Yep. I saw them at Boston university then. At Walter brown arena with friends. I had third row center, standing. Good show. I remember Peter Buck swinging around with his guitar
georgeharrison70 I get pissed off when ever I read this sort of comments. It only shows how shallow is your appreciation to rem's music or your narrow taste for music in general. REM's career spanned 3 decades. They wouldn't have survived if they dished out the same sort of songs similar to chronic or murmur just coz audience liked it. Even I didn't like some songs in first or second listening but surprisingly some of them have become my favourite. That's REM their music changes just like their chorus in a song. Michael usually does not sing the same words in a chorus line.
I agree. Almost every album by every artist has some "filler" material which is not very good, but those first two albums by REM have absolutely no filler material, it was all first rate. The only other album I can think of that was that strong was Boy, by U2, their first album.
Michael Stipe: "This is about a period in our American history that was very, very ugly". This is from the movie "Athnens, GA - Inside Out". Thanks for uploading~
So strong, this song has a way of evoking the thoughts and feelings of another time. It really puts a lump in my throat when I hear it now. So much nostalgia…..
Oh, OH my dear young Stipey! How I non-sexually loved you from the first time I saw you, with those non sequitur but somehow-sensical words, and wrong-but-gorgeous malars (perfectly sunken beneath) and practiced-but-worth-it-idiosyncratic gestures...I will never stop loving you, never stop feeling a pang of intense familiarity whenever I hear your voice, whether it's singing Swan Swan H. (one of my favorites) or just talking about anything from under those Basset hound eyelids.
That’s the church they lived in and practiced in Athens. Great early song! How lucky were they to find a free practice space like that back then? It was abandoned. It was like a launching pad!
how old are you? I'm curious. I'm only 21 but I have listened to this band since I was a wee toddler. I hold a great connection to them. I'm wondering what your story is with them
I agree! This is one song that I can just let repeat. I saw them do this in '89 and just stood there mesmerized by how brilliant it was live. I loved it before that, but after, it became breathtaking.
It's actually the Seney-Stovall Chapel on Milledge Ave. in Athens. I ride my bike by it on my way to and from work. It's a nice little performance venue. It's now part of the Vinson Institute of Gov't (UGA), but was initally part of the Lucy Cobb Institute, a girl's school.
Sometime during the mid-80s. This recording was released as part of the 'Athens, Ga. Inside/Out' soundtrack in 1987 (which you can probably find on eBay)... FYI - this video is also on the DVD called, "When the Light is Mine: R.E.M. The Best of the I.R.S. Years 1982-1987." This is a must have DVD for any R.E.M. fan (and, man, the clothes the band wears during the interviews are alone worth the price of the DVD :)
Reminds me of some of those Basement Tapes songs Dylan did with the Band, where they were new songs but sound like they could have been written 150 years ago.
Stipe was so young back then and full of promise. I wonder what happened to him. Wait I was too! What the hell happened! Decades flew by and I don’t even recognize the person I see in the mirror anymore. Time is a cruel thief! Robs you of everything! First, you’re youth, then your health and then your life. Then there’s nothing left. How cruel is that?
I went to a very crowded party in this church in the early eighties but I was so focused on chasing a certain girl there I didn't even notice who the band was that played. Now I will always wonder if REM played that party and if I missed a great show by not listening. Lol, live and learn....
This is from the movie Athens Inside Out. I remember going to see the movie so I could see R.E.M. They also performed the Everly Brothers song Dreaming. Probably around 1986?
I believe this is a clip from a documentary made back in 1985 or so.. The doc was titled “Athens, GA.” and it featured all the musical talent there at the time. Saw it in a theater in Greenwich Village.... I fell in love with REM right then. ‘Swan Swan H’ , love ❤️ that song👍🏻😁😎❤️... Am I right?? Can someone confirm or correct me please???
man, watching this video makes me want to move back down south. athens, savannah, chaleston SC, asheville NC, colombia SC.... i've been in NYC for a while now and i just dont get it. the south rules.
This isn't the "official" video for this song. This is from the film, Athens Georgia, Inside/Out. Check it out if you dig Flat Duo Jets, Pylon, the B-52s, and the B-B-Q Killers.
Have any of you actually read the story behind this song? It's just a bunch of words Stipe strung together to make a point. The point is, if you're looked at in a certain way, you can spout jibberish and people will think it's deeply emotional and poetic when it's nothing but pretty, nonconnecting words.
For a brief moment thought we were launching into "Working Class Hero", though this is a great REM track. Would be be interested in the 'civil war' context as I'm from blighty. Is this a civil war song and what is swan swan hummingbird?
