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REM by MTV

Really enjoyed this documentary on VH1 classic a couple of days ago. Insightful footage of the lads from their Athens' days playing for keg parties and whoever would listen. They came across as being sincerely surprised about their commercial success while all in all creating a great body of work. I remember seeing them open up for the "Swimming Pool Q's at 688 in Atlanta in the early 80's. I thought they were great and giggled at Michael Stipe because he danced like he was having an epileptic fit on stage.
maxnewid
phasecorrect's avatar
phasecorrect
2,013 posts
 
For those that were not there...REM were the Beatles of college radio long before MTV, grunge, alt, indie, etc...their first two Lps were magical...after that they had brief moments of brilliance but nothing that rivaled their early work. They also got rave reviews from RS and NY Times which catapulted them to stardom.
tostadosunidos's avatar
tostadosunidos
1,197 posts
 
"the Beatles of college radio?" Thou dost blaspheme.
phasecorrect's avatar
phasecorrect
2,013 posts
 
Not really...qualified with "college radio"...these guys were indie before indie existed...reference...a decade before Nirvana
nrenter's avatar
nrenter
766 posts
 
Phasecorrect, you have to admit "Life's Rich Pageant" is a close #3. Then the brief moments of brilliance began.
phasecorrect's avatar
phasecorrect
2,013 posts
 
Life's rich pageant does have a special place...came out in 86 I believe...my first year of college...U2; Cure, and Rem all came out of this collegiate era and were able to go mainstream with the help of mtv and FM radio...back in the late 80s ...if you hit radio...it usually went nuclear (multi-platinum).
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