And Your Feet Are POLLing 'Cause The Earth is POLLing: REM's "Dead Letter Office"

Less than a week to go on this one: Your Eyes Are Burning POLLs Through Me: REM's "New Adventures In Hi-Fi"

Pretty much a tie between "Windout" and "Ages of You." Went with the rave up.

For my first band i played drums in, this R.E.M. record was the Gospel - 'Ages of You' here too - but it was tough...Crazy and Burning hell are perty fuggin special

Not a stinker in the bunch, but voted "Femme Fatale" because (and I think there must be a lot of REM fans around my age in the same boat) I had never heard of, let alone heard, the Velvet Underground until I heard this.

"Toys in the Attic" would've been much better had Stipe bothered to learn the lyrics, or in other words, given a shit about the song. Which he might have learned he liked -- it's not unlike one of his own. But he didn't bother.

"Crazy."

Actually, "Voice of Harold." I'll wait a week for the cookie to refresh and vote for that instead.

Walter's Theme

Voted for "Toys". Fuck learning a Aerosmith lyric.

"crazy", though the original by pylon is even better. those were the times when athens ruled the (music) world.

I love that you complain about him failing to learn the words to "Toys in the Attic" and then vote for "Crazy," as if he had the slightest idea what Vanessa from Pylon was singing.

"Crazy" is my vote, too.

BTW: the lyrics to "Toys in the Attic" are, "Toys... toys... toys... inhaling toys."

yeah it's probably annoying to vote for "Crazy" but fuck it, it's the song I come back to the most on this thing. I mean it's a pleasant enough collection of songs and I'm glad to have it, but if I put this on it's for Chronic Town. After "Crazy" I'd go for one of the VU covers or "Ages of You", which is kinda like "Sitting Still" but not as good.

ut if I put this on it's for Chronic Town

Same here. It's been a while since I listened to the rest of it.

i like "voice of harold" more than a lot of things on r.e.m. albums of the same period.

i also like the drunken takedown of "king of the road."

"Walter's Theme", bitches! "I got a hat the size of oOOOOOOOOklaHOma!"

Aw, I won't vote for that, but this collection puts paid to anyone who thinks REM are overserious mopers, that's for sure. Gawrsh, what to pick?

cuz yer arms are shaking...Crazy

There's really only three choices: after you pare away the covers (which are all fun, revealing even, but never up to the original versions), then put aside the throwaways like "White Tornado," "Windout," and "Walter's Theme," you're left with "Ages of You," "Burning Down," and "Voice of Harold." The first is a legitimately good song that would've fit in fine on any record up through Fables (but really is sort of a bridge from Chronic to Murmur), the second is a notch below that, and "Harold" is a hoot...the rare novelty that holds up, but still a novelty.

Ages of You, comfortably.

Happy to have Ages of You, but not sure I buy the categories - I mean, I'd call "Voice of Harold" a throwaway before I would "Windout"!

which song off this was in Bachelor Party? I should have voted for that one, just to rep for that flick.

"Windout", evidently.

Song Trivia

Did You Know?

During one of the party scenes, you can hear an R.E.M. song called "windout." In R.E.M.'s liner notes of their B-sides compilation, they list windout as being from an "unnamed" movie. It seems they wanted to disassociate themselves from Bachelor party!

On a 1985 British radio interview, Peter Buck of R.E.M. said that R.E.M. let their song "Windout" be used in the movie as a favor to their record company, IRS, after the Go Gos refused. Buck further related seeing "Bachelor Party" at an Athens, GA theater that served pitchers of beer. Buck hated the movie and began drinking heavily. When he saw that the movie played only a brief snippet of "Windout," a drunken Buck started yelling that he wanted his money back.

how does "Windout" fare compare to the songs on the new album (well, new as of a while ago, Accelerate)? Would it be one of the best songs on it?

Ummm...apples and oranges sorta. It'd certainly be welcome replacing some of the ballad-y numbers. But I really really like "Supernatural Superserious" and a few other things that I guess I'll hold off discussing 'til the appropriate poll.

Accelerate Appropriate.

thanks! I've been holding off on the new one; I know I'm a bad fan but I'll get around to it eventually.

It won't change your life or anything but there's some good stuff on there, honest.

ages of you, only song here that really holds up next to chronic town and the 1st couple lps

though burning hell is fun

Yeah, I love this whole thing, though that's mostly nostalgia - "Ages of You" is very good though.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

Not an unexpected winner - nice turnout for the others though. Thanks for playing!

Will hold off a couple days on the next poll (all rarities, b-sides, non-album, soundtrack) as I'm under deadline and don't have time to gather up the list... note that the lonely, neglected Around The Sun poll is still going though: Leaving Was Never My POLLed: REM's "Around The Sun"

if I revive this, it won't show up on new answers, will it?

If I had spotted this in time I'd have voted Bandwagon

Too late, of course, but I'd go with "Windout"

Listening back to DDO via Spotify for the first time in ages, loving Stipe's enunciated southern accent on Voice Of Harold

What's the critical thinking on this "In The Attic" rarities compilation? A good companion for "Dead Letter Office"?

http://www.discogs.com/REM-Essential-REM-In-The-Attic-Alternative-Recordings-1985-1989/release/1724128

not even sure i knew that existed! terrible cover. the "so central rain" medley thing at the end is wonderful though. that's how the new REM album sounds, right?

I have this, mainly because I wanted digital versions of two things I had only on tape -- "Last Date" and "Dream." Two of REM's very best B-sides, they make the comp worthwhile by themselves.

If I remember right, that live version of "Maps and Legends" is really nice, too.

I've got that on CD and I wouldn't say it's an essential purchase, but there are some lovely live versions and a couple of nice B-sides.

The "Swan Swan H" on it is very nice; you can watch the part of the doc it's from here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_QG6tr9mjo

I love Mills' playing on this version; it's not that different a line than on the album version but it's more upfront here b/c there's less going on (no accordion, less drums); by contrast, Buck's strumming is less prominent.

HOW DID I MISS THIS

One belated vote for "Burning Hell"

a million points to Patterson Hood for covering it at that REM tribute thing in Athens a while back

http://stereogum.com/5196/finest_worksongs_athens_bands_play_the_music_of_re/mp3/

Been marathoning this band today, in honor of having reached the R section in my grand and relentless record-cleaning project. Really have come around to thinking their IRS records are all great, like not even a single dud track. There's stuff I like more and less of course but really, hell of a consistent output even as they kept developing their sound and their songwriting.

Obviously, this comp comes the closest to "disposable" but that's sort of its charm and it's sounding great today as a little cherry on top of that period. Still think "Ages of You" and "Bandwagon" both could have served on albums, with a little more work put in, but they're nice here too and you do need something besides Velvet Underground covers for your b-sides. And whatever Aerosmith wants to say, this "Toys in the Attic" is pretty underrated. Love that barnstorming live party-band version of REM.

The bonus disc to the "And I Feel Fine" comp serves as a follow-up to "Dead Letter Office".

Ooh, I would have voted for 'Crazy' too, but I really like their version of 'Toys In The Attic' ...

i love this album
"Voice of Harold" ftw
i have probably already said this before but i am saying it again because that's how much i enjoy the pure tenor quality of the voice of Harold

a must!

I recently found this IRS Complete Rarities 1982-1987 set, which expands Dead Letter Office with a bunch of songs I'd never heard (and I *think* I have every REM single). the acoustic "Gardening At Night" is great, a spooky take on what could (should?) be a spooky song.