Song of the Day: REM “Can’t Get There from Here”

From 1980 to 1985 I lived in the funky little college town of Athens, GA. This small NE Georgia hamlet has spawned such diverse musical groups as Pylon, the B-52’s, Widespread Panic, Of Montreal, The Method Actors, The Olivia Tremor Control, Danger Mouse and countless others. The biggest of all the Athens bands however is REM. I saw some of their very first club gigs and then went on to see them sell out Madison Square Garden less than eight years later.

At weddings the REM song I play the most is “It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)” and some other songs of theirs I love include “Carnival of Sorts (Boxcars)”, “(Don’t Go Back to) Rockville”, “Orange Crush” and “Pretty Persuasion.” It was hard to pick one song but here it is.

This one makes me smile every time and reminds me of the time I ran into the band after a 10,000 Maniacs show in London back in 1985. They were recording the album “Fable of the Reconstruction” with Joe Boyd in the UK and happened by the show when I went up to say hey. The band recognized me from Athens parties which made me feel special. Still does!
Music please –

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