doodledee

R.E.M. was one of the bands I grew up with. I bought all the albums, learned all the songs, and - predictably - got pissed when they got popular. (Seriously, what was that frickin' chick from the B52's doing singing with *my* band?!) I even bought a bunch of those stupid import singles because they had like 1 bonus live song on them. 4 songs for $13? Hell yeah!

They kind of lost me after 'Monster'. I'm not sure why. I think the guitar got too heavy, maybe. It was like whiplash going from 'Automatic for the People' to 'Monster'. I just couldn't keep up. Huh.

I'd never seen them live before tonight, when I mooched a seat in the KS95 suite with Molly. (Mooching *from* Molly... there's a new one.) It was a good show. They played some neat older stuff and a sampling of the new stuff they [apparently] just released. Attendance was crappy, but the band's energy level was high, so the people who were there seemed to generally have a good time.

It did seem a little odd, though. They're older now and while their angst is probably real, it doesn't feel as 'right' as it used to. Back in the day, when Stipe used to yell "This song goes out to the Exxon Corporation!" before they played 'Turn You Inside Out', it felt raw and real. Now, when he talks about Wellstone and sings some song about being fed up, it just seems kind of sad.

'Fables Of The Reconstruction' was the one of the first two discs I bought when I got a CD player. When I was 16 I would have given my firstborn to see a show like the one tonight. I'm glad I went and all, but I think I'm keeping the kid.

Wendell Gee is still one of my favorite songs.