Yo…

This is related to Sinead O’Connor…and yet it’s not.

Shortly after learning about her surprise demise, I coincidentally came across a 91 (maybe 92) interview with Peter Buck, the R.E.M. guitarist.

In the interview, Buck and his interviewer were paralleling U2 and R.E.M. because obviously they are contemporaries. At least at that time they were.

U2 were touring Zoo TV to support Achtung Baby. R.E.M. had released Automatic For The People (a fantastic album).

Tangent No.1:
(Confession: Initially I had a difficult time getting into Automatic. It’s like when you go out at night and you run into a fit girl in a tight outfit and she just wants to go table dancing and have fun. She temps you with devilish offers like “just one more drink.”

But you gotta go home because you require sleep as tomorrow you have a big presentation at work or an LSAT exam or something. Normally you would be a total gentleman to help her to get up on the table to dance, but it’s just this one night that you happen to meet her and it’s truly not possible. You’re both off. Different moves, different vibes, different wavelengths.

That’s what Automatic was like for me when it first came out. Eventually I sat down at a beach to consume the whole thing properly and welcome it into my life. Now it smoothly soundtracks my emotional monologue. My favorite track is Drive. With it’s subtle callback to David Essex’s Rock On, Drive is incredible. Buck salt and peppers the song; his restraint knowing he can do so much more is impressive. It’s like a delicious sandwich crafted by a chef.)