Ben D. on life and how to live it · Aug 2, 10:05 AM by Don
Below you’ll find a review of the 1987 R.E.M. home video, R.E.M. Succumbs, written by Ben D., the winner of last month’s R.E.M. essay contest.
Inserting the out-of-print R.E.M. Succumbs into my, still working (thank god!), VHS player, I was unsure what to expect. It’s a collection of home-made music videos produced by the archetypal DIY rockers, and all I had going in with me was the knowledge of R.E.M.’s character: off-beat creativity, while always having something to say, but one that never seems to take itself too seriously.
It opens in a gloomy, shadow-cast set with Peter Buck and manager Jefferson Holt sitting, side by side, providing the video’s preface: “What you’re about to see is an important historical artifact… a representative sampling of an outmoded art form that will stand the test of time, that will stand the test of time equally as well.” The introduction is simple enough, but its tongue-in-cheek banter sets the stage for exactly the kind of video you’d expect from R.E.M.
“Radio Free Europe” kicks off as the first of seven music videos. It jumps between two locales, the property of renowned artist Howard Finster’s (think of the Murmur cover art) and a vague studio scene. Even though its message is about as muddled as Stipe’s vocals, the video is certainly entertaining. The meat of the anthology’s value, however, lies in its mesmerizing photography. Color-filtered lenses and stop-and-go motion camera work pervade through every video, a feature that shouldn’t be any sort of shock, considering the expert photographer that Stipe is. “Left Of Reckoning” and “Driver 8” follow in this same vein, while “Can’t Get There From Here” turns their efforts to a total burlesque, flaunting their notion of the “anti-music video.”
But perhaps their greatest success comes in the videos for “So. Central Rain,” “Feeling Gravity’s Pull,” and, my favorite, “Life and How to Live It.” Each of these features live performances by R.E.M., which are made especially entertaining by that same camera work. “Life and How To Live It” exposes R.E.M. as the impassioned rockers they are. “Fall On Me” closes Succumbs with a more conventional video, shot from the sky looking down (how appropriate) with lyrics that scroll across the screen.
mp3: R.E.M. – Life and How to Live It
All in all, the videos perfectly demonstrate the value of a DIY rock band. Instead of being a hindrance, the collection’s low-budget production imparts to its audience the notion that these are like any normal group of guys, all the while supplying entertaining visuals to their spectacular music.
R.E.M. – “Radio Free Europe”
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