Confessions of a Fanboy

The album of the morning is Reckoning. R.E.M. played two from this one last night in Vancouver, B.C. and I admit- I couldn’t instantly recall either of them so this is where my refresher course begins.

The IRS records mostly run together for me. I was just a young future headbanger in Iowa when most of them were released. I didn’t really start listening to these guys until I got to college, at which point I was listening to albums like Automatic for the People, Monster, and New Adventuers in Hi-Fi. I bought the back catalog over time and certainly enjoyed those albums but didn’t listen to them quite as obsessively. That stops today.

I’m not saying I’ll know every word and every note of every IRS song by the time I’m done, but I do plan on spending some time committing this music to memory.

Let’s start with the songs I know: “(Don’t Go Back To) Rockville,” “Pretty Persuasion,” and “So. Central Rain (I’m Sorry).” I remember hearing “So. Central Rain” on the radio or MTV but I can’t exactly place it. This is one of those songs that, when I eventually bought the record, I said, “Wait a tick! I know this one!” “Pretty Persuasion” and “Rockville” are known to me because of 11. He loves “Rockville” because Mike Mills is all over that one and Mills is his R.E.M. Idol. I don’t know what it is about “Pretty Persuasion” he loves so much, but he’s always liked that one. During one of our marathon conversations he went on and on about how tremendous that song is so I checked it out. I like it. I don’t like it nearly as much as he does, but it’s a good one. These are the three Reckoning tunes I know best.

The song that’s jumping out at me today is album opener “Harborcoat.” This is a damn good song, brimming with the classic elements of early R.E.M. Bill Berry kicks things off and Peter Buck quickly jumps in with his unmistakable jangle and strum. Michael Stipe hiccups and mutters the lyrics and Mike Mills is obviously singing something in the background but no one actually knows what the hell it is. I couldn’t tell you what the song is about, but that’s not unusual for this era of R.E.M. Allegedly, Michael told a Dublin audience last year the song is about Lillian Hellman. You do the math.

I’m always going to mistake “7 Chinese Brothers” and “Disturbance at the Heron House.” The intros are very similar to me. “Seven Chinese brothers swallowing the ocean.” What the fuck?

“Time After Time (AnnElise)” was played at last night’s show and I’d have never spotted it. I don’t know this one well. There’s something very “eastern” in the sound. They’re playing in an unusual key and Bill’s drumming is different. I’m going to have to listen to this one a few more times. I like it- not as well as “Harborcoat” but this is good. It’s not the IRS rarity I’d request if I were in attendance but I wouldn’t be sad to hear this one either.

I wouldn’t have recognized “Second Guessing,” either. I like this one better than “Time After Time.” Mike Mills’ bassline is fat and fluid and Peter’s guitar is again wonderfully jangly. I didn’t know this one before but I now would like to hear this one live. What’s interesting to me on some of these Reckoning songs is that Michael’s vocal development. He’s not ready to move out front and really sing, but you can hear him getting confident enough to at least halfway try on a few of these songs. “Second Guessing” is a good example of that. Of course, he follows that with “Letter Never Sent” and he’s back to muttering with the vocal mixed low. Mike Mills’ backing vocal is almost more prominent than Stipe’s lead!

I’ve now listened to the album twice through today (some songs getting additional plays) and I’m going to have to remember some of these songs better because I’m now hoping to hear them should I wind up in Atlanta on June 21.

Filed under: Tags: R.E.M.