REM Draft Discussion Thread

[Stephen]

This was the rest of my list:

I've Been High - Reveal
What If We Give It Away? - Lifes Rich Pageant
Blue - Collapse Into Now
Make It All Okay - Around the Sun
Binky the Doormat - New Adventures of Hi-Fi
Alligator_Aviator_Autopilot_Antimatter - Collapse Into Now

If I have a secret 13th/hidden track on my album it's definitely I've Been High. I hated to not pick it, it just didn't work as well as the other songs that I took for my theme.

[johnnya24]

The one early song that stepped forward from the crowd was Begin The Begin ... the live versions I've seen while doing this draft have been terrific. Great song, but up to now, it always got overshadowed by Fall On Me and Cuyahoga.

I'm almost embarrassed for Eddie Vedder's lack of killer moves here

[Fresno Bob]

The one early song that stepped forward from the crowd was Begin The Begin ... the live versions I've seen while doing this draft have been terrific. Great song, but up to now, it always got overshadowed by Fall On Me and Cuyahoga.

I'm almost embarrassed for Eddie Vedder's lack of killer moves here

Almost went with the Vedder version to post, Eddie's voice is great in the song, but can you blame him, how do you dance next to Michael Stipe?

[johnnya24]

This is brilliant ... the whole show (25 mins) the above clip is taken from (can't find an embed on Vimeo)

DUH!

[Erik]

So here's a pretty insane playlist of undrafted songs

How The West Was Won And Where It Got Us (New Adventures)
Man-Sized Wreath (Accelerate) ... really wanted to pick this
Alligator_Aviator_Autopilot_Antimatter (Collapse Into Now) ... and this
Walk It Back (Collapse Into Now) ... errrrrr ... and this ... especially this, this is one of my favourites
Voice of Harold (Dead Letter Office) ... surprised the early REM guys dropped the ball here
Final Straw (Around The Sun) ... the other stand out from Around The Sun
Houston (Accelerate)
Oh My Heart (Collapse Into Now) ... Houston and Oh My Heart are connected, both about NO, the later referencing the former
Tongue (Monster) ... surprised it wasn't picked
Camera (Reckoning) ... dito
Romance (Eponymous) ... errrr ... dito
Hope (Up) ... Leonard Cohen given a nod as co-composer due to the structure similarity with Suzanne
Discoverer (Collapse Into Now) ... rocks!
Departure (New Adventures) ... inbetween Leave and Bittersweet Me ... the guitar sound like the blueprint for The Hold Steady
I've Been High (Reveal) ... this is really nice
Sing For The Submarine (Accelerate) ... check out he live version of this below
Me, Marlon Brando, Marlon Brando and I (Collapse Into Now) ... this is great
Revolution (B-Sides Collection)
Old Man Kensey (Fables of the Reconstruction)
The Lifting (Reveal)
Why Not Smile (Up) ... again, really nice little song
Mine Smell Like Honey (Collapse Into Now) ... this rocks out too
Crazy (Dead Letter Office) ... another one that surprisingly didn't get picked
Low Desert (New Adventures) ... always reminded me of the Stone Roses, well John Squire's guitar playing anyway
Letter Never Sent (Reckoning) ... this is one of my favourites from Reckoning ... well the whole record is a favourite to be fair
Disappear (Reveal)
All The Best (Collapse Into Now)
Falls To Climb (Up)

All the Best, Old Man Kensey, and Discoverer were others I was considering for my last pick, as well as Parakeet (Up) and the title track of Around the Sun.

[Erik]

Binky the Doormat probably didn't deserve to be left on the heap.

The guy who wrote that 6-part opus I linked earlier LOVES Binky the Doormat. It doesn't do much for me.

[Erik]

This was the rest of my list:


What If We Give It Away? - Lifes Rich Pageant

This was taken, I forget by whom, but I remember wanting it and getting it stolen from me.

ETA: The draft thread says it was Long John.

[Erik]

7.10 - Harborcoat (Reckoning)

Even if you've heard this song a million times, you have to watch this concert clip from 1985. The Stipedancing is priceless...

It just hit me now: This sounds like something from Up on the Sun-era Meat Puppets.

[Lucky]

This was a fun draft.

[Erik]

Finally getting through the rest of the draft thread for listening purposes, so I'll occasionally have a belated response to a comment.

Fables was recorded in London, so every time they tour here they always play more Fables songs than elsewhere. Apparently back in the 80's it wasn't as well received as some other records ... I find that hard to believe looking back. The band didn't have a great time recording it, so I think that had a part to play in their impressions.

It was received fine -- it sold more than its predecessors and "Can't Get There from Here" got a lot of play on mainstream FM radio stations. But it's a very insular record that takes a few listens to really appreciate, so it's not one that you initiate someone into fandom with. It's considered a "troubled" record because of the difficulties the band went through when recording it, not because of the music itself.

[Erik]

"Monty's Got a Raw Deal" would be a career-making song for many bands. On Automatic, it's not even in the top 5.

[johnnya24]

Finally getting through the rest of the draft thread for listening purposes, so I'll occasionally have a belated response to a comment.

It was received fine -- it sold more than its predecessors and "Can't Get There from Here" got a lot of play on mainstream FM radio stations. But it's a very insular record that takes a few listens to really appreciate, so it's not one that you initiate someone into fandom with. It's considered a "troubled" record because of the difficulties the band went through when recording it, not because of the music itself.

Hard to go from sunny Athens, Georgia to a sucky winter in London. London in 1984/5 on a budget is a million miles away from London today. There's a good reason music was quite bleak back in those days

[Erik]

9.08 All the Way to Reno (You're Gonna Be a Star), Reveal

An enjoyable music video for All the Way to Reno.

It looks like it was shot at the same time as the one for Imitation of Life. Lots of random people wearing similar stuff in both of them.

[Pogues]

Pogues missed this one ... Collapse is so damn good.

I had that song ranked fourth of the songs on Collapse. I thought it was a little silly and I already had silly with Shiny Happy People.

[johnnya24]

I had that song ranked fourth of the songs on Collapse. I thought it was a little silly and I already had silly with Shiny Happy People.