Unreleased REM compilation
Mike Blackwood
I just made a cd-r of all the unreleased REM originals (as opposed to
covers) in my bootleg collection. I called it "A Bodycount of Sorts -
Aborted Originals, 1981-1985". The tracklisting is:
A Girl Like You
Get On Their Way (eventually becomes What If We Give It Away?)
Body Count
Different Girl
Action
Narrator
Hey Hey Nadyne
Baby I
Permanent Vacation
Dangerous Times
I Don't Want You Anymore (aka All The Right Friends)
Wait
Sheherezade
Lisa Sez
Mystery To Me
That Beat *
Stumble/Skank (a hybrid of the 2 songs) *
Theme From Two Steps Onward +
PSA (Bad Day) +
When I Was Young (later evolved into I Believe) +
All recorded Live at Tyrones, Athens, Georgia, January 10, 1981, except
"*" recorded live at Merlins, Madison, Wisconsin, April 24, 1982, and
"+" recorded at various parts unknown in 1985
Anyway, listening to the cd last night, I realized that even though REM
started out as a "party band", a few of their early scrapped songs still
sould like "real" REM (ie what the band eventually became). Of the 15
unreleased songs from 1981, 13 are definately silly fast-tempo
party-rockers. However, Bodycount is a blisteringly political song, and
it's structure is much more than just jangly mayhem like most of the
unreleased stuff from the Tyrones Gig. Obviously Get On Their Way is much
like later REM as well, since it became What If We Give It Away...
The two unreleased tracks from Merlins in 1982 are very much like the
Chronic Town material, and show the band's distancing from the early
"party sound". The blending of Stumble and Skank shows how closely
releated the arty-weirdness of the two songs are...
The 3 tracks from 1985 show "modern REM" in action. Theme From TSO is a
phenomenally good song, and oddly enough I could see it even fitting in on
"Up"! PSA (Bad Day) is excellent REM mid-80's pop-rock, and When I Was
Young is a bass-driven pop-rocker in the same vein.
So, if anyone else has musings on these songs, please share them with the
group! With "I've Been High" being discussed lately, I thought a
discussion of other as-yet-unreleased REM songs was in order!
hold together,
Mike "Elixir" Blackwood
Nadyne Mielke
attention, Mike Blackwood <mi...@cs.mun.ca> wrote:
>Hey Hey Nadyne
YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Someone else is spelling it properly!
/nm
Mike Blackwood
Well, I mentioned the song once before as Hey Hey Nadine and you corrected
me... you're not the Nadyne of the song, are you?
Hold together,
Mike "Elixir" Blackwood
Nadyne Mielke
attention, Mike Blackwood <mi...@cs.mun.ca> wrote:
>On Wed, 25 Oct 2000, Nadyne Mielke wrote:
>> On Wed, 25 Oct 2000 12:53:12 -0230, as Koko sat in my lap begging for
>> attention, Mike Blackwood <mi...@cs.mun.ca> wrote:
>> >Hey Hey Nadyne
>> YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
>> Someone else is spelling it properly!
>Well, I mentioned the song once before as Hey Hey Nadine and you corrected
>me... you're not the Nadyne of the song, are you?
I'm thinking not. At the time the song was written, I was in grade
school and living in Michigan. :)
My theory is: I'm the only Nad*ne around here, and thus I'm the only one
with an investment in the title. So I get to choose how it's spelled.
;)
/nm
Mike Blackwood
On Wed, 25 Oct 2000, Nadyne Mielke wrote:
> >Well, I mentioned the song once before as Hey Hey Nadine and you corrected
> >me... you're not the Nadyne of the song, are you?
>
> I'm thinking not. At the time the song was written, I was in grade
> school and living in Michigan. :)
>
> My theory is: I'm the only Nad*ne around here, and thus I'm the only one
> with an investment in the title. So I get to choose how it's spelled.
> ;)
>
Oh... um, before I design artwork for my compilation, do you (or anyone
else) know for sure how REM spelled it? I mean, I'd like to spell it
the way Stipe did when I do the artwork... but it will always be
"Nadyne" in my heart! ;)
Hold together,
Mike "Elixir" Blackwood
ps: People miss-spell/pronounce one of my middle names, hence my
"Elixir" nick-name.
Andrew Palka
> started out as a "party band", a few of their early scrapped songs still
> sould like "real" REM (ie what the band eventually became). Of the 15
> unreleased songs from 1981, 13 are definately silly fast-tempo
> party-rockers. However, Bodycount is a blisteringly political song, and
> it's structure is much more than just jangly mayhem like most of the
> unreleased stuff from the Tyrones Gig. Obviously Get On Their Way is much
> like later REM as well, since it became What If We Give It Away...
Actually thanks to Hank, who burned Chronic Murmurings for me recently, I
have been listening to the old Tyrones demos off CM as well as a vinyl boot
of So Much Younger Then. (Yep Hank, my turntable is back up........:-) )
What strikes me is even though the early originals were written as "party
songs", they still sound quite good and if you listen closely, you can hear
that these guys *have* something. Already, they sound better than the
majority of bar bands any of us have ever heard on a Saturday night. There
is definitely nascent "star quality" in the early stuff. You can also hear
their signature jangly sound starting to emerge.
Regardless of the occasional clunkiness in the lyrical content, musically
this stuff still sounds quite interesting to me and I can see why anyone who
saw them early in the game were almost immediately charmed by them. And as
we know, Jefferson Holt and Bertis Downs were definitely listening!
> > The two unreleased tracks from Merlins in 1982 are very much like the
> Chronic Town material, and show the band's distancing from the early
> "party sound". The blending of Stumble and Skank shows how closely
> releated the arty-weirdness of the two songs are...
I agree..........Skank would have made a fine B side.
>
> The 3 tracks from 1985 show "modern REM" in action. Theme From TSO is a
> phenomenally good song, and oddly enough I could see it even fitting in on
> "Up"! PSA (Bad Day) is excellent REM mid-80's pop-rock, and When I Was
> Young is a bass-driven pop-rocker in the same vein.
Theme from TSO should have been recorded properly. It is a fine song hands
down. PSA should have been on Lifes Rich Pageant IMO. It is one of their
best songs from that period. Too bad we don't have a proper recording of
either two available.
Andrew
**********************************************************
Mike Blackwood <mi...@cs.mun.ca> wrote in message
news:Pine.BSF.4.21.001025...@ganymede.cs.mun.ca...
>
> I just made a cd-r of all the unreleased REM originals (as opposed to
Mike Blackwood <mi...@cs.mun.ca> wrote in message
news:Pine.BSF.4.21.001025...@ganymede.cs.mun.ca...
Mike Blackwood
On Thu, 26 Oct 2000, Andrew Palka wrote:
> Actually thanks to Hank, who burned Chronic Murmurings for me recently, I
> have been listening to the old Tyrones demos off CM as well as a vinyl boot
> of So Much Younger Then. (Yep Hank, my turntable is back up........:-) )
Chronic Murmurings? Whazzat? SMYT is an edited setlist of the Tyrones gig
from Jan, 10 1981, right?
> What strikes me is even though the early originals were written as "party
> songs", they still sound quite good and if you listen closely, you can hear
> that these guys *have* something. Already, they sound better than the
> majority of bar bands any of us have ever heard on a Saturday night. There
> is definitely nascent "star quality" in the early stuff. You can also hear
> their signature jangly sound starting to emerge.
Oh, definately... the rythem section was phenomenal even on the most
off-the-cuff "party songs", and Stipe's voice was obviously
wonderful... after all, Classics like RFE, Sitting Still, and Pretty
Persuasion were played at that show, and were incredibly well-performed.
You're right, though, that their talents were obvious on even the songs
they later discarded... just not quite AS obvious as they were on the
songs that bore better craftmanship and were later released.
> Regardless of the occasional clunkiness in the lyrical content, musically
> this stuff still sounds quite interesting to me and I can see why anyone who
> saw them early in the game were almost immediately charmed by them. And as
> we know, Jefferson Holt and Bertis Downs were definitely listening!
Well, I know I would have been enraptured, had I been a late-teen in
Athens and not a five-year-old in Canada at the time! The rythem sections
hold up especially well when you listen to that stuff on headphones...
> Theme from TSO should have been recorded properly. It is a fine song hands
> down. PSA should have been on Lifes Rich Pageant IMO. It is one of their
> best songs from that period. Too bad we don't have a proper recording of
> either two available.
Personally, I think Theme from TSO would hold up incredibly well even
today, especially if recorded in the style of "Up"'s production. I'd even
go so far as to say it's become one of my favorite REM songs! (By the way,
Chronic Town to Fables, inclusive, and "Up" are my favorite REM releases.
I really like all the other stuff, of course, esp. the later IRS stuff.
The only album I really dislike is NAIHF... I love 4 or 5 tracks on it
and find the rest incredibly bad in comparison)
My copies of Theme... and PSA are fairly good in sound quality... tape
hiss and a slight muffling, perhaps, but for such unreleased gems I
certainly can't complain. Listening to When I Was Young makes me wish I
had a better quality copy of it, and that they'd retained the bass-heavy
sound when it became I Believe. BTW, I also have a demo of I believe
where the modern music is ready, but the lyrics are incomplete so Stipe
just hums a verse or two!
Andrew Palka
>Chronic Murmurings? Whazzat? SMYT is an edited setlist of the Tyrones gig
>from Jan, 10 1981, right?
Yes to SMYT. CM is a vinyl boot from the early to mid 80s that has the
original Tyrone 4 track demos from 1980 (earliest stuff available I believe)
as well as early Drive In demos and the hard to find RCA demos (pre-IRS) For
more info on CM go to www.svs.com/rem/
>Well, I know I would have been enraptured, had I been a late-teen in
>Athens and not a five-year-old in Canada at the time!
I was stuck in Ohio! BTW, my wife and I toured Montreal, Quebec, Prince
Edward Island and Nova Scotia in September. We loved Canada very much
........:-)
>My copies of Theme... and PSA are fairly good in sound quality... tape
>hiss and a slight muffling, perhaps, but for such unreleased gems I
>certainly can't complain
I know . I'm just too picky. I want proper studio recorded
versions!..........:-)According to Peter Buck, TFTSO was actually recorded
for use as a B side but the master tape was lost, supposedly left in a cab
by one of the band members.
Andrew
*************************************************************
Mike Blackwood <mi...@cs.mun.ca> wrote in message
news:Pine.BSF.4.21.001026...@ganymede.cs.mun.ca...
>
> On Thu, 26 Oct 2000, Andrew Palka wrote:
>
> > Actually thanks to Hank, who burned Chronic Murmurings for me recently,
I
> > have been listening to the old Tyrones demos off CM as well as a vinyl
boot
> > of So Much Younger Then. (Yep Hank, my turntable is back
Mike Blackwood
On Thu, 26 Oct 2000, Andrew Palka wrote:
> Yes to SMYT. CM is a vinyl boot from the early to mid 80s that has the
> original Tyrone 4 track demos from 1980 (earliest stuff available I believe)
> as well as early Drive In demos and the hard to find RCA demos (pre-IRS) For
> more info on CM go to www.svs.com/rem/
Oooohhh! I'll have to try and find a copy someday!
> >Well, I know I would have been enraptured, had I been a late-teen in
> >Athens and not a five-year-old in Canada at the time!
>
> I was stuck in Ohio! BTW, my wife and I toured Montreal, Quebec, Prince
> Edward Island and Nova Scotia in September. We loved Canada very much
> ........:-)
That's great... My wife and I spent our honeymoon in Nova Scotia and
New Brunswick just 2 months ago... We're from Newfoundland, BTW, and I
HEARTILY recommend our native isle as a tourist destination... ooodles of
history and cultural events surrounded by stunningly diverse geography and
a lot of untouched (or barely-touched) wilderness.
> According to Peter Buck, TFTSO was actually recorded
> for use as a B side but the master tape was lost, supposedly left in a cab
> by one of the band members.
>
this almost qualifies a criminal negligence! ;-) Of all their unreleased
material, this is the song that most deserves professional recording and
release...
David Ersmarker
> original Tyrone 4 track demos from 1980 (earliest stuff available I
believe)
Nope...this is one of the most common misinformations when it coems to
R.E.M. tapes/boots... (maybe along with the Philly '84, which of course
isn't from Philly...:-)
The so-called "Tyrone's demos" are actually the soundtrack of a videotaped
practice session in the back room of the Atlanta Wuxtry's...before an
Atlanta show on June 6th, 1980.
The sound from the video tape was transferred to tape and handed out (under
the name "R.E.M.-Slurred") to friends as well as to get gigs... it has then
found its way to trading circuit...
Tonyn Fletcher erronusly indentified these recording as coming from some
sort of demo session at Tyrone's....but...they ain't!
/David Ersmarker
**************************************************
"Do you think a serious person would wear this shirt?"
(Peter Buck, Swedish TV, March 1999)
**************************************************
David Ersmarker, Sweden ------ ICQ: 6239383
ersm...@projektplanering-soe.se
Visit "Chronic Town - David's R.E.M. page"
http://hem1.passagen.se/athens (300+ live tapes, news & info!!!)
*************************************************
Mr. PB
I may be able to help you with this.
Mr. PB
<< do you (or anyone else) know for sure how REM spelled it >>
From an old set list I have;
Hey Hey Nadine
Andrew Palka
> R.E.M. tapes/boots... (maybe along with the Philly '84, which of course
> isn't from Philly...:-)
> The so-called "Tyrone's demos" are actually the soundtrack of a videotaped
> practice session in the back room of the Atlanta Wuxtry's...before an
> Atlanta show on June 6th, 1980.
> The sound from the video tape was transferred to tape and handed out
(under
> the name "R.E.M.-Slurred") to friends as well as to get gigs... it has
then
> found its way to trading circuit...
> Tonyn Fletcher erronusly indentified these recording as coming from some
> sort of demo session at Tyrone's....but...they ain't!
>
sources It Crawled from The South by Marcus Grey 1992 edition (pg. 89) and
Remnants by Gary Nabors (pg. 180 ). Both support my contention.
Well low and behold, Marcus grey corrects himself in the revised 1996
edition of ICFTS (pg. 35) supporting your position. Oh well, I'd rather know
the truth even if it makes me guilty of disseminating
misinformation.........:-) And since I own both editions, I should have
caught it.
BTW, this does clear up something about those tracks that I've always
wondered. Namely, if these *are* off a 4 track, why do they sound so crappy?
Is this a multi-multi generation dub of the original tape or who the hell
set the levels on this thing? So now we know...........the rest of the
story..........Thanks
Andrew
************************************************************
David Ersmarker <ersm...@projektplanering-soe.se> wrote in message
news:8ta1il$gi0$2...@news0.skynet.be...
Mike Blackwood
Thanks! Now my artwork for A Bodycount Of Sorts will be accurate,
especially if you can answer the following question as well...
...is it spelled "Lisa Says" or "Lisa Sez"? (I've seen both)
Mike
ps: sorry Nadyne!
Mr. PB
the video tape >>
This is not true, I have given a copy of this recording to the owner of the
only copy of this videotape and he verifies that some of the songs are not even
on the video and the order is all wrong. He is one of the owners of Wuxtry by
the way.
After hearing this recording I am led to believe that this is a recording that
was actually done at the rehearsal space they used to share with The Side
Effects on Jackson Street, recorded by Mark Cherry, who was an employee at the
Athens Wuxtry and played in the $windles$.
Mr. PB
without the -munity.
Mr. PB
Lisa Sais It is French :) Just Kidding
You would be safe with Lisa Says I believe it was usually written as just Lisa
anyway.
Andrew Palka
>only copy of this videotape and he verifies that some of the songs are not
even
>on the video and the order is all wrong. He is one of the owners of Wuxtry
by
>the way.
So..........the plot thickens here......:-) Apparently, Marcus Grey's
correction to his original error in ICFTS is also incorrect. Just goes to
show you how hard it is to obtain accurate information sometimes about
events well after the fact.
Another good example. If you read my post regarding Theme From Two Steps
Onward above, Peter actually stated in an interview that I read that he
thinks they left the master tape in a cab accidentally and that's how it got
lost. But in two other interviews I have been able to find he just says the
master got lost somewhere without being specific. So......The cab story may
be true or it may be classic Buckian exaggeration. And we all know by now
that Peter has a writer's gift for embellishment.
I'd like to think that the cab story is true and that tape is sitting in
someone's closet just waiting to be rediscovered and eventually bootlegged .
Now that would be a great end to the story...............:-)
Thanks for the additional info Paul.
Andrew
************************************************************
Mr. PB <myst...@aol.community> wrote in message
news:20001028035848...@ng-ch1.aol.com...
Andrew Palka
>HEARTILY recommend our native isle as a tourist destination... ooodles of
>history and cultural events surrounded by stunningly diverse geography and
>a lot of untouched (or barely-touched) wilderness.
Newfoundland was one of our planned destinations but we ran short on time.
We only had 2 weeks and we ended up driving 4,400 miles as it was. But we
will definitely tour Newfoundland next trip which I hope is soon.....
Andrew
************************************************************
Mike Blackwood <mi...@cs.mun.ca> wrote in message
news:Pine.BSF.4.21.001026...@ganymede.cs.mun.ca...
>
Mr. PB
Mike Blackwood
On Sat, 28 Oct 2000, Andrew Palka wrote:
> Newfoundland was one of our planned destinations but we ran short on time.
> We only had 2 weeks and we ended up driving 4,400 miles as it was. But we
> will definitely tour Newfoundland next trip which I hope is soon.....
As someone who has worked in tourist-oriented jobs here in Newfoundland, I
can say that the most common complaint is that most people don't have
enough time to see all the things that interest them here. It's a very
big island, so budget in extra time for having to travel a fair distance
if you want to try something that wasn't on your original list of things
to do...
Mike
Mike Blackwood
On 30 Oct 2000, Mr. PB wrote:
> Apart from some mispellings, I'd say this is a good CD
Are you talking about my "A Bodycount Of Sorts - Aborted Originals,
1981-1985" compilation? If so, I'm flattered ;-)
Anyway, I'd love it if you could reply with your corrections to the
track-list below (in terms of spellings, etc)
A Girl Like You
Get On Their Way
Body Count
Different Girl
Action
Narrator
Hey Hey Nadine
Baby I
Permanent Vacation
Dangerous Times
I Don't Want You Anymore (aka All The Right Friends)
Wait
Sheherezade
Lisa Says
Mystery To Me
That Beat
Stumble/Skank
Theme From Two Steps Onward
PSA (Bad Day)
When I Was Young
benzedrine
all the songs you included on your compilation and I think I will make
myself an "unreleased REM" cd too)? Also, if anyone else has artwork for
R.E.M. compilations, live shows, etc that they have created and wouldnt
mind sharing, I am interested! I'm referring to shows and bootlegs not
listed at svs.com/rem. I'm terrible at graphic design but would love to
have nice artwork to go with some of my shows and compilations.
Thanks!
-emmet
Mr. PB
practice session in the back room of the Atlanta Wuxtry's >>
Sorry, but this is also untrue as I have explained before.
