REM 6-9-84 Passaic 07. Pretty Persuasion

[catherineg1963]

Michael Stipe channelling Jim Morrison.

[Frequency95]

uh that southern accent....

Great song :D

[annikaluke99]

Adorable. Love the interaction between Stipe and Buck as he holds back laughter.

[shoekstra1419]

the stiper used to be a longhair!

[mad4cavies]

Wow, this takes me back. I love this period when Stipe was just becoming comfortable as a front man and was showing his first inklings of working the crowd.

[Digidanny]

Hahah, my god, they're young! I saw them once, a few years ago. Michael old and bold. Their music was allways great, but they have grown so much. If you're in the mood for an uptempo party, listen to the early albums, if you want to sit down and contemplate things, go for Reveal...

[davenok]

Outstanding! I had this bootleg on cassette for years its funny to see the band perform to what was in my mind for all those years of listening. I saw them for the first time later that summer at BU in Boston (the hockey rink). They had played Maine the night before and Mike shaved his head and wore one of those winter hats fur lined with flaps in august. Three o'clock opened for them.

[giventofly34]

Thank you so much for posting these....I'm really enjoying them today!

[GregH1961]

I was at this show & the one the next year @ Radio City. As I recall the same night The Killkenny Cats were on late at Maxwell's in Hoboken & the Squalls were playing the Peppermint lounge in the city the same weekend...Those WERE the days, eh?

Best to all my old droogs in & gone from Athens.

Greg in Knoxpatch, Tennessee

[souljaEXVOTO]

pure bad-assness unleashed! 

[zamaz99]

I've loved this song for 25+ years and I will love it until the day I die. It was played at my wedding reception, too. :-)

[bryemycaz]

From watching this I can see how Kurt was influenced by REM.

[jeepdad56]

Awesum older stuff. Anybody have a video of I Believe? Luv 2 see it !!!

[knsdonnell]

michael stipe should have realized his eyes is what killer,

[jezebel78]

i love them back then....wish i could have been there....

[wellspout]

smoke and mirrors notwithstanding, the light emanating from the stage is tonal in nature, too blatant not to crank and marvel at the sweet and sour rumble, all centripetally pivoting on the fulcrum of bill

[Jacobrgc]

The Album= Murmur The Revolution should have started here... We just got fat and lazy. It still brings back memories of vitality I felt in my early adult life. I remember late nights w/friends dancing on the bed listening to this album cranked up to 11. This was an epic album. I think it gets lost, when people talk about REM its about their later work which became more pop-main stream. When, they stuck to their roots and wrote songs from the gut, I think they were/are significant as artists.

[tarstarkascarthoris]

Jacob,

What are your thoughts on the new Live in Olympia album? I think they really tapped into their roots there. It has huge energy and vitality, and reminds me of Reckoning.

[punzelove]

thank you for posting this! i mean it!

[ord1711]

One of the greatest REM songs ever; such a perfect example of early REM. This footage makes me wish I were born 20 years earlier so that I could have seen them in college. Amazing, amazing to watch. Thanks!

[bearmunch]

Thank you SOOOOO much for posting these. I always wondered if this show would ever see the light of day. (I was sitting in the 2nd row for it..in front of Mike Mills) Having just discovered YouTube, I thank you for helping re-live a truly great show 25 years later! I don't think it ever aired..I remember the cameramen being in the way a lot. WOW. I feel 23 yrs old again!! Now if Michael will just grow his hair back. LOL

[ord1711]

That's such a great story; thanks for sharing! I wish I had seen them back then.

[sawduck]

Michael was starting to remind me of Morrissey.

[StevenGA1011]

probably should be the other way around but i'm from GA so for me it would be morrisey reminding of stipe, since stipe was first.

[Jammerkevin]

My god, I'll argue that REM's live show was as tight as anyone in the bussiness. Bill's drumming really provided a punch to their music. Michael's mumbled, yet passionate vocals really helped create a unique sound that was simply mesmorizing. Damn... They sounded good!!!!!!

[robin14669]

Was this show actually aired on television?

I really hope that this great show will released officially on DVD, it deserves it!

I love early R.E.M. and I still love their music. One of the best things that had come from America. A treasure.

[ruthaylward]

Ok I m acting cool but I am shitting it - will rosie accept my arcument for analysing thr elderly?!!!!!! will just have to see! Am prepared to have to come back next year. Imagine having to make friends with them! I am crap at hat stuff! oh yeah, its called people management!

[FablesJonny]

dude u rock for posting these vids.. maximum respect!! a request that ive never seen is KOHOUTEK. think they played it twice live! id love 2 see it on here!

[REMchout]

I'll check my tapes...

[painxtreme]

@REMchout Oh Lord, yes please, aside from the song my daughter, Ann Elise is named for Kohoutek has always haunted me with ethereal and elusive beauty.

[wolfgirl140]

@FablesJonny Yes and i'd also love to see a live version of "Green grow the rushes",another fave! :-)

[Ruda59]

"...He's got pretty persuasion, she's got pretty persuasion..." Get the hell out of my way Peter when I am singing! Classic R.E.M. when I recall the crap on MTV during these early days!

[muskypuckers]

Stipey used to be a pretty good lookin' fella in a weird, androgenous way. No, I'm not gay just an observation. Is it wrong?

[REMchout]

I find him much more attractive with hair.

[BeginXtheXBegin]

I do too.

[painxtreme]

@REMchout I can tell you this much. Michelangelo would have pissed himself to have had a classical statue looking model like JMS. If you've been to Rome, you know what I mean. He reminds me of several Bacchus, Cherub and Alexander sculptures Ive seen throughout Europe. Chisel defined features and rivulet curls? That has classical and Renaissance Art all over it. I also am hetero (why I felt compelled to say that, I do not know), but an Artist as well.

[orangeyeliner]

@painxtreme

I can say exactly the same! :D Michael is very sculpturesque :)

[enfieldcc4eva]

he only had long hair o he could cover up his acne when he was young, he hated his hair, so yer, he dint like the way he looked either way

[Ruda59]

Interesting observation but I see no acne on this video. Could it be he hid beind his hair because he was also insecure?

[BeginXtheXBegin]

That makes sense to me, he seemed really shy when he was younger.

[enfieldcc4eva]

he said it himslef, it was on a programme called the 7 stages of rock.

[mac5010]

um it wasn't 7 stages of rock,  forget the st part of it and hence you got ages.... so 7 ages of rock

[Ruda59]

"...He's got pretty persuasion, she's got pretty persuasion..." great song! Bisexual persuasion!

[Ruda59]

Great R.E.M. song and great concert video!! Thank you for posting Chout!!

[BeginXtheXBegin]

"You may have noticed that there's lights on you, which isn't...usual." I love this song.