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R.E.M. – Green
This is R.E.M.’s sixth album. The album was released in 1988. It is the group’s debut album on Warner Brothers records. The band decided to switch to a major label due to lack of promotional effort on IRS records. There were 4 singles released from this album. The first was Orange Crush. The title is a reference to the chemical that was used in the Vietnam conflict called Agent Orange. The lyrics tell a story of a high school football player that goes off to the Vietnam conflict and gets dosed with the chemical. I am not a lyrics person so I always thought of the orange soda called Orange Crush and the flavor of the soda. The second single is called Stand. The song is about finding a direction in life and of doing more than thinking about change. It is a great song and really gets one to think about what it is they are doing with their life. I remember the video for this song. It is just the group singing and standing in a line for most of the video. It seems boring but it is still entertaining. I ran across the 7” single at one of my local used record stores for five bucks. It was not a single that I needed but it is rare to find a vinyl single these days so I bought it. The next single is called Pop Song 89. This song was not as popular as the previous two singles. I remember hearing the single on the radio and seeing the video for it on MTV. The video featured some topless girls and the lead singer, Michael Stipe, dancing. MTV asked Stipe, he made the video for the song, to put bars over the girls’ breasts. He decided to put bars over all members’ breasts that were in the video, male or female. His view was that breasts are breasts. The last single is called Get Up. This song did not chart well in the US and was only released in the US as a single. The song is about Mike Mills, the bassist for R.E.M., tendency to sleep late during the recording of the album Green. He did not know the song was about him until a concert they did in 1990 when Stipe stated that the song was about his sleeping habits.
A couple of interesting notes about the vinyl edition of the album Green:
• R.E.M. labeled side one (tracks 1–6) as the "Air side" and side two (tracks 7–11) as the "Metal side."
• Track 4 ("Stand") is listed on the album as track "R."
• Track 11, unlisted on the back cover and unnamed on the disc, is copyrighted under the title, "11."
• On the back of the cover there is a sticker seemingly placed at random with the track listing.
This is a really great album that I thought that I would never find. I started looking at the third party used sales option on Amazon and found a fair copy of this album on vinyl for about seven bucks. I was excited to say the least. When I got the album the sleeve was in good condition. When I listened to the record I found that it was a bit noisy but still listenable. This was the last album that I wanted to fill out my R.E.M. collection. I now have all of the albums that they put out in the 80s on vinyl and the few that I wanted from the 90s on CD. I think that everyone needs to hear this album at least once and probably own the first three singles at the very least.
Saves The Day – Stay What You Are
This is the third album from Saves the day. It was released in 2001. This is an indie rock album or, dare I write it, an emo album. The album is actually considered a staple of the emo / pop punk genres. This is a strange album that produces a happily depressed feeling with me. I bought the album for the first single called At Your Funeral. The song is supposed to be about a metaphor on how you have an ego and in a way it can be killed. The lyrics suggest something else entirely. It is a very confusing song but easy to sing along with and has some entirely fun bouncy music to go along with it. I think that absolutely everyone should at least hear this song if they don’t ever listen to anything else in the emo genre. The video for the song was inspired by the movie Requiem For A Dream. They used motion control to speed up the scenes in the back ground. The scenes showcase three families as they grow in a one bedroom apartment. The video is also quite interesting. There was a second single that was released from this album as well called Freakish. The video for Freakish was actually very cute. It featured a few Muppet style puppets that were fuzzy. I can’t really call them Muppets because the characters in the video drink and smoke but they are so cute. The video is set in a bar with the lead singer at a grand piano singing. The puppets are dancing and mingling with the human patrons at the bar and eventually gather at the piano with the singer to sing along with the song.
I bought this album when it came out on CD. I loved it. I was not big into the emo sound at the time but I really liked this group. The only other emo band that I liked was Sunny Day Real Estate. They only put out 2 albums that I am aware of. Yes, I have both of those on vinyl too. I purchased the Saves The Day back catalog not long after getting this Stay What You Ate because I liked the music so much. I also purchased a repressing of this album a couple years ago. I don’t listen to the album as much as I did back then, ten years ago now, but I still remember the feelings that the album gives me when I listen to it today. I think that the album is even better on vinyl; this is just an opinion though.
The Cars – Heartbeat City
This is the fifth album from The Cars. The album was released in 1984. In my opinion it is their best album. There were six singles released from this album, most of which were in the top ten between 1984 and 1985. The first was the song You Might Think. The video was in heavy rotation on MTV. It was a very funny video with a girl that the lead singer was after. He would pop up in the most ridiculous ways through out this girls’ day. The video utilized, what was at the time, digital imagery. The next single from the album is It’s Not The Night. I don’t think that there was a video for this song and the song did not chart as well as the first single. The songs tempo was a bit slower and had a little less instrumentation than the first single. The third single is called Magic. This song charted very well. This song also had a video associated to it. It had the lead singer standing on water. The video takes place on the property of some expensive house with a pool in the back yard. The lead singer is walking on the water in said pool during parts of the video. During other parts of the video he is almost being mauled by the crowd that has gathered to watch him do his “magic.” The song is great but the video is a little bit lame. The video is still good to see once. The next single is called Drive. This is a classic 80s slow dance song. The use of the 80s synth sounds are perfect. I just love that grainy smooth synth sound. It is just a classic sound that reminds me of my childhood. The video is not that great, although, it does feature a very pretty woman through the video. The song is about asking if someone needs help but is really saying that no one is going to help except me (the singer). For me this song is very calming. It is the fourth track on the album setting a great rhythm and slows the album down a bit before taking it back up in tempo. The next single released from this album is called Hello Again. This is another fun song that charted well for the band. It also featured a video that aired on MTV in heavy rotation. The video features the band in a dancing bar for most of the video. Toward the end of the video the lead singer is sitting at a classic operator desk moving the wires around to connect incoming calls while he is singing the title of the song over and over. The last single from this album is called Why Can’t I Have You. Although this song had a video associated to it the song did not chart as well. This song was another slow song. The lyrics were about a guy wanting a girl that was not interested in him. That being said I can understand why it did not chart well. Who wants to hear about some dude whining about wanting a girl that has no interest in him?
I like this album even with the sad songs. It is a great album that I think everyone should listen to at least once.
Bon Iver – Bon Iver
This is the second album from Bon Iver. It was released in 2011. The album was released with wide positive reception. The album is very similar to the previous album with the exception that Justin Vernon did not record the music on his own. He now has a backing band for this album. This means that the album sounds fuller than the previous album but still retains the presence that was on the first album For Emma, Forever Ago. It is a sweet album with music that is based on places as can be seen with the track names. Vernon continues to use the falsetto that he used for the previous album. The sound of his vocals is not ear splitting but calming and soft. Vernon has also started using more than just acoustic guitars with this new album. The sounds created from the instruments, including electric guitar and lap guitar, are also calming and warm. The graphic on the cover of the album also reminds me of a calming serene place to be. The first single from the album is called Calgary. The song could have been a part of the first album with the exception of the soft fuzzed out electric guitar that is on the track. The addition of the electric guitar gives it the newly expanded sound that will keep fans like me coming back for more. Over all the album is not anything new from Bon Iver but it is exactly what fans wanted, more of the same stuff with a slight expansion in tone. I would recommend listening to the first album and then if you like what you hear there then check out the second album.
That is all for now...
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