What We Say
Great Moments in Vinyl takes the tribute experience to a new level. Every concert, we choose a pair of memorable albums and perform them in their entirety. And along with the music, we supply a series of stories about the songs and the artists and the times that brought them into being. What was the song that saved U2's career? Who was Bruce Springsteen's "Rosalita"? If The Police started out as a punk band, where did all the reggae flavors come from? Why did Elton John wear glasses really? These are the sorts of questions you'll find out the answers to when Great Moments in Vinyl takes the stage. And you'll hear some exceptionally well played music as well.Thirty years ago this month, Michael Stipe walked into a Nashville recording studio with his bandmates and sang these words: “The time to rise has been engaged. You're better best to rearrange.” With those ominous lyrics, R. E. M. launched into their fifth studio album, Document. “Listen to the Congress. Where we propagate confusion.” And though the album was inspired by the waning years of the Reagan administration when the Iran-Contra hearings dominated the headlines for months on end,… “‘They're going wild,’ the call came in. At early morning pre-dawn, then. The followers of chaos out of control’” …the songs R. E. M. chose for that album sound eerily like they could have been written today. “There's something strange going on tonight. There's something going on that's not quite right.” Join Great Moments in Vinyl as we relive the rise of R. E. M., beginning with their first major commercial success in 1986, Lifes Rich Pageant, to the album that marked their need to speak out about their outrage in 1987. Lifes Rich Pageant and Document. Next up for Great Moments in Vinyl. This performance featuring Phil Angotti, Alton Smith, Richard Pettengill, William Lindsey Cochran, and others. May 24th at Martyrs’. “It's the end of the world as we know it. It's the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine.”
