Let's Active

Certain Songs #926: Let’s Active – “Mr. Fool”

July 9, 2017 by Jim Connelly

Album: Every Dog Has His Day
Year: 1988

I never fully loved any of the three full-length albums that Let’s Active put out in the 1980s.

While Mitch Easter was a helluva guitar player and an ace producer, he wasn’t — to me!! — quite able to put together a full album’s worth of good songs. Of course, I haven’t listened to any of those records in nearly 30 years, so I suppose I could change my mind if I heard them now. But, trust me, I gave them plenty of chances back in the day.

Certain Songs #925: Let’s Active – “Every Word Means No”

July 8, 2017 by Jim Connelly

Album: Afoot EP
Year: 1983

With the benefit of 35 of years of hindsight, it’s clear that we came to Let’s Active backwards in 1983. Maybe on the East Coast it was like, “finally the other guy from the Sneakers is recording more songs,” but of course, our crew in Fresno was all, “whoa, R.E.M.’s producer has a band!”

When Afoot was released, of course, Easter had already produced both Chronic Town and Murmur, and so quite naturally, interest was high. And Afoot delivered a half-dozen weird, quirky power-pop songs, leading with the insta-classic “Every Word Means No.”