The replacement drummers have no soul like Bill. They just sit there like 'tap tap' whereas Bill beat the drums so hard I thought they would explode. My absolute favorite number one favorite REM song EVER!! I always thought this song was about Jesus 'barking in the street' or telling the gospel plus he was a carpenter!
Michael's energy and moves in his early days gave the band a more dynamic live presence, that's for sure. His moves accented those fast songs like this, Harborcoat, 1,000,000, etc. so well. Michael's gotten older and slower, like all of us. They're still great, but I remember THAT R.E.M. and those 2 hour live shows so well.
I saw this tour, too. Saint Paul, MN. Didn't The 3 O'clock open for them? Wow, looking back, those stage mannerisms seem so contrived and pretentious. I was pretty wrapped up in this band at that time, though. I think I cried at their show... geez.
Poor Michael! He looks like he's in such PAIN here! He's the only singer I've ever seen who sang with his back turned to the audience so much. This was obviously a horrible time for him : (
@ullehat hmmm his performance makes me think more Ian Dury & the blockheads somehow... Its possibley an intentional mimic as flettery... Kurt Cobain supposedly sang like John Lydon for an entire year before they recorded bleach.
Where he tells the story about what the song is about? 06 - REM - Life And How To Live It [Live At The Muzik Centrum Utrecht Holland 9-14-87] Yes, that is my favorite ...
i remember reading an article several years ago in which Stipe stated (paraphrase here) that he was going through some emotional turmoil and the band nearly broke up around the time of Fables recording in '84-'85. They were back on track with Life's Rich Pageant, but Fables is strange and great, IMO.
It's 100% 1985, 7th October. He had long hair 83/84 and cut it short while in London recording fables and dyed it bleach blonde. He let it grow throughout the year. You can see it getting longer in the live Dream video shot 29 January 1986... ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-tYozND5xcJg.html
This is a great song. This is not a great perfomance. Stipe is too busy being a spaz to actually sing. More entertaining than his later super-pretentious preening with the blue eyeshadow, but still I'd rather hear actual singing you know.
