In
1983 you were probably torn between buying Michael Jackson’s Thriller and the
Police’s Synchronicity a winner on both accounts, you shouldn't have sweated it
out so much… You also may have been mesmerized by your friend’s Swatch Watch,
their growing laser disc collection or their ultimate Rubik’s Cube skills, geeky.. But
if you were just a bit left of center you may have noticed that a band from the
UK called The Smiths who released their first singles Hand In Glove and This
Charming Man, thank you, and a little band from Georgia released their debut full-length album Murmur.
R.E.M.’s
Murmur was unlike most anything else at the time, quirky if not cryptic lyrics
from front man Michael Stipe and a band, Peter Buck, Bill Berry & Mike
Mills, producing something between jangly pop and disfigured country. Soon, alternative
music would be what you listened to be, well, alternative. The 80’s
counterculture was now in full swing and it was smart, intriguing and enough noisy mystery to make your folks wince. You dug the hell out of this new sonic movement.
This
is now and the boys in the now split R.E.M. are off enjoying semi-retirements
and have been pooh-poohing any chance of a most wanted reunion. This doesn't mean
you have to wait for music releases brothers and sisters. No, not only have you
forgotten to buy their last five studio releases but you have also, most
likely, neglected to pony-up some bucks for their just released Unplugged: The
Complete 1991 - 2001 Sessions.
"We
all want to do something with this stuff," he said. "We know we've
got some really good things hanging around. We just want to put them out in a
way that makes them as special as possible, because they're special to us. I
mean, if we've been sitting on stuff for this long, why go cheap with it now?
Let's try to make it be special rather than just dumping out the vaults." –
Mike Mills (Billboard)
If
their extremely impressive Unplugged stops didn't get your nostalgic and/or music
exploration juices flowing, what about the two other coming offerings The
Complete Rarities: I.R.S. 1982-1987 and The Complete Rarities: Warner Bros:
1988-2011? Ha, I knew you were a diehard
fan…
The
Complete Rarities: I.R.S. 1982-1987 will serve up 25 non-album tracks from
their indie label days and The Complete Rarities: Warner Bros: 1988-2011
delivers 131 rarities from their losing our indie cred days of mega-stardom and
shiny happy highly polished releases, mostly. Hey, I’m not saying anything I didn't say. I tease because I love.
Put a smile on your eager face and go
to iTunes, Amazon or the band’s website for all your purchasing needs and prove
your indie cred and help maintain the legacy of one of alternative music’s much loved and true
pioneering acts.
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