January 14, 2009

Mod-A-Day: R.E.M.

Nodoby is more surprised than me to find an R.E.M. song hangin' around Mr. Suave's Mod Mod World. Not that I don't like R.E.M., I do. But I certainly don't see them as a mod band in any way shape or form. But even non mod bands sometimes screw up and produce a totally mod song. Such is the case with Gardening At Night from the band's first release, the Chronic Town EP. It is, quite simply, three and a half minutes of pure power pop bliss. They describe writing these songs as a time when they were happy with three chords and a sixpack. All I can say is I wish they were that happy now. Wait, maybe they are. Below is a clip of REM's induction to the rock and roll hall of fame in 2007 where they showed that they know what made them great. And this proves that no matter how pretentious you end up, you just can't ruin a really great song.



R.E.M.-- Gardening At Night