R.E.M. "Tongue"

"Are you guys getting wet out there?"

I was seeing R.E.M. on their tour supporting "Monster." It was their first tour in 6 years. Things had changed for R.E.M.

The last time they had been on tour, it was behind the album "Green," their 6th record, which, like each predecessor, got them a little more attention than the last record. They had graduated to playing arenas.

But albums seven and eight were real breakthroughs, major worldwide successes. So by the time record number nine, "Monster," was released, the band's decision to tour brought them to much larger venues, including outdoor amphitheaters.

This night, outside of Nashville, Tennessee, the weather wasn't so great. Rain had been on and off, and thunderstorms were threatening. But the rain had stopped when Michael Stipe asked the question:

"Are you guys getting wet out there?"

And it struck me as a sign of much change with R.E.M. when Stipe, is a slow, low voice, followed his question with:

"I'm a little moist myself."

With earlier albums touching on political subjects and more recent albums awash in tasteful strings, with their activism up-front-and-center and their prevailing attitude being unadulterated earnestness, R.E.M. up to that point, had never struck me as a "funny" band. Or a "sexy" band.

Fun? Yes. Energetic? Yes. Even cheerful? Sometimes. But not usually funny. And never playfully sexy.

But in a quick flash on the previous album (when Stipe throws an Andy Kaufman-as-Elvis-Presley impression into "Man On The Moon"), and moreso on "Monster," the band, and Stipe in particular, seemed to be having fun with the characters in the songs.

And the song that followed his "moist" quip seemed to be the culmination of a willingness to really be something different, be someone different.

He introduced the song by saying, "Sometimes I write songs for boys. Sometimes I write songs for girls. This one, is for the ladies."

Can you imagine a full-song falsetto, up-front and on top of the mix, on an early album like "Fables Of The Reconstruction" or "Murmur"? No way.

"Tongue" had it. It sounded great. It suited the band. It was a sign of change and of growth. It was a good moment.



See the video on Youtube.

From a documentary, with a bit of discussion about "Tongue"

See the video on Youtube.

Bruce Springsteen "Save My Love"

I think the first album I got with a special bonus track was R.E.M's "Eponymous" Best Of collection, which didn't have the version of "Radio Free Europe" that we were all used to. It had the "original Hib-Tone" single mix---a kind of lost, alternate version. It was an interesting artifact.

In the years since, the interesting artifacts have taken over. Now, any album of any renown eventually gets remastered and reissued, with a host of (sometimes dubious) bonus material.

In fact, this year, R.E.M. reissued "Fables Of The Reconstruction." The remastered original album sounds great! But am I really ever going to listen to that second disc, which contains the not-quite-realized demo versions of all the songs on the record? Nah.

But we do have a thirst for this stuff. Our "Behind The Music" desires must be satiated.

So when a truly BIG album gets reissued, it doesn't just come with a remixed track, or even a bonus disc. It comes with a live concert and a whole dern movie!

The making of "Darkness On The Edge Of Town" was a pretty tumultuous time for Bruce Springsteen, and it was at an interesting crux in his career.

So this Fall, he's getting the full treatment. A documentary! 2 concert DVDs! 21 unreleased songs! Never! Before! Seen! Footage!

Bruce has never been known for keeping it short, has he?

The package isn't out until later this fall (though you can pre-order it from Amazon), but one of the Never! Before! Released! tracks is available for streaming.

Check it out. Does it merit the hoopla? Or is it just a relic from the attic?