“Country Feedback”
by R.E.M.
from the album Out of Time
1991
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Continue reading November Five-Star Shuffle: “Country Feedback”
“The Wrong Child”
by R.E.M.
from the album Green
1998
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Sorry to disappointment our adoring fans, because I know I am one day late on my 5-star entry for last week, so getting it in now. And what a punch in the gut depressing entry it is. I think I’ve mentioned before that I was a big R.E.M. fan in my youth, probably up until around Automatic for the People. I don’t remember if Green was their first album I had, and I might argue that Document or Life’s Rich Pageant are better albums, but Green is still the pinnacle of their albums for me. The one that had the most impact and stuck with me the most. In fact, thinking about it now, I should probably do it as an Album of the Month at some point, so let’s get to the song.
Continue reading November Five-Star Shuffle: “The Wrong Child”
Until the End of the World
1991
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It’s been a long time since I saw this movie, and I don’t really remember it at all (confirmed by just watching the trailer), but I do remember I really liked it. I might have seen it in the theater when it was first released, though 1991 – I may not have entered my big Wim Wenders phase by then, ignited by Wings of Desire. I think I probably had though, because I remember the soundtrack coming out, and though not all of the songs made an impression, there have been a few that have stood out ever since I first heard it.
Continue reading October Soundtracks: Until the End of the World
Dream a Little Dream Original Soundtrack
1989
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This one popped into my head because of a conversation Chris and I just had about Meredith Salenger. I don’t even remember what the conversation was, but good lord, did I have a crush on her in high school. In fact, this stupid little movie (and it is dumb, no doubt) is maybe one of my favorite films of all time. Let it be known, I have a crush on this movie. It might feature the Coreys and the main single from the soundtrack might be a cover done by a soap opera star, but dang it, this movie has a hold on me.
“Talk About the Passion”
by Samson & The Philistines (originally by R.E.M.)
from the album Surprise Your Pig: A Tribute to R.E.M.
1992
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Continuing with the R.E.M. week, here’s one from a tribute album from way back (pre-Out of Time). I was a big R.E.M. fan for quite a while (I started waning with Automatic for the People), so when this came out I had to have it. As I’ve mentioned before, like with most albums of this sort, the results are very hit or miss, and mostly miss, but I liked a couple of them. The album is comprised of generally obscure bands (at least to me), but I did appreciate that most of the bands gave a unique spin to their versions. I probably still have a copy of the album somewhere, but this song is for some reason the only one currently in my iTunes library. This particular cover isn’t amazing, but it does become interesting to hear it in a different language (errr..spanish?). It certainly doesn’t trump the original, but is worth a listen.
“Losing My Religion”
by R.E.M.
from the album Out of Time
1991
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Sure, this was a big hit off of a big album that really brought R.E.M. into the mainstream, but the only really important thing is that this is the song that represents Brenda losing her virginity to Dylan. I’m pretty positive they played parts of this song somewhere around 87 times during that episode of 90210.
“Money”
by the Backbeat Band (originally by Barret Strong)
from the soundtrack to Backbeat
1994
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Oh man, I had two songs in mind for my cover selection today, both covers of Motown classics, but this one gets the nod today because I’ve been listening to a lot of Afghan Whigs lately. I’ll file that other one away for later. This is actually an all-star 90s alternative cover of a Beatles cover of a Barrett Strong track. It features members of REM, Gumball, Foo Fighters, Sonic Youth, Soul Asylum and Afghan Whigs.