26 August 2008

September's coming soon



Come this time of year every year, My mind falls heavily on this song. So many years ago, a former lover said this song made him think of the Catskills in late summer, when the nights can be muggy or chilly, when the leaves are just starting to turn. Small creeks and low waterfalls, trickling through backyards, the occasional rope swing, begging to be used.

Michael Stipe had a different vision when he wrote the song, however: about sneaking into a hotel pool in Los Angeles and going skinny dipping. "The fear of getting caught." Either way, this gorgeous piano piece is a jewel in the album Automatic For the People.

For the love of this song in its purity, here it is, plus a few covers:

R.E.M. - Nightswimming.mp3

Coldplay - Nightswimming (with Michael Stipe).mp3

Dashboard Confessional - Nightswimming (R.E.M. cover).mp3

Gene - Nightswimming (R.E.M. cover).mp3

The Wrens - Nightswimming (R.E.M. cover).mp3

You Say Party! We Say Die! - Nightswimming (R.E.M. cover).mp3

Nightswimming (kissy sell out bmore re-edit).mp3

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nice post...Just heard Ian McCulloch's version of "September Song" on my iPod this a.m. at the gym, so I was had September songs on the brain. Listening to the live version as I type is giving me goosebumps.

Anonymous said...

Is the Coldplay "cover" just Chris Martin playing the piano or something???


Matt and Dan
http://www.myspace.com/themattanddanshow

June said...

Matt & Dan,
Far as I know, yes, which is why I hesitated to call it a "cover." Or, it was Coldplay's stage, and Michael Stipe came out and did them a solid. Something like that.