R.E.M. Band • Page 17

Imitation Of Life might be a top 10 song for me. That’s an underrated gem and should’ve been huge. The music video is super cool too.

 

Great post, agree a million percent, and then you add on Supernatural Superserious and Leaving New York (which is a stone cold classic) as "first singles" off the latter albums. They never lost their fastball.

 

Yes love those tracks. The Great Beyond in particular, the lengthy repeat of that wonderful chorus (or bridge? The section which starts "I'm breaking through, I'm bending spoons...") is heaven.

 

I've been doing the discography, but out of order. It's been fun to ping-pong from the IRS era to the '90s run to the post-Berry records and back again.

 

I honestly think that's the way to do it.

 

Went back and listened to Murmur, Reckoning, Fables, Reveal, Around The Sun, Accelerate and Collapse today.

My biggest takeaways are:

1) Age has not changed my perspective, and, though its been years since I've listened to a great deal of R.E.M., I am reminded that my fandom, more often than not, leans towards the "mid-period"; Document through Monster.

2) I feel like Reveal could have been a classic R.E.M. album if it wasn't so wildly overproduced. Way too many beep boop meep mop blips all over the songs, they should have just let the music speak for itself without overly dressing it up. Many of the songs are great under the hood, but the production flourishes are so distracting, it takes you out of enjoying them.

3) God, this band rules. Like @Craig Manning mentioned before, it is INSANE how prolific they were, particularly in the eighties.

 

I've always liked their mid-period best too, but the IRS records are really hitting on this R.E.M. kick I'm on. Especially Reckoning.

 

I really agree with your second point. If not for the production, it sounds like it could’ve come off of Out Of Time

 

Fables is definitely the most underrated in their early run imo, I love that album. Southern Gothic REM is such a vibe, and Feeling Gravitys Pull is one of their best openers

 

10000%

 

Oops I just realized I didn’t complete that thought lmao. I was tired

I meant to say that Imitation Of Life could easily be an Out Of Time song, if not for the super poppy production

 

yes yes yes - took a while to grow on me but it’s one of my favourite R.E.M. albums now

 

I actually had tickets to see R.E.M. in London on their stadium tour which at the time it was advertised as an normal stadium tour but then I broke my arm falling down some stairs a few days before the gig so I had to sell my ticket and I thought while I was stuck at home oh they will come back and hopefully get my chance to see them live finally... But they announced they split up a few weeks later, fucking gutted!!

 

Document is perfect

 

listening to Up again, I hope this album gets its due as a groundbreaker one of these days. truly unique album, Why Not Smile is one of their most moving songs

 

just finished this and it's crazy how active they were with touring and writing and recording in the 80s. even though they slowed down a bit - they still released a ton of music in the 90s and 00s. i'm always going to be partial to their 90s output but it's been fun to revisit their whole catalog along with the book

edit: also not super into that Monster remaster. it's cool to hear parts i didnt pick up on in the original but it's more of a novelty than anything else. was always a bummer they didnt have more fully formed b-sides from this era

 

I don't like the Monster remix much but I never really connected with the album either, just not the sound I prefer them. insane that Litt took the tremolo guitar off the chorus in Kenneth, just a surefire way to make everyone checking out the remix against it from the first song lol

 

OMFG!!!

 

just fucking tour already guys lets go

 

Michael Shannon being a die hard R.E.M. fan is something I find so endearing.

 

Here's the video!!!

 

:’)

 

I highly doubt they’ll ever tour again, but I do hope they do one more show and livestream it

 

Hey I never thought oasis would either but here we are!


(I don’t think they will either)