert earlier that night and come away singing R.E.M. songs.
Later on the words of their songs became very clear and straightforward and that's when they lost their edge a bit.
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