Again I realized that I thought I had blogged about this a long time ago and had not. I have written a little about the great La Blogothéque before however and their "Les Concerts A Emporter" (The take-away concerts). It's a French concept and is basically to film artists and bands playing live while they move from one place to another, or sometimes in very strange and unexpected places with little equipment. It's an amazing idea, because it brings people a little out of their comfort zone and you have to be a great artist to do this:) The first one of these I saw was of Beirut (I have to blog more about that sometime soon) and I have blogged about Andrew Bird and Phoenix in that setting too (You can read those posts here La Blogothéque)Oh, and yes, the site is in French and I have no idea what it says, I kinda like it like that.
But, back to R.E.M. The collaboration between La Blogothéque and R.E.M gave 5 amazing videos. I don't even know what to write about them without going on for 3 hours, so more than anything it's something you should just see and experience yourself. It's a extremely special feel to the whole thing, and you feel like you are literally sent of to a late evening in Athens, Georgia somehow. Makes me long for summer and remember those evenings when you just take your friends and a car and just drive randomly around and see what you can find and experience. I miss that.
My favourite of the 5 clips is "Living Well Is The Best Revenge" I think. Look at that amazing joy of playing even though they are showed up all in a tiny car. And what great bass technique! I also love "Sing for the Submarine"", because of it's use of effects (a silo!) and the whole vibe of the apartment in "On the Fly". I love that Michael Stipe still smokes a little and needs lyrics when he sings. To many songs written by now for one little head.. Sigh! I love all of it. Oh yes, and I love how it's filmed (entirely?) in one take most of it. That gives an amazing flow to it all. Anyways, good people, click on the link and enjoy:
R.E.M on La Blogothéque
(and cranck it up to HD if you can)(Or click below)
#89.1 - R.E.M. - Until the day is done
Uploaded by lablogotheque. - See the latest featured music videos.
#89.2 - R.E.M. - Living well is the best revenge
Uploaded by lablogotheque. - Music videos, artist interviews, concerts and more.
#89.3 - R.E.M. - On the fly
Uploaded by lablogotheque. - Explore more music videos.
#89.4 - R.E.M. - Houston
Uploaded by lablogotheque. - Music videos, artist interviews, concerts and more.
#89.5 - R.E.M. - Sing for the Submarine
Uploaded by lablogotheque. - See the latest featured music videos.
Showing posts with label Michael Stipe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Michael Stipe. Show all posts
Sunday, 9 January 2011
Wednesday, 5 January 2011
New Song: R.E.M - Oh My Heart
The only thing I can say is, oh, that Michael Stipe... What a poet!!! Just one sentence that he writes can make me want to stop and think for like 5 minutes, and just when you think you have understood what he writes about, a new dimension opens. This is gonna be a good album.
It sounds exactly like a lot of other R.E.M songs, and by that I mean, just as great.
Enjoy, my friends.
It sounds exactly like a lot of other R.E.M songs, and by that I mean, just as great.
Enjoy, my friends.
Thursday, 19 March 2009
Thursday, 4 September 2008
R.E.M - The grandfathers of alternative rock (and what's wrong with Norwegian concert audiences)
End of the world from the concert. One of the highlights. I yelled Fine!! To bad it's a only the first part of the song, though.
Last night I attended my second R.E.M concert. I went to see them at Ullevåll stadion in 2006 and it was in the middle of the summer. Light summernight, big stadion, happy people and no one had seen R.E.M in Norway for a lot of years. For me, that night was a night of pure bliss. They played such a variety of all my favorite songs through the years. Even Country Feedback and Nightswimming. That was a whole other R.E.M in a way. They had also relased a whole other album just before that concert...
Last night was very strange in many ways. First of all the concert was moved from the stadion we went to the last time and suddenly (I think both we and R.E.M felt that) we found ourselves in the middle of a gigantic fotball indoors hall. It all started by The Diciplines. The bands front man is the man who used to play in R.E.M's backing band for several years: Ken Stringfellow, so that was no surprise. To be quite honest, I thought they were better then I thought but still quite boring. What was more alarming was the quality of sound in this horried bunker of a hall. After getting drinks and all ready we got up in the middle and found good spots, we thought, for Editors. They have been a favorite band of mine for the last year, so I was really looking forward to that. After about half of the first song, I realized that I could hear almost NO bass at all. So we moved... And we moved again.. And somehow we found a half ways decent place where we could see them and also hear quite well. After a quick smoking break it was time for the wait of the main attraction. At this moment I was so jazzed by Editors that I had almost had forgotten that I was going to see R.E.M. Let me rephrase that... I (!) was jazzed and my friend too. The rest of the crowd just stood there staring at the stage as a bunch of sheep. Really sad. Well, I said to myself. I am sure this will change when R.E.M goes on stage, and yes it helped a bit, but there where still about 500 people sitting down on seats high up in the walls, looking like hens laying eggs. And they hardly moved a muscle. I watched them form time to time and was just ... I can't even describe it... I just shake my head... Why the hell do you pay 500 kr.(about 50£ or 120 $) to do that??? I can't belive it.
Back to R.E.M themselves. First of all, I really really love the new songs, so I liked that there was a lot of them there and there was some good songs from the old time too. But the whole show lacked a bit of edge and thrill and amazement that I felt the last time. But MAN... they can play. You can see that they have played together for 26 years, and even more so hear it. They have this amazing dynamic and are so so so tight. They are the grandfathers of alternative rock. They can't really do anything wrong by now on stage.
I love Michael Stipe as a front man and I think he really makes a show live and lyrics come through when he sings. I love his little comments like "how the hell are you?" "I hate my goverment, you know that right" "You have gay marriages now right?". It's the same kind of politic thing as Bono, but in a so so more elegant way. U2 concerts can be a little overpowered by politics at times ;)
Last night though even he felt the bad sound. At one point he just laughed and said "I get so much reverb in here. My voice comes right back when I sing". So yes, the sound really sucked at time. How can we let legends like R.E.M play in such a horrible place like that, in front of a bunch of half drunk hens and statues of people. I can't belive it.... If you don't like the music, don't go to the concert. It's not a party or an event to get drunk and pick up chicks. Well .... maybe is when you are at the local community house somewhere in a forgotten wally of Norway, but this is R.E.M !!! Enough with the blasphemy.
As you can see below, the set list was a lot of new things and also a lot of great classics. I really wanted country feedback or be mine though ;)well that's what happens when you let Peter Buck choose the songs (according to Stipe he choose the songs). I love that they played Let me in and Horse to Water and
Living Well is the Best Revenge
Begin the Begin
What's the frequency Kenneth
Drive
Driver 8
Man-Sized Wreath
Ignoreland
Hollow Man
Imitation of Life
West of the Fields
Houston
Electrolite
The Great Beyond
I'm Gonna DJ
Turn You Inside Out
Exhuming McCarthy
The One I Love
Let Me In
Horse to Water
Bad Day
Orange Crush
End of the World
encore:
Supernatural
Losing My Religion
At My Most Beautiful
Pretty Persuasion
Man on the Moon
And since I didn't get to see Country Feedback again last night, this is what it looked like a week a go in england.
Last night I attended my second R.E.M concert. I went to see them at Ullevåll stadion in 2006 and it was in the middle of the summer. Light summernight, big stadion, happy people and no one had seen R.E.M in Norway for a lot of years. For me, that night was a night of pure bliss. They played such a variety of all my favorite songs through the years. Even Country Feedback and Nightswimming. That was a whole other R.E.M in a way. They had also relased a whole other album just before that concert...
Last night was very strange in many ways. First of all the concert was moved from the stadion we went to the last time and suddenly (I think both we and R.E.M felt that) we found ourselves in the middle of a gigantic fotball indoors hall. It all started by The Diciplines. The bands front man is the man who used to play in R.E.M's backing band for several years: Ken Stringfellow, so that was no surprise. To be quite honest, I thought they were better then I thought but still quite boring. What was more alarming was the quality of sound in this horried bunker of a hall. After getting drinks and all ready we got up in the middle and found good spots, we thought, for Editors. They have been a favorite band of mine for the last year, so I was really looking forward to that. After about half of the first song, I realized that I could hear almost NO bass at all. So we moved... And we moved again.. And somehow we found a half ways decent place where we could see them and also hear quite well. After a quick smoking break it was time for the wait of the main attraction. At this moment I was so jazzed by Editors that I had almost had forgotten that I was going to see R.E.M. Let me rephrase that... I (!) was jazzed and my friend too. The rest of the crowd just stood there staring at the stage as a bunch of sheep. Really sad. Well, I said to myself. I am sure this will change when R.E.M goes on stage, and yes it helped a bit, but there where still about 500 people sitting down on seats high up in the walls, looking like hens laying eggs. And they hardly moved a muscle. I watched them form time to time and was just ... I can't even describe it... I just shake my head... Why the hell do you pay 500 kr.(about 50£ or 120 $) to do that??? I can't belive it.
Back to R.E.M themselves. First of all, I really really love the new songs, so I liked that there was a lot of them there and there was some good songs from the old time too. But the whole show lacked a bit of edge and thrill and amazement that I felt the last time. But MAN... they can play. You can see that they have played together for 26 years, and even more so hear it. They have this amazing dynamic and are so so so tight. They are the grandfathers of alternative rock. They can't really do anything wrong by now on stage.
I love Michael Stipe as a front man and I think he really makes a show live and lyrics come through when he sings. I love his little comments like "how the hell are you?" "I hate my goverment, you know that right" "You have gay marriages now right?". It's the same kind of politic thing as Bono, but in a so so more elegant way. U2 concerts can be a little overpowered by politics at times ;)
Last night though even he felt the bad sound. At one point he just laughed and said "I get so much reverb in here. My voice comes right back when I sing". So yes, the sound really sucked at time. How can we let legends like R.E.M play in such a horrible place like that, in front of a bunch of half drunk hens and statues of people. I can't belive it.... If you don't like the music, don't go to the concert. It's not a party or an event to get drunk and pick up chicks. Well .... maybe is when you are at the local community house somewhere in a forgotten wally of Norway, but this is R.E.M !!! Enough with the blasphemy.
As you can see below, the set list was a lot of new things and also a lot of great classics. I really wanted country feedback or be mine though ;)well that's what happens when you let Peter Buck choose the songs (according to Stipe he choose the songs). I love that they played Let me in and Horse to Water and
Living Well is the Best Revenge
Begin the Begin
What's the frequency Kenneth
Drive
Driver 8
Man-Sized Wreath
Ignoreland
Hollow Man
Imitation of Life
West of the Fields
Houston
Electrolite
The Great Beyond
I'm Gonna DJ
Turn You Inside Out
Exhuming McCarthy
The One I Love
Let Me In
Horse to Water
Bad Day
Orange Crush
End of the World
encore:
Supernatural
Losing My Religion
At My Most Beautiful
Pretty Persuasion
Man on the Moon
And since I didn't get to see Country Feedback again last night, this is what it looked like a week a go in england.
2
kommentarer
Etiketter:
concert,
Editors,
live,
Michael Stipe,
Mike Mills,
music,
Peter Buck,
R.E.M
Etiketter:
concert,
Editors,
live,
Michael Stipe,
Mike Mills,
music,
Peter Buck,
R.E.M
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