All of a sudden, these days, happy throngs, take this joy

February 21, 2024 9:46 PM

Michael Idov's stellar article for GQ.com about being In Athens With Michael Shannon, the Night He (Sort of) Reunited R.E.M. And you better believe there's

MURMUR:
Radio Free Europe
Pilgrimage
Laughing
Talk About the Passion
Moral Kiosk
Perfect Circle - Bill on piano and Peter on guitar
Catapult
Sitting Still
9-9
Shaking Through
We Walk
West of the Fields
There She Goes Again (Velvet Underground cover)

CHRONIC TOWN:
Wolves, Lower
Gardening at Night
Carnival of Sorts (Boxcars)
1,000,000
Stumble

7 Chinese Bros.
Pretty Persuasion - Mike singing backup
Time After Time (AnnElise)
Just a Touch
So. Central Rain - Mike singing backup and Peter on guitar
Letter Never Sent - Peter on guitar
Driver 8
Swan Swan H
Second Guessing - Mike singing backup
Crazy (Pylon cover)
(Don’t Go Back to) Rockville - Mike singing backup and Peter on guitar
Country Feedback
These Days - Bill, Peter, Mike and Michael take the stage to say thank you

On a personal note, missing this show may rank among my greatest regrets in life. If any of the links posted here were uploaded by any mefites, thank you!

posted by Hey Dean Yeager! (26 comments total)

That was great. Thank you for posting. I still have Automatic For The People t-shirt that I bought at a record store at Five Points (I think it was called) in Atlanta. The moths have had a good go but it’s still a wearable.
posted by grumblemf at 11:15 PM on February 21

Perfect post, perfect band.
posted by minervous at 1:53 AM on February 22 [5 favorites]

Excellent post, tags, and title!

Can't wait to start my work day with headphones and these links.
posted by wenestvedt at 3:58 AM on February 22 [1 favorite]

Another one for the time machine list: Michael Shannon doing Bowie's Scary Monsters.
posted by Halloween Jack at 5:35 AM on February 22

The people who truly love R.E.M. know that they were the best band in the world but tend to have trouble articulating why.

QFT
posted by chavenet at 5:35 AM on February 22 [7 favorites]

Best of the web for me at least - would never have heard about this otherwise!
posted by crocomancer at 6:14 AM on February 22

Dr. indexy was at this show and absolutely loved it--I wasn't feeling well and had to bow out. Standing outside the 40 Watt before the doors opened we heard them do "Superman" at sound check. There's a rumor that it included all four members of the band, including Bill on drums and Michael Stipe on vocals. No confirmation, but it certainly sounded like them.
posted by indexy at 6:20 AM on February 22 [5 favorites]

Given his usual screen persona I'm always kind of surprised whenever I see Michael Shannon smiling, or in any mood other than "spittle-flecked rage," really.
posted by The Card Cheat at 7:27 AM on February 22 [7 favorites]

The Card Cheat: Michael Shannon was acquainted with some guys I knew who went to NYU in the early/mid 1990s. (This was before he was Michael Shannon.) Apparently, they would send him to pick up kegs whenever they threw a rager in the dorms. Who in their right mind would card Michael Shannon?
posted by pxe2000 at 7:32 AM on February 22 [4 favorites]

Two thoughts: 1) Man, they were so good. Everyone has their own greatest band, and REM is my greatest band. Thank you, Michael Shannon, for getting this to oddity to happen. I will take this joy.

2) I play bass in bands, and we often do an REM cover. If I was playing bass live and Mike Mills walked on stage I would just die on the spot, bursting into flames so hot there would be nothing left. Luckily for me, this is never going to happen.
posted by YoungStencil at 8:25 AM on February 22 [3 favorites]

I haven't finished reading this incredibly charming article but I just wanted to say that the factoid that Michael Shannon was in Groundhog Day (his feature film debut no less) and that it is a memorable bit part (though all the bit parts in that film are memorable) absolutely made my day. I ran into the next room where my friend, a film nerd, was working and I blurted out this factoid and she was just as excited as me. Anyway, back to Michael Idov's wonderful article.
posted by Kattullus at 9:38 AM on February 22 [2 favorites]

That opening jangle of "Talk About the Passion" is still just sooo good.

I think one of Shannon's big achievements that is getting short shrift here is identifying and memorizing all of Stipe's mealy-mouthed, near-nonsensical lyrics!
posted by wenestvedt at 9:48 AM on February 22 [7 favorites]

The show after this on was at the Cat's Cradle in Chapel Hill, and Mitch Easter joined them on "There She Goes Again"
posted by indexy at 10:52 AM on February 22

Wow, this is great, thanks for sharing! Now I want to go to Athens and see the trestle and to go Weaver D’s Delicious Fine Foods and go to the church steeple and go to the 40 Watt Club. And get a time machine to see this show.

memorizing all of Stipe's mealy-mouthed, near-nonsensical lyrics

Sure, but to be fair he mumbles pretty much everything on the first couple records.

The show after this on was at the Cat's Cradle in Chapel Hill

I saw Billy Bragg at the Cat's Cradle. He was dressed in a T-shirt and jeans and at first we thought he was a roadie setting up the stage until he started playing.
posted by kirkaracha at 11:40 AM on February 22 [1 favorite]

Stipe's mealy-mouthed, near-nonsensical lyrics

you go stand in the corner now
posted by chavenet at 11:48 AM on February 22 [4 favorites]

MURMUR:
Pilgrimage (First Avenue, Minneapolis, MN 2/4/24)
Moral Kiosk (The Fabulous 40 Watt 2/8/24)
Catapult (Black Cat, Washington, DC 2/10/24)
Sitting Still (Black Cat)
Shaking Through (Metro, Chicago 7/30/23 with Mike Mills)
West of the Fields (Cat's Cradle 2/9/24)

CHRONIC TOWN:
1,000,000
Stumble (AMH, Ardmore, PA 2/12/24)

ETC:
Swan Swan H (Metro Chicago, 7/30/2023)
Country Feedback (Music Hall of Williamsburg, Brooklyn NY 2/14/24)

Bonus tracks:
Heroes Local H and Michael Shannon (Empty Bottle in Chicago 9/16/18 "I hope everybody likes Scritti Politti")
Crazy Vanessa Briscoe Hay (from Pylon) with Bill Berry, Peter Buck, and Mike Mills
Carnival of Sorts (Boxcars) The Feelies (Brooklyn Made 5/20/22)

Late Night with Seth Meyers: R.E.M.'s Mike Mills Crashed Michael Shannon and Jason Narducy's Murmur Performance
posted by kirkaracha at 12:08 PM on February 22 [6 favorites]

I think with everything before Fables you're memorizing Stipe's *phonemes*.

Also is there a bar where a band is 24/7 cycling through REM's catalog from Chronic Town through Monster, and then repeats, and is this a good business model
posted by credulous at 12:28 PM on February 22 [3 favorites]

kirkaracha: [Stipe] mumbles pretty much everything on the first couple records.

One time my sister and our brother were driving in the car, singing along to R.E.M. -- "I Believe," I think it was -- and suddenly we all burst out laughing because each of us sang different words from the others.

I never did learn the correct lyrics....
posted by wenestvedt at 12:40 PM on February 22 [1 favorite]

No "Voice of Harold"? And you call yourself a fan. Here's the album so you have the lyrics.
posted by kirkaracha at 1:04 PM on February 22 [5 favorites]

No "Voice of Harold"? And you call yourself a fan!

I was actually thinking about how, had they started playing "7 Chinese Bros." but then Shannon hit'em instead with that "Reverend Bill Funderburk..." that everyone at that show would have absolutely lost their shit. Or I would have, at least.
posted by Hey Dean Yeager! at 2:17 PM on February 22 [3 favorites]

Youngstencil:
If I was playing bass live and Mike Mills walked on stage I would just die on the spot...

Fellow bass player here. I don't know if it's an artefact of the mixing on those early albums, but MM's bass playing is simply phenomenal. I don't think he gets nearly enough credit for his musicianship.
posted by tim_in_oz at 2:39 PM on February 22 [3 favorites]

As an example, this is the isolated bass from Driver 8. A lot of the detail is barely audible on the LP version.
posted by tim_in_oz at 4:27 PM on February 22 [5 favorites]

I like the What's the Frequency, Kenneth? bassline too. It's almost sloppy without the drums, but the slop is in the right places. Great melodic bass player.
posted by credulous at 5:48 PM on February 22 [1 favorite]

My favorite Mills bass performance is probably "9-9", followed closely by "Harborcoat," which this fellow from the UK unleashes with ease. Each of this guy's R.E.M. bass covers are incredible! He posted them regularly until 3 years ago and hasn't since, which is a shame.

And if you're looking for more R.E.M. isolated tracks/remixes, this channel is posting new mixes pretty much every day. Their remixes of Turn You Inside Out, You Are the Everything, and These Days are some of my favorites and completely fascinating and this "quiet music" version of Radio Free Europe is goddamn revelation!
posted by Hey Dean Yeager! at 6:29 PM on February 22 [2 favorites]

This thread is a goldmine, thanks so much all. My favorite period of my favorite band done so faithfully. If anyone in Chicago wants to start a (non-touring) R.E.M. cover band I will sing!
posted by erebora at 7:23 PM on February 22 [2 favorites]

The room lit up when Bill and Peter joined for Perfect Circle, we knew the night was going to be special.
posted by underavenue at 10:58 AM on February 23 [1 favorite]