This article I wrote on R.E.M. resources on the Internet was recently published in the fanzine _394 Oconee_. Enjoy! Gary Nabors nabors@pobox.upenn.edu ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Take The R.E.M. Exit Off The "Information Superhighway" copyright 1994 by Gary Nabors, author of _Remnants_ If you're a fan of R.E.M., you've probably discussed your love of the band's music with your friends, but what about the prospect of discussing your thoughts with hundreds of fans from around the world simultaneously? With the newly established computer discussion group "rec.music.rem," one small side street on the much-touted "information superhighway," fans can participate in a vigorous, twenty-four-hour conversation exclusively about their favorite foursome from Athens, Georgia. Computer users who have access to this group also have at their fingertips reviews of the band's latest album, details on their recording sessions, pictures of the band and their records, fans' interpretations of lyrics, and much more, including the "frequently asked question s" file, a vast storehouse of R.E.M.-related news and facts that is regularly updated. Many of these files are found at "FTP (file transfer protocol) sites," computers which let users log on for free and retrieve files. Before the creation of rec.music.rem ("rec" means the group discusses a recreational subject), fans of the band had been communicating via a computer mailing list called "Murmur." The list was established in February 1990, when a handful of devoted fans who interacted on other rock music discussion groups were brought together by Valerie Ohm, then a student at M.I.T. By the time _Out of Time_ hit the shelves in 1991, the group had grown to over 200 participants. After Valerie graduated, the task of managing the list was taken over by Kipp Teague, the system and network manager at Lynchburg College in Virginia. Membership soon passed 500, and continued to climb at such a rate that the mailing list format, in which a group of individual messages appears on members' computers once a day, was no longer manageable. A vote was recently taken, and as a result of the 3 to 1 margin, the group now interacts on rec.music.rem, a Usenet newsgroup. The newsgroup format differs from a mailing list or "digest" primarily in that individual messages are posted almost instantaneously, which effectively results in a more rapid, wide-open conversation. With the establishment of rec.music.rem, the band joins a handful of artists, including The Beatles and Bob Dylan, whose popularity has warranted the creation of a group for the purpose of discussing the music of a single artist, and not a general musical style like "rock and roll." In mid-July, Michael Stipe himself, using the semi-alias "Stipey," stepped into cyberspace and posted a number of interesting messages to an America Online rock-oriented discussion group. The content of his posts were relayed to rec.music.rem by AOL members. His postings, which have been archived, attempted to answer a few of the questions that he was quickly deluged with, including questions about his lyrics, band history, the new album, and the possible upcoming tour. It was an exciting few days, as fans all over the world debated whether "Stipey" was indeed Stipe, a fact that was later proven by various means. Stipe was posting from a friend's computer in L.A., where the band was putting the finishing touches on the new album. Billy Berry too, has made past appearances on the internet, via Prodigy. All you need to join the party is a computer, a modem (a device that allows you to send and receive data over the phone lines), an electronic mail (e-mail) address, and software that allows you to read the articles in the newsgroups. Practically any brand of computer and modem will do, and you can get an e-mail address and a news reader by subscribing to commercial services such as Prodigy, CompuServe, or America Online, which cost about $10 a month. Large companies and universities also offer electronic mail accounts and news reading software, often for no charge. Once you've met these four requirements, your ready to join the world's largest R.E.M. conversation. The task of finding rec.music.rem may seem difficult or intimidating to the computer phobic, but it shouldn't be, especially if your school or employer has a network consultant who can answer your questions. It is possible that your local network may not carry rec.music.rem, because not all sites have the resources to handle the immense amount of data that supporting all the different newsgroups entails (there are about 5,000 different groups). If you do have trouble finding the group please do not contact the R.E.M. office, as they are not affiliated with it. To find rec.music.rem, dial into your local network and access your news reader, which lets you "subscribe" to individual groups. All that remains then, is for you to tell the program that you want to subscribe to the group, and you'll instantly be a participant. Advanced internet citizens may choose to locate R.E.M.-related sites on the network through the use of the World Wide Web, a sophisticated navagation system that organizes its contents by subject matter. To do this, you'll also need a program like Mosaic, which enables users to navigate the Web simply by pointing and clicking on their screens, similar to the way a Macintosh works. To locate the R.E.M. "home page," point to http://www.svs.com/rem/index.html and you should see the directory of R.E.M.- related resources pop up on your screen. There are many different ways of getting yourself connected and becoming an "internet citizen." The important thing is to get over the initial hurdles of figuring out how to use your e-mail and news reading software. Once you are connected, you're ready to join in on the fun and post your first message, to tell the world your thoughts. What's the best R.E.M. album? The best B-side? You decide! ----------------------- (Sidebar) R.E.M. Resources on the Internet rec.music.rem A Usenet newsgroup for the purpose of discussing issues related to the band. murmur@lynchburg.edu A mailing list that one subscribes to, where R.E.M.-related topics are discussed. Used mostly by people who have e-mail, but no access to Usenet newsgroups. Was big before the newsgroup was established. Also available via the "Fables" file server at Lynchburg are lyrics from all the albums, and some articles about R.E.M. transcribed from magazines. For more information on what's available from Lynchburg, (gone but not forgotten...) send an e-mail request to murmur-mgr@lynchburg.edu. ftp.halcyon.com or www.halcyon.com An FTP site that contains scanned pictures of the band, as well as a number of interesting text files related to R.E.M. The following files are currently at this site: /local/rem/gif 25 different pictures of the band, and other R.E.M.-related images. Among them, high quality images of some rare records and CDs, Walter's Barbecue, Wendell Gee Used Cars, and the "R.E.M. Church." All images are in "gif" format, so you'll need a program on your computer which allows you to view images in this format. /local/rem/murmur Pictures of some of the R.E.M. fans that interact online. /local/rem/other All text files, which include a discography of legitimate and bootleg issues, guitar tabs to many R.E.M. songs, and a listing of recent magazine articles on the band. cs.uwp.edu An FTP site containing pictures of R.E.M. and their records, different than those at Halcyon. Also contains R.E.M. articles, lyrics, discographies, guitar tabs, and more. Look in these areas: /rem/lyrics, /rem/pictures, /pub/music/guitar/r/rem copyright 1994 by Gary Nabors