R.E.M. Appreciation Thread

[Swizz2007]

Always wanted to like these guys...what's their best album?

[Rodey]

Originally Posted by Swizz2007

Always wanted to like these guys...what's their best album?

I'd say Automatic For The People is a great spot to start.

Though I prefer most of what they've put out, a lot of people don't like their new stuff and stick with their older stuff. This being said, I think it's safe to say Automatic For The People is a great place to start and then you can decide where to go from there.

[Heyberto]

Originally Posted by Swizz2007

Always wanted to like these guys...what's their best album?

That's so hard to say... I'll recommend the following

1. ..and I feel Fine.. a great compilation from the early years. A wonderful cross section of everything they did in the early years. This is alternative music in its original form. Awesome stuff. Some has a punkish feel, and its all pretty cerebral. Still timeless despite being created in the 80's.

2. From the Warner years, I'll say Automatic for the People, a forray into a more acoustic kind of sound, or New Adventures in HiFi for their Rock sound. So depending on what you like best, try either of those.

3. Newer stuff, post Bill Berry. The drums kind of became less of a focus with his 'retirement', certainly on the UP album. I'm not crazy about this era of the band. They experimented more with electronica. There's good stuff in there, but as individual albums, I'm not crazy about any of them as a collective work. Critically, they've all been well received, and its one of those things where I respect the work, but it just doesn't appeal to me. However, their latest album, Accelerate is a return to form and its great. It's not as good as the earlier stuff to me, but I like it a lot.. It's the best album since New Adventures was released in 1996.

Sorry I couldn't give you a straight answer. Everything they do sounds so different, it depends on what your personal taste is.

[gregory311]

Originally Posted by Swizz2007

Always wanted to like these guys...what's their best album?

Best place to start? At the beginning. Get:

Murmur
Reckoning
Fables of the Reconstruction
Lifes Rich Pageant
Document

Skip Green, Out of Time, Automatic for the People.

Accelerate is good because it's a throw back to the way the band once was. The commercialization ruined them, in my opinion. Belong is the only decent tune on Out of Time. The rest is radio crap.

I love REM, but the stuff from late-80s on, outside of Accelerate, is garbage.

[AJF_41]

I've never been a fan.

One of my buddies was trying to tell me how REM was a better band than U2.

I was having none of it...

[Rodey]

Originally Posted by gregory311

Best place to start? At the beginning. Get:

Murmur
Reckoning
Fables of the Reconstruction
Lifes Rich Pageant
Document

Skip Green, Out of Time, Automatic for the People.

Accelerate is good because it's a throw back to the way the band once was. The commercialization ruined them, in my opinion. Belong is the only decent tune on Out of Time. The rest is radio crap.

I love REM, but the stuff from late-80s on, outside of Accelerate, is garbage.

Automatic For The People is hands down their best album and is one of the best albums ever made. I don't know how you could recommend that he skip it.

[Heyberto]

Originally Posted by Rodey

Automatic For The People is hands down their best album and is one of the best albums ever made. I don't know how you could recommend that he skip it.

Yeah, as with anything, to each their own.. but Green - New Adventures in HiFi is not crap. It feels completely different than the early stuff, but that was intentional. It's good, and its good because the band made that concious decision to continue to differentiate themselves with each album. They were not going to repeat themselves like so many other bands do, and they actually succeeded at making great albums while going in new directions.

I can see the Up - Around the Sun criticism.. easily the least appealing of the band's repertoire, but again.. critically you could see where the band was going and they largely accomplished what they wanted to with each album, with Around the Sun being their least favorite effort, even amongst themselves. Critically, those albums were very well received, no doubt. I hope Accelerate heralds another turning point that will hopefully bring them full circle.

[Jibiti]

I sometimes find that Reveal might be their best album overall, very close with AFTP. Different, but very "fascinating" .

[magicrat405]

Country Feedback is one of my favorite songs of all time. From the album version to the In Time compilation live take, the song is just incredible.

And for that guy with OK computer in his avatar, here's E-bow the Letter with Thom Yorke on backup vocals.

[comerelaxnow]

My 1st memory of R.E.M was when i was a lot younger and i was watching sesame street and they came on the show and sang "Shiny Happy People" but they changed the word People to Monsters. I remember thinking even back then, wow i love this band

Does R.E.M have live albums? Ive never seen any.

My favortie songs are Sweetness Follows and Ignoreland

[Jibiti]

Originally Posted by comerelaxnow

Does R.E.M have live albums? Ive never seen any.

They have a few live DVDs, and one live CD set with a DVD pack-in.

http://tinyurl.com/c8zlv3
http://tinyurl.com/d32rzu
http://tinyurl.com/dl55e3
http://tinyurl.com/ca96h7

[magicrat405]

Originally Posted by comerelaxnow

Does R.E.M have live albums? Ive never seen any.

All I've got is the imaginatively titled "REM Live," which is a concert from sometime after the Around the Sun release, and accordingly is pretty lame. Other than that, the only live recordings I have are from the second disc of the "In Time" compilation, which was the first REM CD I really listened to. For a best of/b-sides/live double album, it really does feel very coherent and complete as its own release. When I started hearing songs from the compilation on their respective albums, I was thrown off when they didn't segue into the same track as they had on "In Time."

As for Around the Sun being poorly received and leading to a weak live release, I do agree that it's mostly garbage. I do love Leaving New York though, such an emotional song.

[comerelaxnow]

Originally Posted by Jibiti

They have a few live DVDs, and one live CD set with a DVD pack-in.

http://tinyurl.com/c8zlv3
http://tinyurl.com/d32rzu
http://tinyurl.com/dl55e3
http://tinyurl.com/ca96h7

Nice jesture but i clicked on one link and it popped up about 1000 times and wouldn't stop.

[SideshowRob]

Originally Posted by Rodey

I'd say Automatic For The People is a great spot to start.

Though I prefer most of what they've put out, a lot of people don't like their new stuff and stick with their older stuff. This being said, I think it's safe to say Automatic For The People is a great place to start and then you can decide where to go from there.

or Out Of Time

[Beefsteak1138]

Originally Posted by AJF_41

I've never been a fan.

One of my buddies was trying to tell me how REM was a better band than U2.

I was having none of it...

Your buddy is correct.

[Bafugama]

Originally Posted by Beefsteak1138

Your buddy is correct.

That's like a fight between Chuck Lidell and an infant.

[AJF_41]

Originally Posted by Beefsteak1138

Your buddy is correct.

no chance..

[Beefsteak1138]

chance.

[Bafugama]

REM is like the director of Alternative Music. They were almost never, or at least very rarely in the spotlight, but they were always controlling it, making it what it is. REM was playing alternative before it was even a genre... They were playing in 1980 what would become popular in 1994. They are the 'guy behind the curtain' of alternative music. More important than a lot of people give them credit for. Great band that has been relevant for 30 years. U2 is a band that has changed their sound significantly and has created a second half of their career where they are completely untrue to what they started doing 25 years ago, and are the quintessential "sell outs". They have become just pop-rock acts that, while extremely commercially successful, are not even a shell of what they used to be as a band.

[Heyberto]

I disagree about U2 being better. They're bigger, but not better. REM has continued to redefine itself over the years. U2 sounds largely the same from their early days to now. I personally believe a band should be defined by its ability to change with time.. to evolve.. and to do so successfully (and by success, I don't mean popularity/money). I'm not saying they should completely lose their original sound, but they should try new things, be bold. I dont' think any band has done that any better than REM. Certainly U2 hasn't. With favorite bands it seems everyone longs for the early years, but as much as I tend to love the early stuff with bands I like, I really dont' want a band to try to conform to an image of what it was (that's the problem with DMB as well... they're changing and the fanbase largely doesn't want to let them..). U2's best album was Achtung Baby.. they really haven't done much to diversify since them. They sell a lot of tickets and albums. Their music isn't bad, but it sounds largely the same as it always has.

[Heyberto]

Originally Posted by Bafugama

REM is like the director of Alternative Music. They were almost never, or at least very rarely in the spotlight, but they were always controlling it, making it what it is. REM was playing alternative before it was even a genre... They were playing in 1980 what would become popular in 1994. They are the 'guy behind the curtain' of alternative music. More important than a lot of people give them credit for. Great band that has been relevant for 30 years. U2 is a band that has changed their sound significantly and has created a second half of their career where they are completely untrue to what they started doing 25 years ago, and are the quintessential "sell outs". They have become just pop-rock acts that, while extremely commercially successful, are not even a shell of what they used to be as a band.

Really? To me they sound largely the same... very homogenized.

[Bafugama]

Originally Posted by RobbtheRevelatr

Really? To me they sound largely the same... very homogenized.

I would say they've changed in the sense that what they are now is an incredibly watered down and bastardized version of what they used to be.

[Heyberto]

Originally Posted by Bafugama

I would say they've changed in the sense that what they are now is an incredibly watered down and bastardized version of what they used to be.

Ok.. I'm with you.. that makes sense.

[gregory311]

Originally Posted by Rodey

Automatic For The People is hands down their best album and is one of the best albums ever made. I don't know how you could recommend that he skip it.

Hands-down? According to you.

Document, Life's Rich Pageant and Murmur are far superior albums. The sound they created was original and groundbreaking for music with those records.

Automatic for the People was just another dose of radio-friendly pablum.

[Heyberto]

Originally Posted by gregory311

Hands-down? According to you.

Document, Life's Rich Pageant and Murmur are far superior albums. The sound they created was original and groundbreaking for music with those records.

Automatic for the People was just another dose of radio-friendly pablum.

That's true of just about any major label band. That's what they were asked to do.. but REM did radio friendly fair like no one else. Much better than other radio artists. Thats what set them apart. That's why that album is viewed as good as it is. REM changed when they went to Warner Bros.. thats just part of the evolution. I tend to favor the early stuff as well, but its not as if they should have been repeating themselves by trying to replicate it..

[Bafugama]

I think REM benefited greatly from being with a larger record company. I think their best work was the middle of their career. Automatic for the People, Green, Monster, Out of Time, New Adventures in Hi Fi, and even Up were all great albums, and I think most people would agree that those are their best albums. I'm also a really big fan of their newer stuff, but I know that I'm not in the majority in thinking that.

[gregory311]

Originally Posted by RobbtheRevelatr

I tend to favor the early stuff as well, but its not as if they should have been repeating themselves by trying to replicate it..

That's totally fine, man. A guy asked for my opinion and I offered it. It doesn't have to jive with what others think.

I lose faith with bands that create music for someone other than themselves.

Frankly, that was one of the problems with DMB. Lillywhite album was clearly one of their best, because it was theirs. Then Bruce Flohr stepped in and fucked things up. Were the guys in the band having issues with the music? Probably, but that's no reason to scrap an entire album to make record execs and radio listeners happy.

Funny, looking through setlists from just this spring tour and it's amusing to note that three tunes from Lillywhite have been played a total of eight times to one song from Everday being played twice.

Raven – 3
Grey Street – 3
Bartender – 2

When the World Ends – 2

The only song from Standup has been You Might Die Trying and an Old Dirt Hill tease. That's telling.

But that’s a whole other ball of wax and not for this thread.

Back to the original thread. If you look through REM setlists from 2007-2008 you’ll see that the only consistent song played live from AFTP is Man on the Moon. Sure, they were promoting a record so Accelerate tracks dominated, but older tunes like Driver 8, The One I Love, and Gardening at Night are all over the place.

That’s telling, too.

[Heyberto]

Originally Posted by gregory311

That's totally fine, man. A guy asked for my opinion and I offered it. It doesn't have to jive with what others think.

I lose faith with bands that create music for someone other than themselves.

Frankly, that was one of the problems with DMB. Lillywhite album was clearly one of their best, because it was theirs. Then Bruce Flohr stepped in and fucked things up. Were the guys in the band having issues with the music? Probably, but that's no reason to scrap an entire album to make record execs and radio listeners happy.

Funny, looking through setlists from just this spring tour and it's amusing to note that three tunes from Lillywhite have been played a total of eight times to one song from Everday being played twice.

Raven – 3
Grey Street – 3
Bartender – 2

When the World Ends – 2

The only song from Standup has been You Might Die Trying and an Old Dirt Hill tease. That's telling.

But that’s a whole other ball of wax and not for this thread.

Back to the original thread. If you look through REM setlists from 2007-2008 you’ll see that the only consistent song played live from AFTP is Man on the Moon. Sure, they were promoting a record so Accelerate tracks dominated, but older tunes like Driver 8, The One I Love, and Gardening at Night are all over the place.

That’s telling, too.

Yeah, and I get your argument man, no worries.. I just don't think they ever truly abandoned making music for themselves. No where was that more evident than with Monster and New Adventures. Both were completely opposite of what made people like them and give them grammys and MTV awards... so I just can't get behind they were trying to make music for the masses. I liked Monster just fine, but I LOVED New Adventures in HiFi. Completly raw, completely unexpected. It was written and recorded on the road at sound checks, on the bus, etc. Mixed professionally, doesn't sound like a live album, but it captures some of that energy. There were maybe 3-4 tracks recorded in studio after the monster tour. With that album, they put the most unconventional single out there, and people largely rejected it (E-bow the Letter) and they never apologized or went back and said anything other than they did what they wanted and they wouldn't change it. I admire that so much. They lost me from Up on, until Accelerate. I still bought albums, but not a single one of those did I really like. I thought they were good from a critical point of view, but not very listenable. So I get exactly what you're saying.

I wish DMB would record an album like REM did with New Adventures. As good as they are live, it could really capture the live energy of the band and combine that with studio polish. Could be great.

[Bafugama]

Originally Posted by RobbtheRevelatr

Yeah, and I get your argument man, no worries.. I just don't think they ever truly abandoned making music for themselves. No where was that more evident than with Monster and New Adventures. Both were completely opposite of what made people like them and give them grammys and MTV awards... so I just can't get behind they were trying to make music for the masses. I liked Monster just fine, but I LOVED New Adventures in HiFi. Completly raw, completely unexpected. It was written and recorded on the road at sound checks, on the bus, etc. Mixed professionally, doesn't sound like a live album, but it captures some of that energy. There were maybe 3-4 tracks recorded in studio after the monster tour. With that album, they put the most unconventional single out there, and people largely rejected it (E-bow the Letter) and they never apologized or went back and said anything other than they did what they wanted and they wouldn't change it. I admire that so much. They lost me from Up on, until Accelerate. I still bought albums, but not a single one of those did I really like. I thought they were good from a critical point of view, but not very listenable. So I get exactly what you're saying.

I wish DMB would record an album like REM did with New Adventures. As good as they are live, it could really capture the live energy of the band and combine that with studio polish. Could be great.

Completely agree. Solid post.

Monster is the most surprising diversion in my opinion. Out of nowhere, they just decided to get all distortion heavy and it was completely unexpected. The fact that they were willing to take a risk like that definitly proves that they are 'alt rock' in the true sense of the word.

[Rodey]

Daysleeper is such a good song.