\\\///\\\/// It's the ILX SUPER SUMMER R.E.M. POLL OF POLLS RESULTS THREAD \\\///\\\///

At long, long last, the results!

Thanks once again to everybody for participating. For the nom list and explanation of the convoluted and arguably ill-advised voting system, see: \///\/// It's the ongoing R.E.M. SUPER SUMMER POLL of POLLS \///\///

The short version is that nominations were pulled from album-by-album nuILX polls, although voters were also allowed one WILDCARD pick from outside the nom list. In hindsight I should have allowed more wildcards, because they are fun. A couple of them did make it into these results! Ballots were a ranked top fifteen.

I am counting down the top "thirty," but there are several tie results, and I treated these as single entries in the "thirty" - so in fact we will see more than thirty songs here.

Enjoy, and as always, I hope this is fun for everybody and also sparks some discussion. Doing the original poll threads was a great way to discover other people's relationships with this band and their music, which to me represents the great power of ILM in general...so here's to y'all!

― Doctor Casino, Monday, 2 November 2009 16:28 (2 weeks ago) Permalink

#30: Disturbance at the Heron House
4 votes, 28 points
Highest position: #2 (Euler)
Position in Document poll: #1 (9 votes)

Document doesn't suck though. I'll big-up "Disturbance At The Heron House" for badassitude, lyrical silliness, a solo that burns bright and brief, great vocal overdubs [...]
- rogermexico

― Doctor Casino, Monday, 2 November 2009 16:29 (2 weeks ago) Permalink

(Will be doing one or two entries per day I think - about as much as I can pull off in the allowed surfing time at work. Plus more time for discussion in between!)

― Doctor Casino, Monday, 2 November 2009 16:30 (2 weeks ago) Permalink

Document doesn't suck though.

Document doesn't suck at all! It's just not that old Southern-Gothic rock feel that many fans had come to associate with R.E.M. (the last gasp of that sound was on Life's Rich Pagent, sadly).

But Document works as a killer -- albeit conventional -- rock record.

― Daniel, Esq., Monday, 2 November 2009 16:33 (2 weeks ago) Permalink

Awesome, looking forward to the rollout of the results!

― His name is Zorgo (Z S), Monday, 2 November 2009 16:33 (2 weeks ago) Permalink

The recording of this song on the 1992 Unplugged opened my eyes to the song's melodies, especially the interplay of Mills and Stipe (and maybe Berry?) in the final chorus. The Document version is fab too.

Man, if "King of Birds" is a conventional rock record, then that's a pretty broad understanding of conventional rock. But that's just to reply to Daniel.

― Euler, Monday, 2 November 2009 16:44 (2 weeks ago) Permalink

King Of Birds may be my favorite song on Document, BTW. I guess it's not "conventional," per se, but it comes closer to standard rock records than much of what's on Murmur -- Fables, at least.

― Daniel, Esq., Monday, 2 November 2009 16:49 (2 weeks ago) Permalink

yuk @ my "opened my eyes to" something sonic. Way to mix metaphors, champ.

― Euler, Monday, 2 November 2009 16:53 (2 weeks ago) Permalink

I decided long ago that Document sucked, so I haven't listened to it in forever. But listening to Heron House just now, its quite good. I wish the background vox were a little more prominent, and I'd be interested to hear that '92 unplugged version. It made me curious about the rest of the songs that I'd written off so I started bouncing through the tracks. I can't stand the opening one-two of "The Finest Worksong" and "Welcome to Occupation", and that has turned me off this album for years. The rest of the songs are like old friends I'd forgotten about (except for The One I Love, we're enemies). Thanks to this poll, Document is going back in the rotation.

― brontosaur, Monday, 2 November 2009 17:07 (2 weeks ago) Permalink

Good start - never one of my absolute favourites but I like it a lot and I'm really glad it placed.

― Space Battle Rothko (Matt DC), Monday, 2 November 2009 17:39 (2 weeks ago) Permalink

Hey Doctor Casino! Could you REVEAL how many ballots were submitted?

― brontosaur, Monday, 2 November 2009 17:51 (2 weeks ago) Permalink

By my RECKONING there were twenty-five - which is maybe less than I'd dreamed of, but way more than I'd really expected.

Wish I had access to my LPs right now - I'd like to give "Heron House" a listen and brush up on it. I know I like it pretty well, but when I try to sing it in my head, it keeps warping into the "doot-doot" vocals from "Strange." I know I like the bit about "cops and grunts and hirelings," and I think I used a lot of bits of the lyrics in some silly homage in one of my teenage comic book doodlings. (The characters were trapped on a Documented Island [as opposed to an undocumented one - haw!!!!] and everything was references to the album...)

― Doctor Casino, Monday, 2 November 2009 18:01 (2 weeks ago) Permalink

I just sat down and did all the number-crunching stat stuff for the whole countdown, so from now on I just have to gather the pull quotes and images, which is the fun part!

The curve of votes is about what you'd expect, but there are several things that totally got in on a groundswell of general good regard (ie, lots of low votes as opposed to a few people making it #1)... which makes me happy. I think with a different format the poll results would have been REALLY different, but it's a damn solid list of songs that I wouldn't make any cuts from, and again, should be good discussion fodder all around!

― Doctor Casino, Monday, 2 November 2009 18:05 (2 weeks ago) Permalink

Here's the Unplugged performance mentioned upthread:

― brontosaur, Monday, 2 November 2009 23:08 (2 weeks ago) Permalink

#29: It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
2 WILDCARD votes, 29 points
Highest position: #1 (abanana)
Position in Document poll: #4 (6 votes)

<One> of the few REM songs I've ever enjoyed at any point. (I liked it for the first time the one and only time I drank so much that I got sick to my stomach the following day. It took a lot of whiskey to get me to appreciate that song. I'm not sure what I'd think if I heard it right now.)
― Rockist Scientist, Thursday, 13 March 2003 03:17 (6 years ago) Permalink

<Still> one of the half-dozen best songs they ever did, or at least one of the half-dozen that I liked. Doing a "Subterranean Homesick Blues" rewrite freed Stipe from even the pretense of writing lyrics that "meant" something (good) so you could enjoy 'em just for the SOUND. (And I'm still not sure whether Stipe sings "Turn 'em into turn 'em into turn 'em into flies!" OR "Tournament of tournament of tournament of lies!", as if it makes any difference.) Plus it was still cool to namecheck Lester Bangs in '87. <...>
― Myonga Von Bontee (Myonga Von Bontee), Monday, 21 February 2005 19:46 (4 years ago) Permalink

― Doctor Casino, Tuesday, 3 November 2009 03:17 (2 weeks ago) Permalink

Document pulling up the rear...which is about how I expect this to go, with mostly songs from the IRS years ordered roughly from earlier to latest (with Pageant / Fables reversed). There'll be one from Automatic (prob. "Drive"), one from Monster (prob. "Kenneth"), and prob. one from Hi-Fi ("E-Bow"? I just don't get that album). I'm not sure if anything from Out of Time will place---I can see vote-splitting there.

― Euler, Tuesday, 3 November 2009 06:12 (2 weeks ago) Permalink

If that had made the nominations list it might have won.

― Space Battle Rothko (Matt DC), Tuesday, 3 November 2009 10:32 (2 weeks ago) Permalink

haha wow, I didn't notice that it placed based on two wildcard votes! I'd likely have voted for it, not particularly highly but it would have gotten a lot of not-super-high votes, enough to push it high on consensus.

― Euler, Tuesday, 3 November 2009 10:37 (2 weeks ago) Permalink

Cracking version of Disturbance At The Heron House on the new REM live album. Sticks pretty close to the album version, but a bit more rough and ready and all the better for it. I didn't get round to voting in this poll. My bad. Will be interesting to see how it turns out and how many lesser known tracks make it. I'm hoping Pilgrimage makes an appearance...

― Stew, Tuesday, 3 November 2009 10:54 (2 weeks ago) Permalink

I would have thrown "End of the World" a few points on my ballot if it'd been available as a non-wildcard...it's a good song that I used to LOVE but I think I'm kind of worn out on it. Particularly the opening - the drums suggest something really exciting is about to happen, and then when the actual song kicks in, it's a little, I dunno, less astounding than promised. They're happily loping along when the opening promises a breathless gallop. They gradually pick up steam and the song does end up pretty exciting though - I have no complaint whatsoever with the last verse. Totally classic Mike Mills vocals on this too.

― Doctor Casino, Tuesday, 3 November 2009 16:25 (2 weeks ago) Permalink

This song would have totally made my ballot if it had been nominated. That opening drum riff! All those lyrics to be memorized and sung! That video with the weird broken house you always see off the highway and you're like, how does that ever happen? with the shirtless kid and skateboard because abandoned house+junk=shirtless kid with skateboard! The harmonies in the last minute of the song! Seeing them play it as the last song at my first REM concert in 1995 in Baton Rouge and everybody going crazy and rushing up to the stage! Not shouting "Leonard Bernstein" because your too cool to be like everybody else and of course there are better songs on Document everybody likes that one and I can find something unique and awesome in "Disturbance at the Heron House" I've been there since the beginning not like all these sellouts!

Its a fun song.

― brontosaur, Tuesday, 3 November 2009 17:46 (2 weeks ago) Permalink

I can't be the only one who hates this goddamn novelty tune.

― all yoga attacks are fire based (rogermexico.), Tuesday, 3 November 2009 17:53 (2 weeks ago) Permalink

You're not.

Doing a "Subterranean Homesick Blues" rewrite

More like a We Didn't Start The Fire prequel.

― Daniel, Esq., Tuesday, 3 November 2009 18:57 (2 weeks ago) Permalink

btw I don't mean to take issue with anyone voting for it, it just drives me crazy that for a disturbingly large percentage of the population "people who have heard of R.E.M" this is the song they are known for

― all yoga attacks are fire based (rogermexico.), Tuesday, 3 November 2009 21:25 (2 weeks ago) Permalink

Yeah I can see why thats annoying, but I got into this band because of "Stand", so any gateway will do.

What bugs me is they used this song in the trailer for Chicken Little or some such animated movie. Which is lame, not because its some animated movie, but due to the fact that I always thought REM were against selling songs to commercials. I even remember them having to release a statement when some ad used "Superman" (different recording, maybe the original?) saying that commercials weren't a thing that they did. I guess the commercial nadir of Around the Sun changes things a bit?

― brontosaur, Tuesday, 3 November 2009 21:56 (2 weeks ago) Permalink

Amazingly there are TWO threads at hand on this pressing issue:

"It's The End Of The World As We Know It" vs. "We Didn't Start The Fire": which is more annoying, and why?
TS: Billy Joel's "I Didn't Start the Fire" v REM's "It's the End of the World"

So is this song their "My Ding-A-Ling" for some? I have no fan's resentment against it, just a little tired of it as I said...none of the surprises are surprises anymore. But that's not really the band's fault.

― Doctor Casino, Wednesday, 4 November 2009 02:30 (2 weeks ago) Permalink

#28: Shaking Through
5 votes, 30 points
Highest position: #2 (contenderizer)
Position in Murmur poll: tie for #1 (10 votes)

I've always been a sucker for:
'What if this one small voice, doesn't count in the world...'
<...> can't understand a word he says after the first line tho. geisha girls?
― Dr X O'Skeleton, Monday, December 5, 2005 8:56 AM Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

don't really get the love for "Shaking Through" as it's kinda an embarrassing Stipe vocal but maybe that's the appeal?
― Euler, Tuesday, December 30, 2008 4:56 PM Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

I think "Shaking Through" has to be just about my favorite R.E.M. tune -- the interplay between the piano and guitar makes me feel like a little kid running through a wheat field.
― christoff (christoff), Friday, November 7, 2003 10:29 AM Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

― Doctor Casino, Wednesday, 4 November 2009 03:19 (2 weeks ago) Permalink

Never tire of the Hail-Mary vocal Stipe delivers on this: "Shaaaaayyyeeeeeaaaayeeeekeeeiiin through...."

― Guayaquil (eephus!), Wednesday, 4 November 2009 04:21 (2 weeks ago) Permalink

Yeah, it's *that* vocal that makes me cringe, but if it really is the hook, then I understand the love better.

― Euler, Wednesday, 4 November 2009 06:04 (2 weeks ago) Permalink

Ha! I never really payed attention to song titles, and I always sang along "she given". Now looking at the lyrics, its somehow even more of a mystery than my nonsense syllables interpretation. This didn't make my ballot, but thats mostly because Murmur is such a consistent album that I just picked another song to represent it. Its probably the one REM album I play start to finish most often these days.

― brontosaur, Wednesday, 4 November 2009 17:41 (2 weeks ago) Permalink

The consistency of Murmur actually kind of envelops this track for me - I like the song OK but it really loses something taken out of context. Listening to the whole album, I hear it as part of the weave and really enjoy it; looking at my ballot I passed right over it. Good song though - I like Stipe's singing, including the key change at the end!

― Doctor Casino, Wednesday, 4 November 2009 17:50 (2 weeks ago) Permalink

Have you heard the deluxe re-issue of Murmur? The second disc -- which is a recording of an early live concert -- has some smokin' versions of the Murmur songs. It gives them a much edgier, harder-hitting vibe.

― Daniel, Esq., Wednesday, 4 November 2009 17:54 (2 weeks ago) Permalink

The consistency of Murmur actually kind of envelops this track for me

Yes, and that does make it more of an anonymous track, but I hear "Shaking Through" - with the concision of its verses and with its chorus - as the climax of the album, too.

― timellison, Wednesday, 4 November 2009 18:02 (2 weeks ago) Permalink

(Meaning to say that this has always made it stand out for me a little bit, too.)

― timellison, Wednesday, 4 November 2009 18:04 (2 weeks ago) Permalink

xx-post
Yeah that live disc is really great, with a bunch of Reckoning and Chronic Town stuff on it too. More muscular Stipe vocals than the albums. It makes me want to get a bunch of bootlegs from different REM-eras, but I think thats a rabbit hole I don't want to start going down. The re-master of Murmur itself seems kind of pointless though, it doesn't make enough of a difference to justify the expense. ALthough I'd probably still pick up the Reckoning one if I found it cheap in a shop.

― brontosaur, Wednesday, 4 November 2009 18:09 (2 weeks ago) Permalink

This has always been my least favorite song on Murmur. Can't quite see what all the fuss is about.

― kornrulez6969, Wednesday, 4 November 2009 18:11 (2 weeks ago) Permalink

#27 (tie): Turn You Inside Out
4 votes, 33 points
Highest position: #2 (dad a)
Position in Green poll: #3 (7 votes)

Good groove, that one; but this sonic cousin of "Finest Worksong" is totally unconvincing: the only thing Stipe can turn inside out is his mattress in looking for his glasses.
― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Monday, January 19, 2009 7:19 PM Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

I used to be fascinated by the structure of REM's "Turn You Inside-Out," which is sort of like Verse / Chorus 1 / Chorus 2 / Chorus 3 / Chorus 1 / Chorus 2 / Chorus 3. There's only one verse.
― joseph cotten (joseph cotten), Tuesday, May 3, 2005 1:31 PM Bookmark

Wouldn't you think of the "I believe in watching you" part of "Turn You Inside-Out" as being more of a pre-chorus/bridge leading up to the chorus?
― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Tuesday, May 3, 2005 2:06 PM Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

OK, so it's verse / bridge / chorus 1 / chorus 2 / bridge / chorus 1 / chorus 2. that's even better!
― joseph cotten (joseph cotten), Tuesday, May 3, 2005 2:17 PM Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

#27 (tie): World Leader Pretend
4 votes, 33 points
Highest position: #2 (sonnypike, kuba a)
Position in Green poll: tie for #2 (12 votes)

I never undestood why Stipe felt the lyrics were strong enough to print. This song is no "I Believe" or "Begin the Begin."
― Alfred Soto (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 19:40 (2 years ago) Permalink

I propose this song as their biggest wtf moment.
― Tim Ellison is number one proponent of Beatle!!!Mania!!! on nu-ILX (tim ellison), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 19:45 (2 years ago) Permalink

"world leader pretend" is a great song.
― Tyrone Slothrop (Tyrone Slothrop), Thursday, 4 January 2007 02:56 (2 years ago) Permalink

― Doctor Casino, Thursday, 5 November 2009 03:28 (2 weeks ago) Permalink

Our first tie - and it's a Green showdown! Neither of these songs means a lot to me personally, and the pull quotes would suggest ILX doesn't have much to say about them either - but they got votes and I would love to be converted....

― Doctor Casino, Thursday, 5 November 2009 03:29 (2 weeks ago) Permalink

the fuck is this thread and why does it exist?

― swagless price (The Reverend), Thursday, 5 November 2009 03:32 (2 weeks ago) Permalink

"Turn You Inside Out" is one of the only R.E.M. songs that they really sold me on live; never cared for its insistent one-notiness on the record, but it turns out to be a great stadium track by a not-that-great stadium band.

Much better than "World Leader Pretend," which seems to be written in the voice of a faux-naive and stunted persona, like "The Wrong Child," the other bad song on this record.

― Guayaquil (eephus!), Thursday, 5 November 2009 03:36 (2 weeks ago) Permalink

re: this poll in general. I put all of the nominees on my iPod and listened to them several times over the last week, and wound up unable to choose and basically just listening to a lot of R.E.M., which was awesome. Wish I had voted though.

― The Devil's Avocado (Gukbe), Thursday, 5 November 2009 03:38 (2 weeks ago) Permalink

No love for the little instrumental coda at the end of "shaking through"?

I have never heard either of these two Green songs.

― Mr. Snrub, Thursday, 5 November 2009 03:46 (2 weeks ago) Permalink

"Turn You Inside Out" was my favorite deep cut off Green. I love how Buck gets the guitar at the start to sound like a harmonica. The song is no blues but it flirts with being one. I don't love the drum sound on it. Mills is great on it!

― Euler, Thursday, 5 November 2009 06:59 (2 weeks ago) Permalink

Someone voted "World Leader Pretend" #2? I'd like to hear something from them about why.

― Euler, Thursday, 5 November 2009 14:51 (2 weeks ago) Permalink

I certainly didn't vote for "World Leader Pretend" but that steel guitar backed bridge into the piano backed chorus(verse?) is pretty powerful. On the other hand "Let me make it good" I find both annoying and extremely hook-y. Not a fun combo.

I like eephusl's idea of it being the same narrator as "The Wrong Child". Then later in "Orange Crush" he sees a commercial for soda pop and gets his mom to buy him some. Taking this new-found consumer confidence out into the world and rules the neighborhood playground with a can of Crush in his hand. His leadership ability makes him such a pimp that he doesn't just start turning his playmates out, he turns them "inside-out".

― brontosaur, Thursday, 5 November 2009 17:14 (2 weeks ago) Permalink

I forgot, one of the things I really like about "Shaking Through" is when Stipe holds the note longer on the first syllable of "shaking" in the first chorus. I also really like the bridge. Great song!

― timellison, Friday, 6 November 2009 00:36 (2 weeks ago) Permalink

re: WLP, I always liked the odd, medieval-sounding discussion of practicing weapons, "I fitted them myself." Stipe the Armorer.

― Doctor Casino, Friday, 6 November 2009 02:39 (2 weeks ago) Permalink

#26 (tie): Leave
6 votes, 38 points
Highest position: #8 (Euler, Doctor Casino)
Position in New Adventures poll: #3 (8 votes)

<…>like REM produced by the Bomb Squad or something.

emo memory: my first kiss was to "Leave"
― the maximum value that ZS obtains given its constraint is 8 (Z S), Sunday, January 25, 2009 7:28 PM Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

I once had the idea that I wanted "Leave" played at my funeral.
― If Timi Yuro would be still alive, most other singers could shut up, Wednesday, January 28, 2009 11:34 PM Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

#26 (tie): Ages of You
5 votes, 38 points
Highest position: #1 (contenderizer)
Position in Dead Letter Office poll: #2 (7 votes)

After "Crazy" I'd go for one of the VU covers or "Ages of You", which is kinda like "Sitting Still" but not as good.
― Euler, Saturday, February 7, 2009 10:39 PM Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

#26 (tie): Daysleeper
6 votes, 38 points
Highest position: #4 (dad a, brontosaur)
Position in Up poll: #1 (9 votes)

<…> then their best single since "Drive".
― Geir Hongro, Saturday, November 29, 2008 7:25 PM Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

<...> one of their best ever singles.
― Gavin in Leeds, Friday, November 14, 2008 6:17 AM Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Stipe is fantastic, truly underrated, when his lyrics hint at a story and you're left to fill in a lot of blanks ("Daysleeper," "Sad Professor," "So Fast So Numb") <…>
― joseph cotten (joseph cotten), Tuesday, June 28, 2005 10:37 PM Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

― Doctor Casino, Friday, 6 November 2009 03:25 (2 weeks ago) Permalink

Sorry for the spam - we're in the midst of a big block of tie votes. These are three very very good songs though. Daysleeper is one of maybe five CD singles I ever bought. Fabulous song, I think, and I really wish Stipe had been able to maintain that level of lyrical quality across the last few albums. They're more directly sympathetic than IRS-years lyrics but they've re-acquired some of the odd-word-choice poetry that made him great as a lyricist ("I'll squeeze into Heaven and..Valentine!") Not crazy about the "bull and the bear" part, but I love this section:

I cried the other night; I can't even say why
Fluorescent, flat, caffeine light
It's furious balancing
I'm the screen, the blinding light
I'm the screen - I work at night!

― Doctor Casino, Friday, 6 November 2009 03:30 (2 weeks ago) Permalink

I'm surprised that Leave made the list. I wouldn't put it in the top-half of NAIH-F.

― Daniel, Esq., Friday, 6 November 2009 03:31 (2 weeks ago) Permalink

Man. How did I miss this poll during the summer? What was I doing? Hmph. Ah well, it'll be fun watching the results roll in, at least.

― wrapped up, packed up, ribbon with a donk on it (Alex in Montreal), Friday, 6 November 2009 23:50 (2 weeks ago) Permalink

looking for a better version of that Chronic Town "Ages of You" I stumbled across this "Shaking Through":

― brontosaur, Saturday, 7 November 2009 01:01 (2 weeks ago) Permalink

re: Daysleeper - also really like the opening lines:

Receiving department, 3 AM
Staff cuts have socked up the overage

The first gives us time and place efficiently, and the second clarifies the tone: within a web of corporate BS and doubletalk, this guy is working, at night, alone, the cameraderie of coworkers having been purged by the bottom line. Very nice.

re: Ages of You, I can only get the first three seconds to load on my crap connection but they've got me intrigued! Thanks for sharing, Euler.

Leave: There's a really crap version without the siren and a lot of spacey/floaty synth pad stuff in the background. I want to say it was on the Life Less Ordinary soundtrack or something like that.

I also didn't put it together concerning the funeral comment - really sorry if anybody was upset, that wasn't my intention at all in quoting it.

― Doctor Casino, Saturday, 7 November 2009 02:51 (2 weeks ago) Permalink

re: Leave, despite having my first emo kiss to this song, it didn't make my ballot. I've always thought it was one of the textbook examples of a song that's just too damn long. I'm sure plenty of people would disagree, but if it was 4:17 instead of 7:17 long, I'm sure it would have placed higher here.

So far only one of my picks (Shaking Through, my #15) have made the list, so I'm really looking forward to the rest!

― nearly one-third of a man (Z S), Saturday, 7 November 2009 03:00 (2 weeks ago) Permalink

Turn You Inside Out? Daysleeper? World Leader Pretend? Y'all need an REM refresher course.

― kornrulez6969, Saturday, 7 November 2009 03:28 (2 weeks ago) Permalink

Leave and Daysleeper are among R.E.M.'s finest achievements. Both would have made my top 10 if I had actually voted.

― The Devil's Avocado (Gukbe), Saturday, 7 November 2009 03:52 (2 weeks ago) Permalink

A 7:17 long emo kiss sounds great!

"Daysleeper" really did sound great on Up. I like that album a lot still but it has a lot of mid-tempo songs that don't leave much of an impression (e.g. "The Apologist", "Sad Professor", "You're In The Air", "Diminished", "Parakeet")---"Daysleeper" stands out among that bunch, even if it's an obvious nod to the earlier days.

― Euler, Saturday, 7 November 2009 13:32 (2 weeks ago) Permalink

"Sad Professor" almost went on my ballot in the 15th-place slot - I think it's a pretty good little character study. Maybe a bit clunky in places but I like the range of Stipe's sympathies.

― Doctor Casino, Saturday, 7 November 2009 13:36 (2 weeks ago) Permalink

I think it's their tempos---they just don't make an impression on me. It's my own lazy listening fault, and I ought to try to pay more attention on next listen.

― Euler, Saturday, 7 November 2009 13:40 (2 weeks ago) Permalink

But of course the records used to make you listen!

"Sad Professor" jumps out more than anything else on Up for me. Mainly just the strange juxtaposition of words, a whole story in a noun phrase. Not enough for me to vote for it, though.

― Guayaquil (eephus!), Saturday, 7 November 2009 13:50 (2 weeks ago) Permalink

Still my preferred Up listening experience

― The Devil's Avocado (Gukbe), Saturday, 7 November 2009 16:21 (2 weeks ago) Permalink

That's a good article, although I can never countenance the deletion of "Airportman."

― Doctor Casino, Monday, 9 November 2009 03:25 (1 week ago) Permalink

#25 (tie): Finest Worksong
6 votes, 43 points
Highest position: #7 (dan., rat bat bruce, G00blar)
Position in Document poll: #2 (8 votes)

Has anyone ever noticed how much the coda to "Finest Worksong" sounds like mid-80s-era Rush?
― Naive Teen Idol, Tuesday, 7 October 2008 01:02 (1 year ago) Permalink

When "The Finest Worksong" came on, I thought to myself, "This is amazing! I can't believe that they've come up with the most irritating song ever recorded! What an unholy crock of shit!"
― Dan Perry, Wednesday, 16 January 2002 01:00 (7 years ago) Permalink

#25 (tie): Life And How To Live It
4 WILDCARD votes, 43 points
Highest position: #1 (dan.)
Position in Fables of the Reconstruction poll: tie for #5 (5 votes)

But there is no contest: with that shimmering riff, that shuddering tipsy feeling of love, loss and time as the track stops on a cliff's edge, that title even – LIFE AND HOW TO LIVE IT
― the pinefox, Tuesday, 28 October 2008 14:51 (1 year ago) Permalink

I couldn't believe Life and How To Live It didn't make the poll. That could be another wild card dark horse.
― kornrulez6969, Friday, 30 October 2009 17:06 (1 week ago) Permalink

― Doctor Casino, Monday, 9 November 2009 03:26 (1 week ago) Permalink

Our last tie for a little bit, thank goodness. Two rock-solid songs - I think L&HTLI is way, way better, but don't let the pull quotes make you think I'm hating on "Worksong" - ILX just doesn't seem to have much to say about it!

― Doctor Casino, Monday, 9 November 2009 03:27 (1 week ago) Permalink

I think L&HTLI is way, way way, way, way, way, waaaayyyyyy better

Truth.

― Daniel, Esq., Monday, 9 November 2009 03:29 (1 week ago) Permalink

I've skipped "Finest Worksong" when listening to Document almost every time since 1987. Stipe can't really sing the highest notes and nobly tries anyway; it's just that the noble failure makes my ears hurt. For some reason I like the Eponymous version, though; the horns counter-balance the caterwaul, maybe.

"Life and How to Live It" seems like a weird choice for so many wildcards, but I think it's a great song. As the pinefox points out, the riff is key, so frantically played; and the explosion at the end when Stipe finally blurts the song's title.

― Euler, Monday, 9 November 2009 05:00 (1 week ago) Permalink

listen, listen to the holler

― kamerad, Monday, 9 November 2009 05:53 (1 week ago) Permalink

#24: Near Wild Heaven
10 votes, 52 points
Highest position: #4 (Euler)
Position in Out of Time poll: tie for #1 (10 votes)

"Near Wild Heaven" is a nice Beach Boys pastiche <…>
― Geir Hongro, Wednesday, October 8, 2008 7:23 PM Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

"Near Wild Heaven" would seem to suggest that he gets laid a lot.
― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Wednesday, February 23, 2005 7:41 PM Bookmark

for some reason I'm leaning toward "Near Wild Heaven" here, I think because I love how it sounds not like R.E.M. but the jangle-pop that came in their wake. I also love the lyrics ("Holding our hands/feet/self together/In this near wild heaven/Not near enough!") and Stipe's backing "ba-ba-ba"s. <…>
― M Matos, Saturday, June 22, 2002 8:00 PM Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

― Doctor Casino, Tuesday, 10 November 2009 03:14 (1 week ago) Permalink

One of my unabashed favorites. This is also the first entry to really get in on a groundswell of several little votes as opposed to a couple of big ones. "Texarkana" is also quite nice - I don't think I'd go for a Mills solo record as such, but I wouldn't have minded if he'd been the group's Ringo with an obligatory lead on every album.

― Doctor Casino, Tuesday, 10 November 2009 03:16 (1 week ago) Permalink

I like this song and it made my ballot but if I'm honest it was probably a proxy vote for "Half a World Away," which nearly got my wild card.

― all yoga attacks are fire based (rogermexico.), Tuesday, 10 November 2009 03:16 (1 week ago) Permalink

Most of these single covers are better than the covers of the albums they come from!

― nearly one-third of a man (Z S), Tuesday, 10 November 2009 03:18 (1 week ago) Permalink

I like that it got in on a bunch of little votes. That seems sort of exactly right for this song and I don't mean that in a bad way at all. It's sweet.

― all yoga attacks are fire based (rogermexico.), Tuesday, 10 November 2009 03:18 (1 week ago) Permalink

re: sweet, pretty songs on Out Of Time - I was very tempted to throw my wild card to "Me In Honey"...this is just a good wild card album.

― Doctor Casino, Tuesday, 10 November 2009 03:25 (1 week ago) Permalink

"Near Wild Heaven" is terrific. I remember when it came out that it was the consensus pick among kids at my high school (in Georgia so REM albums were big events among the kids). That's partly because it's fun to sing along to, and heck you can almost kicker dance to the chorus. Holy cow I love this era of the band: day-glo songs, switching instruments, a sea of possibilities.

― Euler, Tuesday, 10 November 2009 06:01 (1 week ago) Permalink

What's weird is, I'm a lot like Euler except that I find this particular song kind of boring. "Stand" I love. "Shiny Happy People" I love. Their version of "Love Is All Around" I love. But not this (and not its sonic cousin "Man on the Moon" either.) I like it! And I probably find myself humming it more than most other songs on Out of Time. But there are five songs on the record I think are better. It doesn't come close to touching "Me In Honey."

Why boring? I think the harmonies are really obvious. I think there's not much of interest going on with the lyrics.

― Guayaquil (eephus!), Tuesday, 10 November 2009 06:12 (1 week ago) Permalink

Right; for me the rhythm makes the song, especially on the chorus with Berry's cute little fills.

― Euler, Tuesday, 10 November 2009 06:29 (1 week ago) Permalink

In the context of Out of Time I really enjoy "Near Wild Heaven". But when I was listening to songs to fill out my ballot, I found that this song on its own lands kind of flat for me. I think its mostly because Mike Mills' vocal performance feels like background vox. It hits the notes, gets the job done, but it comes across a little dull and lifeless to me.

― brontosaur, Tuesday, 10 November 2009 16:53 (1 week ago) Permalink

#23: (don't go back TO) ROCKVILLE)
6 votes, 53 points
Highest position: #2 (G00blar)
Position in Reckoning poll: #3 (11 votes)

I go back to Rockville again and again and again.
― Geir Hongro, Monday, 22 December 2008 22:57 (10 months ago) Permalink

"don't go back to rockville" was another obvious piece of american rock sound that led to me gagging on their early stuff. I don't care however ironic it might've been about some place or other in america. It didn't mean anything to all us non-americans, just sounding like that country rock band Alabama to me, ready to go on the redneck charts. <…>
― george gosset, Friday, 25 February 2005 19:13 (4 years ago) Permalink

Does 'don't go back to Rockville' partly mean 'don't go back to Rockism'?
― the pinefox, Tuesday, 14 April 2009 14:32 (6 months ago) Permalink

― Doctor Casino, Wednesday, 11 November 2009 03:14 (1 week ago) Permalink

^^^ love this one. Their great teenage long-distance relationship song. No irony at all for me, a really solid song. Kind of surprised nobody's ever covered this in straight mainstream country style (slowed down, probably) and had a hit.

― Doctor Casino, Wednesday, 11 November 2009 03:15 (1 week ago) Permalink

That actually is sort of surprising! Tough call for me between this and So. Central Rain. I think I went for the one with the weaker chorus and the stronger riff but I'm very very fond of both.

― all yoga attacks are fire based (rogermexico.), Wednesday, 11 November 2009 04:05 (1 week ago) Permalink

The "and waste another year" punch line always hits hard. It's a terrific song. It stands out in the early REM catalog for actually being "about" something, at least *clearly* about something. I don't usually think of REM as a piano band, but between this and "Perfect Circle" maybe I should.

― Yah Kid A (Euler), Wednesday, 11 November 2009 07:21 (1 week ago) Permalink

Wendell Gee as well.

― Space Battle Rothko (Matt DC), Wednesday, 11 November 2009 15:02 (1 week ago) Permalink

#22: Feeling Gravitys Pull
9 votes, 54 points
Highest position: #3 (rat bat bruce)
Position in Fables of the Reconstruction poll: #2 (13 votes)

"Time and distance are out of place here" sort of sums up the track. It's unsettling and fantastic.
― Guilty_Boksen, Tuesday, October 28, 2008 8:52 AM Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

My first job after leaving school was in a drug company laboratory, and one of my jobs was to inspect ampoules for specks of dust, which had to be done in the chemical store cupboard with a lamp. I would sit there and play this album completely enraptured. The jar of amphetamine sulphate that was kept in there helped too.
Gravity always sends shivers down my spine.
― Dr X O'Skeleton, Tuesday, October 28, 2008 6:28 AM Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

― Doctor Casino, Thursday, 12 November 2009 03:16 (1 week ago) Permalink

or, if you prefer, classic, old-school Gravity Man:

I really like this track, but it's so far outside of their normal line of work that it feels on some level like the R.E.M. song for people who wish R.E.M. were some entirely different type of band - the song you play to your cool, arty friends to convince them that this band could do weird, dissonant sounds too! But that's a bit unfair and anyway, great lyrics and a hell of an album opener.

― Doctor Casino, Thursday, 12 November 2009 03:19 (1 week ago) Permalink

love this song. one of their most distinctive album openers. psychedelic r.e.m., a nightmarish sort of riff that justifies their name. and the floaty chorus, and the skittering chords afterward, damn -- they could do no wrong "chronic town" - pageant

― kamerad, Thursday, 12 November 2009 03:34 (1 week ago) Permalink

I'm in Athens right now! The van driver took me by the church where R.E.M. used to practice!

Anyway,

I don't usually think of REM as a piano band, but between this and "Perfect Circle" maybe I should.

I don't even like "So. Central Rain" that much but the piano at the end of it is as perfect a piece of piano as R.E.M. has to offer.

― Guayaquil (eephus!), Thursday, 12 November 2009 05:53 (1 week ago) Permalink

haha eephus, based on your last proof I think I figured out who you are! You've said on other threads you're a math person, so I've been curious, as I'm a math person too (i.e. my silly user name). If I'm right, it's possible we've met, and it's certain that we have mutual acquaintances or even friends (in Madison and perhaps elsewhere). Don't worry, your secret is safe with me.

― Yah Kid A (Euler), Thursday, 12 November 2009 08:37 (1 week ago) Permalink

This is my favourite of their big doom-laden tracks and they continued to reiterate it throughout their career, mostly due to the sudden major shift in the chorus, like it opens up and lets you see the light before abruptly closing in on your again.

― Space Battle Rothko (Matt DC), Thursday, 12 November 2009 10:31 (1 week ago) Permalink

eephus - Ooh, how long are you there? Be sure to grab a Golden Bowl at the Grit (if you've ever even sorta liked tofu, you will LOVE this) (failing that most anything there is yummy, including the desserts), and/or a chocolate malted at the Grill. There's plenty of other wonderful stuff to do in town but those are the ones I'm most craving right this second...

Oh right, R.E.M.... loving the commentary on this one, it's making me want to hear it more than I did this morning for sure. Good call on the chorus. I also like the way the song eventually dies off with the lonely, confused, vaguely funereal strings. It's always kind of jarring to go from all that to much more "straight" Reckoning-style R.E.M. with "Maps and Legends" - kinda wish we went instead to "Driver 8" which is classic-style R.E.M. but more shadowy, a slight element of menace in the riff that would have transitioned nicely I think.

― Doctor Casino, Thursday, 12 November 2009 12:46 (1 week ago) Permalink

as to the song: I remember hearing or reading once, a long time ago, that it's "about" anal sex (inasmuch as any REM song is "about" anything). I'm not sure I buy it, but it's always...colored my view of the song. The line that hits me the most is

"It's a Man Ray kind of sky
Let me show you what I can do with it"

and in particular the second line: firstly the politeness ("let me show you") and the desire to make something mutual; and what's to be made mutual is the narrator's *ability*: "what I can do with it". The latter links with the craftsman theme that I hear being articulated on the album (it's dedicated to Howard Finster). There's also mystery, and perhaps some implied menace, by the narrator's not saying what it is that he or she can do.

And then there's the reply: "somewhere near the end it said you can't do that / I said I can". Yeah, I'm getting lost in these lyrics again.

With regard to the song's structure: the second chorus is great; I mean the "I felt gravity pull onto my eyes" part. I love how it melts into the strings in the coda. It helps me understand better what Camper Van Beethoven was going for on Key Lime Pie.

― Yah Kid A (Euler), Thursday, 12 November 2009 13:07 (1 week ago) Permalink

#21: Perfect Circle
7 votes, 59 points
Highest position: #4 (Charlie Howard, dan., Ari (whenuweremine))
Position in Murmur poll: tie for #3 (7 votes)

No pull quotes for this one - the name is damn near Googleproof, and most of what I could find on ILX was people listing it in their POX, and me personally complaining about its boring slackness on various threads - seemed somehow unfair....

― Doctor Casino, Friday, 13 November 2009 03:15 (1 week ago) Permalink

BTW, if it isn't obvious, that's the cover of some dicey bootleg, and not in any way licensed by R.E.M.'s state-of-the-art graphic design team.

― Doctor Casino, Friday, 13 November 2009 03:16 (1 week ago) Permalink

eephus - Ooh, how long are you there? Be sure to grab a Golden Bowl at the Grit (if you've ever even sorta liked tofu, you will LOVE this) (failing that most anything there is yummy, including the desserts), and/or a chocolate malted at the Grill

Very good malted. Thanks for the tip! Heading home tomorrow morning.

― Guayaquil (eephus!), Friday, 13 November 2009 06:26 (1 week ago) Permalink

#20: You Are The Everything
7 votes, 60 points
Highest position: #3 (Guayaquil (eephus!))
Position in Green poll: #1 (14 votes)

I'll say this for Green: "You Are The Everything" sounded great in that "90210" episode in which Dylan sobs quietly on the couch remembering how much his dad loved him.
― Alfred Soto (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 3 January 2007 23:57 (2 years ago) Permalink

...the song where R.E.M. proves they can do a slow, two-chord, featureless, completely sincere ballad and make it majestic and great. Sort of a lonely monument against all the slow, two-chord, featureless, completely sincere, and kind of terrible ballads that came later.
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Monday, January 19, 2009 8:47 PM Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

― Doctor Casino, Tuesday, 17 November 2009 03:22 (4 days ago) Permalink

The image for #20 doesn't display for me because...
"To view this page, you must log in to area “www.wowtcgdb.com” on www.wowtcgdb.com:80."

― Paul in Santa Cruz, Tuesday, 17 November 2009 05:32 (4 days ago) Permalink

Yeah plus is annoying.

― five minutes of iguana time (contenderizer), Tuesday, 17 November 2009 05:34 (4 days ago) Permalink

Another thing I like about this song: there are three characters in it, "you," "me," and "she." It took me a long time to appreciate this.

― Guayaquil (eephus!), Tuesday, 17 November 2009 05:44 (4 days ago) Permalink

Wow. I expected "Perfect Circle" to place MUCH higher.

― Mr. Snrub, Tuesday, 17 November 2009 12:11 (4 days ago) Permalink

Sorry about the screwy image link, guys; it works okay on mine. :(

"You Are The Everything" has never been a favorite of mine, but pulled out of the context of Green (which I don't put on very often) it's sounding really good in my head, the opening tinkly mandolin-plucking etc. It's quite pretty and I do like Stipe's lyrics on this.

Here's a scene: you're in the backseat,
laying down, the windows
wrap around to the sound
of the travel and the engine

The only real dud is "I think about this world a lot" - eesh. There are other bits ("she is so beautiful") that are a bit generic on paper but totally sold by the vocal.

― Doctor Casino, Tuesday, 17 November 2009 13:51 (4 days ago) Permalink

Yeah, I think you're right that the vocal sells the song. I remember on my first listen being struck by his commitment to what otherwise seemed like a silly song. I like how its last note is resolved by the opening of "Stand".

― Yah Kid A (Euler), Tuesday, 17 November 2009 13:54 (4 days ago) Permalink