Happy Birthday R.E.M.

On April 5, 1980 R.E.M. performed live for the first time. They played as part of the birthday celebration for Kathleen O'Brien. The event was held at St Mary's Episcopal Church in Athens, Georgia, where Michael Stipe and Peter Buck lived with birthday girl Kathleen. It is said that they performed mainly cover songs and that there were about 300 people at the party. At the time R.E.M. did not have a name yet, but some say they played under the name Twisted Kites.

Happy Birthday R.E.M.!

Here's to many more years of wonderful music!

Here is a song from an early R.E.M. show. The actual date of the performance is unknown, although it is believed that this is from the May 30, 1980 concert at the 40 Watt Club in Athens, GA, making it the earliest R.E.M. concert available. Enjoy!

The One I Love - Embryonic

The One I Love was R.E.M.'s first Top 10 single in the United States, and is from the 1987 album, Document. It is also one of the first R.E.M. songs I remember listening to on the radio when I was a kid. It was released on Document, R.E.M.'s fifth studio album; the last album with I.R.S. records.

The song's title most likely has caused many to consider The One I Love as a love song. In fact, Michael Stipe has called it one of the most violent songs he has ever written and was surprised that he was even able to write those lyrics. With lyrics like"A simple prop to occupy my time"; and the single word "Fire" as the chorus, Michael Stipe stated that it is clear that the song is about using people over and over again.

The first live versions of the song are more fitting to the theme of the song. Michael practically yells "Fire" during the chorus and the whole feel of the song is more violent overall. I enjoy the early version of the song. There is more passion, and it feels darker and full of angst.

I have included both the early live performance from 1986 and the studio version released in 1987. Enjoy!

An interesting side note, the director of photography for the video of The One I Love was none other than Alton Brown. Alton is my favorite chef, and I owe much of my culinary knowledge to him, but that's another post.

Orange Crush - Embryonic

One of the great pleasures of intently following a band like R.E.M. is the bootlegs; and being able to hear the rare treasures that are early versions of some of their most popular songs.

This is one of my favorites. It is an early version of Orange Crush played at the 40 Watt Club in August 1987 prior to the start of the Work Tour. Orange Crush was later included on the album Green, which was released in November 1988. I enjoy this early version because I like to see how the music progresses and it is also fun to have a different perspective of the song.

There are other R.E.M. songs that were performed live before they made it onto a album that underwent some significant changes. Some of which include, The One I Love, Fall on Me, and I Believe. I'll try to post those later on as well. In the meantime, please enjoy Orange Crush!