New Gina Schock, Kennedys, R.E.M. Author John Hunter, Remembering Robbie Robertson
This morning on “All Mixed Up” from with Jim Monaghan – new music from the Kennedys and Gina Schock, an interview with author John Hunter about his new book about R.E.M. plus we revisit a 2017 interview with the late Robbie Robertson.
Opening Theme – “Signe” by Eric Clapton
Drift Away – Tom Rush
Walk Away Renee – David Wilcox
Seagull – Joe Bonamassa
Wichita Lineman – Stone Temple Pilots w/ Glen Campbell
Suite For 20G – James Taylor
New Coat of Paint – Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes
The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore – Bruce Springsteen
Headwinds – Kennedys
Ripple – Grateful Dead
Crash Into Me – Dave Matthews Band
Walk Around the Moon – Dave Matthews Band
Skateaway – Dire Straits
Fisherman’s Blues – Waterboys
Robbie Robertson Interview
Showdown At Big Sky – Robbie Robertson
The Rope – Semisonic
I’m Gonna Make You Love Me – Jayhawks
Till It Shines – Joe D’Urso & Stone Caravan
She Walks With the Angels – Rick Springfield
My Old School – Jeff Baxter
A Girl Like You – Smithereens
Radio Free Europe (original version) – R.E.M.
John Hunter Interview
Losing My Religion – R.E.M.
Smile Pretty – House of Schock
Running Down A Dream – Tom Petty
Midnight Blue – Lou Gramm
Under You – Foo Fighters
Into Your Arms – Lemonheads
Talk About the Passion – R.E.M.
Closing Theme – “Take Five by the Dave Brubeck Quartet
Thanks for listening this morning.
The Top 5 Career Defining Moments For R.E.M.
R.E.M. formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 with a lineup composed of singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, Mike Mills on bass, keyboards, and backing vocals, and drummer Bill Berry.
Considered by many to be one of the first “alternative” rock bands, R.E.M.‘s early music was characterized by Stipe’s distinctive vocal quality that often found the lyrics buried in the mix, Buck’s Byrds-like jangly arpeggiated guitar playing, Mills’s melodic bass lines, and distinctive backing vocals; and Berry’s tight drumming.
They released their first single “Radio Free Europe” on a small independent label before signing with I.R.S. Records which put out the band’s first EP Chronic Town in 1981 and 1982 respectively.
With each subsequent release, R.E.M. experimented with different sounds and styles, bringing Stipe’s lyrics more into the forefront and adding different instruments not necessarily associated with rock, like a mandolin on “Losing My Religion.” Former Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones was brought in to add orchestration to some of the tracks.
Their videos were all over MTV, and they managed to continue to garner both critical and commercial success, which they held on to even after signing with Warner Brothers Records.
After a few years of giving hints that they might be finished, the band ultimately called it a day in 2011 following the release of Collapse Into Now.
Though the four original members stand firm in their decision to not perform again as R.E.M., there have been some reissues that they have all been a part of.
Mike Mills and Peter Buck occasionally record and perform together with The Baseball Project. Bill Berry has done a few music projects since leaving the group following an onstage collapse in 1995 due to a ruptured brain aneurysm but is for the most part retired. Michael Stipe is involved in film production and has released a few solo singles.
R.E.M. was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2007.
From start to finish, here are R.E.M.’s five career-defining moments.