Happy birthday to James Michael Stipe of R.E.M., who turned 48 this past Friday.
Almost 24 years after murmuring "I can't see myself at 30" on Reckoning's final track, "Little America," Mr. Stipe and his bandmates Peter Buck and Mike Mills are fighting for their relevance and trying to undo the damage of their three limp post-Bill Berry records. Their new CD, Accelerate, comes out on March 31. After a triumphant series of public rehearsals of new material in Dublin this past May, the hope for this record is high.
This week, in recognition and celebration of Mr. Stipe's birthday - and of his immense gifts as a songwriter, lyricist and performer - we will be counting down Rock Turtleneck's five favorite R.E.M. songs, selected in a raucous, hotly contested Iowa-style caucus.
#5: "Nightswimming"
Our countdown begins with this lovely, Gershwin-esque ode to youth's gay abandon from the slightly overrated 1992 opus Automatic for the People. "Nightswimming" showed that just as the band was able to evoke beauty by being oblique, they could do it just as effectively when being direct.
The version of "Nightswimming" that appears on Automatic was actually a demo, with a string arrangement added later by Zeppelin bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones (the Mike Mills of his day). With its lovely, ciruclar piano figure and soaring melody, "Nightswimming" sounds like what used to be called a "standard" - a sophisticated, literate song that could take on different meanings depending on the vocal stylist interpreting it. In fact, it's easy to imagine Diana Krall, Cassandra Wilson or even Ol' Blue Eyes (may God rest his soul) cozying up to Stipe's wistful lyrics:
September's coming soon
I'm pining for the moon
And what if there were two
Side by side in orbit
Around the fairer sun
"Nightswimming" deserves a quiet night, but you can enjoy it right now. First is an mp3, then a terrific performance below from Later with Jools Holland featuring just Mr. Stipe and Mike Mills, followed by the "official" video of the official version.
mp3: R.E.M., "Nightswimming," Automatic for the People
YouTube: R.E.M., "Nightswimming" (Later with Jools Holland, 2003)
R.E.M., "Nightswimming" (impressionistic "official" video)
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