So Fast, So Numb
New Adventures In Hi-Fi | 1996
Listen Original Listen Final Mix

Stipe Vocals

The vocals on this have a weird up front presence while retianing a balance in the mix. He’s much easier to hear than on the first few albums - but figured out how to hold onto that feeling where listining to REM is like overhearing coversations in a crowd.

My attempt here will be to set up a recording booth in the bathroom. Which means putting a mic and laptop in the bathroom. I spent around an hour on vocal takes. First time was slowly through the song, stopping anytime I felt like retaking something. I kept the original around for constant reference. I didn’t care so much about replicating Michael’s part perfectly, but there is not much room for some of these words. And given that I’m recording this at ~15 bpm faster than the original, I have less room for improv.

I gave myself two extra takes for the shouted “Now” and “Listen” lyrics. Those were bound to peak and I wanted to be sure I had at least one useable take. I think I can live with these.

Mills Vocals

Picking out Mike’s background voclas from this was rough. They are definately in there, but mixed in a way that they completely blend in with the organ in some parts. I sayed in the bathroom and pulled away from the mic for the recordings. These will be way in the background and likely drenched in reverb. The original has a few layers of Mike in the background, but its so difficult to pick them apart. Like singing from the astral plane. I’ll definatly leave more time for songs like “Harborcoat” with multiple background parts.

I may end up recording another background take after initial mixing. It depends on what I can do with what I have.