Newsgroup: it.fan.musica.rem
Titolo: Denver + intervista a Peter

 
Che setlist nei 2 concerti di Denver!Novità in assoluto "Pretty
Persuaion"!
alcune canzoni in scaletta:
1°serata:
Finest Worksong
What's the Frequency, Kenneth? 
These Days 
Pretty Persuasion 
Electrolite 
Exhuming McCarthy 
Orange Crush 
(Don't Go Back To) Rockville 
2°serata
Begin the Begin 
So Fast, So Numb 
Maps and Legends 
Get Up 
Driver 8 
I've Been High 
World Leader Pretend 
So. Central Rain 
Find the River 
I Believe 
Nightswimming 
Intervista By Steve Morse, Globe Staff, 9/14/2003
---
Momentum is never guaranteed in rock 'n' roll. Just ask R.E.M. The
alternative-rock pioneers have sold 40 million records and often been
radio favorites. But a strange crossroads has been reached: The group
has lost sales momentum in the states, though just the opposite has
happened in Europe.
"Some people have forgotten who we are in America," admits R.E.M.
guitarist Peter Buck. "Our last record sold something like 5 million
worldwide, but 4 million of those were in Europe and only 400,000 in
America. It seems kind of crazy, but right now, we're selling most of
our records outside the United States."
The band hopes to redress that situation with a tour this fall that
comes to the Tweeter Center on Oct. 5. It will be followed by the Oct.
28 release of a greatest hits album, "In Time: Best of R.E.M.
1988-2003," which will include two new songs.
So why the discrepancy between the United States and Europe in sales?
"There really isn't a radio format that we fit into anymore" in this
country, says Buck. "The stations that used to play us 24 hours a day
are now playing Korn and Limp Bizkit. And much Top 40 radio is
basically watered-down hip-hop with lyrics about teenage love. And
guess what? We don't have any of those kinds of songs. Whereas in
Europe, pop music covers all the grounds. We're considered there to be
quintessentially American, but also really commercial.
"In Europe, we still get treated like U2 or whatever. Maybe not quite
to that level, but it's a big thing. And that's not the way it is in
American anymore," says Buck. "But who knows, maybe we'll have a huge
hit single this time, because the American market is totally driven by
hit singles now. It used to be that we could sell 800,000 to 1 million
copies of an album without a hit single, but you can't do that now.
You've got to have a hit single. And I'm not sure how to go about that
anymore. Or even if that's our job." Buck and his R.E.M. mates
(Michael Stipe and Mike Mills) have enjoyed many past hits, such as
"Losing My Religion," "Man on the Moon," "Shiny Happy People" (which
the group no longer performs), and "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?"
R.E.M.'s forthcoming single is "Bad Day," one of the two new songs on
the "Best Of" CD. "It was something we had floating around since the
time of `Lifes Rich Pageant,' " he says, referring to the band's 1986
album. "We just never finished it lyrically. . . . But Michael has now
finished the lyrics and it kind of reflects what's going on in America
today. It's not necessarily a protest song, but it's more of a
personal perspective about what it's like to be an American and
turning on the television and just shaking your head over what is
going on in this country." "I've heard the single," says Chris Berman,
program director at Boston's WBOS (92.9 FM). "And I like it. It has
more of R.E.M.'s old sound . . . with jangling guitar and Michael
[Stipe] rapping and ripping a little bit, plus it has a little bit of
the crunchiness of their `Monster' album [from 1994]. It reminds me of
when they were turning the corner from being a college band to a more
grandiose rock band."Regardless, R.E.M. is going to keep going,
despite some rumors to the contrary. The band has a new drummer in
Bill Rieflin (formerly of Ministry), who has fit the existing lineup
well, says Buck. "When things get frustrating, I think about walking
away from it," he says. "But one thing I've learned from reading all
the histories of rock 'n' roll is that band chemistry is something
that is magical, and we're lucky enough to have it. And you just don't
want to give up something that good just because you're angry or
you're tired or you've done too many interviews or you don't want your
photo taken anymore."
Look for R.E.M. to release an album of brand new material next year,
then tour again next fall. "As long as we still feel passionate and
have the pride and sense of self to make good records," says Buck, "I
think we should work as hard as we can until that day comes when we do
hang it up or we start treating it like a hobby."
---
Ciao!
Vero
----------------------------
"Whenever I turn on the radio, all I hear is heavy metal and hip-hop.
 Then there's ballads about everlasting love between teenagers and,
 well, I could understand why we don't get played on a lot of stations."
--Peter Buck-- Words of the year Award 2003


Grande pezzo Pretty persuasion!
Bellissimi gli incroci di voce di Stipe e Mills
CIAOCIAO
Paolo