REM - Ha!(We Get Paid For It) rare track 1981 (audio)

[rocket21video]

Reminds me a lot of What If We Give It Away

[jehouse]

I doubt this is from 1981. Michael's vocals sound much more low and "serious" than he ever did In the early days I haven't ever heard this song, and I saw them a million times between fall of 1980 and about 1982. Pretty sure this song would be more recent, like mid-80s.

[REMchout]

@jehouse

6 November 1981 - Friday's, Greensboro, NC

Just A Touch / Burning Down / Ha (We Get Paid For It) / Shaking Through / (Don't Go Back To) Rockville / There She Goes Again / Permanent Vacation / Pretty Persuasion / That Beat / Mystery To Me / Carnival Of Sorts / Rave On / Ages Of You / I Can't Control Myself / Laughing / Romance / Chained To The Wall / Sitting Still / Wolves, Lower / Gardening At Night / 9-9 / Windout / Radio Free Europe / Stumble / Carnival Of Sorts

[REMchout]

@jehouse

This seems to be a very transitional era, mixing some of the earlier 60's pop/garagey numbers and playing the newer songs that would end up on the early albums. This song is an anamoly, quite like Skank; kind of experimental and loose.

[noehsdad1]

This kills!

[Midwestern72]

Bill's drums sound bad- ass on this song. He's really doing alot back there- makes you really appreciate him when you hear a track like this.

[fred6059]

'Fables' is my fave album of all time.

[democrategirl]

Anything that R.E.M. does is good.

[StinkiwinkiPoo]

hmm okay......but that yust one spezial thing for Real REM-Fans...... the song isnt spezial, but ITS From REM, thats the only Reason for REM-Fans......why that song is a spezial one,,, u know what i mean^^

But if that Song would be from another Band like this,it wouldnt be spezial...........

Fakt is.....songs like that iwrite on my toilette, with guitare^^

[jwire1977]

I collected rem bootlegs a few years ago but totally forgot about this song, the only REM song performed live that I hadn't heard - long live youtube!

[verveshawn]

i guess if you like anything past fables?...thats your own thing. most people..rem fans that is. that are my age or better. aknowledge that the boys kinda went commerical after that album. the "rick" sound....was gone. i hear kids talk about rem's greatest album being "monster'...etc. AHHH!!! i guess when you have been introduced to them at 19-25...you don't understand the greatness that was 81-85'. just my opinion. you have yours...i have mine.

[Quadruna]

Lifes Rich Pagent is one of R.E.M.'s greats...

[truefaith00]

Just consider yourself lucky that there are kids around you who know who R.E.M. are.

[painxtreme]

verveshawn......AGREED. I was fortunate enough that a college dj friend of mine asked me to help unload a band for free cover, and a couple of beers in Lawrence, KS in 1982. I did that, and witnessed REM for the first time. I like some things past fables, a lot of it was a denial of sorts "well, it's still better than anything else coming out", but it wasn't the same anymore, Chronic Town and the first 3 full length squash the others like a grape :)

[mattkudzu]

Automatic for the people was a great album. Was it the same REM from the early 80's, no, but still a good album.

[sdjordan911911]

Mmm.... without a doubt Chronic Town, Murmur, Reckoning and Fables are untouchable (monumental actually), but Life's Rich is also amazing ... and Document and Green are solid ...only parts of Automatic (think Country Feedback) and Out of Time (think Nightswimming) worked for me .. Monster put the nail in my REM coffin ... so sad ...

[Issicra]

Great song... very nice mix too.

Funny... I can hear about 4 other REM songs in there that hadn't even been written yet.

Burning Hell, Auctioneer, um.. other songs from Fables that elude me.

Nice drums too.

[soulscanner66]

The riff from Oddfellows Local 151 from Document is in there too.

[Issicra]

That's it! Good one!

[sashwap]

certainly a dubious title, but it DOES sound like stipe is saying "weeee-eeeee get paid" during some parts of the chorus. and there's definitely a "ha!" in there.

[dixieken]

WOW!!! This one hit me in the pit of my stomach and I was 14 again, just finding REM in the mid 80's.

Thanks Man!!!

[akg16]

The chorus from What if We Give it Away is in there too.

[MaRiAnOrEm]

this song it's very impresionant.The sound of REM of 80's it's magic.

[guarachon63]

Used to go see them at Friday's, thanks for posting.

[furryshark]

this is amazing - never heard this!

[Stipegroupie]

Thanks so much for posting all this old music - it's really interesting to see and hear the energy in it, and then how it evolved.

[remnicolas]

i've been on the r.e.m. timeline website and i've seen this on some of the setlits from around 1981 to 1982 but i've never heard this before. Did you get this off of a bootleg? Thanks!

[REMchout]

i pulled it off of the live tape i had of it (like with When I Was Young). This is actually from the same Friday's show that I have some audio posted from: 11/06/81.

[redguitarstar]

dunno which came first but the intro/verse part is similar to the cover of pylon's crazy which they did on dead letter office, could this be why it was never recorded?

[erikrex]

Elements of Old Man Kensey and I think a touch of Auctioneer in the verses. I don't know about the B sections.

[REMchout]

b sections = Burning Hell

[jontv]

I've never heard, or even heard of, this song before. Thanks for making it available. You are definitely right about them recycling aspects of this song. That may be why they never recorded it.

It seems like kind of a missing link between the earliest stuff you can only find on bootlegs and Chronic Town. Very interesting!

[verveshawn]

jesus!...this is a cool tune. this one slipped by me!...R.E.M. head from waaaaay back...ya...i'm 39 yrs young....and had all the bootlegs etc. kills me when i am in a bar etc...and some kid says.."i love old rem....orange crush...stand..."...LOL!!! rem's last great album was 1985...Fables!!

[GrungeRock1991]

Fables their last great album? Not even close.......

[BushInJail]

I remember this song from Tyrone's. Never knew the name of it.

[tofudujour]

Wow 1981! I have never heard any REM from "81

[REMchout]

Check out the 81 Tyrones concert audio I have up!

[WickedWings07]

Wow, I really like this.

[REMchout]

Yeah, that's the show this is from. I may put up more from that show.

[theyself]

A first for me too. What I like is that the almost completely unintelligible lyrics make the vocals seem like an instrument, and w/o lyrics it's pure emotion.

[pb2638]

I've never heard it either...Makes me feel like less of a geek.

[caryll2]

Never heard this one before! Where'd you get it?

[REMchout]

It's on a lot of the early show recordings. I think to this day it's still a dubious title for this song that stuck.

[dcfcinla]

I think I've said it before but it's worth repeating: REMchout is the Man! (or Woman as the case may be)

REMchout: you have brought so much new stuff to us..you deserve a metal or at least a chocolate-chip cookie.

REMchout=legend!

[REMchout]

Thanks...I'm a boy, I'm a boy but my mom won't admit it. I have some chips here but no cookies.