The deserts are in southern America.
I'm guessing we're thinking of different things when we think of the south. I'm not thinking of the "white-trash" kind, but more of the geological and small-town life kind.
Aeon, that's what I was thinking of. I sort of disagree with them though, I can hear the south in a lot of their stuff.
Fables of the Reconstruction is probably their most southern album. It's southern gothic. The irony is that it's that they recorded it in London.
The south in REM's music. I could write an essay on this, but I'll just give a summary for now...
I'm looking at the lyrics from
here. Follow along if you want.
On their first two albums, it mostly comes in through the music. The use of pianos and the jangly was Peter Buck plays guitar is all very southern. Rock and Roll was invented in Southern US, and even though it's mostly been divorced from the south, REM used a lot of elements of rock that were back from the beginning.
The way they presented themselves was southern. Their first albums had this sort of honesty that seemed very southern.
The lyrics are very vague, however, there is imagery that seems to have the kind of openness that's found in the south, and the rootsy attitude as well.
Their second album, Reckoning, is where the lyrics truly spoke of the south. Starting with Southern Central Rain.
Their strongest southern part in the first two albums is with (Don't Go Back to) Rockville. It's a very countryish song and the lyrics just scream SOUTH!
The last song, Little America, also reminds me of the South. Mostly by the lyrics though.
I already went over Fables of the Reconstruction. Just read the lyrics, and you'll see all kinds of southern stuff.
I'm starting to get bored with this. I think I'll stop for now.
