Tag: REM
The Great Beyond ( song ) … REM
1999
REM performing a song at The Olympia in Dublin : Until The Day Is Done
2007
REM performing a song at The Olympia in Dublin : Pretty Persuasion
2007 June or July
Electrolite ( song ) … REM
1996
Wanderlust ( song ) … REM
2004
I’ve Been High ( song ) … REM
2001
Losing My Religion ( song ) … REM
1991
Falls To Climb ( song ) … REM
1998
What’s The Frequency Kenneth ( song ) … REM
1994
audio review : Daysleeper ( song ) … REM
I don’t think “daysleeper” is a real word. Michael Stipe uses it as a slang term for someone who works during the night and sleeps during the day. The protagonist, presented in first-person perspective, seems to work in an institution or warehouse. At 3-AM, the receiving department is empty. “Everywhere is calm,” except for his aching head, which wants nothing more than to go home and get a good night’s rest like most of the other workers.
It’s hard to sleep in the daytime, even with an ocean sound machine at your bedside, when you live in a city of noisy neighbors. You’re constantly being awakened and, once awake, it’s hard to go back to sleep. That’s a big part of the problem, so this “daysleeper” sighs, cries and sings a soothing lament for all unfortunare victims of the graveyard shift. What a dreamy little ballad it is. Listen for the cute “weoo” chants near the end.
my rating : 4 of 5
1998
audio review : Blue ( song ) … REM ( featuring Patti Smith )
It’s hard not to compare Blue to E-Bow The Letter; the only other REM song featuring Patti Smith; but if the comparison has to do with overall song quality, I choose Blue. E-Bow has more melodic verses. Michael Stipe, a definite poet, goes spoken-word here, but that doesn’t make them better. There’s something artistically rejuvenating about the ranty proclamations he presents. “I will not fold,” he says in a forceful whisper, “I don’t have much, but what I have is gold.”
He’d be rapping if more of the words rhymed and the lyrics went with the beat, but there are no real drums, just an array of background guitars, which create a dreamworld of airy ambience. A piano comes in at about the three-minute mark, which leads to the best part; Patti Smith singing a Cinderella ballad over the sound of a man’s voice saying “blue” over and over again. That’s “naked and blue”, not Electron Blue, and it stands out as one of the better REM songs.
my rating : 4 of 5
2011
