As we noted over the weekend, the former members of R.E.M. seemed to go out of their way to avoid staging a full reunion Saturday night at Peter Buck’s wedding in Portland, Ore., as all four ex-bandmates took the stage to perform at the Wonder Ballroom at one point or another — just never all at once.
There very well could have been a full-fledged R.E.M. reunion in Portland, Ore., on Saturday night as all four members of the defunct college-rock superstars performed after Peter Buck’s wedding. But, by all appearances, they managed to avoid such headlines, just barely, by not actually sharing the stage together.
It’s a nearly unparalleled landmark in the history of ’80s college rock: R.E.M.’s peerless debut album, Murmur, was released on April 12, 1983 — exactly 30 years ago today. Today we celebrate this milestone by looking back at the building blocks of the album we know and love.
R.E.M. this week sent fan-club members the band’s final holiday single, capping a nearly 25-year-old tradition with a 2-track CD featuring live renditions of ‘Perfect Circle’ and ‘Life and How To Live It,’ the latter of which was recorded at the band’s last-ever concert in Mexico City in November 2008.
Members of R.E.M.’s fan club have begun receiving their annual holiday single in the mail, and, like last year’s, the 2010 installment features the return of departed drummer Bill Berry on a cover of Darlene Love’s classic ‘Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)’ — as well as an instrumental mashup of three tracks off the band’s forthcoming album ‘Collapse Into Now.’
Thirty years ago today, R.E.M. played its first-ever concert — reportedly billed as Twisted Kites — performing to several hundred friends and Athens townsfolk at a birthday party inside St. Mary’s Episcopal Church.
Tweet Members of R.E.M.’s fan club have begun receiving their annual Christmas single from the band, and this year’s disc features a surprise: an appearance [...]
Retired drummer Bill Berry and bassman Mike Mills jumped onstage last night with Peter Buck and the rest of The Minus 5 for a near-reunion [...]
