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It’s rare that a band gets the opportunity to grow older and wiser together— rarer still that one does so by sounding younger and snottier than ever. After losing their way with a string of ho-hum albums, here’s how R.E.M. found their noisy deliverance.
by Michael azerrad
photographs by greg kadel
on Michael Stipe: John VarVatos Jacket, JohnVarVatos.com; thom Browne shirt, thomBrowne.com; Balenciaga tie (stylist’s own). on Mike Mill S: rogan Jacket, rogannyc.com. on peter Buck: John VarVatos shirt, JohnVarVatos.com.
Styling by april Johnson. Grooming by kumi craig. photographed for Spin in new York city, January 25, 2008.
56 R.E.BORN Over the past few weeks, our R.E.M. cover
story has received a lot of attention. Find out what R.E.M.’s
Michael Stipe said that interested The New York Times, The
San Francisco Chronicle, the Associated Press, and many
other media outlets. Along with the story, these eight pages
are filled with new and old photos of R.E.M.
WHO EARNS WHAT
BY DAVID BROWNE
Photographs by Michael Schmelling
Touring sound EnginEEr NewYorkCity
t’s widely reported how much
the wealthiest pop stars make.
Pick up a fi nancial magazine
and you’ll read about the 2007
earnings of the Rolling Stones
($88 million), U2 ($30 million),
and Britney Spears ($9 million).
Even Elvis Presley took in $49
million last year—and he’s been
dead for 30 years. But what
about everyone else—the musicians,
record execs, technicians, bloggers,
and photographers? How much do
they bring home—and how have the
realities of a depressed music business
affected everyone from A&R reps to
record store employees?
To fi nd out, we asked more than
two dozen men and women in the biz
to list their perks, pains, and yearly
pay. We won’t pretend to call this
a scientifi c survey, but we can say
that these are all legitimate players
and workers, some of whom have
appeared in this very magazine. (For
obvious reasons, they agreed to par-
ticipate on the condition of anonym-
ity.) For those thinking about entering
the business (or those already in it
who wonder about their futures),
these comments and fi gures can be
considered pieces of advice—or, in
some cases, words of warning.
PErks
“When youre young, its pretty great: You
meet a lot of people. Youre hanging out
with bands. You dont have too much trouble
getting into shows you want to when youre
home. Im not as worried about hearing loss
as I once was. The older I get, the quieter the
shows I mix get. I just did Neko Case, and
that was positively heaven.”
Pains
“You can wreck a lot of good relationships
being away. Its not so much the fear of
infidelity—you just forget each other when
youre away four months straight. That, and
you get a really dusty apartment.”
Pay
$50,000
THE INQUISITION
world. But I started listening to the Beatles on my own toward the end of making the last album. I was partly drawn to them because they weren’t afraid of doing any kind of song. That was something we were trying to fi gure out: Are we allowed to do a jazz song? Are we allowed to do cabaret? Just from hearing the Beatles, it was like, “Well, they did it. It’s okay to write something other than a standard rock song.”
Against Me! have a song on their most recent album called “Piss and Vinegar,” which was inspired by your band and includes the line “I don’t think you’re bad people / I just think that your aesthetic is horrible.” What do you say to that? I can’t get mad. I can’t expect everybody to appreciate what we do. Our stage shows especially have been kind of polarizing. Either you went with it or you didn’t, and you thought we were being pretentious. Personally, I think it’s kind of boring when I watch a band that doesn’t do anything to make it their own.
Speaking of live shows, you and singer Brendon Urie are pretty playful with one another onstage. Are you toying with the idea of bisexuality? There was never a point where we were going for that or trying to make a statement. Brendon just likes to make a scene sometimes. I’m sure it’s gotten some weird looks from some of the guys in the audience, but we’re just having fun.
Who is the average Panic at the Disco groupie? We’ve got a younger fan base—and their parents. One day when we were at Abbey Road, an entire family was outside waiting for us—like, a nine-year-old, a 16-year-old, and their mother. They can agree on liking us for whatever reason. It’s kind of strange.
PANIC AT THE DISCO’S R y anRoss
You’ve said that you’d never had a sip of alcohol,
a decision due in part to your father’s drinking
problem and his subsequent death. Now that
you’re 21, is that still the case?
Well, it was illegal before, you know. We all indulge
a little bit these days.
You and labelmates Fall Out Boy share a penchant for long-winded song titles that often don’t have anything to do with the lyrics. What’s up with that? On the fi rst album, I was just reading a lot at the time, and I was on this kick where I wanted to use quotations from some of my favorite books and movies. But they did end up being pretty long in some cases. We didn’t even call the songs by their
In2005,PanicattheDisco’sdebut, Whathappenedtoyourexclamationpoint? fullnames.
AFeverYouCan’tSweatOut,arrived Itwasneverthatbigofadealtous.Whenwestarted
overflowingwithlogorrheicsongtitles, gettingreadytodothenewrecord,wewereasked Thisalbumisalotlessanguishedthanthelastone.
ifwewantedtokeepit,andwejustsaidno.Ihope Therearesongsaboutloveandthesunandsummer.
histrionichooks,andteenageangst. wemadesomecopyeditor’slifealittlebiteasier. Wewereallinprettygoodplaces,andIjusthadthis
Itearnedthemaplatinumrecord,but thoughtthatifsomebodyputsonouralbumafter
alsoscoresofskeptics—amongthem Whydidyouscrapmostofthematerialyouwere aneight-hourworkday,they’renotgoingtowantto
theband’sownguitarist/lyricistRyanRoss originallyworkingonforthisalbum? hearsomethingthatdepressesthem.Ithinkthata
(okay,almost).“Ican’tknockthatalbumtoo Ihadwantedtowriteamusicalandmaybestageit lotofbandsthesedaysdwellonthenegative.
in New York or L.A. It was a love story set in this ani-
much,”saysRoss.“Forabunchof17-year- mated,fantasticalworld.Butwegothalfwaythrough So, who’sbetteratapplyingeyemakeup:youor
oldkids,wedidthebestwecouldwithwhat somedemosandIcouldn’tfigureouthowtofinish yourgirlfriend?
weknewaboutmusicthen.”Now,after it,sowedecidedtodoarock’n’rollalbuminstead. ItgottothepointwhereIwasbetter,andthenIjust
discoveringwhatRosscasuallyreferstoas gaveherallmymakeupasaconsolation,soshe
“thewholeBritish’60srock’n’rollthing,”the ThealbumwasmixedatAbbeyRoadandis wouldn’tbemad.Ihaven’tdoneitinawhile,
reminiscentofSgt.Pepper’s– eraBeatles.Isthe becauseIkindofranoutofideas.Onthenexttour,
LasVegasquartethaverecordedPretty.Odd., homageintentional? it’sjustgoingtobemyface,unfortunately.
whichrevealsasurprisinglydifferentsound Well,wemixedittherebecauseourproducer[Rob
thatmightstrikefansas…well,youknow. Mathes]saiditwasthebest-soundingroominthe BYPHOEBEREILLY
JENNIFER TZAR
44 APRIL 2008 WWW.SPIN.COM
N_INQUISI TION_R YAN_APR_FINAL_HR_ 44 44
2/22/081:41:08PM
inmyrOOm
Colin Meloy
The Decemberists’ frontman takes us inside his Portland, Oregon home
Photographed for Spin in Portland, Oregon, February 5, 2008
5
7
8
1CASSETTErECOrDEr“Prettymuchallofour songsstartrighthereas30-to60-second-long snippetsofmeplayingorhummingontothistape deck. I’ve had it since high school. I’ve never attached much sentimental value to it, but I probably should.”
2mODElShiP“IhaveafetishIhaven’tbeen abletoshake.ThismodelofCaptainCook’sHMS Endeavouristhemostintenseembodimentofit.”
3DOgTAg“Aguywhohadjustcomebackfrom Afghanistangavethistome.Wehavealotof songsaboutsoldiers—notmodernsoldiers,butI think there’s something they can relate to.”
4CErAmiCbOwl“MygreatuncleHank,my son’snamesake,madethis.Heactuallytaught atColumbiaanddiedtragicallyyoung— 49.Th is one’s probably from the ’40s; now it holds my picks. There’s a gallery at the University of Montana, the Meloy Gallery, that exhibits his work.”
5ruSSiAnbAnnEr“IboughtthisinMoscow. There’saquotefromLeninthatsays...well,Idon’t knowwhatitsays.”
6ACOuSTiCguiTAr“AguyfromChicagobuilt methisone-of-a-kindguitar.Ihadtheword‘ahz- te-rosh-eh-na’writtenonthefretboardinCyrillic, which means ‘Watch out!’ in Russian.”
7DrAwing“Myfiancee,CarsonEllis,didthis drawingforThePerfectCrime#2EP.Shedoesall ofouralbumart.Initially,shewouldjustdowhat-ever I was conceiving, but at this point she’s much more involved in the process and puts her foot down. Which is good; she’s got a better sense for design than I do.”
8Skull“Ibroughtthisalongonmysolotour becauseIwantedsomethingonstageother thanjustmeandaguitar.Somebodyfromthe audience named her Cheryl.”
9AnnEbriggS’thehazardsofloveEP “Thisrecordiscreditedwithsparkingalotofthe Britishfolkrevival.Apparently,shecouldn’tstand the sound of her recorded voice, so she moved to the Scottish Highlands and became a conservation worker. I got it on eBay. It was exorbitantly expensive.”
10rug“AfterourfirstbigadvancefromCapitol, IdecidedIwantedtodoonenicethingfor myself.SoIboughtthisIranianrug.It’soneof the only relatively conspicuously consumptive things I’ve done in my life.”
by bArT blASEngAmE PhOTOgrAPh by JOhn ClArk
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4
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1
MORE abOut MElOy
When it comes to between-song banter, he’s no David Lee Roth. On his first solo album, Colin Meloy Sings Live! (Kill Rock Stars), the lead Decemberist riffs on Brit folkie Shirley Collins, nautical pursuits, and…sheep. But maybe the niceties will quiet the murmurs of unease regarding his band. They canceled a run of shows last fall, and the solo album’s release has some fans worried that their favorite chantey singers are done. Easy, says Meloy. “There’s been some surmising,” he says coyly, “but it’s all not true.”
9
reviews yourguidetothelatestinmusicandmore
The dynamic duo of eccentric pop return with polished predictability By Will Hermes
gnarlsBarkley whatyou’ddo:trytoduplicatethe withashout-studdedchorusechoing TheOddCoupleisbasicallyamore recipe.WhichisroughlywhatCee-Lo boththeBar-Kays’“SoulFinger”and refinedSt.Elsewhere,withouttherap
TheOddCouple★★★ GreenandBrian“DangerMouse”Burton Radiohead’s“15Step,”Cee-Lorides aberrations(“Transformer,”“FengShui”) Downtown/AtlAntic havedoneontheirsophomoreset. handclapsandhornstabslikeascary orgoofycovers(“GoneDaddyGone”) In2006,twoavant- Thetitleisalittlemisleading, preachermaninabackwoodschurch: thatmadethedebutsuchawild,bumpy gardehip-hoppers— though.Bynow,thesquat,thuggish “Hurry,littlechildren,runthisway/I ride.Thingis,thatstylisticrecklessness aproducerknownfor MCwhoindulgeshisintrospective, havegotabeastatbay.”Inthesame waspartofElsewhere’sthrill.Cee-Loisa DJ’inginamouse manic-depressivesideandthelanky, charismaticsinger,limitedvoicenotwith-costumeandaDirty mild-manneredstudiogeekwhoreveres it’saparti-colored standing.Buthe’saworld-classrapper, SouthMCwho Jay-Zhavemethalfway,andoneofthe poptripunlikeanything andit’sfrustratingthat,likehischild-abandonedalegendarycrewtomake remarkablethingsabout TheOddCouple hoodbuddyAndré3000,he’sperversely psychedelicsoulandwearapinkfeather isitsseamlessness.“Who’sGonnaSave elseoutthere. refusingtoplayMC. Therewasasense boa—releasedalittleindieproject. MySoul,”slo-mohip-hopbluesthat onSt.Elsewherethatthemusiccouldgo Suddenly,shitwascrazy.Or,tobe recallsPortishead(agroupbothmen way,“Surprise”and“SheKnows”are absolutelyanywhere.Here,youknow specific,“Crazy”:thatyear’s GreatPop havecitedasasharedlove),hasCee-Lo perfectblendsof’60sAMradiopopand whereit’sheaded. Moment,asongthattoppedcharts testifyinglikeanunsavedAlGreen:“I ’70sreggaeambience:Callitdubblegum. Butthat’sultimatelynitpicking. The worldwideandpropelledsalesofthe wonderifI’lllivetogrowold,now/ DangerMouse’sarrangementsare OddCoupleisstillaparti-coloredR&B littleindieproject,St.Elsewhere,pastthe Gettin’high’causeIfeelsolow-down,” sosublimelystrangeitbarelymatters poptripprettymuchunlikeanything twomillionmark. whileamartialdrumbeatpoundsand thatthesongsdon’tallstickorthat elseoutthere.Ifthebarwassettoohigh Sowhatwouldyoudoifyouwere anorganmoansbeneathhim.Andon nothingradiatestheinstant-megahit thefirsttime,thetwosomehavegot GnarlsBarkley?Youknowdamnwell “Run,”aMemphis-flavoredworkout magicof“Crazy.”Onthesurface, onlythemselvestoblame.
ILLuSTRATIOn BY jamES blagdEn
StarratingS ★★★★★ClaSSiC ★★★★ExCEllEnt ★★★good ★★Fair ★Poor
BYCHARLES AARON PHOTOGRAPHSBYPETERSUTHERLAND
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