I've really come to appreciate them lately and they are a band that I like having live versions of their music as well as the studio albums. A lot of solid songs. Can search REM in Itunes, hit play and be good for hours. _________________ New fav's: The Weepies, Art Brut, 311. Old Fav's: Bowie, zepalin, stones, buckcherry, cheap trick, couting crowes. Seen: Black Crowes, Nirvana, Ugly Kid Joe, Pretenders, Phycadelic furs, Ozzy, Thompson Twins, B Adams...regret not seeing G&R.
i had out of time on tape in high school, i grew to love it at one point. _________________ "I would expect something wrong with the poll if the chart favorite was not the poll winner" - naples 12-8-11
"I was hoping he was gone for good, guess it was just too much to ask" - polythene pam 05-10-12
"Nickelback > Radiohead" - bork 05-14-12
For some reason I am going to have to go with 6. Even though Automatic and parts of Out of Time is some of the best R.E.M. ever written. Maybe because I feel like Accelerate is their best rocking album (better than Monster) and that their last album has the best over-all polished R.E.M. sound. That is almost an oxy-moron though: Polished R.E.M. (they airbrushed my face). However, both of those are missing the more esoteric R.E.M. that also made them so great.
Last edited by RoundTheBend on 04/06/2012 16:54; edited 1 time in total
Wow, it has been a while and was just checking the ratings. Last time I was on here, I swear R.E.M. didn't make top twenty. Now they have! Good to see this great band recognized for what they were. Maybe not top 10 material, but DEFINITELY top 20.
R.E.M. stand as my favourite band. I started listening to them about two years ago which was a time I was still discovering myself (in the least cliche way as possible), and I think R.E.M. shaped some of that. It seemed the perfect music for a young, angsty teen I suppose. R.E.M. create such thoughtful music whilst carrying some very ambiguous lyrics so much as you can almost make up your own meanings to them.
I also love Stipe's vocals, which you either love or hate. I remember when I put on Out of Time as the first R.E.M. record I'd heard and hearing him sing "The world is collapsing around our ears, I turned up the radio" I couldn't help but smile I admired his vocals so much.
Their finest moment was from Automatic for the People to New Adventures in Hi-Fi, that's where their song writing really excelled. But I've always felt Up deserves a second chance and may well be their forgotten masterpiece and contains one of my favourite lyrics from Falls to Climb:
"My actions make be beautiful and dignify the flesh."
Amongst all this, they're also just really cool guys.
Also, is there an R.E.M. quote at the top of BEA? I've never seen one.
I read somewhere that there was some sort of five album pattern theory with R.E.M. - a cycle whereby their style would change but then return five albums later. Whether R.E.M. had it in mind, it's just something interesting to think about.
5. Rocky, darker, outspoken (Document, New Adventures in Hi-Fi, Collapse Into Now)
Just something I read somewhere. Funny how the album widely considered their best and the one considered their worst fit in the same category. Doesn't matter as much now that they've split up, but it was a cool way of predicting their next style.
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