Automatic for the People questions... (1 Viewer)

I don't have a DVD-A player, but this is one of my favorite CDs. I was looking at the back and it seemed that some of the features were playable on regulard DVD players. I don't need the lyrics, though I'd love to see the interface. I don't have surround sound at the moment either, but that's coming in a few months. But I'm really curious because they mentioned a documentary is on it. How long is it and what's it show? I'd love to know. And would love for this to be my first DVD-A and the first thing I listen to when I get a 5.1 receiver.

Thanks in advance.

IIRC the doc is about 20 minutes long and basically consists of interviews with Berry, Buck, and Mills about the gestation of the album. It has some recording snippets and a lot of footage of Stipe sitting around looking sullen

Michael Stipe looking sullen? Holy frejole, I gots to get that!!!

Um... dunno if it's the same, but I have an electronic press kit that was given out at the midnight release of the CD. Wonder if its the same. B & W as I recall. The peak was an impromptu performance of Find the River (not the whole song) played in a bare room in their office. Is that part of the doc?

p.s. I plead ignorance... I keep reading it but don't know what "IIRC means"

Dave I'm pretty sure it is the same EPK....
starts out with an short interview with Weaver D home of the 'Automatic For The People' slogan followed by band member interviews with Buck, Berry, and Mills...and yes it shows them doing "Find The River" (my favorite REM song) in the room. "Man In The Moon" plays as the credits roll at the end.

hope this helps

IIRC = If I remember correctly

If I'm wrong about this, then I obviously don't remember correctly

Heh heh, thanks to both of you.

By the by, that does sound like the EPK. Also, I agree re: "Find the River". My favorite R.E.M. song and one of my favorite songs period. I just can't tire of it

I don't remember if the CD has the same liner notes or not, but when I got the DVD-A, I read them and followed the lyrics and listened closely and I gained a whole new appreciation for the political context of this album. Now I can't believe how political it is. I guess you need time to gain perspective on some pieces of music. I always loved how this one sounded though.

Liner notes? The original didn't have any (neither did the Ltd. Ed. version). I guess that's just another reason to pick it up... even if I don't have the cash.

As to political, only "Ignoreland" ever seemed political to me, and its also the only cut I *always* skip. I've pondered burning a new copy of the CD without out it, and instead putting in its place their cover of Leonard Cohen's "First We Take Manhattan" which has always, to me, seemed to be what belongs there.

Oh well, rambling away the day...

Dave, IIRC,
The notes talk about Ignoreland and how it is very different from the rest of the album. It probably did more to inspire Monster than fit into Automatic. But I never realized how political the rest of the album was at the time. The first line of the entire album really sets the tone...

"Smack, Crack, Bushwhacked"

I looked at the notes briefly last night and they talk about how Stipe always said the album was about mortality. One quote from the liner notes: "Mortality implies knowledge of how ephemeral life is, and the line on the album between the living and the dead is blurred to the point of indistinction." The notes go throught the whole album, song by song, and have info and insight into each one. One other thing I learned from the notes that I never knew was that former Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones provided the orchestral arrangements for four tracks: Drive, Everybody Hurts, The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite, and Nightswimming.

One other aspect of this release I really love is the lyrics on the video portion of the disc. They show the lyrics as originally scribbled down by Stipe, along with crossed out changes and arrangements that were clearly changed later. Tough to follow along with the music at some points, but that is the beauty of it. It shows the creative and brainstorming aspects of his songwriting.

That is definently the electronic press kit I can confirm that, just dug out my video tape of the EPK to make sure. All and all it's a really great disc especially for anyone who might never have seen the EPK. Find the River also my favorite song on the disc really sounds lovely in surround sound especially with Mike Mills, vocals in the back speakers. Nightswimming also sounds really great (heck they all do). Any members of the R.E.M. fanclub here? We should be getting information about north american tour dates and fan club tickets soon.

I don't remember... does the fanclub automatically renew or do I have to do it myself? I joined last year, but I haven't gotten a newsletter in quite some time.

Mmmm... Find the River in surround sound. Anyone got $250 so I can get a surround sound receiver?

I hate the AFTP DVD-A. I like to put on a disk at bedtime as I fall asleep. This stupid disk pops back to a menu after it's done playing blaring out a continuous 15 second cut from the first song about 50 dB louder than the rest of the tracks.