Chronic Town
So this is the debut EP from REM, and it has already got the distinctive sound the band has throughout their early years: Peter Buck's jingle-jangling guitar riffs, as it has been said many times before, is very much influenced by The Byrds, and at the same time the rhythm section has a steady post-punk feel, and then there's the mysteriously murmuring vocals from Michael Stipe---even if you catch the lyrics, you are not likely to catch the meanings.
Once these elements melt together, it sounds unusual. They got the beat, you can dance to it, but then you really don't know what the songs are about (with titles like 'wolves, lower', and 'gardening at night'): are they happy, sad, or angry? But once the music drives you into the groove it just doesn't matter, you'll realise that that's just their way of dong things: they might see the world around them like that too: happy, sad or angry? Maybe it's all there, or maybe it's just somewhere in between.
'Wolves, Lower'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLh9rs5JXyE
Once these elements melt together, it sounds unusual. They got the beat, you can dance to it, but then you really don't know what the songs are about (with titles like 'wolves, lower', and 'gardening at night'): are they happy, sad, or angry? But once the music drives you into the groove it just doesn't matter, you'll realise that that's just their way of dong things: they might see the world around them like that too: happy, sad or angry? Maybe it's all there, or maybe it's just somewhere in between.
'Wolves, Lower'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLh9rs5JXyE
