As "Monster" and "Under The Table and Dreaming" turn 30 this week, I reflect on how R.E.M. and Dave Matthews Band triggered what would become my personal Musical Awakening™️
I still think Under the Table and Dreaming is a great album from start to finish. I've never really understood why so many critics bash the band. I think their songs are timeless. I was already in my 30s when this album came out so it wasn't really a musical awakening for me (that was probably Blondie's Parallel Lines in 1979) but it still affected me deeply.
I was only ever so so on DMB but I appreciate your passion and the deep dive on Under The Table And Dreaming. Gravedigger is probably my favorite song by the band, in particular the version that appeared on the Live album recorded at The Grove Amphitheater in Washington: https://open.spotify.com/track/22T1nwc6yp1sRVoqeQi7RF
In terms of musical awakenings, I’ve had a few in my lifetime. The earliest was in the summer of 1984 when my cousin, visiting me in Bermuda from England, introduced me to The Cure via the compilation album Japanese Whispers. That turned me on to the band that, to this day, remains my favorite (new album coming Nov 1!). It also introduced me to a whole host of new-to-me music like The Cult, Siouxsie & The Banshees, Bauhaus, Joy Division, Sisters of Mercy, the list goes on!
But it was hearing Japanese Whispers that shifted my musical universe. In the process of opening me up to whole new swathes of music, listening to those eight songs also planted a pillar in my musical foundations.
I still think Under the Table and Dreaming is a great album from start to finish. I've never really understood why so many critics bash the band. I think their songs are timeless. I was already in my 30s when this album came out so it wasn't really a musical awakening for me (that was probably Blondie's Parallel Lines in 1979) but it still affected me deeply.
I was only ever so so on DMB but I appreciate your passion and the deep dive on Under The Table And Dreaming. Gravedigger is probably my favorite song by the band, in particular the version that appeared on the Live album recorded at The Grove Amphitheater in Washington: https://open.spotify.com/track/22T1nwc6yp1sRVoqeQi7RF
In terms of musical awakenings, I’ve had a few in my lifetime. The earliest was in the summer of 1984 when my cousin, visiting me in Bermuda from England, introduced me to The Cure via the compilation album Japanese Whispers. That turned me on to the band that, to this day, remains my favorite (new album coming Nov 1!). It also introduced me to a whole host of new-to-me music like The Cult, Siouxsie & The Banshees, Bauhaus, Joy Division, Sisters of Mercy, the list goes on!
But it was hearing Japanese Whispers that shifted my musical universe. In the process of opening me up to whole new swathes of music, listening to those eight songs also planted a pillar in my musical foundations.