Michael Shannon and Jason Narducy continued their promotional tour for their upcoming tour where they’ll be performing R.E.M.’s Fables of the Reconstruction in its entirety. The duo, along with bandmate Dag Juhlin, took to the stage of WGN Chicago’s morning show to perform “Swan Swan H,” which, it should be noted, appears not on Fables, but on Lifes Rich Pageant . Continue reading »
R.E.M.’s Peter Buck teamed up with a few other musician friends to cover a song from the 1968 film, Wild in the Streets, to raise money for one of his favorite podcasts. Continue reading »
Actor Michael Shannon and musician Jason Narducy took to the stage of The Tonight Show to perform a cover of R.E.M.’s “Driver 8,” in advance of their upcoming tour, covering the group’s 3rd album, Fables of the Reconstruction in full. Continue reading »
The Reverend Al Green is offering up a new cover of R.E.M.’s modern classic, “Everybody Hurts.”
“Recording “Everybody Hurts,” said Green, “I could really feel the heaviness of the song and I wanted to inject a little touch of hope and light into it.” And, because he’s Al Green, he did just that. The song still has the melancholy that seeps through the original, but the final chorus reaches another level of redemption, courtesy Green.
Playing on the track includes some heavy hitters, including Reverend Charles Hodge on keyboards, Texas guitar legend Will Sexton, and Steve Potts from Booker T and the MG’s on drums.
Speaking on behalf of his former bandmates, Michael Stipe said, “We could not be more honored, more flattered and more humbled. This is an epic moment for us.”
Green’s last release was in 2023 and was a cover of Lou Reed’s “Perfect Day.”
The link between Jason Isbell and R.E.M. is pretty well known. He included his take on their “Nightswimming” and “Driver 8” on his cover album Georgia Blue. In June of this year, Isbell inducted R.E.M. into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Earlier this month, he performed with Michael Stipe at a Harris/Walz rally. And during his annual run of shows at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium, the lovefest continued. Continue reading »
In the Spotlight showcases a cross-section of an artist’s cover work. View past installments, then post suggestions for future picks in the comments!
I volunteered to write this piece a few years ago, but never got around to it. When I offered to actually finish it, our features editor reminded me that he had written a Spotlight piece on The Feelies back in February. But he was game to let me write this, if there was no overlap. Remarkably, no overlap was actually planned. So, here we go, with a second Spotlight piece in a year about a band of, at best, limited popularity. Or, if you prefer, a cult favorite.
Continue reading »