R.E.M.- Begin The Begin Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame

[Xjmwy]

listen to rieflins "dull" (im sorry) drumming in that song in wiesbaden and compare and here to bill... he even does it much better than the album version!

[ragozhin]

The bass is perfect, and as I remember it from that tour- :) !!!!

[The84camerondurkin]

Michael, Mike and Peter must have loved having Bill back for this night. What a great band. One of the best ever.

[itarethetroll]

The guitar is way too low on this mix

[mkipp271]

Bill Berry is awesome in this clip but I get the feeling that the clip has been mixed specifically to bring that out, ie. it's not only Bill but the production at the sound desk.

Still, I must agree that R.E.M.'s later stuff can't hold a candle to the I.R.S years. Long Live Bill Berry.

[SKOJCV]

i know lots of comments have been made about bill, but that is what REALLY stands out. i never realized how great of a drummer he was til watching this.

[ColinNekritz]

Damn! I forgot what a monster (pardon any pun) Bill is behind the kit!

This, this right here, this is REM!

[jbunnelle7]

BILL!!!! Ah, the old vibe. This fucking rules.

[ManOfWealthnTaste]

What year was this?

[RunyonFan]

Wish Bill would come back. So friggin' cool.

[anstratdubh1979]

Great to see / hear Bill Berry with REM. Bill Rieflin is a great drummer. REM are fortunate to have him playing with them these days. But you can hear what has been missing when you what the Georgia Theater and R&R HOF performances with Bill Berry. I would love if he would at least write and record with REM again.

[MusicJew158]

The organ is missing!

[Jbone85]

What year is this???...........Bill is bringin it the the Hall!

[Doques]

This shows how much R.E.M. needs Bill.

[NickJunoJr]

@Doques : totally agree ! Rieflin is a good drummer but Bill Berry's touch adds something to the songs !

[billheartyface]

they were supposed to wait for the monkees!

[lynnettek]

I always knew Bill was a great drummer, but didn't realize how great till you hear this after so many years without him....hasn't been the same since he left. This reminds me how great they are!

[StretchPhotography]

The drums really are great. Nice to hear Bill that way. Stipe, on the other hand... not so much. :(

[StretchPhotography]

The drums are great. Nice to hear Bill that way. Stipe, on the other hand... not so much. :(

[dungeoncoltrane]

We Need Bill

[marcoamedrano]

The grestest thing about this clip is that for the briefest of moments, for that wonderful evening, REM was once again complete. No three legged dog here. Thank you Bill Berry.

[DC950]

oh, how far the mighty have fallen!

[painxtreme]

Damn, Bill.... you may need to apologize to them skins for the beating you gave them, whoa! Joe1039, I totally agree, skipping "Losing my Religion" was putting it in their faces. I don't recall if they did "It's the End of the World", but I sure hope they didn't. Special occasions call for putting the cheese in the cupboard and resisting the obvious. Know you wont see this JM, but to this, I can Attest!

[Psykel]

@painxtreme Apologize? They should THANK him for it! :D

[mcswilly]

this is great, so sad that this group fell off so much and hasn't done anything good in years...

[TheGEEman60]

@mcswilly I agree most sincerely

[TheLeftyGrove]

Bill playing makes me smile.

[Joe1039]

playing this song instead of Losing My Religion is as big a fuck you as they come.

Oh yeah, Bill's smoking here, I don't think he ever played this one so well

[6HNS9]

Bill Bery is simply awesome !

[Michelle50415]

Great song and one of the best tracks on Lifes Rich Pageant!!!

[girmagaia]

grandi

[ancathdubh]

shit all i can hear are the drums.this is great.why o why o why o why wont he come back and get rem back where they belong....on top.

[tfknouff]

to: lisatina69 (what ever that is )

you'll never be in the rock and roll hall of fame.

sucks to be you

[sanctifiedone]

Bill Berry's LIVE drum sound is primo!

[lisatina69]

Such a highly over rated crappy band, REM.

[rem857]

Oh Bill... even after all that time of being on a farm, you prove here that you are an amazing and unique drummer and will be the true REM drummer. I love Bill Rieflin, and he does try to get close to your style, but it cant be done. Well done Bill. And of course to the rest of the band, who I also love. I just feel like Bill deserves a bit of notice this time. love you guys and keep up the recording and get this new album ready! I wanna hear more then just snippets!!!!!

[MrLemex]

These are, without question, the kings.

[themosesmurphy]

Tcstratman- way to douche up a great video. No one has ever compared REM to the Beatles, and no one is even comparable. These guys were pioneers of whatever you wanna call it - alternative? Modern rock?? When Depeche Mode and every other band was hiding behind stacks of Moogs these guys played rock, and in a way no one else had.

[tcstratman]

Never got rem, always sound so depressing.

[dfvfdw89]

i don´t know anything about berry... but i know that bill rieflin is the perfect drummer for this band.... the band is best at festivals and r.e.m. concerts LIVE.... and not for such a tv show^^

[qba5775]

Coolish fast and accurate drumming.

We want Bill Berry in the live line up sometimes.

But why the heck are REM so numb here? Serious? Nervous? The fuck was wrong with them, dontcha see it?

[1MusicConnoisseur]

Not so much numb .More like understated and focused .Overall I think the rendition was tight . Sans Stipes spastic movements . Definately less movement on stage then in the early days when the first performed it.. . Also, this is in front of their legendary peers and predecesors at the Rock and Roll hall of Fame . In my opinion The band was exspressing their humility.

[JavelinNL]

I agree on all the Bill Berry sentiments, but Bill (what's in a name!) Rieflin is a great, great drummer.

Berrys power/contributing to R.E.M. was his songwriting.

[mistresselyria]

one of my favorite songs!!

[MusicJew158]

wow they somehow make up for the lack of organ in this song with Michael's scream and Buck's guitar playing the organ part...fuckin amazing

[severrian]

There's a restaurant in Athens called "The Grill", and hanging on the wall there was a small framed picture with a cartoon guy and the words "silence means security". I do believe it was there before this song was written.

[Sheldon66]

And your point is what??? We all see things/experience things/hear things that inspire us to use them in what we say, think, write, etc.

[severrian]

Hey I thought it was an interesting piece of trivia, there was no point.

[Sheldon66]

Sorry....just thought you were getting at something else. Peace!

[remnrone]

A fast food restaurant also in athens is named Automatic for the People. Even dough they are skinny they seem to love food... :P

[54spiritedwill54]

this is my favorite r.e.m. song

[moonrock]

Just the 4 of them, the way it should be. Back to basics back to the real R.E.M. They don't need the other guitarist or keyboardist. The other guys are good but they just don't need them.

[remnrone]

thats fckin right!

[ldhorricks]

Well said...

[Issicra]

You hear that drum sound? I do.

[angrami]

@Issicra Yeah, the drum playing it's awesome!!

[RamblerCrane]

@Issicra Yes, I hear it too, friend.

[bernlin2000]

@Issicra Yeah...an incredibly underrated drummer, that's the sound I hear the most

[putdownan8dude]

bill berry is a good and tight if not exceptional drummer, but he mostly is the only drummer for REM. no berry no REM. Stipes voice is shot.

[09873123]

everyone shut up bill berry is the best so SHUT UP

[lemonheadthekid]

I know I am the umpteenth person to say this but Bill sounds amazing! He adds a gritty energy to R.E.M. that works well with the very crisp style of Mikes bass style. As a rhythm section The seemed to interact a lot like Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen of U2. Just my thought.

[waltoss]

Bill Rieflin is just as good as Berry

[keyehaw]

Berry hasn't lost a step, and this is, what, 10 years after he left?

[alina1981xxx]

We all love the fab four from Athens :)

[Terminator7653]

Bill Berry o yeah he s awesome

[haddingtonbb41]

great to see all four back together. Bill has moved on and the new drummer is his equal. Their lst record accelerate is their greatest work ever 7 month on and i a cant change cd in my car. Thanks a bundle for accelerate guys.

[imnrgnur2]

if Edge's FX box failed at a show, we would all know about it. the song survived it.

[imnrgnur2]

too bad peter's eqpt. [probably his FX setup] failed him that night. fortunately, those in attendance and other viewers know his sound on this song has hairy balls. at least we get to emphasize BB's distinctive primal patterns. new drummer is faithful - this shows what was [sigh] BB's subtle unique style.

[keyehaw]

Broadcasting over TV does bad things to distorted guitar sounds, as well.

[imnrgnur2]

yup, he didn't have a chance.

isn't it great to see them still conquering the world . . . while the u.s. sleeps?

btw, i live in u.s. :-)

[KareKare77]

Bill! Bill! Bill! The Berry BEST! :D :D :D x

[terminator1111111]

Bill Berry gives the songs a great sound.

[refdavefelts]

I remeber REM being booed off the stage at the Cap Center in DC when they opened for The Police on the Syncronicity Tour. Damn I'm old!

[petesn]

Stipe sounds and looks like a James Bond Baddie here.Wonderful as usual ..but odd.

[TIAN392257]

When this broadcast was aired, did anyone notice REM was last, meaning they saved THE BEST for last!

[TIAN392257]

Not bad for a band critics labeled back in 1980 as nothing more than a guitar based college rock band. Cheers to you, lads!

[badseed86]

Bill is awesome...Not that the new drummer is bad,on the contrary...anyhow, stipe is kinda mediocre here..other than that awesome vid and one of historical value as well

[spooky11092001]

lol, they playing with bill berry, long time ago

[toterola451]

I think Bill just came in for the induction ceremony last year.

[Devilmath88]

billy rocks

[dragonfly3691]

Bill Berry !!!!!

[aporia1982]

DA PAURAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

[furryhappymonstas]

so great to see the four of them playing together again.

[monsteronur]

it is very very very very good BİLL BERY

[2eyes4]

Even if Bill would have stayed, "Up," "Reveal," "Around the Sun" and "Accelerate" would have still happened. Even before Bill left, "Up" was in the early stages. Why would anyone think R.E.M. would not have tried new sound even if Bill had stayed?

[snuffydoug]

That was a mediocre performance in my view.

[HeronHouser]

Really makes you appreciate how much Bill added to this band. Still great without him, but he was definitely more than a just their drummer.

[smautomat]

Bill Berry needs to pull a Ron Blair.

[edinburghboy23]

jeez... Bill does such an amazing job here!! REM have missed him so much! :-(

[edinburghboy23]

jeez... Bill does such an amazing job here!! REM have missed him so much! :-(

[buttholesurfer666]

They probably used this as a war up song, it gets really good towards the end.

(stop smoking mike :])

[soundofstone92]

Michael starts off a little shaky at first, but then he adjusts. Overall, it was good!!

[harveyowenbond]

love this song

life's rich pageant is my fave rem

[dt0787]

this is my favorite r.e.m. song

i cant understand why it is so underappreciated

[demetrios4voto]

an authentic performanse,from an authentic band_

[boybandmassacre]

Good they pay tribute to their 80's heyday as it was their best period(in my opinion)

[JUD97]

Glad REM was inducted into the Hall of Fame, I"ve seen them live alot in the early 80's and they always sound great live, if you want a band to sound exactly like an album, don't bother seeking live performances, stick to your CD'S

[RadioMuse1]

The mix is off here, I can barely here the guitar... Drums are fantastic though.

[11redder]

Peter Buck's amp was playing up all night. You can see someone come on in the background to take a look.

Peter got so pissed off in the end that he hurled the amp offstage.

[cardigansrule]

yep I noticed that when I watched it live!

too bad, BUT they are playing this song and it sounds great on their Accelerate tour! ie. Berkeley

[rexmage]

Wow, his voice... its not as good as it was on some of my albums. I hope he is ok. He sounds under the weather.

[fredspaz]

Rexmage - I'm glad you are a fellow REM fan, but Life's Rich Pageant was recorded in 1985. This performance was 2007, I can understand why his voice does not quite sound the way it did 22 years ago. Nonetheless, great version, and great posting. Thanks!

[catpigshadow]

shit still sounds awsome to me

[trenhcoat]

waaah! great what Bill does on the drums there! good job!

[KareKare77]

Bill, Bill, Bill!!! I can't get enough of him back on drums! Bill ROCKS R.E.M.!

[consonantplease]

Too much smoking has made his voice growly and strained since New Adventures In Hi-Fi. There are moments of loveliness, but Around the Sun had some dreadful vocals on it.

[akilmer]

Stipe's voice seems to have lost some of its strength. He always sounds strained now. Too bad. The rest of the band sounds pretty good.

[automatic4thepeople]

Yeah, it was great seeing Bill play.

[ebyard]

BILL! BILL! BILL!

My biggest drumming inspiration, and it's so good to see him behind a kit, even if only for a few songs.

[valoren311]

He's an awesome drummer and not afraid to sport that uni-brow! lol. I love REM.

[Jembjet]

the guitar sounds muted, but berry's drumming is great ;)

[thomasissacadamson]

okay, i've read all these complaints, in all the inductions videos that they don't sound that great, i'm not sure i agree. consider this: as a rock musician myself, let me say, when you play to a crowd of people who are sitting at tables watching you...you get no energy from the room. when people dance and physically get into it, the whole band sounds better. that's one of the mysteries of rock n roll. bill berry sounds great though!

[tubularheel]

I agree with thomasissacadamson. people rarely perform well at formal audiences with non-fans sitting down and house lights up. You need the "show"...the stage lights...people on their feet, standing and moving. It's hard to get into it otherwise.

[REMwatch]

Go Bill! Begin the begin and come back to R.E.M. The farm can't be that good!  Get Stiped!

[velvetvenom]

stipe has been boring for years now. they lost their commercial edge after monster in the mid 90's.

[robin14669]

Great drumming from Bill Berry! He's really having fun on this one night only with his old bandmates.

[lrush777]

OVER RATED CRAP OF $#^$^%$T!!

[BeginXtheXBegin]

jerk

[DEEP177]

You know I agree with Rush, REM is highly overrated, mate. I hate their so called music.

[BeginXtheXBegin]

Well, Irush777 could have said it politely, like you did. I don't have an problem with someone not liking R.E.M., just with how he said it.

[DEEP177]

Now if you really like good music, listin to the Beatles mate. The Beatles are the kings.

[BeginXtheXBegin]

I've never really listened to the Beatles. I've heard of them a lot, of course, but I've never actually listened to one of their albums.

[tcstratman]

Totally agree about the Beatles. The only way anyone could compare this band to the Beatles is if they never heard the Beatles or they are tone deaf. Nothing they do is by any way comparable to the Beatles.

[trenhcoat]

Well... Who makes the final decision what's good music and what's not?

[remrule]

go n get hit by a truck u fucker or jump off a cliff either just die motherfucker diiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeee­eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee­eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee­eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee­eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee­eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!­!!!!!!!!!!!

[BeginXtheXBegin]

Chill, man.

[trenhcoat]

Why are you watching the video then? :-D Flamer...

[Generalk]

I dont mean to be offensive to the original lineup. Its great seeing them all up there playing but thsi song sounds so empty. At least with Scott, Bill and Ken they sound whole and the music really has a kick to it. This is a bit bland compared to recent live versions of the song I have heard.

[KareKare77]

BILL! BILL! BILL! BILL!!!! Now it sounds like R.E.M. again! Man, the difference is amazing! What a drummer! What a band! BIIILLLLLL BEERRYYYYYYY!!!!

[lhalpenny]

Ditto!!!!

[Rockyjazz]

yea ino man its crazy how it transforms the song with him pounding at it

[BiernotClan]

My gosh! Bill rocks the house with his drumplay!

[LoweredWolf]

thats true, bill back for a night only :(

[thecardman]

Stuff all that! Bill's back behind the drum kit!!!

Pity it was for one night only.

[MicBuffon]

It's a classy party/celebration, not a tour concert.. Of course he's more stiffed around here.

Awesome performance... Congratulations to everyone!

[opaquiosq]

Stipe seems a little stiff here (contrast this with his moves on the "Perfect Square" performance of "Begin the Begin"). Nonetheless, the song is a perfect start to any REM performance.

[dudesleeper]

I thought that, but then his family is in the audience, which probably froze him up a touch.

[MicBuffon]

His family often watch their performances.

I think it has more to do with the fact that it's a classy celebration, and due to the type of his microphone stative. It's not made to be moved around too much.

[dudesleeper]

Negative on both counts. He's known to move and tilt the mic stand around, singing down into it as needed.

[dudesleeper]

Negative on both counts. I remember seeing him use the same type of mic stand at Glastonbury, moving it around and singing down into it as needed.

[tubularheel]

To me, there's often an energy problem with bands when everyone is sitting down formally, as opposed to a stand up rock show. The 'theater' is lacking to really get into it.

Still good though.

"Miles Standish proud...congratulate me"