Keyser Söze Alert: R.E.M. – Computer Communication (1983)
No, Michael Stipe and did not dabble in Italo. Actaually, Computer Communication was the second of four releases to appear on the short-lived Xanadu label from Italy in 1983. This is a readily available and largely underrated Italo classic 12″ that you can still buy in excellent condition for around $20. They’re pretty tough to find for sale in the US, so you’ll probably have to pay international air postage from Italy if you’re dying for the track.
SCHEMATIC: Automan 11 bootleg reissue…
Beyond buying a few records to lower the per unit shipping cost or waiting for one to show up in the US, this track was reissued as a high-quality bootleg as the B-side of Automan 11 in 2005 along with Junior Byron’s Dance to the Music and Kazino’s Binary on the A-side. A NM example is currently available in the US for $10 on Discogs Marketplace.
I embedded youtube videos for all three tracks, since they’re all pretty rad. That being said, I do prefer the dub version to Junior Byron’s track, which was used to great effect on DFA label co-owner and LCD Soundstyem frontman James Murphy’s FabricLive.36 compilation.
