Sonic Youth Gossip - View Single Post - R.E.M. The Best of the I.R.S. Years 1982-1987 And I Feel Fine...

atari 2600 · 09.19.2006, 10:31 PM

By the way, I have proof positive that Mark Prindle is a goober. People that like him are too, no doubt. He gives the bootleg we are both raving about a 1 out of 10.

http://www.markprindle.com/rema.htm#so
So Much Younger Then - Bootleg

On a foggy Monday in September, I hapt upon a miracle at the thrift store. In the dollar bin of cassette tapes filled with garbage and pish-posh rested a gentle TDK (I also first had this on cassette...I was so glad when I got the torrents) featuring the lilting handwriting of a young girl or "girly man," as popular political figure Hans and Franz might say. But this was no ordinary lilting TDK: this tape featured illicit tapings of two already illegal REM bootlegs -- (which actually brings up a point I hadn't considered. We know bootlegging is wrong, but how about if you bootleg a BOOTLEG, as this enterprising human bean had done? Is it considered a good deed to take money out of the bootlegger's pocket? I don't know the answer. I can't even fathom how such a moral conundrum might be resolved. As our discussion continues, my mind is spinning with the possibilities, slowly tearing away at the delicate brainstem attachment. OW!

(*rests lazily in chair like Christopher Reeve*)
(*laughs uproariously at such a biting irreverent jab at a well-loved public figure*)
(*reads this week's obituaries; squirts intestinal bile out of nose*)
To cut to the quick chase, REM used to be a hellaciously rotten new wave/punk rock band. All the right instrumental elements were there from the beginning -- Peter Buck's clean jangly guitar tone, Michael Stipe's light Southern drawl, Mike Mills' excitable backup vocals and presumably bass playing of some sort, the drummer's peppy 4/4 beat later utilized in folk-punk classics like "Radio Free Europe" and "These Days" -- but one key element of the band's sound had yet to come to fruition. I'm speaking of course about the ability to compose anything remotely suggesting that the band members held even an ounce of collective common sense. Presumably they were going for some sort of Ramonesy beachpunk feel with the constant speedy 4/4 rhythm and simplistic chord sequences, but the "riffs" are just -- I mean, just TERRIBLE! Absolutely TERRIBLE! Straight out of 1958 A-E-D simplistic crap -- like the worst Buddy Holly outtakes of all time played fast on a clean guitar. It's not beachy, nor punky, nor Ramonesy in any other way, no matter how many times they rip off the "Blitzkrieg Bop" riff (which is PLENTY). It's just BAD! Even when they try to take a darker approach with minor chords and pessimistic lyrics, the songwriting remains clueless and the songs hookless. It's truly astonishing to think that this band would soon become one of the greatest songwriting teams in rock and roll history (I mean have you heard Reveal? It fuckin' TEARS!!!).
The bootleg was recorded at a live "gig" in 1980 (wrong!) , and features the following tracks: Body Count (not an Ice-T cover), A Different Girl, Action (not a Paul Revere & The Raiders cover), Narrator For The Jacques Cousteau Show, She's Such A Pretty Girl, Baby I, Permanent Vacation (not an Aerosmith cover), Wait (not a White Lion cover), Scheherezade, Lisa Sez (probably a Lou Reed cover, though I didn't compare the two songs to check), Mystery To Me (not a Fleetwood Mac cover), I Don't Want You Anymore (not a Ramones cover), Little Girl (indeed a Syndicate Of Sound cover), Dangerous Times.
Do you recognize these rare REM songs? From b-sides, later album appearances, mixed artist compilations, rarities collections, box sets and any of the other many outlets that a band of REM's stature would naturally have for stray tracks? No, you don't. AND THERE'S A GOOD GODDAMNED REASON FOR THAT!!! Here I am all excited thinking I'm going to get this all-new collection of great REM tunes that nobody's ever heard, and what do I end up with but stereo speakers so filled with shit that everything I play now is completely muffled. Aside from the Syndicate of Sound cover, there is not a single good -- or even DECENT -- song on this bootleg. Okay, "A Different Girl" has a couple of good parts. But that is IT. REM's earliest material is shockingly bad. Horrifyingly bad. Dip your balls in a blender bad.
Oh, I'm sorry. Do you not generally dip your balls in a blender when you hear a bad record?
Wait, now I'm really confused. If I'm the only one who does this, where did all these "women" come from? THEY certainly must have dipped their balls in a blender after hearing a bad record at some point!
So basically what you're saying is that I'd might as well give up sending Billy Joel tapes to Steve Guttenberg. I knew it! I shall die alone!!!! Reader Comments
spectre316@email.com (Matt F.)
Wha..?
Mark, tell me this doesn't exist! TELL ME RIGHT NOW! I thought the earliest stuff was "Chronic Town"! WTFFff?!111111oenoenoen
Well, I guess every band starts nowhere and ends up somewhere eventually. Or they just stay on the same shitty level throughout their entire career.
Seriously, I had always thought R.E.M. started out fucking amazing and then only recently went downhill (don't you ever mention "Around the Boring Adult Alternative Sun" around me, EVER! I FUCKIN MEAN IT!). The only other bands I can think of that started great were.. um.. They Might Be Giants (shut up), some punk bands, and... well, nevermind. A lot of fucking bands. Damn those amazing debut albums/EPs/singles/funni stuf.
Anyway, wow. I want to hear this amazingly bad piece of shit so much right now! CaN u SeN it 2 mE oN aOL????
No, but seriously! Where do I find this thing? I MUST HAVE IT!
dumpster@compulsoryarts.com
'So Much Younger Then' was recorded at Tyrone's O.C. in Athens January 10th, 1981, (thank you) and was just one of many. It was all about having a good time and (if you asked) Michael didn't mind if you plugged a tape deck into the sound board and helped yourself to the show. I myself have several tapes from those early days. Tyrone's was the place to go in the late 70's & early 80's until it burnt to the ground in January of 82. On any given night you could dance to bands such as The Tone Tones, The Method Actors, Pylon, The Side Effects, Love Tractor, The Squalls, Little Tigers, Men in Trees and Limbo District, to name but a few. Another REM bootleg from Tyrone's is the 'Do You Remember? - Dead Giveaway Office' LP.
Add your thoughts?
Yeah, just one...Mark Prindle can fuck a duck.

09.19.2006, 10:31 PM	#18
atari 2600 invito al cielo Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 8,212	By the way, I have proof positive that Mark Prindle is a goober. People that like him are too, no doubt. He gives the bootleg we are both raving about a 1 out of 10. http://www.markprindle.com/rema.htm#so So Much Younger Then - Bootleg On a foggy Monday in September, I hapt upon a miracle at the thrift store. In the dollar bin of cassette tapes filled with garbage and pish-posh rested a gentle TDK (I also first had this on cassette...I was so glad when I got the torrents) featuring the lilting handwriting of a young girl or "girly man," as popular political figure Hans and Franz might say. But this was no ordinary lilting TDK: this tape featured illicit tapings of two already illegal REM bootlegs -- (which actually brings up a point I hadn't considered. We know bootlegging is wrong, but how about if you bootleg a BOOTLEG, as this enterprising human bean had done? Is it considered a good deed to take money out of the bootlegger's pocket? I don't know the answer. I can't even fathom how such a moral conundrum might be resolved. As our discussion continues, my mind is spinning with the possibilities, slowly tearing away at the delicate brainstem attachment. OW! (rests lazily in chair like Christopher Reeve) (laughs uproariously at such a biting irreverent jab at a well-loved public figure) (reads this week's obituaries; squirts intestinal bile out of nose) To cut to the quick chase, REM used to be a hellaciously rotten new wave/punk rock band. All the right instrumental elements were there from the beginning -- Peter Buck's clean jangly guitar tone, Michael Stipe's light Southern drawl, Mike Mills' excitable backup vocals and presumably bass playing of some sort, the drummer's peppy 4/4 beat later utilized in folk-punk classics like "Radio Free Europe" and "These Days" -- but one key element of the band's sound had yet to come to fruition. I'm speaking of course about the ability to compose anything remotely suggesting that the band members held even an ounce of collective common sense. Presumably they were going for some sort of Ramonesy beachpunk feel with the constant speedy 4/4 rhythm and simplistic chord sequences, but the "riffs" are just -- I mean, just TERRIBLE! Absolutely TERRIBLE! Straight out of 1958 A-E-D simplistic crap -- like the worst Buddy Holly outtakes of all time played fast on a clean guitar. It's not beachy, nor punky, nor Ramonesy in any other way, no matter how many times they rip off the "Blitzkrieg Bop" riff (which is PLENTY). It's just BAD! Even when they try to take a darker approach with minor chords and pessimistic lyrics, the songwriting remains clueless and the songs hookless. It's truly astonishing to think that this band would soon become one of the greatest songwriting teams in rock and roll history (I mean have you heard Reveal? It fuckin' TEARS!!!). The bootleg was recorded at a live "gig" in 1980 (wrong!) , and features the following tracks: Body Count (not an Ice-T cover), A Different Girl, Action (not a Paul Revere & The Raiders cover), Narrator For The Jacques Cousteau Show, She's Such A Pretty Girl, Baby I, Permanent Vacation (not an Aerosmith cover), Wait (not a White Lion cover), Scheherezade, Lisa Sez (probably a Lou Reed cover, though I didn't compare the two songs to check), Mystery To Me (not a Fleetwood Mac cover), I Don't Want You Anymore (not a Ramones cover), Little Girl (indeed a Syndicate Of Sound cover), Dangerous Times. Do you recognize these rare REM songs? From b-sides, later album appearances, mixed artist compilations, rarities collections, box sets and any of the other many outlets that a band of REM's stature would naturally have for stray tracks? No, you don't. AND THERE'S A GOOD GODDAMNED REASON FOR THAT!!! Here I am all excited thinking I'm going to get this all-new collection of great REM tunes that nobody's ever heard, and what do I end up with but stereo speakers so filled with shit that everything I play now is completely muffled. Aside from the Syndicate of Sound cover, there is not a single good -- or even DECENT -- song on this bootleg. Okay, "A Different Girl" has a couple of good parts. But that is IT. REM's earliest material is shockingly bad. Horrifyingly bad. Dip your balls in a blender bad. Oh, I'm sorry. Do you not generally dip your balls in a blender when you hear a bad record? Wait, now I'm really confused. If I'm the only one who does this, where did all these "women" come from? THEY certainly must have dipped their balls in a blender after hearing a bad record at some point! So basically what you're saying is that I'd might as well give up sending Billy Joel tapes to Steve Guttenberg. I knew it! I shall die alone!!!! *Reader Comments* spectre316@email.com (Matt F.) Wha..? Mark, tell me this doesn't exist! TELL ME RIGHT NOW! I thought the earliest stuff was "Chronic Town"! WTFFff?!111111oenoenoen Well, I guess every band starts nowhere and ends up somewhere eventually. Or they just stay on the same shitty level throughout their entire career. Seriously, I had always thought R.E.M. started out fucking amazing and then only recently went downhill (don't you ever mention "Around the Boring Adult Alternative Sun" around me, EVER! I FUCKIN MEAN IT!). The only other bands I can think of that started great were.. um.. They Might Be Giants (shut up), some punk bands, and... well, nevermind. A lot of fucking bands. Damn those amazing debut albums/EPs/singles/funni stuf. Anyway, wow. I want to hear this amazingly bad piece of shit so much right now! CaN u SeN it 2 mE oN aOL???? No, but seriously! Where do I find this thing? I MUST HAVE IT! dumpster@compulsoryarts.com 'So Much Younger Then' was recorded at Tyrone's O.C. in Athens January 10th, 1981, (thank you) and was just one of many. It was all about having a good time and (if you asked) Michael didn't mind if you plugged a tape deck into the sound board and helped yourself to the show. I myself have several tapes from those early days. Tyrone's was the place to go in the late 70's & early 80's until it burnt to the ground in January of 82. On any given night you could dance to bands such as The Tone Tones, The Method Actors, Pylon, The Side Effects, Love Tractor, The Squalls, Little Tigers, Men in Trees and Limbo District, to name but a few. Another REM bootleg from Tyrone's is the 'Do You Remember? - Dead Giveaway Office' LP. Add your thoughts? Yeah, just one...Mark Prindle can fuck a duck.
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