R.E.M. "Document"

R.E.M. is Rapid Eye Movement and it refers to R.E.M. sleep which is a normal stage of sleep characterized by the rapid movement of the eyes. But we will not be talking about that okay, instead this blogpost is about this American alternative rock band called R.E.M. formed in Athens, Georgia, back in 1980 by singer MICHAEL STIPE, guitarist PETER BUCK, bassist MIKE MILLS, and drummer BILL BERRY and their FIFTH studio album entitled "DOCUMENT" which was released back in 1987 which was the last album of new material by the band released on the I.R.S. Records label. It was the first album the band worked with producer Scott Litt which will continue to few more albums collaborated with him. R.E.M. was first introduced here in MANILA by WXB 102 back in 1985 with "Harborcoat" from their "Reckoning" album. "DOCUMENT" album was basically introduced here in MANILA by NU 107 by playing"THE ONE I LOVE" which is still considered as one of the most popular R.E.M. song here in the Philippines second only to "Losing My Religion". The band remained underground up until their single "THE ONE I LOVE" came about from this album and became the first song which entered the playlist of MANILA's Pop Radio Stations back in the 80s. The second song played by NU 107 in this album was "STRANGE" which was followed by the fast "IT'S THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT (AND I FEEL FINE)" and this was already in 1988. The song "Strange" was originally recorded by the post-punk band WIRE on their debut album "Pink Flag". The version of R.E.M. has a faster tempo and the lyrics were slightly altered changing "Joey's nervous" to "Michael's nervous" in the first verse. Personally, I love R.E.M.'s version than the WIRE original.


In 1989, R.E.M.'s "DOCUMENT" was ranked #41 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 100 greatest albums of the 1980s and in 2003, the album was ranked # 470 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. Well, that's why that we are featuring it right now here on "The Doctor Is In". Another reason is that recently a lot of bad things happening around the globe with those Political Turmoil in the Middle East, Earthquakes and Floods on different countries makes you think if "IT'S THE END OF THE WORLD". Got my drift guys? YUP!! That R.E.M. song is in this album and thus the blogpost was born. Definitely one great album that every PINOY NEW WAVER should have on their collection. The original sleeve for the album featured the message "File under Fire", a reference to what Michael Stipe considered to be the central lyrical theme of the album and also references the chorus to "The One I Love". Two rejected suggestions for the title of the album "R.E.M. No. 5" and "Table of Content" which if you have an original copy of the album you could see it appear on both front and back of the sleeve artwork . There were also other possible album titles and these were "Mr. Evil Breakfast", "Skin Up with R.E.M.", and "Last Train to Disneyland". Hmmmp? Talking about difficulty on naming the album which in the end became a simple "Document". Additional musicians on the album were Steve Berlin (horns) and Carl Marsh (Fairlight CMI synthesizer) both on the song "Fireplace".



Well, I bought first the 45 single of "THE ONE I LOVE" when I first heard it over at NU 107 back in 1987 and then I finally bought the "DOCUMENT" Vinyl Record when the songs "Strange" and "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" became an NU107 hit back in 1988. Then last 2005, I decided to buy the "DOCUMENT" CD which already included six extra tracks. YUP!! That includes the Live Version of "The One I Love" which was also an NU107 classic back in 1989. I used to play this version on my guitar back then. Wheeew!! MEMORIES INDEED!! Those were the good ol' days when buying records was an exciting moment for every PINOY NEW WAVERS. I uploaded my "Document" CD just in case you're interested to have a copy of it. This is for your listening pleasure only okay. The album originally contains 11 tracks, but the CD already contains 17 tracks. Tracks 12-17 are bonus tracks on the CD.

DOCUMENT (1987)
TRACKLIST
1. Finest Worksong
2. Welcome to the Occupation
3. Exhuming McCarthy
4. Disturbance at the Heron House
5. Strange
6. It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
7. The One I Love
8. Fireplace
9. Lightnin' Hopkins
10. King of Birds
11. Oddfellows Local 151
12. Finest Worksong (Other Mix)
13. Last Date
14. The One I Love" (Live at McCabe's Guitar Shop)
15. Time After Time, Etc." (Live)
16. Disturbance at the Heron House" (Live at McCabe's Guitar Shop)
17. Finest Worksong" (Lengthy Club Mix)

DOWNLOAD MY CD HERE:


PASSWORD: http://docmuzic.blogspot.com/


LISTEN TO THE LIVE VERSION OF "THE ONE I LOVE" HERE:



WATCH "THE ONE I LOVE" HERE:



LISTEN TO "STRANGE" HERE:



WATCH AND SING
"IT'S THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT (AND I FEEL FINE)" HERE:


Lyrics | Rem lyrics - Its The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) lyrics


I hope you enjoyed another trip down memory lane here on my little R.E.M. special "DOCUMENT" blogpost. THANKS for dropping by again guys!!

Just a DOCUMENT on R.E.M.
-DR. STIRRING RHOD

Man On The Moon (40th year)

It was JULY 20, 1969 when MAN first stepped on the surface of the MOON. YUP!! Who would forget the classic NEIL ARMSTRONG's lines back then "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." Of course, not related to the ARMSTRONG Brothers of VOLTES V who are STEVE, BIG BERT, and LITTLE JOHN. He He He!! Around 500 million people on Earth were hooked on their televisions and radios. YUP!! It's the 40th ANNIVERSARY of the FIRST MAN ON THE MOON MISSION of APOLLO 11. On July 16, 1969, NEIL ARMSTRONG, BUZZ ALDRIN, and MIKE COLLINS settled themselves into lunar command model COLUMBIA on the APOLLO 11, which was sky rocketted some 111 meters into space via the Saturn V rocket which was lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center at 9:32 a.m. Then four days later which was JULY 20, 1969 NEIL ARMSTRONG manually maneuvered the module which was called "EAGLE" to land on the MOON's Sea of Tranquility and of course another Legendary line again from him "Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed" . They spent around 21 hours on the moon's surface, planting the American Flag and a steel plaque bearing a message of peace. Well, maybe if some U.F.O.s would visit the moon then they might read that plaque. He He He!! Both NEIL and BUZZ collected around 43 pounds of rocks and then returned to COLUMBIA where COLLINS was awaiting them for their return to EARTH. They landed back on July 24, 1969 ditching into the Pacific Ocean. Well, that was 40 years ago and I wasn't born yet. He He He!! Hmmmp!! At least you have a little idea how young "Dr. Stirring Rhod" is. Ha Ha Ha!! I guess that's the real MOONWALK and definitely very timely with MICHAEL JACKSON's "MOONWALK" Dance Step that everyone is crazy about. This is just my little tribute to another of MAN's success on SPACE which is considered THE FINAL FRONTIER.



Here's a photo of BUZZ ALDRIN today. Btw, they challenged NASA that It's about time to prepare the FIRST MAN ON MARS. Wheeew!! That would be very interesting don't you think?

Click the photo to VIEW the APOLLO 11 VIDEO:


For the finale, I included a song from R.E.M. entitled "MAN ON THE MOON" taken from the band's 1992 album "AUTOMATIC FOR THE PEOPLE". First played here in MANILA by NU107 back in 1992.

LISTEN HERE:
MAN ON THE MOON- R.E.M.



- REM Lyrics


It's the MAN ON THE MOON!!
-DR. STIRRING RHOD