The REM faq (3/3)
gdu...@wolfenet.com
Posting-frequency: monthly
Last modified: July 7, 1995
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[Continued from Part 2/3]
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Part 5.
Those Evil "Favorite Song" Posts....
Poll-type threads come up every so often, mostly initiated by new
subscribers who want instant feedback on their own opinions about albums
and songs. Before asking a general question like:
o "What's everyone's favorite song/album?"
PLEASE be aware that asking everyone on the group to post what their
favorite song, or album, or favorite five songs, or favorite two albums,
or favorite combination of video and song, or favorite song R.E.M. has
covered, etc., etc., is considered poor netiquette. Hundreds to
thousands of people read this newsgroup every day, and we don't want a
post from each and every one of them! Besides the fact that the posts
will get incredibly boring after about the tenth respondent, no one can
remember what everyone has said, and in the end it's rather pointless.
If for some reason you just HAVE to know what the entire group's
consensus is on something, be a good net-citizen and please ask people
to email to YOU all responses, and then YOU compile the results into
a single, neat informational post that will actually mean something to
everyone.
For example:
Eric Misiano recently posted the following poll results from responses he
received from a post asking for favorite song and album.
BEST SONG (Top 20)
RANK TITLE TOTAL
----------------------------------------------
1. Find the River 317
2. Nightswimming 270
3. I Believe 267
4. Losing My Religion 243
5. So. Central Rain 212
6. Country Feedback 187
7. It's the End of the World 185
8. Perfect Circle 172
9. Fall on Me 162
World Leader Pretend 162
11. These Days 125
12. Driver 8 114
13. Radio Free Europe 107
14. Man on the Moon 95
15. Half a World Away 82
You Are the Everything 82
17. Low 80
Swan Swan H 80
19. The One I Love 79
20. Life & How to Live It 75
Orange Crush 75
Wolves, Lower 75
-----------------------------------------------
BEST ALBUM
RANK TITLE TOTAL
------------------------------------------------
1. Lifes Rich Pageant 825
2. Automatic For the People 754
3. Fables of the Reconstruction 356
4. Murmur 387
5. Document 423
6. Out of Time 683
7. Reckoning 329
8. Monster 196
9. Green 398
10. Chronic Town 200
11. Dead Letter Office 49
-------------------------------------------------
BEST SONG ON ALBUM (Top 3 of each)
CHRONIC TOWN MURMUR
============ ======
Song Votes Song Votes
----------------------------- -----------------------------
Carnival of Sorts Radio Free Europe 9
(Box Cars) 5 Perfect Circle 8
Gardening at Night 4 Talk About the Passion 4
Stumble 2 -----------------------------
-----------------------------
RECKONING FABLES OF THE RECONSTRUCTION
========= ============================
Song Votes Song Votes
----------------------------- -----------------------------
So. Central Rain 7 Driver 8 9
Pretty Persuasion 5 Wendell Gee 4
Harborcoat 4 Life and How to Live It 3
----------------------------- -----------------------------
LIFES RICH PAGEANT DEAD LETTER OFFICE
================== ==================
Song Votes Songs Votes
----------------------------- -----------------------------
I Believe 9 Bandwagon 4
Fall on Me 6 Voice of Harold 3
Swan Swan H 5 Pale Blue Eyes 3
----------------------------- -----------------------------
DOCUMENT GREEN
======== =====
Song Votes Song Votes
----------------------------- -----------------------------
Its the End of the World 10 Orange Crush 8
King of Birds 6 World Leader Pretend 6
Disturbance at the Turn You Inside-Out 5
Heron House 5 -----------------------------
-----------------------------
OUT OF TIME AUTOMATIC FOR THE PEOPLE
=========== ========================
Song Votes Song Votes
----------------------------- -----------------------------
Losing My Religion 12 Find the River 13
Country Feedback 8 Nightswimming 7
Belong 5 Man on the Moon 4
----------------------------- -----------------------------
MONSTER
=======
Song Votes
-------------------------------------
What's the Frequency, Kenneth? 5
Crush With Eyeliner 5
Circus Envy 4
Let Me In 4
Strange Currencies 4
Star 69 4
-------------------------------------
If you have any questions about this poll, please contact Eric directly
via email at emis...@diamond.tufts.edu.
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Part 6.
Where To Get More Information about R.E.M. (Books)
Several books have been published about R.E.M. Among them are:
REMnants - The R.E.M. Collector's Handbook and Price Guide,
by Gary Nabors. A list of over 1200 collectible R.E.M. items
fully described and valued, plus a 29 page interview with Peter.
A must for the die-hard R.E.M. collector. (Eclipse Publishers,
261 pages, ISBN 0963624148.)
It Crawled From The South: An R.E.M. Companion, by Marcus Gray
This is THE book for the hardcore fan. Some might even go so far
as to say to read this *and* REMnants cover to cover before posting to
rec.music.rem! This book is considerably more in-depth than
REMarks. And no, it doesn't have an index, though discussion
surfaces occasionally among fans on creating one. (DaCapo Books,
1993, ISBN 0306805006.)
REMarks: The Story of R.E.M., by Tony Fletcher. Second ed. of
the first bio to appear. A pretty complete compilation of all
the well-known info about the band, with lots of pretty pictures.
Probably the best bio for the casual fan. (London : Omnibus, 1993.
159 p. ISBN 0711932212 (pbk), 0711932212 (cloth).)
R.E.M.: Behind the Mask, by Jim Greer. A pretty hardcover coffee
table book written by a writer from SPIN. The author pretty
much re-wrote REMarks, replacing fact with his own opinions.
(Little Brown, 1992, ISBN 0316327301.)
Party Out Of Bounds, by Rodger Lyle Brown. A book about the early
(and mostly pre-REM) Athens music scene. Marcus Gray (author
of It Crawled From the South) called it "entertaining", though the
few who have taken time to read it don't speak as highly of it.
(Out of Print as of this writing anyway.)
R.E.M. File Under Water, by John Story.
An update of "A Few Chords and A Cloud of Dust", a complete
discography, bootleg list, etc published a while back by Total
Recall Productions. (Imaginary Books, ISBN 1-897787-00-6)
Talk About the Passion, by Denise Sullivan. Interviews with
various folks about the band over the years. (Charles F. Miller
Books, 1994, ISBN 0-88733-184-X.)
REM: The "Rolling Stone" Files: The Ultimate Compendium of Interviews,
Articles, Facts & Opinions from the Files "Rolling Stone". (Hyperion/
Little Brown, 1995, 320p., ISBN 0786880546, $14.95 retail price)
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Part 7.
R.E.M. On Video
All but four pre-A4TP videos are available on five full-length video
releases. These are:
R.E.M. Succumbs (Murmur through Lifes Rich Pageant)
Pop Screen (Document and Green)
Tourfilm (Green World Tour)
This Film is On (Out Of Time)
Parallel (Automatic for the People and Monster) [released 5/30/95]
All these videocassetes/videodiscs are in print and can probably be
found in your local hip music video emporium even as you read this.
The four videos not on these compilations are "Wolves, Lower" (rarely
seen, though MTV has a copy of it), "(All I've Got To Do Is) Dream"
and "Swan Swan H" from the "Athens, Ga - Inside/Out"
soundtrack (all
scenes from the film, which is available on video), and the MTV version
of "Radio Free Europe" (music is the same, but this version of the
clip contains snippets of live footage interspersed with the regular
video. More marketable, you know.)
Other R.E.M. related videotapes are: the previously-mentioned
_Athens, GA - Inside/Out_ documentary on the Athens, GA music scene,
and _Arena Brains_ a short film by Robert Longo featuring Michael
Stipe's acting debut (!).
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Part 8.
Resources Available On the Internet
1. Listed by Access Method:
Usenet
- What rec.music.rem is on. Other newsgroups that might be of
interest to r.m.r regulars include: alt.music.alternative (very
busy group, be forewarned!); alt.music.alternative.female (for all
the R.E.M. fans also fans of Indigo Girls and 10,000 Maniacs'
Natalie Merchant); alt.guitar.tab or rec.music.makers.* (several
groups where you might find R.E.M.'s music worked out by others).
- Non-rec.music.rem Usenet resources. Brian Edmonds'
"ALT.MUSIC GROUP" posting describes how to find Usenet groups and
mailing lists for other musical groups. To get his list of newsgroup
"alt" group names and descriptions:
o <A HREF="http://www.cs.ubc.ca/spider/edmonds/usenet/alt-
music.html">http://www.cs.ubc.ca/spider/edmonds/usenet/alt-music.html</A>
o send email to majo...@edmonds.home.cs.ubc.ca with the single
line "get faq alt-music.txt" in the body of the message
He also describes how to obtain a copy of the latest version of Myra
Wong's List of Music Mailing Lists. Send email to <majordomo@
edmonds.home.cs.ubc.ca> with the line "get faq lomml.txt" in the
body of the message, or:
o finger ayu...@server.berkeley.edu
o <A
HREF="ftp://server.berkeley.edu/pub/misc/lomml">ftp://server.berkeley.edu/pub/misc/lom
ml</A>
o <A
HREF="http://server.berkeley.edu/~ayukawa/lomml.html">http://server.berkeley.edu/~ay
ukawa/lomml.html</A>
Indiana University also maintains a searchable archive of over 9000
mailing lists. It is accessible on the web at:
o <A
HREF="http://scwww.ucs.indiana.edu/mlarchive/">http://scwww.ucs.indiana.edu/mlarchi
ve/</A>
(Excerpted from: The alt.music Group List.)
Email mailing list (reflector or digest)
With the demise of the MURMUR list, there currently exists no
email forum to which you can subscribe. The previous mailing
list organizer may be able to provide a list of former sub-
scribers to Murmur should someone really be interested in picking
the job up.
WWW
- R.E.M. Home Page <A
HREF="http://www.halcyon.com/rem/index.html"><http://www.halcyon.com/rem/inde
x.html></A>
Use a World Wide Web browser (Netscape, Mosaic, Lynx, etc.) to
access this site. Includes a wondrous assortment of R.E.M.
materials and hypertext links to other resources. One can also
access the halcyon.com FTP site through this WWW page. Maintained
by Simone Jarzabek (jarz...@halcyon.com).
- Some other WWW sites are:
<A
HREF="http://www.iuma.com/Warner/R.E.M..html"><http://www.iuma.com/Warner/
R.E.M..html></A> (Record label's _Monster_
promotional site.)
<A
HREF="http://comp.uark.edu/~cbray/rem/rem.html"><http://comp.uark.edu/~cbray/re
m/rem.html></A> (Chords and tabs.)
| <A
HREF="http://www.gtlug.org/~dgoodman/rem.html"><http://www.gtlug.org/~dgoodm
an/rem.html></A> (.gifs and lyrics.)
<A
HREF="http://adms10.fnal.gov:8001/~zimmm/default.html"><http://adms10.fnal.gov:8
001/~zimmm/default.html></A> (Bootleg info.)
<A HREF="http://fas-www.harvard.edu/~jsage/remenu.html"><http://fas-
www.harvard.edu/~jsage/remenu.html></A> (Concert reviews.)
<A
HREF="http://www.cs.oberlin.edu:80/students/spostel/remstuff.html"><http://www.cs.
oberlin.edu:80/students/spostel/remstuff.html></A> (Boot
and tapetree info.)
<A
HREF="http://http2.brunel.ac.uk:8080/~cs94smp/rempage.htm"><http://http2.brunel.a
c.uk:8080/~cs94smp/rempage.htm></A> (New page in
U.K reproducing much of the Halcyon info.)
<A
HREF="http://sashimi.wwa.com/hammers/pictures/rem.htm"><http://sashimi.wwa.com/
hammers/pictures/rem.htm></A> (Pictures from
the Drive shoot.)
<A HREF="http://www.iuma.com/ATN/"><http://www.iuma.com/ATN/></A>
(On-line magazine "Addicted to Noise"
which had a major article on R.E.M. in issue 1.02 and has
had a number of other minor articles since.)
File Server
- fab...@lynchburg.edu
Send the command "LIST" to "fab...@lynchburg.edu" for a
list of all
files, including lyrics, magazine and newspaper articles and more,
available via E-mail from the fables file server.
FTP
- ftp.halcyon.com /local/rem
Halcyon contains murmur mailing list archives, graphics, and a
host of other things, via this anonymous FTP server. Maintained
by Simone Jarzabek.
- cs.uwp.edu /pub/music/artists/r/rem
This big site of popular music lyrics contains a subdirectory of
R.E.M. lyrics files, as well as a subdirectory of R.E.M. graphics
files (subdirectory /rem/pictures). NOTE: this site is notoriously
difficult to get access to daytimes. Try off-hours or use one of
the "mirror" sites (places which automatically copy the archive
and which are easier to access) listed on the message screen, if
you are denied access. One common mirror site is ftp.sunet.se.
- ftp.nevada.edu /pub/guitar/r/REM
Similarly to UWP, this site is very difficult to access. It also
has easier to access mirror sites (usually in Europe) you should
try if you are denied access.
2. Listed by Particular Item
Lyrics:
Kipp Teague <fable...@lynchburg.edu> periodically posts the
current versions of the group's collaborative lyrics files.
They can also be obtained via e-mail via the file server
"fab...@lynchburg.edu". Send the command "LIST" (as the
only
line in the body of the message) to the file server to obtain a
list of lyrics files and instructions on how to obtain them.
Lyrics files are also available via anonymous ftp to <cs.uwp.edu
/pub/music/lyrics/r/rem> (these are updated frequently using
the files from the fables server) but read the important
disclaimer above about accessing this archive. Finally, for
folks with WWW browsers, the Home Page provides access to the
most recent versions of the lyrics as well, through the URL
<A
HREF="http://www.halcyon.com/rem/index.html"><http://www.halcyon.com/rem/inde
x.html></A>.
The Great Bootleg List:
Get a copy via anonymous FTP from cs.uwp.edu (or one of its
mirrors) as described above, or through the R.E.M. WWW Home Page
site. Beware, it's a BIG file, and the new version which includes
graphics of each boot's cover is even larger! The WWW version of
the bootleg discography is maintained by Jason Zimberloff
<zi...@fnalv.fnal.gov>.
Ask its maintainer, David DeWolfe <sx...@orca.alaska.edu> for a
copy if you don't have ftp access or a WWW browser.
Chords / Guitar Tablature files:
Chris Bray has set up his own R.E.M. WWW site for lyrics with
guitar chords, at <A
HREF="http://comp.uark.edu/~cbray/"><http://comp.uark.edu/~cbray/></A>. If
you are
interested in learning how to play R.E.M. songs on the guitar,
this is the place for you to visit.
There are also chords to many R.E.M. songs available via anon
ftp, as mentioned above, from ftp.nevada.edu or its mirrors.
A compilation of individual files into a single very large file
is also located at ftp.halcyon.com /local/rem, which can also be
accessed through the WWW Home Page.
Discography:
Via anonymous FTP from cs.uwp.edu in /pub/music/artists/r/rem/discog
Beware, it's also a BIG file. Like most other things, also avail-
able through the R.E.M. WWW Home Page, and via ftp.halcyon.com
/local/rem/other. If all else fails, ask the file's maintainer,
Jim McVey <jmc...@clark.net> for a copy.
Pictures (.GIF and .JPEG graphics files)
Can be found through the R.E.M. WWW Home Page, or by anon FTP at
cs.uwp.edu:pub/music/artists/r/rem/pictures.
NOTE: There may be other REM related files at halcyon.com or
cs.uwp.edu not mentioned here. There are also new Web sites with links
to R.E.M. materials cropping up all the time. Scout around!
================================================================
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Part 9.
How To Find An R.E.M. Bootleg
Bootlegged recordings of R.E.M. concerts, and early demo versions of
songs from their albums, are widely available; comparisons have been
made between R.E.M. fandom and Deadheads on the basis of their shared
appetite for live recordings of their respective favorite band.
Remember that these recordings are, strictly speaking, illegal,
and are therefore not available in retail record outlets. So if you
want to get hold of some, here are some ways to go about it:
1. Go look in USED record and CD stores. Some used stores don't deal in
boots, but many others do. If you live in or near a big city (they tend
to be harder to find in small-town used stores), take a field trip and
dig, dig, dig. Many older bootlegs are only on vinyl, but there are a lot
of new ones on CD. Some stores also sell multiple-generation taped copies
of random shows, which don't sound as good, but are cheaper.
2. Go to record shows. Many dealers will sell recordings of
questionable legality and origin. You pay your money and you take
your chances!
3. Mail order. _Goldmine_ magazine as extensive advertisements from
people who deal in bootlegs. You may want to ask other group readers
about particular dealers before sending off your money, since many of
them aren't too reliable. From some people's experience, Midnight Records
(out of NYC) is a legitimate record store that has a very good mail
order department, as is Minus Zero Records at 2 Blenheim Crescent in
London. They both are reputed to have great selections selection.
4. Trade. If you see someone talking about a boot they have that
interests you, ask that person politely if they are willing to trade.
Some people will send you a copy in exchange for cash to cover postage
and the cassette, while others will only want to exchange for some
other recording of something that they want (in which case, if you don't
have what they're looking for, they won't be interested in trading with
you). But this person-to-person trading is probably the best way to
acquire boots since you're dealing with a private individual instead
of a store or company of questionable morals. Make sure you come to a
solid agreement before you send off tapes or cash! Many flame wars
get started over a misunderstanding about terms or time frame for
getting the recordings done and mailed back (some people will get it
done in a week, others may take a couple months).
You may find that if offer some bootleg or compilation tape of rare
songs to the entire net, you will be SWAMPED with requests for it. Be
aware of this, if you don't get a kick out of making dozens and dozens of
copies of a single tape -- remember, many THOUSANDS of people read rec.
music.rem each day. Sometimes people will offer to make a finite number
of copies for the first N people who reply, or will ask for a particular
type of recording in trade, to reduce the number of responses.
In Summary
Bear in mind that buying bootlegs is usually expensive. Vinyl boots used
to go for least US $10 per LP disk, and now, in "vintage record" shops, may
cost more than twice that. CD boots run about US $20-30 per disc. However,
making the investment of buying a good quality CD boot means you can tape
and trade copies of it for other things, and your collection can
therefore grow pretty quickly.
Because the sound quality of bootlegs varies widely, if you are
considering buying or ordering a bootleg, watch the list for discussions
on which ones you want, or ask about the sound quality (it would appear
that most of the common boots are owned by at least a few readers)
before shelling out the cash. The Great Bootleg Discography (see the
"Net Resources" section of the FAQ for info on how to get this) has
descriptions, ratings, and setlists for just about every bootleg that
has been released on LP and CD. Boots taken from radio broadcasts
of concerts are usually good quality soundboard recordings, though are
often very widely available under multiple titles -- so be careful you
don't inadvertently duplicate a show you already own. Audience
recordings, meanwhile, are generally of grab-bag quality and often
aren't really worth the effort unless the sound turned out okay, the
people around the person making the recording kept their mouths shut
(yeah, sure, you wanted a tape of Joe Shmoe's drunk buddy singing along
at the top of his lungs to "Losing My Religion"!) or if the show itself
was particularly significant (like the pre-Murmur shows, most notably
_So Much Younger Then_).
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Finally, A Word About Posting Rumors
Don't expect anyone to believe a rumor you've heard unless you can back
it up with concrete evidence. "My best friend said so," is NOT enough.
If you hear something that you'd like to try to confirm, please specify
that it is a rumor and not a fact, and take your chances (in other
words, you might still get flamed). But bear in mind nearly all gossip
about a celebrity (especially about Michael Stipe, who in R.E.M. seems
to be the rumor magnet) is only innuendo.
================================================================
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Acknowledgments
This file is certainly not the sole product of the current maintainer,
Ron Henry (rg...@cornell.edu), but is a long-term collaborative effort
by many diligent and creative folks who respect R.E.M. Many thanks
to the numerous newsgroup and mailing list members past and present who
have offered information, corrections and criticism to the contents
of this FAQL (you may or may not know who you are! :) Special thanks
go to Kipp Teague, a long-time maintainer of this document, and to
Valerie Ohm, original list manager at M.I.T. and original author of
much of this text.
Permission is given to quote and reproduce this text provided that
you credit the source ("R.E.M. and rec.music.rem FAQ" with date) and
*do not make any attempt to pass off the text as your own work.*
Further suggestions are always welcome (email to rg...@cornell.edu).
Keep those virtual cards and letters coming!