R.e.M. Academy Fight Song (cover)

[ultramouse]

not sure why they had to go altering the melody, but I guess you gotta put your own spin on it. Not a fan, but it's always been apparent that REM had impeccable taste (their cover of "Strange" by Wire isn't very good either...)

[acadx]

its really a good cover of a great song, why are so many people so bent out of shape about it? two awesome bands

[aprilglaspieable]

REM covers are always tributes to people they admire.

[jjzimbio]

This cover is obviously done out of admiration. Hardly anyone knew about Mission of Burma back in the early '80s when R.E.M. first started covering the song. This is R.E.M.'s tip of the hat to a band that inspired them. I never see why covers turn into a big flame war over which version was better. It's a good song, and as a Mission of Burma fan I think it's cool to hear other people's versions of it.

[TheEndOfMusic]

This version of AFS makes me wonder what Mission Of Burma would have done to "Losing My Religion"

[mynustheckat]

OMG! It's bad enough that these guys ruin their own music but to destroy this song they really need to be punished. It's deserving their drummer broke his brain

[geridg]

@mynustheckat : you suck! Shut it ass wipe!

[jaminhirsch]

check out Miracle Legion.... "All for the Best"

[Shotgunnova]

Not a bad cover, but Stipe's singing doesn't match the original's, mostly because he puts a lot of emotion, instead of contempt, into the verses. But hey, Burma's good source material for this sort of thing.

[cbu1972]

eeeewwwwww. fucking awful. obviously not mission of burma fans.

[h879xx]

@CommunistSkate Also there's supposed to be a space in between "Communist" and "skate"

[GrandTheftAmish]

clicked play out of curiosity, clicked pause out of disgust

[xasdrubalex]

DAMN UGLY!

[Kaijek]

R.E.M. did Pylon justice.

But this?

Seriously, R.E.M. write a new song and don't fix what ain't broken.

[bactrian5]

this is pretty lame, REM should have stayed in bed that day

[TongueKungFu]

God - even Moby's cover of 'That's When I Reach For My Revolver' was better than this. Stipe's vocals are power-whine

[sleepwalker3125]

Ugh. But I bet it made MOB happy when they got to cash the royalty check REM was sending their way.

[TheKingOfSkiffle]

This is truly awful.  The things people do become more and more of a mystery to me.

[louisunderwood]

Ugh, this is unbelievably terrible. 

MOB > REM.

[buckey2000]

I love both REM and Mission of Burma and really don't mind this cover. I can't stand REM's cover of Strange by Wire but this is okay. I can see people not liking it but I think its cool to see REM giving a nod to Mission of Burma, one of the most under appreciated bands to come out of the 80's indie scene.

[wajessup]

thx...i'd never heard their take...it's great of them to use their platform to push Burma, like Nirvana hyping the Meat Puppets. very class...

[MaRiAnOrEm]

This version is the best---REM is the best band

[lwalter311]

Have you heard the Miracle Legion version?

[CaustiKJesuS]

@MaRiAnOrEm Are you high?  I like REM too, but this is just awful. They mutilated this song.

[drewday]

l-a-m-e

[FatCalicoCat]

fuckin blows chunks. where's the chaos that Mission Of Burma brought to it?

[lwalter311]

Is it me or did R.E.M. lose it after Bill Berry left? The best cover of this song is done by Miracle Legion. The version on the "Surprise" cassette.

[cpburrowes]

1989 means Bill Berry was on this.

[lwalter311]

I was making a general statement about the band. This version is not bad. The version on the Miracle Legion "Surprise, Surprise, Surprise" cassette is REALLY GOOD!

[cpburrowes]

I can see where you are coming from. Most of my favourite REM songs are from the Bill Berry years. They have an occasional moment where they catch some of the old spirit now but for the most part I agree with you. Just thought you were mistaken about what era this song was from. I stand corrected. Never heard miracle legion. I'll check that out. MTB wrote some incredible songs.

[riotsheelds]

rip my fucking ears and eyes out, please.

[taxiboysdrummer]

MOB is 10x better than this band!

Plus they got hair!

This is lame

[jdcurly]

think some of you are taking it too seriously.  it's a cover. it's a free gift the band do for the fan club members. it's light hearted and just a basic thrash though a song. chill the f out and get a grip.

[catfeces]

i love rem but this cover is lame compared to the original.

[Fugeeu]

REM somehow makes a great Mission of Burma song sound like a crappy REM song. Moby does a better MoB cover, and Moby fucking sucks.

[FrankieFurillo]

One of the great all-time songs. Its nice that REM covers it.  But Stipe can't convey all the frustration, anger/angst that made the original so killer.

[atreju80]

its not bad.. could be more variety than the original..

[MaRiAnOrEm]

R.E.M. No.1 band

BEATLES No.2 band

[Eddyfilm]

Are you serious?

[xasdrubalex]

@MaRiAnOrEm give up with the pot.

[smithsfan92]

i am a massive fan of R.E.M. but i don't like this cover. however its nice for them to appreciate mission of burma's work because not many people do which is not what they deserve.

[TallFastLoud]

Both great bands. Although, Stipe's voice just doesn't sound as desperate as Clint Conley's...

[STHNER]

I've searched for this damn song for 20 years! Heard them play it the first time I saw them in concert in 89. I bought a bootleg of the show but couldn't make out this lyrics to this song. I just remembered it kicked ass when they played it at the end of the show. Feel like I've come full circle now that I've finally found it. 20 damn years!

[dj45rpm]

No it's not up to MoB's level, but it's not bad, not at all.

[brokilodeluxe]

THESE BANDS HAD COMMUNITIES

[armyofmeisbliss]

sounds like mission of burma on valium.

[JLDB1987]

MoB's version is the original, so it will always be "better," but I saw R.E.M. do this song live a couple of times in the early-mid 80's and I can tell you it kicked ass! R.E.M. live in 1983-89 was pretty amazing, with Stipe doing the whirling dervish thing all over the stage. This song has great energy live- by MoB or R.E.M.

[Risingson2]

in english: he says this song is from a band called miracle legion. As if no one had already mentioned in every page that it's a cover from a Mission of Burma song. BTW, I prefer the original one too.

[marc58english]

i can't listen to this. weak. i recall when REM and MoB were both being played on WMBR back when both bands were starting. radio free europe rocked. rem was better when you couldn't understand the words. saw both bands a couple years ago. REM= a greatest hits band that was tired after 3 songs. MoB=visceral, vital stuff, that had you wanting more when they were done.

[spuuuuuz]

its actually kinda cool that rem didnt turn their back on the indie scene,ans bands like burma..if burma had been more commercial they could have easily been where rem are today

[Whppr2000]

Love R.E.M., love MoB...but this is lame. Stipe's delivery is so uninspired and the "not not not not" backup singing is cheesy.

Also, there's a strange sing-songy vibe to Stipe's take on the vocals.

Nice idea, but the execution is off

[Issicra]

It was better live, back in the day. Look for some live versions of this... Probably Work tour (Document) or the Green Tour.

[nahuelson]

ese tema no es de r.e.m es de miracle legion una banda de indie rock de los 80's en la ciudad de connecticut en estados unidos.miracle legion se separo y a los inegrantes los contrataron en el 93 para que hagan la musica de la serie pete and pete pero como faltaba un integrante decidieron cambiar el nombre de la banda a polaris y asi grbaron su ultimo disco the adventures of the pete and pete.y el tema de presentacion se llamo hey sandy muy bueno

[Terminator7653]

underrated song

[ecosmart123]

I remember an article back in the early 80's, maybe 83-84, where Pete Buck was defending the American music scene against those who said the most innovative music was coming out of England. He mentioned Husker Du, the Minutemen (I think) and Mission of Burma as some of the greatest bands of the time. This cover is typical of a tribute, not as good as the original, but pretty cool. MOB's Academy Fight Song is one of the greatest songs ever, in my opinion. It would be impossible to top.

[FushigiCircus]

Thank you, thank you, thank you for uploading this song.

[frrrrrunkis]

As far as covers go, this is all right. More importantly, it's awesome to hear ANYONE covering a MoB song.

[SanePsychotic]

Nice cover. Though I do like MoB's better REM's version isn't too shabby.

[clintonconley]

not bad at all. these youngsters show some promise.

[jackhitts08]

This is exactly how I imagined it would sound. No shit it isn't as good as the MoB version, but it's a pretty interesting cover because you can tell it's REM putting their own spin on it. So chill out.

[SoWhatForLandMines]

Mission of Burma is 1000000000x times better than REM.

[PsychoPunk1965]

Amen to that, but I sure as hell miss post punk acts like Big Dipper, UV Prom, and Deep Six.

[pyramidsong]

this is a disgrace to the original song.

[pezmanpockyfan]

i enjoy and grew up listening to r.e.m., but this is a poor cover. stipe's voice does not lend itself well to conley's lyrics.

[mattkudzu]

I heard this version long before mission of burma's. I like this version better just for the fact that I got used to this one first. I'm not saying this is better, i would never do that.

[FishGatorWNY]

I've got this on 45 from my days in the Fan Club. Also saw them play it live on the Green Tour, 1989 (october maybe).

Managed to pick up the promotional "meadow in a Can" they released with Green, in a small record shop in Plattsburgh NY.

Thanks for posting.

[dartmouthhoop]

Wow...heard this cover at the Boston Garden on the Green tour in the late 1980's....great "shout-out" by REM to Boston's own Mission of Burma. Thanks for uploading!!!

[Issicra]

Thanks for sharing... I've been looking for this for a while.

And yes.. the 80s shows were amazing!

[JLDB1987]

I was lucky enough to see this live when they toured for Green. What a great song live. Those shows in the 80's were amazing.

[DigitalDeviant330]

hmmmm... Interesting you know I posted Miracle Legion's cover of this song. I wonder, is this originally from R.E.M. or another artist?

[inkjet360]

It's originally by Mission of Burma!

[gardener4ever]

Thank u very much! This is rare stuff.