Tag Archives: Lifes Rich Pageant

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Song of the Day #823: ‘Fall On Me’ – R.E.M.

Top Ten Male Vocalists – #2 – Michael Stipe

More than any other performer on this list, Michael Stipe uses his voice as an instrument. The sound of his singing is as important an element of R.E.M.’s sound as Peter Buck’s guitars, Mike Mills’ bass and keyboards and Bill Berry’s drums.

Driving that point home is that fact that on R.E.M.’s early albums, you can hardly tell what the hell Stipe is singing but everything still works perfectly. His mumbles (and murmurs) convey the emotional message of those songs as well as any lyrics could.

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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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