R.E.M.

Intro

1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.

• freaked out
• huge
• ilk
• look up to

• role model
• DIY
• a soft spot
• come out of the closet

• figured as much
• underground

2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

R.E.M. is truly a self-made band. They came up out of the DIY post-punk scene of the 1980s and ultimately grabbed the attention of the whole world.

They made some great music in the 90s, but no longer connected to their DIY roots, they started to slip. In recent years, R.E.M. has been getting less and less popular.

Then they decided to Accelerate. Their new album is fast and full of energy. Listen to Jason tell Marni about it.

Dialog

1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.

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2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Jason

Marni

Jason:  Dude, have you heard the new R.E.M.?

Marni:  I have not heard the R.E.M...

Jason:  It’s fantastic.

Marni:  Is it?

Jason:  Yeah.

Marni:  I’m not surprised. I’m a fan.

Jason:  The basically just went back to being what they were before they were all that famous. Apparently they wrote all the songs pretty punk and fast and kinds low-fi, and Stipe was kind of freaked out about it, but it ended up working out.

Marni:  Is Bill Berry playing drums with them again? Probably not…

Jason:  No…

Marni:  He’s done. But I…R.E.M...totally a soft spot in my heart for R.E.M...first band I ever saw…

Jason:  What tour were they on? Like, what album?

Marni:  It was Green.

Jason:  Oh, OK.

Marni:  Yes. It was good.

Jason:  It was good?

Marni:  Yeah. It was good.

Jason:  Because they’ve had like a series of crappy albums that didn’t sell.

Marni:  Well, you know I liked Green, but then, you know, they got famous with Monster and I just haven’t listened to them since then.

Jason:  It’s kind of weird. Have you ever thought about how them and U2 are sort of the only bands to come out of that 80s underground that made it huge and stayed huge.

Marni:  And stayed huge, basically, yeah…

Jason:  I mean, Husker Du isn’t…

Marni:  They’re not huge. I love them, but not huge. Yeah, there’s really not any other band of their ilk. Didn’t finally just come out too in the last couple of years?

Jason:  Did he? I thought that was common knowledge.

Marni:  I think everybody knew, but he actually officially came out. He said something to the effect of he would have come out sooner if he had actually known that it would have been a positive thing for other kids at the time who were listening to their music…

Jason:  Oh, right! I did read that.

Marni:  ...and going through a similar struggle.

Jason:  He didn’t realize that people were depending on him.

Marni:  Exactly! And looking up to him as a role model.

Quizzes

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Lesson MP3

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