Monthly Archives: May 2010

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Song of the Day #680: ‘Welcome to the Occupation’ – R.E.M.

These R.E.M. theme weeks break down pretty conveniently into three sets of five albums each, with each of those sets representing a different stage in the band’s career.

The first week, spanning Chronic Town through Lifes Rich Pageant, captured the college years, when R.E.M. first broke onto the scene and popularized a new sort of cerebral alternative music. If I had to pick a favorite span it would be that one… something about that sound just hits me in the gut. But this second week’s batch of albums would be a close second.

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Song of the Day #679: ‘When He Returns’ – Bob Dylan

I could have gone with any of the remaining eight tracks on Slow Train Coming to finish off this weekend.

‘Slow Train’ and ‘Gonna Change My Way of Thinking’ are two fine examples of how Dylan does the blues better than most (the latter boasts a guitar lick straight out of the Clapton songbook).

‘I Believe in You’ is a beautiful gospel ballad with a melody that sounds so familiar to me that I’m sure it was either stolen or has been stolen, though I’m not sure which.

‘When You Gonna Wake Up?’ is the funkiest white-boy Christian rock song you’ll ever hear.

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Song of the Day #678: ‘Gotta Serve Somebody’ – Bob Dylan

In 1978 and early 1979, following the negative critical reaction to his recent work and the personal turmoil stemming from his divorce, Dylan was at the end of his rope and looking for answers.

When a fan threw a silver cross onstage during one difficult show, Dylan pocketed it.

He found himself holding onto it during the next show and its deeper meaning began to sink in. So began the conversion that shook up his fan base even more than the moment he went electric: Bob Dylan, evangelist and Christian rock musician.

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Song of the Day #677: ‘These Days’ – R.E.M.

In doing these theme weeks (including the Bob Dylan Weekends) I’m frequently surprised by how prolific these artists were in their early years. It’s pretty much the norm to see albums released every year, sometimes two per year, for the first decade or so of these storied careers.

And then at some point a weariness must set in, or perhaps it’s a comfort level that comes with a certain degree of fame. And the albums slow down to one every three or four years, if that. Does the creative energy dissipate? Do record labels start pressuring established artists to build up anticipation between releases? Or is it something else?

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Song of the Day #676: ‘Driver 8’ – R.E.M.

I generally have two important entry points to the music of my favorite bands… the album that first introduced me to them, and the album that I bought upon release and discovered along with all the other fans.

Sometimes that’s the same album. In R.E.M.’s case, those albums came a few years apart. My first introduction to the band was 1985’s Fables of the Reconstruction, which I probably heard for the first time in late ’87 or early ’88.

As is often the case, this entry point album remains my favorite to this day. That spark of first love certainly counts for a lot.

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