I searched for years for a vinyl copy of the first R.E.M. LP, Murmur, on vinyl. My requirements were: I wanted it to be cheap, and I wanted the original release (partly because of my Hi-Fidelity-style collector's mentality). Or at least not a remastered or fancy resissued version (though, y'know, the recent fancy reissue was something that I put on my Amazon Wish List. I don't mind if other people spend that kinda money for me!), because I'd read so many reviews to know that part of the early-R.E.M. charm was that the vocals were buried/oddly mixed, and I wanted the Authentic Experience.
So after two years of striking out and a few months of eyeing that there fancy re-issue, I finally just hit up ebay, bid on the thing, and got it for about $15.
And it's great.
And no only is it great, I am finding myself absolutely unable to get Catapult out of my head. And I'm thinking that "Shaking Through" might shoot to my top ten all-time R.E.M. songs, just on the basis of the catchy, goose-bump-inducing, absolutely-built-for-singing-along chorus.
And I love this. I love that this album is from 1983, and it's from a band that I love, but about 10 years prior to the R.E.M. period that I know. I love discovering this stuff. I love hearing "Talk About the Passion" and "Radio Free Europe" in their original context.
It's just really great. I don't know what took me so long.
*I am probably at least a 65% proponent of the "hey, the internet is great and all, but it kinda ruined the hunt for things, especially music" theory. I can remember trying for years to find a copy of the ska version of "The Freshman," but once I was able to start downloading music, I nearly instantly looked for, and found it. It's still good, but I still look for the 7" now and again. I suppose I could find it on eBay.