For the 15th anniversary of the release of what I've often referred to as my favorite r.e.m. recording, Stereogum put together an eclectic collection of cover versions of the songs from the album -- Drive XV - A Tribute to Automatic for the People. Dashboard Confessional released their own sort of tribute to the record, and Coldplay has a live version of Nightswimming recorded with Michael Stipe, but Steroegum's homage not only features a range of tributes from such artists as Meat Puppets, Blitzen Trapper, and Rogue Wave, it's free. In all candor, I know very little about most of the artists participating in the tribute. Nonetheless, I couldn't resist checking out these songs, many of which I had at least read mention of or heard before in odd places, and I'm passing along the essential info and links you'll need just in case you're a little curious, too. Included with each of the the songs are liner notes, from the musicians participating, along with a comment by Mike Mills, and you can download all the tracks in MP3 format. "Automatic!"
From Stereogum:
After OKX, our 10-year cover tribute to the Radiohead classic OK Computer, we soon began narrowing the list of prospects for our next celebratory project: sifting, sorting, debating, etc. But when we realized we were approaching a decade and a half since the release of R.E.M.'s Automatic For The People (originally released 10/5/92) -- surprised by that period of time as we had been by discovering it had been a full decade since OK Computer -- we knew we had our next project chosen.
It's a similar sort of awe and respect we have for Automatic, an album that stood out of step from the angsty grunge and brainy indie rock of that era; in that sense, it's also an album out of time, and one that still affects us all here at Stereogum. Now 15 years on, and with R.E.M. showing signs of increased activity, releasing a CD/DVD set R.E.M. Live on 10/16 and working furiously and furtively on a new album expected next year, it's an ideal moment to reflect upon and celebrate this personal, critical, and commercial favorite.
There never was a question of whom we wanted to contextualize Drive XV or who was most qualified: In his essay "Sweetness Followed: 15 Years After Automatic," Fluxblog founder and R.E.M. savant (Pop Songs 07, anyone?) Matthew Perpetua employs his deep Automatic insight to frame the record thematically and historically, to discuss its impact on the mostly younger generation of artists on Drive XV, and, ultimately, to analyze how these upstarts have consumed, digested, and reinterpreted the LP.
We embarked upon Drive XV months before we learned R.E.M. would be releasing a live album (their first) the same month. The timing was fortuitous, however; it meant the band was in requisite promotional mode. Thus Stereogum was granted time to speak with Mike Mills, whose commentary on each Automatic track you'll see as you browse the mini-site. (We also talked other passions with Mr. Mills -- the full Q&A will appear on Stereogum later this month.) As for Automatic, maybe nothing speaks to the influence this record's had on the current crop of indie rockers more directly than the amazing number of high-caliber artists who expressed interest in contributing to the compilation. So although Drive XV launches with single covers of each Automatic song, we will add exclusive versions from even more artists in the coming weeks. Each track's page has a dedicated comment section; we're sure you'll make good use of that.
Lots of hard work went into bringing Drive XV together, so we'd like to give thanks to album cover illustrators Heads Of State, to Warner Brothers and REM HQ's David Bell and Kevin O'Neil, to Matthew Perpetua, to master masterer Paul Geissinger, and of course to R.E.M. and all the bands who contributed. We hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed putting it together.
You can download the entire collection as a ZIP file here.
Otherwise, here are the individual track listings as MP3 downloads:
1. The Veils - Drive
2. Dappled Cities - Try Not To Breathe
3. Rogue Wave - The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite
4. Meat Puppets - Everybody Hurts
5. Figurines - New Orleans Instrumental No. 1
6. Sara Quin (Feat. Kaki King) - Sweetness Follows
7. Catfish Haven - Monty Got A Raw Deal
8. The Forms - Ignoreland
9. Blitzen Trapper - Star Me Kitten
10. Shout Out Louds - Man On The Moon
11. The Wrens - Nightswimming
12. Dr. Dog - Find The River
Bonus Tracks:
The Narrator - Try Not To Breathe
Amanda Palmer (The Dresden Dolls) & Cormac Bride
Ferraby Lionheart - Man On The Moon
Oxford Collapse - The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite
Blanche - Find The River
You Say Party! We Say Die! - Nightswimming
Jana Hunter - New Orleans Instrumental No. 1
Frida Hyvönen - Everybody Hurts
Elk City - Everybody Hurts
Bodies Of Water - Everybody Hurts
Sweetness Followed: 15 Years After Automatic
An "essay written for Stereogum by Matthew Perpetua, founder of Fluxblog and more recently Pop Songs 07, for which the goal is to "write about every R.E.M. song, eventually." Not surprisingly, it's an illuminating read for any music fan. We invited Matthew to put R.E.M.'s seminal '92 LP in perspective as we finalized our Drive XV tribute..."
"There's no one left to take the lead,
But I tell you and you can see
We're closer now than light years to go
Pick up here and chase the ride
The river empties to the tide
Fall into the ocean
The river to the ocean goes,
A fortune for the undertow
None of this is going my way
There is nothing left to throw
Of Ginger, lemon, indigo,
Coriander stem and rose of hay
Strength and courage overrides
The privileged and weary eyes
Of river poet search naivete
Pick up here and chase the ride
The river empties to the tide
All of this is coming your way"
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