Once in awhile I spin the dial and land on a Random Weekend song that I’m (wrongly) certain has been on the blog before.
Such is the case with today’s selection, R.E.M.’s cover of The Velvet Underground’s ‘Pale Blue Eyes.’ This recording was released on the 1987 album Dead Letter Office, a collection of rare cuts and B-sides, and it has always been a favorite of mine. But while I have featured the Velvet Underground original, I’ve never gotten around to posting R.E.M.’s version.
While choosing songs for two straight weeks of covers, I reflected back on R.E.M.’s version of this Velvet Underground classic. But rather than post their version, I’m reaching back to the original.
I didn’t know anything at all about The Velvet Underground before I heard R.E.M.’s ‘Pale Blue Eyes,’ released on their album of B-sides and outtakes, Dead Letter Office. If you’d asked me, I would have predicted they had more of a hard rock sound.
And they did, at times, but when I tracked down their self-titled album I discovered that they also could be incredibly tender.
Meet Me In Montauk 