I would’ve loved–loved–to have won this concert poster, so creatively listed as “80′s Concert Poster–RARE” on the eBay auction.  It sold for a stout $60.99 which was waaaay past my price range.  Of course now I’ll cry roughly sixty dollars worth of tears.

Although the year isn’t listed on the poster, the concert was held on October 10, 1984.  You’re welcome.

This video for “Carnival of Sorts (Box Cars)” comes from an October 1982 performance at The Pier in Raleigh, North Carolina.  The entire show was recorded for a local cable channel so the footage is jaw-droppingly excellent for a concert that just turned twenty-seven.

“Carnival of Sorts”–from 1982′s Chronic Town EP–was wedged into their first encore, between a yet-to-be-recorded “We Walk” and Michael Stipe’s freeform “Skank (Marble Table)”  According to R.E.M Timeline, Peter Holsapple of The dB’s was the opening act and–sure enough–you can see him on guitar behind Mike Mills.  Before this encore, Stipe asked for requests that “[they] didn’t know”, and someone shouted for “Black and White”, a song by The dB’s.  Another audience member yelled “What’s New, Pussycat?” and Stipe laughed and sang a few bars.

Fun Fact: Michael’s shirt bears the logo of the Tri-Sigma sorority, which had a chapter at nearby UNC-Chapel Hill.  No, I don’t have any limit to how dorky I let myself get.

For the two of you who are curious about things like this, here’s a breakdown of Bill Rieflin’s drum setup.

I’m confident that one day someone will ask me a question and–much to my delight–the answer will be “Gretsch. Blue Sparkle.” Later that night, I’ll die in my sleep, my life’s purpose fulfilled.

–via DRUM! Magazine, May 2008

Michael Stipe.  A Puppet Interviewer.

I don’t think there’s anything else to say.

For a singer who mumbled his lyrics and refused almost all interviews in his early years, the Olympia shows laid bare a creative process once steeped in enigma. Stretching his memory back to a time when coming from Athens, Georgia was enough to confer a little Southern Gothic mystique upon R.E.M.’s music, Stipe concedes: “There used to be some wilful obscurity going on there. But of all the members of the band, I’m the least enigmatic and, really, the least eccentric — and yet those terms have followed us around.”

The Times (UK) recently chatted with Michael Stipe and covered his thoughts on how R.E.M.’s 2007 shows in Dublin helped the band refocus on making solid music. It also serves as good promo for the upcoming release of those Olympia shows, which will arrive at your favorite retailer (or, um, on the internet) on October 27.

Also, thanks to The Times for not using “got their groove back” in the predicate of any sentence in the article.