R.E.M.

Being what some would call a youngster, I was practically weened on 80's music. It was my time, my generation. My childhood wasn't bad, but due to having divorced parents, both working all the time, and being the youngest of three, I spent a lot of time alone during the week. Music and TV was what I enjoyed the most; specifically music. I was fascinated with it and found myself straining to hear the little nuances, the things that weren't always so obvious and sometimes not really meant to be heard. I listened over and over to learn the lyrics and tried to decipher the meanings. I found many artists and many songs that fit my personality. On the same token, that music was able to alter my mood, bring me up when I needed it, and even be my companion during trying times, like the inception of my first "puppy" love and the inevitable ending. Man, I remember silently boo-hooing listening to Poison's "Every Rose Has It's Thorn". Wow, embarrassing times! My point is that the 80's gave us some of the most influential music of all times with some of the most intense lyrics... lyrics that inspire, console, comfort, entertain, mystify, hypnotize, amaze and scream joy and happiness.

When I remember those times, the first name that comes to mind is a little band from Athens, Georgia called R.E.M. Formed by Michael Stipe, Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Bill Berry in 1980. Recognized as the pioneer of the "Alternative Rock" scene, they are the most successful musical act of the genre. R.E.M. is a very personal, very intense band and their powerful lyrics could be labeled as prosaic mixed with a bit of poetic tendencies at times. They could be purely inspirational, or they could be dark and mysterious. The lyrical meaning and style is different for each person, as with all music. But one thing is unanomously undeniable: their lyrics are ingenious. Though all band members contributed to the lyrics, Michael Stipe handled the majority and is one of the very best songwriters in the history of music... of all genres. He has also been stated as being inspired by one of my favorite muscians/songwriters: John Lennon.

Stipe's vocals are always perfect and his stage presence, energy and charismatic manner puts him in the company of great frontmen like Freddie Mercury, Mick Jagger, Roger Daltrey and Michael Hutchence. But it's not only the lyrics that made R.E.M. a legend, it's also Peter Buck's Byrds-esque ringing guitar riffs, Mike Mills' melodic, Paul McCartney-inspired bass lines and backing vocals and Bill Berry's snapping drum lines (until his departure in 1997).

Their first commercial release was Radio Free Europe in 1981, which reached #25 on the Mainstream Rock charts. The first full length EP was the highly acclaimed Murmur, which reached #36 on the Billboard charts and was RIAA Certified Gold.

This opened the door and proved that R.E.M. was here to stay. They enjoyed several more hits, including "Can't Get There From Here" in 1986 (#5) and "Superman" in 1986 (#17). Following years of underground success, they entered the mainstream rock scene in 1987 with the hit "The One I Love" (#2). They signed with Warner Bros. Records in 1988.

1988 also saw the release of the singles "Stand" and "Orange Crush", both reaching #1 on the charts and the album "Green" which reached #12 and was certified RIAA 2X platinum. Other releases were "Pop Song 89" and "Get Up".

Their biggest succes came in 1991 with the release of the album "Out of Time", which hit #1 on Billboards charts in the U.S. and in the U.K. and was also certified 4X platinum, selling over 10 million copies. It was also cited as the 37th greatest album of all time. The most successful singles were "Shiny Happy People" (#6) and "Losing My Religion" (#1). The album won 3 Grammy's in 1992: One for The Best Alternative Rock Album and 2 for "Losing My Relgion". "Shiny Happy People" also featured Katie Pierson of The B-52's as guest backing vocals.

In 1992 came the release of Automatic For The People, a #2 U.S. (#1 U.K.) and 4X platinum album featuring the hit singles "Drive" (#2), "Ignoreland" (#4), "Man On The Moon" (#4), "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite" (#28) and the epic "Everybody Hurts". Mostly acoustic and typified by its dark lyrics (many of which ruminate on mortality, death and those departed), Automatic for the People is generally considered to be among R.E.M.'s best albums, and one of the finest releases of the 1990s. It is the 44th greatest album of all time according to the website Acclaimedmusic.net and 4th best of the 1990s. It was nominated for Album of the Year at the Grammy Awards of 1993. Bono, of U2, called it "The greatest country record never made".


"Monster" was released in 1994 and went straight to #1 and RIAA certified 4X platinum. "What's The Frequency, Kenneth?" (#2), "Star 69" (#15), "Band and Blame" (#4) and "Strange Currencies" (#8) were among the most successful singles. It is their most guitar-heavy album to date, with glam/70s rock and grunge influences. It is also very multi-layered, with references to projected images, both in the media and in personal identity, particularly in terms of sexuality.



Five other albums followed: "New Adventures In Hi-Fi" in 1996 (#2 U.S./#1 U.K.), "Up" in 1998 (#3 U.S./#2 U.K.), "Reveal" in 2001 (#6 U.S./#1 U.K.), "Around The Sun" in 2004 (#13 U.S./#1 U.K.) and "Accelerate" in 2008 (#2 U.S./#1 U.K.).


Some of the most questioned lyrical content came with the release of "E-Bow The Letter" from "New Adventures In Hi-Fi". There have been many speculations on the meaning of the strange acronymical lyrics, however, few have interpreted it as intended. While we'll never know what was in Stipe's head at the time, I have come up with what I believe to be an accurate interpretation.
First, the "E-Bow" part of the name comes from an actual E-Bow; a device that generates distortion when played through a guitar. The letter part is just that: a letter. It is well-known that Mishael Stipes and River Phoenix were good friends. Michael began to notice that River's drug abuse had gotten out of hand. He tried many times to help but River refused to admit that he had a problem. Michael wrote a poetic letter for him explaining how easily you can get caught-up in the drug lifestyle when fame comes your way. There are many overt references to fairly obscure drugs; spanish fly, cherry mash, seconal, absinthe, kerosene. Tinfoil tiaras are used for taking some drugs, and when taken, he tastes the aluminium which is, as stated, analogous with fear. The song can be seen as a warning of the dangerous mix of celebrities and drugs, or anyone for that matter. The sad part is that Michael was never able to deliver the letter to River before the drugs took his life.

I will continue in another post at a later time. Hope you all enjoy!

The Human League

Originally formed in 1977 in Sheffield, England by Philip Oakey, The Human League became one of the essential icons of the 80's New Wave scene. Their music has stood the test of time and has been wildly influential for many artists, including Robbie Williams, Ministry of Sound, Madonna and Moby.

They released their first single, Being Bolied, in 1978. Because "Being Boiled" was unique and oddly different than the music of that time, it saw limited airplay. In 1979 they released their first full length vinyl, an EP titled "The Dignity of Labour". Though the album was not very successful commercially and barely made it onto the charts, it did prove to be a success in its own right. The EP began to get the attention of major record labels. Richard Branson, CEO and founder of Virgin Records, made an impressive offer, which was quickly accepted.

In 1980, the band endured its first turmoil. Ian Craig Marsh and Martyn Ware, 2 of the founding members, decided to leave, stating irreconcilable differences as to the future musical direction of the band. Oakey retained the band's name, but at a very high price.

In an event that is now firmly embedded in popular folklore and regularly repeated by the media, Oakey and his then girlfriend went into Sheffield city centre on a Wednesday night with the intention of recruiting a single female backing vocalist. After looking in various venues, they visited the Crazy Daisy Nightclub on High Street where Oakey spotted two teenage girls dancing together on the dance floor. Susanne Sulley and Joanne Catherall were 17 year old schoolgirls on a night out together. Neither had any experience of singing or dancing professionally. With no preamble, Oakey asked both girls to join the tour as dancers and incidental vocalists. He states that when he found out their age and that they were best friends, he revised his plan for a single female and decided that the two girls could look after each other on the tour. Originally just wanting a single female singer to replace the high backing vocals originally provided by Martyn Ware, he says that he thought having two female vocalists/dancers would also add potential glamour to the band. Because of the girls' ages, Oakey and Wright later had to visit Sulley and Catherall’s respective parents to obtain permission for the girls to go the tour.

1981 marked the beginning of the bands most successful period, including the release of the multi-million selling ablum "Dare" and the 2X platinum selling single, "Dont You Want Me". Capitalizing on the singles huge success and "number one" status, "Being Boiled" was re-released in 1982 and quickly became a top 10 hit.

The Human League's work was now recognized on both sides of the Atlantic. In February 1983, the band was nominated for the Best New Artist award at the 25th annual Grammy Awards. The follow-up single, "(Keep Feeling) Fascination", was released in April 1983 and peaked at no.2 in the UK. The following months proved to be difficult ones for the band as they struggled to record a follow-up album to Dare under immense pressure from Virgin. A six song EP called Fascination! comprising of the singles "Mirror Man" and "Fascination" together with the new track "I Love You Too Much" was released from the original recording sessions for their new album, later to be named Hysteria. The EP was released in America as a stop-gap and also became a strong seller as an import in the UK.

Today

The Human League are currently unsigned to a record label and is run as a self-contained business with its own studio in Sheffield. Since late 1994 they have been managed by Simon Watson of Sidewinder Management.
The band continue playing live, with continuing appearances at music festivals worldwide at many of which they are among the headliners.
Although the subject of retirement is often brought up in interviews, Oakey, Sulley and Catherall have all stated that they still enjoy performing and intend to carry on for "as long as they are filling concerts and people want to see them". Sulley often jokes that she "has to carry on because she doesn’t know how to do anything else."
Oakey, Catherall, and Sulley have all stated separately that it is the intention for the band to release a tenth studio album "in the near future". However, no details or timescale have been given. On possible collaborations, Oakey stated on BBC TV News and to NME that "we have a lot of people that want to make records with us."

Don't You Want Me - 1981

(Keep Feeling) Fascination - 1983

The Rolling Stones

Little did the Rolling Stones know how apt their name - inspired by the title of a Muddy Waters song, “Rollin’ Stone” - would turn out to be. Formed in 1962, they are the longest-lived continuously active group in rock and roll history. They are also, according to a slogan that is supported by critical and popular consensus, “the World’s Greatest Rock and Roll Band.” Throughout four decades of shifting tastes in the arena of popular music, the Stones have kept rolling, adapting to the latest sounds and styles without straying too far from their origins as a blues-loving, guitar-based rock and roll band. In all aspects, theirs has been a remarkable career - and one with no apparent end in sight.
The Rolling Stones’ earliest origins date back to the boyhood friendship of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, forged in 1951. Their acquaintance was interrupted when both families moved in the mid-Fifties but got rekindled in October 1960, when the two ran into each other at a train station. (Richards noticed the imported R&B albums Jagger was carrying under his arm.) Jagger, a student at the London School of Economics, was a hardcore blues aficionado, while Richards’ interest leaned more toward Chuck Berry-style rock and roll. Richards soon joined Jagger’s group, Little Boy Blue and the Blue Boys.
While making the rounds of London blues clubs, Jagger and Richards met guitarist Brian Jones, a member of Blues Incorporated (fronted by Alexis Korner, a key figure in the early London blues-rock scene). Jagger and Richards had been knocked out by Jones’ slide-guitar work on his solo reading of Elmore James’ “Dust My Broom.” Soon, the trio of Jagger, Richards and Jones became roommates and musical collaborators.
Keith Richards is clear about whose band it was in the beginning: “Brian was really fantastic, the first person I ever heard playing slide electric guitar,” Richards said in Stone Alone: The Story of a Rock ’n’ Roll Band, by Bill Wyman. “Mick and I both thought he was incredible. He mentioned he was forming a band. He could have easily joined another group, but he wanted to form his own. The Rolling Stones was Brian’s baby.”
When Alexis Korner skipped one of his regular Marquee gigs to appear on a BBC radio show, Jagger, Jones and Richards seized the opportunity to debut their new group. And so it came to pass that the earliest version of the Rolling Stones – which also included bassist Dick Taylor (later a founding member and guitarist for the Pretty Things), drummer Mick Avory (a future member of the Kinks) and keyboardist Ian Stewart (the Stones’ lifelong road manager and adjunct member) - made their first public appearance on July 12th, 1962.

The Rolling Stones have released 22 studio albums in the UK (24 in the US), eight concert albums (nine in the US) and numerous compilations; they have had 32 UK & US top-10 singles, and have sold more than 200 million albums worldwide. 1971's Sticky Fingers began a string of eight consecutive studio albums at number one in the United States. In 1989 the Rolling Stones were inducted into the American Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and in 2004 they were ranked number 4 in Rolling Stone magazine's 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. They are also ranked as the number 2 artists of all time on Acclaimedmusic.net. Their latest album, A Bigger Bang, was released in 2005 and accompanied by the highest-grossing tour in history, which lasted into late summer 2007.

The Eighties yielded both the group’s best-selling album (Tattoo You, #1 for nine weeks in 1981) and the longest period ever between Stones tours (eight years). A growing estrangement between Jagger and Richards culminated in a three-year lull after the release of Dirty Work (1986). Happily, the standoff ended when Jagger and Richards successfully resumed their working relationship during a ten-day songwriting retreat in Barbados. The Stones regrouped for an energetic, well-received world tour following the recording of strong, creatively resurgent Steel Wheels. (Wanting to exit on a high note, bassist Wyman announced his retirement from the band in 1992). In the Nineties, the Rolling Stones have found a way to accommodate the solo careers of its two principals, Jagger and Richards, while leaving time for band projects. In fact, the group is seemingly more active now than it’s been since the Seventies, having released studio albums (including the Stones’ first Best Rock Album Grammy-winner, Voodoo Lounge) and the live No Security, and kicked off lengthy tours in 1994 (Voodoo Lounge) and 1997 (Bridges to Babylon).

The Rolling were inducted in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, and continue to rock the world with frequent tour dates.

Check out this great video from the Ed Sullivan Show in 1966. Brian Jones classic riffs on the Sitar are unforgettable.

Official Website: www.rollingstones.com