R.E.M. Raise a Toast to Rock Hall Induction
- Posted on Mar 1st 2007 11:33AM by James Sullivan
- Comments (12)
R.E.M. celebrated the news of their upcoming Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction in early January by raising a glass (or two) and tipping a microphone (or three).
"Myself, Mike Mills and Bertis Downs, our manager, had flown to London," singer Michael Stipe tells Spinner. "Peter Buck was on tour with Robyn Hitchcock, doing club dates, and we flew over to have an R.E.M. meeting. It was at dinner the Sunday night before the actual announcement was made. We had an idea, but the call actually came in, and it was kind of exciting -- we went off and saw Robyn perform (at the Zodiac, in Oxford). We raised a few pints after the show."
Feeling festive, Mills and Stipe got onstage with Hitchcock's band, the Venus 3 (which also includes Buck and R.E.M. touring band members Scott McCaughey and Bill Rieflin) for an encore that included 'Electolyte' and the new-ish R.E.M. song 'I'm Gonna DJ.' Mills stuck around for a second encore that featured a cover of the Byrds' 'Eight Miles High.' Stipe, presumably, was back in the audience with his friend Thom Yorke.
Reader Comments(1 of 1)
janglesat 3-03-2007
well-deserved! just a great bunch of guys.
ChrisFridayNightat 3-05-2007
Great to see R.E.M in, but there are some serious slights that should be addressed:
Big Star: With Alex Chilton and Chris Bell as the songwriting talent, this is the band that all other power pop bands hope to emulate. "September Gurls," "In The Street" and "Feel" are all near-perfect 3-minute songs with more hooks than a bait and tackle shop.
Graham Parsons: He practically invented country rock and reinvented The Byrds during his short stint with the seminal band.
The Jam: Of the Class of '77, The Jam stayed closest to the punk ideals, with their leader, Paul Weller, disbanding the group at the height of its popularity so that it would not become staid. In England, they call Weller "The Modfather," and his influence has been felt by Britpop heavies from Oasis and Ocean Colour Scene to Travis and Blur.
The Small Faces: Although the only thing resembling a hit they had on this side of the Atlantic was "Itchycoo Park," The Small Faces were every bit as important and influential on the music scene as their British contemporaries (and Hall inductees) The Kinks and The Yardbirds. They were England's great singles band of the '60s, and their repertoire ranged from R&B to psychedelic to folk.
Dick Dale: He is the king of the surf guitar, and for good reason. He basically invented the sound and took it to another level through his pioneering use of Middle Eastern melodies. If Percy Sledge is inducted largely on the strength of "When a Man Loves a Woman," Dale and his Deltones should get a spot for "Miserlou."
Donovan: He was originally called "England's answer to Bob Dylan." And his early folk offerings, such as "Catch the Wind" and "Colours," fit that bill. But there was the experimental side to Donovan that's often overlooked. He put the power in flower power with songs of optimism and mysticism.
Al Kooper: His keyboard work on Bob Dylan's "Highway 61 Revisited" (especially "Like a Rolling Stone") should guarantee his enshrinement in the Sideman category. Kooper also led the influential Blues Project and has served as a producer for The Zombies and Lynyrd Skynyrd.
angeloat 3-05-2007
The rock and roll hall of fame is a farce when you consider the fact that KISS has not been selected.
Ask your self this question when rock was dying out in the 70s who saved it.and how many other bands were influeced by them. Its a shame!!!
nelsonat 3-05-2007
One of the greatest progressive rock bands in history with many platinum & gold records, grammy awards, over 38 years performing, and over 3000 concerts performed have to this day have still been disrespected by the R&R Hall of Fame. None other than the great Jethro Tull. This travesty needs to be corrected!!!!!!!!!!!!
moxie maysat 3-05-2007
Some good points made here. Donovan, The Jam, and KISS seem like easy choices. I think the first thing the Hall needs to do is define what "Rock n Roll" is. I don't really consider alot of bands listed on Spinner as candidates rock....Mariah Carey and Snoop Dog. Grandmaster Flash was innovative, influential, but not rock.
As far as R.E.M. goes ,they had 4-5 great albums
and then everything after Green was top-40 crud(just my opinion). Kiss was pretty similar, a few good early albums, then some pretty tired ones. They definitely should not have un-retired
it really hurt the image
Daveat 3-05-2007
Kiss had t Un-retire to show the rest of Rock N Roll, how the big boys do it. Kiss still came out and kicked ass on the so-called big guns of rock. They made the cover of FORBES magazine as the top grossing rock act of 1996. How many bands can come out of retirement, set a mark that high, and still not get recognition from the rock critics and powers that be behind the RARHOF. Spin magazine put them on 4 separate covers 'cause it sold mags. Rolling Stone didn't even acknowledge Eric Carr's passing in 1991 or their comeback in 1996. We all know a KISS fan or two but according to the RARHOF they don't exist.KISS is and always will be the most successful UNDERGROUND band. Admit it. If they were playin your town today, you wouldn't be here blogging. You'd be at the show having the time of your life or at least wishing you were there ('cause you couldn't get a ticket to their SOLD OUT show!).
Anyway, Thanx for reading this. Now lets get the KISS ARMY back on the road and protest anymore inductees until AFTER KISS gets IN!
Party on Wayne. Party on Garth!
Dave.
Feel free to email me at Drlove54771@aol.com
Don Weidmannat 3-06-2007
Prog Rock in general has been ignored. It seems to be a genre of music the hall chooses to ignore even though millions of albums were bought. If a song is more then three minutes long it's not Hall of Fame material.
TCat 3-06-2007
I have tried on several occasions to go to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Each time something has come to prevent it. This year WAS to be my year. I visited the web site and see that in addition to rock and roll, the site lists many Rap stars. Why not change the name to something else to accomidate the other styles of music? Rock and Roll IS rock and roll. It has always survived on it's own. There are many well deseving ROCK stars who should be inducted before other music styles are included. I will no longer plan to visit. Rap is it's own music and culture. It has it's own followers. So why include it in the Rock and Roll hall of fame?
Mark Scheragaat 3-07-2007
Why, in the name of all that is holy is The Moody Blues not in the Hall of Fame. I cannot believe it. 40 years of fabulous new music and they are not in. Unreal. Who does the voting and how is it done? Does anyone know? This travesty of justice must be corrected ASAP.
Ericaat 3-06-2007
No mention of the grestest rock legend of all time, Bob Seger.
C. Michael Matthewsat 3-06-2007
What about Deep Purple? They are one of the true pioneers of Rock & Roll. Would there be a Van Halen with out them? I dont think so! R.E.M. Please! The r&r hall of fame is a joke! Its nothing but a popularity contest.
Kim Bartinsat 3-13-2007
Why the Dave Clark Five are not in the rock and roll hall of fame is just plain wrong. They were a tight band with many hits and good songs. estimates vary between 50 and 75 million records sold. highly popular, and just Mike Smith's vocals alone are hall worthy. I can think of twenty bands that are in the rock and roll hall of fame that couldn't hold a candle to the band and Mike Smith's great voice. I think the hall voters are narrow minded and think that they were a light weight band. I think they need to take second look.....It is time for The Dave Clark Five to be in the rock and roll hall of fame.