Today marks the release of the 25th anniversary reissue of R.E.M.’s Lifes Rich Pageant, and to help celebrate, the fine folks at EMI Music have provided us with a copy of the set — featuring a whopping 19 previously unreleased studio demos — to award to one lucky Slicing Up Eyeballs reader.
To enter, simply drop a comment below — and for this contest, we can take entries from anywhere in the world. By now, you know the drill with these contests; you can leave any comment, but, if you’re in the mood, humor us by sharing your favorite R.E.M. memory (we’ve already done the name-your-favorite-song thing).
We’ll take entries until noon EST Friday, July 29. After that point, we’ll select one winner at random and contact them via e-mail — so please remember to use a legit e-mail address when you enter, or you can’t claim your prize.
For background on the Lifes Rich Pageant reissue, check out the full tracklist here, and you can stream the whole thing, including the bonus disc, right here.
UPDATE: The contest is now closed. Thank you all for entering, and, more importantly, for sharing your great R.E.M. memories. The randomly selected winner is krista. Congrats.
PREVIOUSLY ON SLICING UP EYEBALLS
- Full album stream: R.E.M., ‘Lifes Rich Pageant’ 25th anniversary reissue
- R.E.M. ‘Lifes Rich Pageant’ 25th anniversary reissue to include 19 unreleased demos
- Video: Michael Stipe and Patti Smith perform R.E.M.’s ‘Everybody Hurts’ in NYC
- Video: Michael Stipe performs ‘The Letter’ at Big Star ‘Third’ tribute
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Remastered Swan Swan H, I’m in!
Glad this classic is getting the reissue treatment, my vinyl copy saw heavy rotation during my college years!
Love this record! Fav memories are seeing them in Iowa City, IA in ’86 and Lincoln, NE in ’87. What great shows they were. The DB’s opened Lincoln show.
just a big fan of the band since Reckoning – my wife on the other hand is from GA and has parents who are UGA boosters, so she got to see them in Athens at the 40 Watt and other places.
can’t wait to hear these.
I can still remember the first time hearing REM: in Eastern Maine in the early 80s, there wasn’t any ‘alternative’ radio up here. A friend of mine’s sister was going to Smith College (Northampton, MA) and would bring home all these “new” bands….The Clash, The Talking Heads, Devo, etc. It was when she came home with “Chronic Town” that my ears really perked up.
Over the years, I’ve seen REM three times. They are at the top of my favorites list.
–joe mason
orono, maine
Beautiful,and with unreleased studio demos!
Am I right in saying that REM wrote a track about or for Kurt Cobain? If so, what track was it?
This would be fantastic to replace my worn-out vinyl!
Saw R.E.M. on this tour in Boston. What a great show. Stipe ended it holding a pumpkin with the letter “E” carved in it. After saying a few things that began with the letter “E” he said “END” lights out. show over. Awesome!
This is my favorite REM album and always has been, since I first picked it up in 1986. (On cassette, no less!) The one-two punch of “Begin the Begin” and “These Days” as openers just puts it way ahead of the pack, and the songwriting is consistently great throughout.
I have so many memories tied to this band (some of which you can read at the link to my blog above), but one of the best is sneaking down to the floor at the Patriot Center on the Green tour just in time to hear them rock out on Lou Gramm’s Midnight Blue.
Let’s begin again! What an amazing album. So inspiring. I’d argue their best.
Remember hearing LP for 1st time in Brookline MA used record store. They started with “Superman” for some reason—thought Stipe had left band.
My favorite R.E.M. album. Bought this and and The Smiths “The Queen is Dead” on the same day back in 1986 when I was 14. Probably the best music purchase day ever.
No other band can send me into full-on nostalgia mode the way R.E.M. can. My one and only R.E.M. show was at the University of Virginia on the Document tour, fall of 1987. If I remember correctly, and my memory wasn’t obscured by too many Bartles and Jaymes wine coolers, their set included Lou Gramm’s “Midnight Blue.”
I was cleaning out a closet just last week and came across a tube containing posters I had saved from when I was a kid. I was thrilled to find my R.E.M. poster that is EXACTLY like the image above!!!!! Band photo with “Walked. Swam. Hunted. Danced. Sang.” on it. So happy I saved it all these years!
Lol at Ross!
favorite REM memories are waiting on them at Rocky’s Pizzaria in Athens.
They all ate at Rocky’s occasionally – but I never saw them dine together. We all tried so hard not to bother them and to act like they weren’t rock stars.
I remember the first time I heard R.E.M. My friend popped in a cassette of Chronic Town on our way to go see “Rocky Horror Picture Show” and when I heard “Wolves, Lower”, I was hooked for life.
I remember first encountering “Superman” on a mix tape one of my brothers brought home from college. This was one of my earliest tastes of REM’s sound.
Not a memory so much as a continuing coincidence?
Seems that REM has a habit of popping up on the radio when I embark on a roadtrip. Usually it’s “It’s the End of the World”, but for awhile there when I was regularly traveling (by car) to and from NYC, “Leaving New York” would be the song that appeared as I was driving up the West Side Highway to the GWB.
This one is easy. My favorite REM memory is seeing the Lifes Rich Pageant tour at the Pacific Amphitheater – September 1986.
Two memories:
I was introduced to GutalCanal Diary. They opened for REM and put on a superb set.
It was pouring rain. REM opened with “Have you ever seen the rain?” (cover of John Fogerty).
Despite (or maybe because of) the rain, it was simply a brilliant concert.
Pick me!!
Count me in – Life’s Rich Pageant was my gateway to all things REM. Saw them on this tour as well. Stipe had hair – lots of it. They opened with Harbourcoat followed by These Days. Great, great stuff.
Swan Swan H!
Just read Bob Mould’s autobiography. Apparently, Michael Stipe used to make people enter through the window of his house in Athens. Bob refused, of course.
I’ve lived in GA since I was 15 and can remember being bored and annoyed that “There’s nothing to do in this town, except go see REM @ Hedgen’s…AGAIN!” I used to own this LP until “The Great Condo Fire of ’05”. It’d be nice to win this CD.
“I am Superman and I can do anything!” ( I wish)
Talking to their lawyer Bertie about how buying Columbia House was a lousy thing to do, if you liked a band…
One of the times I saw REM was on the Monster tour at Slane Castle in Ireland in ’95. A couple of magic moments, one musical and one personal. In the middle of the set, as they were playing ‘Man in the Moon’, a group of friends who I knew were there, but hadn’t arranged to meet, just appeared out of the throng in front of us, having exhausted themselves at the front. Bearing in mind there were about 90,000 people there, this was a great surprise. The second moment came while they played ‘Let Me In’ just as the sun was setting. People started to spontaneously frisbee flattened paper pint cups into the air, and by the end of the song it was like a constant stream of giant confetti throughout the crowd. In a radio interview afterwards, the band specifically referred to this event as something that really made the gig memorable.
rem and the minutemen played a show at Vet’s Memorial in Columbus, OH back in the mid ’80’s. After the show, we bumped into m. stipe and about 40 others at stache and little brother’s to see the wonderful gals of Frightwig. Pretty down to earth guy, which we had already suspected.
One of my favorite 80’s/90’s bands! Great album!
LRP has always been my favorite R.E.M. record. Got it on cassette via one of those record clubs back in the day. It is a top to bottom classic.
My favorite memory of REM was seeing them in Athens in the way long ago days. Such a beautiful memory. I still covet my Green tour shirt like crazy.
My fave R.E.M. album. I remember thinking I can finally hear Michael Stipe’s vocals!
cuyaHOga!
The “Best Of” album they came out with a few years ago was a really dicey proposition. When I looked at the track listing, I realized that I was sick of most of the songs that were on it. I hadn’t listened to “Green” or “Out of Time” for years for just that reason. A lot of the songs on those albums didn’t age well (“Stand,” “Radio Song,” “Me in Honey,” Shiny Happy People,” a few others). I played them both back to back with those songs taken out the other day, and it was like a really great double album that I barely remembered.
It’s easy to say that a band was more enjoyable before they became popular; but in R.E.M.’s case, I think they were more enjoyable before they started trying to write pop songs, which in their case amounted to dumbing down a bit and enunciating the words. Not really the same thing.
Walking to work in the summer heat when I was a teenager, listening to “I Believe” on my walkman. It was the only thing that made that summer of slavery bearable.
I’m in!
Seeing Michael Stipe at a coffee shop in Telluride and dancing the Stand dance.
Seeing them at Red Rocks for the Accelerate tour. I had seen them there a couple of other times but this was the best. Michael was laughing and smiling and I know it was due to the fact that that night, Obama was pretty much set to be the democratic candidate. He was so excited and it showed in his performance. Best show ever with an INCREDIBLE set list.
Excited to hear the demos!
I “met” Michael Stipe when they were playing in pretty small places, before Murmur was released. It was a pretty small venue in Lawrence, Kansas. I seem to recall he was wearing an odd hat or tocque of some sort. We shook hands, I complimented their music, that was all. I heard later they we looking for a place to crash that night. I would have offered but I had already driven about 120 miles to see them, and they wouldn’t have been comfortable there anyway. I’m sure they figured out something.
Loved seeing them in 87 on the Work Tour – unfortunately openers 10,000 Maniacs were dull, dull, dull.
Best REM album….
The one time I saw REM live (Hershey, 1995), Ed Kowalczyk of live came out onstage (shirtless, of course), to sing with Michael on “Begin the Begin.” They did the song, EK ran off, and Michael looked around and said, “Well … THAT was weird.”
I love LRP. Hope I win.
Rob Smith
I grew up in a very small rural area. We had no MTV, alternative radio (no FM radio either!). I was on a trip to the “big city” with my family when I was 10 or 11. I had the chance to watch some MTV and heard some tracks from Document and Murmur. Gardening at Night and The One I Love. I was blown away. And while everyone else my age was into whatever country song their parents liked at the time, I was digging this really cool band that no one else around me had heard of. (I am not a hipster!)
Another REM memory was a couple years ago in a local record store, finding a vinyl copy of Chronic Town in almost perfect condition!
When I hear R.E.M. my memory go to Kurt Cobain, he was a fan of them and I remember and interview to Stipe where he said that few days before the death of Kurt he sent him a letter for propose a collaboration between the two bands. R.E.M. has an unique style that many groups envy.
Probably one of my favorite REM albums. Still have my original vinyl.
REM is my favourite band (with Echo and the bunnymen and Radiohead). Two years ago i saw them live in my country (Argentina) and it was one of the greatests concerts in my life. I love the IRS years, Life’s reach pageant included.
Gardening at Night
Begin the Begin…. classic.
Sign me up!
Seeing them in Philadelphia on the PAGEANTRY tour was awesome; my Dad exclaimed, “They did 2 songs I knew!” as they’d covered the Everlys’ “All I Have To Do Is Dream,” and The Beach Boys version of “Sloop John B.”
Meeting Michael at a booksigning and asking him if I can shake his hand. He let me and smiled. Then seeing the band live for my 10th time a few days later.
Still listen to this album like it was a new release.
I have an anti-memory as I have yet to see R.E.M. live. :(
I remember R.E.M. from David Letterman’s show playing So. Central Rain (before it had a title)
When I walked through the doors of my local college radio station for the 1st time, this was waiting for me in the heavy rotation bin. Loved ’em ever since.
Love this album!
Definitely my favorite REM album…because of some great songs (Begin the Begin, Cuyahoga, What If We Give It Away?, Superman) and also where I was in my life when it came out (young, in college, with so many options before me…).
This was the perfect “college rock” album for freshman year. I had that poster in my dorm room! “Just a Touch” rocks!
R.E.M. was my first concert when I was 16. The Green tour at MSG!! Man I need a time machine
One of my favorite albums by them!
Watching Michael Stipe mess up the lyrics to Begin the Begin, then telling the crowd to go F themselves when they cheered him for messing up.
This June ’95 at the Rosemont Horizon. I was 13. It was awesome.
My first concert was 8/18/83, age 13…The Police @ Shea Stadium in NYC. Opening bands were Joan Jett and someone no one had even heard of…R.E.M. Even at 13 I knew…I was hooked for life.
At the time REM first formed, as a DJ at my college radio station, WRAS in Atlanta, I hosted the “Georgia Music Show”. My friend, Johnny Hibbert released their first single on his newly formed Hib-Tone Records. He gave me a box of the singles to give away to help promote it. I was handing them out like candy. Sure wish I now had more than the one copy I kept.
saw them in i8o9. will never forget king of birds. wow
My favorite memory was meeting the band at a studio here in Nashville while recording the sessions that eventually became GREEN, their Warner Brothers debut. Great guys.
My favorite R.E.M. album!
I believe in time as an abstract.
@Michael Blackburn: I think I wound up with one of those 45s. I got it either from you, Abby E. or Caroline. :)
My first concert was the Green tour in Atlanta, with opening act Indigo Girls. I got to ride the subway for the first time. And Michael Stipe came out to sing on Kid Fears. Perfect first concert.
My fav REM memory was dancing with Mike Mills, albeit only for about a minute. When I was living in Athens, I went out for Halloween with my friend Todd, and we went to the old Hi Hat on Clayton St. I was dancing around in my toga, and “danced with” (danced next to) Mike Mills. Totally starstruck…
Second was meeting Michael Stipe at Michael Lachowski’s Christmas party about a year later.
Me!
Meeting Bill Buck at SXSW or seeing Radiohead open for them in Dallas and the first 3 songs being broadcasted live on MTV.
My fondness for this record can never be overstated, from the brilliant 4-song-run that opens it to the peerless cover that closes it. For years I had a mounted Walked Swam Hunted Dance Sang poster hanging on my wall. I miss it every day.
Bill, wherefore art thou?
Best REM memory? Playing Night Swimming to a bunch of girls in my dorm and then convincing everyone that we should all go skinny dipping. I still can’t believe it worked.
I bought Life’s Rich Pageant when it came out in ’86 & it changed my life forever. It was my 1st Alternative record & right from the first time I put it on, the doorway to another world of incredibly vibrant & exciting music opened up to me. It was like my musical palette went from black & white to color. This album is very special to me & I cannot wait to crank up Flowers Of Guatemala & bliss out.
Fave memory was hanging outside the Mann Music Center listening them during the Green tour while drinking beer with my teenaged friends. They let you do that back then as long as you caused no trouble. A great night, great concert.
This is awesome!
This album was REM’s best. I remember listening to that song for hours. I blew through three tapes of this and luckily the used record store on campus had plenty of extras to buy. I remember hanging out in Columbus’ Mean Mr. Mustards’ when this song was big.
first time live – Vanderbilt University, Fall 1985, Reconstruction Tour – Stipe and Berry’s brawl on stage is unforgettable.
My most memorable REM moments are: seeing them in the rain in Pittsburgh, listening to Night Swimming on repeat while driving to Miami, and seeing someone’s homemade shirt at a club that said “You can’t dance to REM” to which my friend and I replied the next week with shirts that said, “You can dance to The Smiths.”
I was at a bar in Knoxville during the late 80’s. Some band named “Jackal” was supposed to play. It was R.E.M.
I saw REM live with a friend in KCMO when I was 16 in 1987. It was the first concert I was allowed to see without a parent attending. I loved it! It is still one of my favorite concerts.
I remember going to the local mall the day before this came out, and getting a buddy of mine who worked in a record store there to crack open the box of cassettes in the back and letting me buy one a day early – such a cool thing for a teenage kid. Still my favorite, maybe b/c of the time in my life when I heard it.
Oriental Theatre, Milwaukee, 1987, in the orchestra pit, amazing show with Repo Man playing behind them.
Fall On Me was played at a party I was at, and it pulled me in.
Last truly great R.E.M. album.
Favorite REM moment…Having Peter Buck and Steve Wynn over to my apartment to watch a documentary a friend of mine had produced back in early 90’s when OUT OF TIME was released.
Me: I really like Shiny Happy People!
Peter: I hate that fucking song.
This album is top 3 all-time R.E.M. albums, IMO. Saw them on the “Document” tour at Mich St Univ in 1987 or 1988. Great, great, great band! Wish Bill was still on drums.
Dear God. Thank you for records like this. A-men.
I saw them live for the first time at The Gorge in George, Washington on the Monster tour. The sun was out and the band just rocked the new songs and the old ones. It was a perfect show!
It was August 22nd, 1983. My cousin had come to town, as she was a back up singer for the first leg of The Police’s North American Synchronicity tour. She came armed with backstage passes, and my family ended up at the performer’s area inside the concrete bunker-like Capital Centre in DC, an hour or two before the show began. Can you imagine the nervous excitement I was feeling? I was only ten years old, and here I was, in a dressing room with Sting and Andy of The Police – one of the biggest bands in the world at that time! (I remember that Stewart Copeland was rollerskating the halls, in his too-short shorts and white tube socks – drumming on the walls). Sting was wearing his “Synchronicity II” suit – a post-apocalyptic multi-colored shredded fabric outfit, and he was a TITAN among men, in that backstage area.
It was all a blue of autographs, pictures, and fresh fruit from the service carts. And when it was time to go, we stood near the stage entrance, listening to the roar of the crowd waiting in anticipation for The Police to take the stage. As we awaited the handler, who would escort us to our seats (front row!), the opening band was milling about, having just performed. They were four scruffy looking dudes, and I remember one of them had long blond ringlets – they all looked like nobodies (like us) and were being ignored (like us), so I didn’t really engage them. Who cared, right? I had just met STING!
Imagine my surprise a handful of years later when I put two and two together, and realized I had met R.E.M. when Murmur was only four months old! By then I was a die-hard fan, awaiting the Green tour’s arrival in town. Life’s Rich Pageant was my favorite R.E.M. album then, and it remains my favorite all those years later. Oh, to have a time machine!!
One of the greatest albums of all time.
Favorite memory: Peter Buck admiring my leather bomber jacket back in 1986. I still have it somewhere, but, sadly, have outgrown it.
I will carry this album to my grave. Play it on sunny days, rainy days, and at my wake. Simply brilliant.
please please please let me get what I want
Favorite R.E.M. memory among many is opening acts Mercury Rev and Wilco followed by a great rambling set with Michael playing acoustic guitar in the Texas heat, summer 1999.
I LOVE R.E.M.!
:D
I saw them at Walter Brown arena; hockey rink at Boston University. Terrible acoustics, could barely hear anything.
“This song is my favorite song.”
i had an amazing long sleeved shirt from this era. it belonged to a friend who had stolen it from his brother.
i was wearing it, though. And when, while we were helping another guy work on his car, my friend thought it’d be funny to poke me in the back with a long socket wrench.
He said “Don’t move,” and I said, “Do you realize what you’ve done?”
The socket wrench left a curious design around the word “continents”: Something like a perfectly round star engulfed in dark, brown flares. I offered to wash the shirt under the condition that, should the stain not be removed, i got to keep it. He agreed and I half-heartedly tossed it in the wash. A few hours later it was mine.
Simply the best.
favorite moment was sharing a berr with Peter Buck at the Crow’s Nest in Iowa city circa 1985
This was my first and favorite R.E.M. album.
sorry –beer w/ mr. buck –later band shared stage at the Crow’s Nest w/ local act for couple cover tunes— after they had played full show on Iowa campus
My favorite R.E.M. memory is attending the band’s Austin City Limits taping. That show is now out on DVD, but there’s nothing like seeing a great band kicking the dust out on brand new material in an intimate venue with pristine sound like the original ACL studio. The then-new songs (from Accelerate) came off particularly well – the band was clearly fired up to be playing them.
I was working at a small cd one stop many moons ago around the time “Green” came out. After working there a few days we found ourselves with some downtime. The owner told me to feel free to go through the promo stuff on the table in the backroom and take whatever I want and not to be shy. I was expecting to find a stack or two of cd’s. Lo and behold an entire card table stacked 75 high. And not just cd’s I also founf the R.E.M. compass and the Meadow in a Can promos.
Those were the days.
I sampled the demo tracks from this set and they sound awesome.
Saw REM after the 2004 election at MSG. They opened with, of course, It’s the end of the World as we know it…
I couldn’t have cared less about REM until I was stuck in my friend’s idling car while he went inside to ‘talk’ to his girlfriend. I had already listened to Whammy! by the B52s twice, so I dug around in his glove compartment for a new tape (yes, a TAPE!), and dug out Green. I probably wouldn’t have even listened to it then, but it was the only tape left in the car- the vehicle was a litter of empty tape cases. 20-plus years on, I’m glad, almost daily, that I opened the glove compartment door.
Closing Werchter Festival in 2001 (?) – pooring rain, best REM show ever…
Does it matter what we say? Does it have to be profound? Does it even have to rhyme? (Meaning words with the same sound.)
Love this record. My fave story was seeing the boys in ’82 as the first act on a triple bill of them, The (English) Beat, and Squeeze. They did all of Chronic Town except “Stumble”. Saw them a few more times after that, and loved each show.
I remember the first time I heard them: in concert, opening for Squeeze and The English Beat – November ’82.
Was impressed, though we could not understand anything Michael was singing at the time.
Saw REM just once, at the San Diego Sports Arena (“Aroma”) in 1989. Robyn Hitchcock and the Egyptians opened. I was on the floor but way way in the back, so I barely saw anything, but it was still incredible.
“Yes, I probably will. But it’s all part of life’s rich pageant, you know?” Clouseau.
Best album of theirs by far.
My favorite R.E.M. memory is skinny dipping late in the evening with an intimate friend while listening to “Nightswimming.”
Seeing R.E.M. perform at Atlanta’s Chastain Park in 1999, the first shows in town after Bill Berry’s departure, and hearing the roar from the crowd when Bill popped onto the stage to take a bow. I saw all three nights of that run of shows, and they were brilliant each night.
This was my very 1st R.E.M. album! It was on one side of a blank tape, the other side was The Pacific Age by O.M.D., so that’s two, two, great acronym bands!
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Not my favorite but here’s a memory nonetheless- I saw REM about 14 years ago (give or take a year) with Sonic Youth as the opening act. It was an outdoor concert and it rained the entire time. Michael Stipe was sick but played a full set. I was disappointed that A: they played all their most recognizable/popular songs (which a majority of the crowd loved) and B: the people I was with were unfamiliar with Sonic Youth- one the greatest bands of all-time.
LRP is my favorite REM album. I had it on casette and wore it out. I had it on CD and it was stolen. MP3 is what I have now…would LOVE this reissue set.
Never had the chance to see them live, would have loved to have seen these earlier tours.
Hearing “The One I Love” at least once or twice an hour on the radio all the way from MN to Colorado and back.
Seeing the band at Chrysler Arena in Ann Arbor, Michigan during the mid 90’s and Patti Smith joined the band for a few songs!!
The first REM album (well… cassette) that I bought for my very own self when it came out, when I was in 9th grade. Still such tangible memories of every part of every song… the great “Fall on Me” video… the concert that my dad graciously drove my friends and me to. (“I’m so young… I’m so god… damn… Republican” Michael Stipe sang at the end of ‘These Days.’) It was also the first album that I played in my very own (well… third-hand) car when I turned 16. And still… 25 years later… every spring when it’s finally warm enough to drive with the windows down, I put on this album (well CD) and just drive for the pleasure of driving and listen for the pleasure of the songs. A couple years ago I brought my three-year-old daughter along for the ride and totally teared up. She indulged me for a while, then politely requested the Justin Roberts CD.
Favorite REM memory is Bob Mould joining the band on stage in Minneapolis for a couple of covers — “See No Evil” and “Ghost Rider Motorcycle Hero” — on the Green tour in 1989.
I was shocked to hear them cover MIDNIGHT BLUE by..foreigner? on the ’87 tour, a little more than halfway into the show. Stipe actually whipped out a music stand for the lyrics. We were shocked. Someone in the audience got pissed and threw a neon lightstick up toward the stage, from 30 yards out. While Stipe was leaning back sing a “whoa oh oh” chorus, it hit him in the eye/face and stayed on his face or shoulder, he held it there and sung the rest of the chorus. When the break down came, he started the talk part…”when I was young, my daddy told me the sky is either cherry red or midnight blue..” is how it was on record, but Stipe ad libbed, without missing a beat, about how when he was young his parents taught him about respect, and not to be an asshole, not to throw things, AND THE SKY IS EITHER CHERRY RED OR MIDNIGHT BLUE and the band went flying back into the song’s outtro chorus at full press, then stormed off the stage. It was incredibly powerful and a masterstroke of performance. The band would not come back on until the crowd was chanting “ASSHHHHHOOOOLLLE” over and over at the guy who threw it, and I think they worried for his safety so they came back and blistered through some classics, and thankfully they slayed SEE NO EVIL for me that night. Awesome.
Having a friend play Chronic Town when it first came out, loved it, had no idea what they would become. Saw them in Montreal in 84 with the Dream Syndicate opening, great show, hothing like they are now. Loud, fast and sloppy.
slept well last night
so, Peter Buck did a CD signing at Easy Street Records in Seattle a couple months ago. looking for something to get signed (and already owning the whole catalog-plus), i impulsively grabbed copies of Lifes Rich Pageant for me and my cousin.
Peter was really cool, saying, “you know, the big reissue of that is just about to come out,” as in, “you might want to save your money today.”
i appreciate the gesture! but i was glad to buy the album again on that day, and to buy the reissue again now. buy it, wear it out or give it away, and then buy it again; it’s one of “those” albums, and i guess i’m just one of “those” fans.
REM was and still is one of the most intelligent bands for the last 20+ years. I’ve seen them multiple times live and they’ve never disappointed. It makes me think there must’ve been something in that Athens, GA water supply; besides REM that place seem to have launched so many other great bands of that era.
My first summer out of college I listened to Eponymous so much that I literally had the entire album playing in my head while I work at a grain factory for 3 months. Great stuff and great times.
Even though I kind of lost interest in REM after Bill left, no band will ever mean as much to me as they did during my early adulthood. I would LOVE to win this!
It’s time for me to get more into R.E.M.
R.E.M.
“The other night I tripped at Knox!!”
(I want to believe that’s the lyric.)
I went to the “Lifes Rich Pagent” tour at the County Bowl in Santa Barbara, CA Sept/1986. My friends and I had sixth row seats. Guadalcanal Diary opened their set with The Beatles “Tomorrow Never Knows.” R.E.M. were amazing! At one point in the show Michael Stipe turned to Bill Berry and asked hime about the dream he had last night.
Bill said “I had a dream that I was being shot at and instead of bullets they were Froot Loops.” Something to that effect if memory serves. Very funny moment. Swan Swan H was one of the highlights of the show. The band were on fire that night! Great memories.
I’ve been a fan since the Chronic Town… saw them at the Nassau Coliseum in 89 on the Green tour, the tour with MIchael’s wacky haircut. Brilliant nonetheless.
Lest we forget, “Stand” used as the theme song for Chris Elliot’s Fox sit-com “Get a Life.” I think it was back in ’89, right?
Favorite moment…definitely seeing them at Earl’s Court in London, 1999, the only time I’ve managed to see them live. I was in the 2nd row and it was definitely one of the best shows I’ve ever been to. I can actually sorta hear myself on a bootleg I tracked down of the show… someone yelled “You rock!” to Michael, and Michael didn’t quite hear it, saying, “What?” and then for some reason I thought I should yell it too so I did, really loud, he’s like… “I rock? Get a life!” but then, after a little consideration, he said something like “Yeah…I think I rock too” and then the band goes into “Losing My Religion”. “The Great Beyond” was a new song at this show and a total thrill to hear. Loved, loved, loved it. “Up” was a great album, underrated.
This album is actually very important for me. I remember my brother playing “Fall on Me” and I realized for the first time that there is good music out there that isn’t played on the radio. Changed my life.
R.E.M. played in Christchurch, New Zealand (we of 7000 aftershocks and still counting) in 1989, when they toured Green. I worked in a record store and met Peter Buck when he came in shopping. It was a tiny store. I was thrilled to meet him. He signed my Document poster and he talked non stop for an hour about New Zealand bands and touring.I gave him a copy of the awesome dble NZ LP It’s Bigger than Both of Us. He wanted it to “fill in a gap”. Later that day I met Michael Stipe as he walked past. He gives good hugs. We talked about the new Bomb the Bass album and about the tiles that were on the front of the store frontages (unique to New Regent street.) Stipe and Buck were such lovely people. Music fans. The gig that night was superb. Good times.
I hope it’s not over compressed like their other “re-masters” which don’t even sound like the same mix–i doubt they are. Excited–with reservations.
Let me win – I never win anything at all!
In my opinion(something dumb usually comes after that comment), this is their best album. They had better moments maybe, but LRP is the one that really showcases the uniqueness of the band.
One of REM’s last great classics, this one got me through high school back in the day when cassette’s were king!
Camp Orkila on Orcas island in the San Juans here in Washington. My camp counselor Curt was listening to Life’s Rich Pageant on the tape player while I was polishing a piece of juniper in arts and crafts. These Days came on and I ran up to the front of the class to ask him who it was. He handed me the cassette case and I bought it at Hunters & Collectors Records on Main St. in Auburn when I got home as it was the only record store that had a copy. Can’t thank them enough for the songs on that album or getting me to stop buying tapes at Pay & Save.
Favorite R.E.M. memory is seeing them live for the first time. Green Tour at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, MD. Great band at a great venue.
I love and respect Lifes Rich Pagaent because it was during a time as a band before they were starting to gain mainstream recognition. I had no problem with them breaking into the mainstream but Lifes Rich Pagaent was when they were truly still a “small band with super powers”. I also adore it because it’s such a vast difference from ‘Fables of the Reconstruction’, which I also love but it shows how the band knew how to move on and change each time they came out with something new.
There really isn’t a bad song on the record. I can’t even say my favorite song from the record because there are about five of them.
REM’s IRS years are something to behold. Their stretch of one quality album per year in the 80s is unmatched. Not only is there not a dog in the bunch, but there is no filler on these albums. Few artists are worth the reissue attention: REM deserves it, for soundtracking my university years (from undergrad through to the PhD).
The last time I saw R.E.M. was way back in 1995 in Houston and the opener was a little band called Radiohead.
First R.E.M. song ever to grace my ears was “Superman” at the end of a mix tape I’d borrowed in 1986. Astounding. I’d been so excited to hear this American band who were supposed to be as good as the British stuff I’d been listening to for the past few years, and my recent read of an interview with Mr. Stipe only spurred more interest. I finally heard the whole album a couple of years later after I’d bought Document, Murmur, Reckoning, and even Dead Letter Office. LRP became the soundtrack of a college road trip to Georgia, and I can’t tell you how many times I put my hat down, picked it up, and slapped it on my head. This was good stuff for a good time.
Keep them coming boys. Let’s continue the love
I love producer Don Gehman sound on this album. He brought a great sound to this album and even the work he did with John Cougar Melloncamp (really!). I bet the remaster is terrific!
A favorite R.E.M. memory: blasting Life’s Rich Pageant during my commute home, singing til my throat hurt, and hearing that night about the 25th anniversary release of said album, then listening to it all over again with impromptu dance party in the living room.
I played this album at the clothes store I worked at. A co-worker looked at me and said, “You listen to this at home?”
My favorite REM album of all time…would love to win a copy of this remastered one!
A fave memory? Seeing them 4 times on the Green Tour……it was all clicking together at that point!
One fave R.E.M. memory out of many- I used to play some guitar with my friend Ned (who now has a great band called Ned Van Go- Google it), and we’d occasionally play “Flowers of Guatamala”; during the part where they Stipe sings “flowers cover everything”, he’d follow that up with “they cover every fucking thing”…and maybe it was the cheap whiskey, but we’d crack ourselves up every time.
Now send me that set!
This is by far my favorite REM album. I used to listen to this constantly on a boombox in my car.
“Fall on Me” will always be my favorite R.E.M. song…why it wasn’t a hit still baffles me.
Fav concert had to be in the mid-80s before about 500 people in Calgary. Great moment for me!!!
“Cuyahoga” – My favorite!
Love this album. Best REM related moment is possibly too private to write here… :)
I loved this album. Great songs, classic REM.
REM is still putting out great music, but this is the album that started my interest in the band (and still gets heavy rotation).
For some reason, back in the day I bought REM of cassette instead of vinyl. Maybe it was to play it in those sweet Blaupunkt car stereos my friends had.
When I was in 7th grade, my city finally got a non-mainstream radio station, and I had a friend with an older sister cool enough to turn me on to it. We used to dance to the “Stand” video in his living room and play his “Orange Crush” single over and over. My music tastes changed course forever.
Far and away my favorite R.E.M. record, and that’s saying something. One of the best rock records of all time, the only flaw was that it was over so quickly, and the only thing missing was the apostrophe.
Truly the best R.E.M. album during their days with I.R.S. records. Political rock was becoming fashionable with the rise of U2 and the Clash. Lifes Rich Pageant had political undertones in just about every song. “Cuyahoga” remains one of my favorite R.E.M. tunes. “Let’s build ourselves a country…”
Saw REM back about ’82 and Peter Buck had a Jason and the Scorchers shirt on well before the Scorchers were known outside of Nashville.
The first time I laid eyes on R.E.M. was on the cover of SPIN in the fall of ’86. They were the most ridiculous-looking band I’d ever seen – a geek, a monobrowed cowboy, a bum, and then some guy in a jean jacket. Yes, in 1986 Michael Stipe was the most normal-looking member of R.E.M. Here’s the SPIN cover in question: http://mikemillsfan.com/wp-content/gallery/scans-magazine-covers/spin_oct_1986_cover.jpg That said, Pageant ranks right up there with New Adventures as my favorite R.E.M. album.
I saw R.E.M. for the first time during their tour for this album. It was a great show, and I think it will always be my favorite R.E.M. record.
LRP is without a doubt my favorite REM record. When they were touring for this album I didn’t have tickets for their show and was bummed about missing them. The night of the show some friends and I went to a club to see some local acts. Towards the end of the night REM showed up and got one of the bands to let them use their gear for a brief three-song cover set. So I did get to see them after all!
My favorite memory of REM is seeing them live at the St. Paul Civic Center in a smaller side room on their Fables of the Reconstruction tour…it was a great show, but the encore is what always stuck with me; a cover of Paint it Black with Bob Mould guesting on guitar and stage diving into the crowd at the conclusion!
first R.E.M. tape bought, one of my favorites
Awesome. Loved everything up to this, but loved more the bright, rockin’ direction.
My favorite of their classic 80s albums!
My favorite R.E.M. memory is probably teaching myself to play various R.E.M. songs by listening to cassettes over and over (Swan Swan H, Fall on Me, Near Wild Heaven), generally needing to come up with my own interpretation of what the lyrics probably were…which means every time I find out the official version of one of my interpretations, I still hear the correct version as “wrong”.
I would NOT have made it through my teens years without this gorgeous masterpiece. The reissue looks amazing and lustworthy.
My favorite memory is kind of a weird one. I lived in the foothills of Northern California and they had a rock concert every year called Mountain Aire. In ’84 REM was one of the headliners and I remember that many people complained about how bad REM was. It definitely wasn’t that REM played bad. The issue was that the locals didn’t “get” the music and preferred the likes of Journey, Foreigner, and The Doobie Brothers. Still makes me laugh to this day when I think of it.
fire!
I’d actually forgotten how big of an album this was for me in 1986. I was a sophomore in college, playing in a band, and we played a handful on tunes from LRP. I think my favorite tune is “These Days” — “We are young despite our years, we are hope regardless of the times” — reminds me of dorm room parties & the feeling that we were invinceable.
Just heard this on Spotify and would LOVE to own it!
Great record and great band! I remember listening to REM laying on the grass under the rain while they were playing in Buenos Aires many years ago. Unforgettable moment!
What if you give it away?
I am superman, and I know what’s happening.
I had the original casette. the last REM release before mainstream success.
There was a time when I considered ‘I Believe’ to be the best song ever. Then I discovered The Smiths. Still, this stands as one of my favorite REM albums back before “Shiny Happy People” forever destroyed their indie cred. I miss that band.
I got into an argument with Peter Buck once when I was doing a phone interview with him. we’re both kinda hard headed I think.
Love REM. One of my biggest regrets is that I didn’t get to Athens until the mid-90s. I definitely need to update my music collection since most of my REM is on cassette still! :)
First time I saw them was in Pittsburgh’s Syria Mosque on the Life’s Rich tour when I was in high school. They’d invited a band I’d never heard called Camper Van Beethoven to open on that tour and for as much as I loved REM, CVB became my favorite band that night.
I saw them on this tour and was lucky enough to meet them after the show. Talked about trout fishing with Peter and Mike. Michael was in still in a mystical mood and Bill was off being Bill.
Superman was a staple at many a party back then!
When I hear REM I picture my friends husband dancing around singing loudly and drunkly.. and to egg him on, I ususally start a debate on the best song…. I can usually get him all pissy in about 10 mins…. :o)
I must throw my hat in the ring to win this album full of memories, just listened to it last week… Favorite REM memory? Hmm…. REM shows are where I reconnect with one of my best friends who originally turned me onto REM in high school, starting with Murmur. We go every tour. It is a cherished experience.
First REM concert was in Fresno, CA for the Reckoning album. Opener was Dream Syndicate. Brilliant show. Afterwards, we were hanging out next door at a dance club, when Michael and Peter strolled in. We went over to get an autograph and ended up talking for 10 minutes or so. Very gracious to a couple of knuckleheads from Bakersfield. Great Night.
Nothing pithy to say… just want it.
Dang, I guess my favorite REM memory is when all the band showed up at a little festival in Congo Square a few years ago in New Orleans. There were Mardi Gras Indians and African stilt walkers along with African dance troupes, drumming, and other bands. They showed up later in the afternoon. I remember spotting Peter Buck and his wife, being stoicly nonchalant. The only person in the Band I did not see was Mike Mills. Mr. Stipe was there, chatting it up with a friend nibbling on granola from his manbag. I hope they had a great time.
The ‘green’ tour, St.Georges Hall Bradford. Been waiting to see REM for years, finally get to go, drink too many cans on the way there, see first song, pass out. Bugger.
Favorite r.e.m. memory = seeing them play in a Gymnasium at Rutgers University in 1987 just after Document came out. they played 6 songs from Life’s Rich Pagant and covered Television and Pylon back to back!
Great album
My favorite REM memory is arguing with my fellow collegians in the REM vs Replacements battles of the late 80’s and early 90’s. I was a certified Mats fan and always stuck up for them. I was also always a Stones fan in the Stones Vs Beatles arguments. I’ve since realized I don’t need to pick sides and have developed a deeper appreciation for both REM and The Beatles. I enjoyed meeting and speaking with Peter Buck on one of his tours with Robyn Hitchcock and the Venus 3.
My favorite R.E.M. moment was discovering the beauty that is ‘Nightswimming’ and then realizing it reminded me of someone very important to me.
Second concert of my life @ The Summit in Houston. Nosebleed seats but absolutely wonderful (Green Tour). Wasn’t old enough or cool enough to go see them when this album came out but got it when I was 14 and it still is my favorite.
Megaphone
The 80s where when R.E.M. were great.
Nate, I was at the Summit show as well… 18 years old.
Contest is now closed. Thank you all for entering, and more importantly, sharing your great R.E.M. memories. It’s been fun to read them all…