Michael Stipe says R.E.M. will release their next album on April 1st. Speaking at a charity event in New York, Stipe reportedly said “Let me tell you a secret: we have a great fucking record in the bag. It’s a big change.”
This week I'd thought we'd go backwards. This band was a turning point for our generation. It was the first time you could listen to a band to make your middle school girlfriend happy and they were actually really good. Just about every girl I knew/know wanted to pounce on the lead singer. They were in the seventh and eighth grade, so it's doubtful they would have known what to do with him had they had the chance. It was funny to watch girls want something, but not really understand why. 20 years later, not much has changed.
These guys were it in the late 80's. Don't any of you lie and try to tell us you didn't have their name scribbled on a duo-tang folder or a bookcover (Except maybe Mormon Girl). For example, I'm sure Alison had it written right below the gigantic DEF LEPPARD RULZ! (with the "Z" and everything: "What do you want?").
You remember how cool you thought this video was and remember; it was done in the days when you had to cut and paste every single frame. Now, this would take about an hour of digital editing, but it wouldn't have the same feel or any soul.
So, let's all take a trip back to middle school and enjoy from Sydney, Australia:
INXS - "Need you tonight/Mediate"
The Mediate part at the end was an homage to this:
That's Allen Ginsberg in the background (Look him up. and if you're an English major and had to look it up, shame on you)
Bonus Tracks:
Just because someone told me recently it made them happy:
In the film I'm Not There, the 2 1/2 hour, six Bob Dylan movie there is a scene during the Richard Gere section where during a funeral the band plays this song. The singer has his face covered in white kabuki makeup, which is a reference to the 1975 Rolling Thunder review tour in which Dylan took the stage with that on. Anyway, I remember watching it and thinking how beautifully sad it was. Didn't realize it was setting the tone for the rest of the evening. Still doesn't take away from the beauty of the performance.
The singer is played by Jim James who is the singer for My Morning Jacket. I couldn't find a clip from the movie, but this is a video of them playing it somewhere. I don't know much about them or where they're from and honestly I didn't feel like looking it up.
In the parking lot tonite after seeing "I'm Not There"
Her: "I've really enjoyed getting to know you, but I'm not feeling a spark. I was hoping there would be, because you've said and done all the right things. I wanted to tell you in person..."
Me:
Actually, I said nothing. Just nodded my head and said ok. I'm sure once the shock and surprise wear off I'll know what to say. Right now, I just don't have the words.
When 6pm turns into 12.30Am and neither of you noticed. When you walk all over Mid-Town looking for a place to eat that's still open and neither of you seem to mind and are enjoying the walk and the company far more than anything... That's when you know it's good.
Our pick this week comes from the great state of Canada. (Come on, it's the 51st state.) She had a song on an obscure Canadian movie I saw called "Men with Brooms". It's about curling sort of. It had the Tragically Hip in it (for about ten seconds). It was actually a pretty good movie, so you should netflix it. It has Molly Parker and she's hot, so you got that.
Anyway, during the film there was a song that made me take notice. It was called "Silver Road" and I noticed that Gord was singing in the background. I looked it up and found her name and found her record. It's really good and it doesn't hurt that she's beautiful. I posted her picture on the old site, so in case you forgot (and how could you), this is her:
See. Hott.
Ok, so this is the song and someone put this video together from clips of the movie, so it sort of doesn't go, but you get the idea.
From Burlington, Ontario, Canada:
Sarah Harmer - Silver Road
Bonus tracks:
Another Sarah Harmer (Shut up. She's hot enough for two picks.)
Sarah Harmer - Don't get your back up
Random pick of the week: If you've worked in a record store, you know this kind of thing happens everyday.
