R.E.M.: The Soundtrack of my Adult Life (Music Review - 9/19/2011)

The lateness of my blog this week enables me to talk about a band who, after 31 years have called it quits.   Big news that came out on Wednesday involved the three remaining members of R.E.M., have broken up.   

I know there's people out there who probably don't care, or who thought they broke up a while ago, and even those who've dismissed them 15 years earlier.   But to neglect this Athens, GA band's contribution to rock history is unjustified.  

Forming in 1980, the band put out its first single, "Radio Free Europe" one year later, and their first full-length album, Murmur, two years after that.    The band's music was unpretentious.   It didn't gell in with the burgeoning "hair metal" that was starting to emerge, or the "trendy" early 80's new music.  It was a no-nonsense, straight-ahead alternative rock style that was out-of-synce with the arena-rock bands, music with a purpose.  Not surpringly, it was a hit with the college radio students.

It was a band, who, perhaps coincidently, had its peak period of popularity with the best years of my single life.   As Brian Sniatkowski pointed out in his Facebook post, it was a soundtrack of our grown lives.    Is it a coincidence that just a month or so after I moved out on my own, that I started getting into the band's "So. Central Rain" from their second album Reckoning?   In fact, that song graced my answering machine (remember those?) for a while that summer  ("I'm sorry"......as in not home...get it?).

I could probably place an R.E.M. song for any activity I'd do between 1985 and 1996.    "Can't Get There from Here" (Fables of the Reconstruction) blared from some river (canoe and rafting) trips that summer; "Fall on Me" (Life's Rich Pageant), probably my all-time fave, related to a road trip to southeast Pennsylvania and on to Wildwood.

The band's breakthrough, Life's Rich Pagent, brought the band's its well-deserved success...at the same time, a new friend from Prudential where I worked, also turned out to be an R.E.M. fan, and we caught two concerts by them, in 1987 and the following year, to support their Green album. The bands that opened for them were 10,000 Maniacs (featuring Natalie Merchant), and Indigo Girls, respectively.   Both were at Radio City Music Hall.

Probably my best years were the early 90's, and maybe not surprisingly, so were R.E.M.'s.    Out of Time (1991), Automatic For the People (1992) and Monster (1994) traversed this period which were the big social Prudential years.    "Losing My Religion" was their biggest hit, it's follow-up "Shiny Happy People", associated with a camping trip in Pennsylvania that summer of 1991, was my #1 song of that year.    Another album cut, "Texarkana" was played a lot on the jukebox at Deacon's Den, a great hangout up in ski country, near our "skihaus" in Mt. Snow, Vermont.    Even my Mom got into the act with their change-of-pace, slower, more ballad-laden Automatic.....   The band would then get harder with the post-grungy Monster, a staple from 1994.
By 1996, social, work and music scenes changed.    About 600 of us got outsourced from Prudential to IBM that September, the release of New Adventures in Hi-Fi.   The first single "E-Bow the Letter", with it's haunting bass-line, probably signaled that change....it was my #3 song for that year.

After that, many changes happened.   Drummer Bill Berry left the band shortly after New Adventures, but the band carried on at a trio for the rest of their time together.    Up (1998), and there was some good stuff on it (the singles "Daysleeper" and "Lotus", for example), but their popularity decreased, continuing with Reveal (2001), "Imitiation of Life", another great single, was its lowest charted debut since "Fall on Me"( which I loved, of course).    Some decent songs on them, but what was probably annoying was that because they weren't as "popular", some critics retroactively dismissed them as just another pop rock band, discounting their cutting-edge college rock status during most of the 1980's.     Around the Sun (2005) was next.

For me, the band made somewhat of a "comeback" with their 2008 album Accelerate.   For the first time in a while, an R.E.M. song reminded me of an event; "Supernatural Superserious" was heard on a ski weekend at Stratton in late February of 2009.  Their last album, Collapse Into Now, released earlier this year, had some good reviews, but for me, the album lacked spunk.  I did feature four songs from it on my S&S 100 chart:  "Mine Smell Like Honey" (#30), "Discoverer" (#50), "Uberlin" (#101) and "Oh My Heart" (#82).  

The band will, indeed be missed.

CURRENTLY:   Fitz & the Tantrums hold onto the #1 spot with the second week, with the title track from "Picking Up the Pieces", while The Kooks' "Junk of the Heart" switches places with Wilco's "I Might".   Red Hot Chili Peppers hold at #4, while Florence + the Machine's "What the Water Gave Me" advances from 9 to 5, becoming their third top five...only FATT, Adele and Rachel Allyn can boast that.    We now know that Florence's second album will be titled Ceremonials, and will drop on Halloween.  It also appears that there will be another single, "Shake It Out", already released to the Internet.  But, let's let the excellent "...Water..." run its course first.

The biggest entry into the top 20, with a big 27-9 increase is Sallie Ford & the Sound Outside's "I Swear".  This surf-rock/rockabilly hybrid was going thru my head the entire weekend.   The lyrics are excellent, taking to task current music artists and radio stations for playing stuff what passes for "music" today.    That alone is enough to like it right there.     I can imagine this song playing at some 50's-flavored drive in restaurant or classic car show.  "All I Wanted" by Airborne Toxic Event also enters the top 20, making it two in a row for the LA indie-rock band.

The top debut goes to Sarah Jean with "My Hometown", at #73.    Like Thom Sebastians' "Not Broken", which moves up to #23 this week, this one was recorded at Tom Corea's basement studio in his home in East Hanovers, and like that song, also contributes drums and keyboards in addition to his production work.   The song is the leadoff to her second album Girl Will Run....also entering is Paul Czakej's localized "My Home New Jersey".  The video, which shows everywhere around the Garden State (several times more than The Big Trouble's latest, at #12), was a viral hit on Facebook over the weekend, so I thought I'd check out the song that goes with it.   It reminded me of an old early 80's called "I Love Jersey Best", but even more of a plug for the state I call home.     Debuting into the top 100 is the second single by Scars on 45, "Heart on Fire" (#83).   It is the follow-up to the British band's #35 "Give Me Something" which had a nice, long 24 week run on my chart....a band to potentially watch, no doubt.


Scenes 'n' Soundwaves 100 for week of September 19. 2011:

This Week	Last Week	ARTIST-Title	Weeks on List
1	1	FITZ AND THE TANTRUMS "Pickin' Up the Pieces of Love" Album: Picking Up the Pieces (2 weeks at #1)	8
2	3	The Kooks - Junk of the Heart	11
3	2	Wilco - I Might	9
4	4	Red Hot Chili Peppers - The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie	10
5	9	Florence + the Machine - What the Water Gave Me	5
6	8	Michelle Branch - Loud Music	11
7	5	Best Coast - Something In The Way	14
8	14	Death Cab For Cutie - Stay Young Go Dancing	7
9	27	TOP 20 IMPACT OF THE WEEK:   SALLIE FORD AND THE SOUND OUTSIDE "I Swear" Album: Dirty Radio	5
10	7	Plan B- Love Goes Down	13
11	10	Rachel Allyn - Lovely Lily	5
12	18	The Big Troubles - Bite Yr Tongue	6
13	6	Lykke Li - Rich Kids Blues	9
14	15	Anna Calvi - Blackout	6
15	17	Bush - The Sound of Winter	7
16	12	Fitz and the Tantrums - Don't Gotta Work It Out	9
17	11	Avi Buffalo - How Come	13
18	19	SuperHeavy - Miracle Worker	9
19	13	Los Lonely Boys - 16 Monkeys	10
20	22	The Airborne Toxic Event - All I Ever Wanted	7

21	16	Brilliant Colors - Value Lines	11
22	25	The Jayhawks - She Walks In So Many Ways	8
23	29	Thom Sebastian & the Hounds of Winter - Not Broken	4
24	21	The Antlers - Every Night My Teeth Are Falling Out	8
25	20	Fleet Foxes - Grown Ocean	19
26	23	Maroon 5 f. Christina Aguilera - Moves Like Jagger	10
27	24	Adele - Set Fire To the Rain	12
28	31	Cage the Elephant - Aberdeen	4
29	32	Macy Gray - Kissed It	6
30	26	Rachel Allyn - Say Hello To Goodbye	17
31	30	PJ Harvey - Let England Shake	10
32	33	Trevor Hall - Brand New Day	9
33	37	Grouplove - Colours	9
34	38	Adele - Someone Like You	22
35	43	Mister Heavenly - Mister Heavenly	6
36	35	Foster the People - Helena Beat	11
37	45	Oberhofer - Gotta Go	4
38	46	Surfer Blood- Swim	7
39	55	MOVER OF THE WEEK:     BEST COAST "Our Deal" Album: Crazy For You	2
40	28	Katy Perry - Last Friday Night	15
41	44	Cults - Go Outside	5
42	47	The Drums - Money	5
43	39	Haley Reinhart - House of the Rising Sun	6
44	42	Evanescence - What You Want	5
45	66	Dom - Happy Birthday Party	2
46	41	Incubus - Promises, Promises	10
47	57	Imelda May - Mayhem	4
48	56	Lady Gaga - You and I	4
49	68	Man Man - Knuckle Down	3
50	34	Zac Brown Band f Jimmy Buffet - Knee Deep	20
51	36	Florence + the Machine - You Got the Love	19
52	48	The Rosebuds - Second Bird of Paradise	7
53	52	Foster the People - Pumped Up Kicks	35
54	61	Carolina Liar - Drown	3
55	53	Mutemath - Blood Pressure	7
56	62	Thompson Square - I Got You	4
57	65	Bell X1 - 4 Minute Mile	3
58	64	Little Dragon - Shuffle a Dream	4
59	81	Adele - I'll Be Waiting	2
60	51	Adele - Rolling In the Deep	41
61	72	Kelly Clarkson - Mr. Know It All	3
62	74	Kate Voegele - Sandcastles	3
63	76	Needtobreathe - Drive All Night	3
64	88	Coldplay - Paradise	2
65	40	Wild Flag - Romance	13
66	71	O.A.R.- Heaven	8
67	93	Snow Patrol - Called Out In the Dark	2
68	67	Lady Antebellum - Just A Kiss	6
69	80	Gillian Welch - The Way It Goes	4
70	89	Washed Out - Eyes Be Closed	2
71	58	Kenny Chesney f. Grace Potter - You & Tequila	16
72	92	Tom Morello: The Nightwatchman - It Begins Tonight	2
73	----	TOP DEBUT:   SARAH JEAN "Hometown" Album: Girl Will Run	1
74	60	Generationals - Ten Twenty Ten	12
75	75	Alter Bridge - Ghost of Days Gone By	7
76	85	White Denim - Drug	4
77	50	Scotty McCreery - I Love You This Big	17
78	70	Adele - Rumour Has It	22
79	49	Lenny Kravitz - Stand	11
80	54	We Are Augustines - Chapel Song	14
81	59	Jason Aldean - Dirt Road Anthem	8
82	99	Sublime with Rome - Take It Or Leave It	2
83	----	Scars on 45 - Heart on Fire	1
84	73	Fitz and the Tantrums - Dear Mr. President	15
85	79	Lauren Alaina - Like My Mother Does	5
86	98	Rihanna - Cheers	2
87	63	Cee Lo Green - Bright Lights, Bigger City	12
88	78	My Morning Jacket - Holdin' On to Black Metal	18
89	69	Portugal the Man - Got It All	15
90	97	The Chills - Blue October	2
91	----	Paul Czekaj - My Home New Jersey	1
92	82	Arctic Monkeys - Don't Sit Down 'Cause I Moved Your Chair	17
93	----	Stephen Malkus and the Jicks - Tigers	1
94	94	Foo Fighters - Walk	15
95	96	Kopecky Family Band - Howlin' At the Moon	5
96	83	The Mountain Goats - Estate Sale Sign	7
97	84	Train - Save Me San Francisco	20
98	87	Neon Trees - Your Surrender	22
99	90	Danger Mouse & Daniele Luppi-Two Against One	24
100	77	The Band Perry - If I Die Young	12