R.E.M. news - yay

How long did it take you guys to get your email? I'm still waiting, 15 minutes later.

i got the email within minutes.

it's still the same dreadful producer as on the last album, no?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uMf-JxR5mQ

did they get confused about which old-in-the-way alt-dinosaur they are and accidentally make a bloated throwback to 1983 U2?

thx!

Okay, I'm surprisingly WAY into this.

Guessing true believers will find it worth comparing to Green

This song is terrible. Too many guitars and Stipe needs to sing less or be buried in the mix more. The new Duran Duran album is great though.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

they're utterly lost. and for me, there was a time -- not that long ago -- that this band could do no wrong whatsoever.

The new Duran Duran album is great though.

I've never been a big fan, but I can tell they're at least trying to be good again.

This song is terrible.

RONG-O

yeah definitely didn't sound terrible to me. kinda stadium rock REM, but pretty good.

there was a time -- not that long ago -- that this band could do no wrong whatsoever.

I've always loved the Eponymous album but their proper albums never struck me as being without flaws. In fact, I think Murmur kind of sucks, and I've yet to find one that I like cover to cover. Any recommendations?

I agree with the Green thing mentioned before...kind of a Green/Monster hybrid-type song. I like the guitar sound a lot.

It's kinda like they took the hooks and organ out of "Turn You Inside Out"

xp Cover-to-cover, my favorite is probably Green.

I think Murmur kind of sucks
crazy talk!

totally meh

and yeah res gotta b trollin)

natch

I took Lazarus' comment to be a joke since Eponymous isn't an album and Murmur is brilliant. Green is probably my fav. cover to cover as well but Out of Time is pretty solid end to end.

The internet has (d)evolved to a point where an unpopular opinion = trolling.

oh you're entitled to your (crazy) opinions

their last 2 'returns to form' haven't interested me much. wonder if this one will. struggling to recall what their last stop-you-in-your-tracks song was.
maybe You're In The Air off Up?

still on the upside, that remastered/ deluxe Lifes Rich Pageant should be along soon.

Do you think the songs are of the same caliber as the ones on Eponymous? They strike me as being generic REM, and not very memorable. Granted, I've only listened to the album about 4-5 times, but I really didn't have the inclination to listen to it any more. xp

Accelerate had a short shelf-life for me, but I appreciated the intent. I guess New Adventures was probably the last "return to form" album before that one, though, and it paid off imo.

The only R.E.M. could excite now is if they got Christine McVie to join.

An idea that should not be dismissed.

oh no don't get me wrong i loved New Adventures.. but everything after Up has left me very cold. i still shelled out to see them live on the last 2 tours mind.

speaking of Up, i haven't seen this since it was first broadcast in 98:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noHD6diOlLU

Why didn't they break up in 2000? I thought they promised to do that.

"Up" was total genius, sounds like a completely different band as they tried to do without a drummer.

yeah i think Up is probably the most successful post-Berry record. might be a few songs too long, but it has some great stuff.

Do you think the songs are of the same caliber as the ones on Eponymous?
idgi -- there are songs from Murmur on Eponymous ...

The only R.E.M. could excite now is if they got Christine McVie to join.

On "You Are The Everything"

Only 2, but the Radio-Free Europe on there is a non-album version, I think. Anyway, nevermind-- this probably isn't a productive conversation. xp

In fact, I think Murmur kind of sucks, and I've yet to find one that I like cover to cover. Any recommendations?

__________________________

crazy talk

CRAZY TALK. but for other recommendations, i'd say fables, which has held up very well (and, of course, chronic town; also, i know you asked about full album recommendations, but i'll also point out that r.e.m.'s pre-chronic town bootlegs -- available on youtube -- are stunning).

yeah, my wife just put on fables the other day and it sounded great.

Isn't Eponymous a singles collection? I don't get why that's being thought of as an album. Like when people say Substance is the best New Order album. facepalm.jpg

I have time for all the REM albums up to New Adventures -Monster.

I call a compilation of songs placed on a storage medium an album. what do you call it?

a Compilation.

let's not get bogged down in the details though. my point is, you're preference for Eponymous is down to that compilation featuring lots of singles from several different albums. their albums have some filler and also some classics besides the singles. Lightning Hopkins, for example. Freaking love that song. That was my go-to track to play at the student disco when I dj'd.

Please note that I specifically excluded Eponymous from the designation of being a proper album. I am aware that it is a compilation. My point was that my experience with REM is that they are much more a singles band than an album band. That is all.

couldn't disagree more, at least with respect to their albums up to and including life's rich pageant.

lol at this quote from the Up doc that piscesx posted above (Peter Buck speaking, I think):

"I just never in my wildest dreams thought that someone in the band would quit while we're doing great work. My picture that I of us breaking up is that we'd do a couple of really bad records...and then we'd go to a Chinese restaurant and get drinks with umbrellas in them and say 'you know guys it's been a really haul but we just don't have it anymore', you know, and have a good toast and go home"

siiigh. I'm glad that a couple like that new song, but I'm in the camp that thinks it's really really awful. Just like Around the Sun was awful. and (imo) Accelerate was pretty mediocre, at best. I liked a few songs at the Accelerate it came out, but I think that was partly because it's much better, relatively, than Around the Sun, and plus I really liked the idea of R.E.M. being awesome and relevant again. Very few bands (as opposed to solo artists) are very good after 30+ years together. For god's sake, go to the Chinese restaurant and order some drinks with umbrellas in 'em.

at one point before the new century, stipe said he wanted to do a final concert in 2000, then call it a career.

as much as i loved this band, stipe should have stuck to his plan.

"I just never in my wildest dreams thought that someone in the band would quit while we're doing great work. My picture that I of us breaking up is that we'd do a couple of really bad records...and then we'd go to a Chinese restaurant and get drinks with umbrellas in them and say 'you know guys it's been a really haul but we just don't have it anymore', you know, and have a good toast and go home"

are they still working off that megacontract signed right before berry left? Would love to believe they'll finally say sayonara once it's fulfilled. I don't necessarily think a Mike Mills solo album would be great but I think its almost embarrassing the guy hasn't made one yet.

it's kinda funny that Peter Buck always envisioned them breaking up after making a couple of bad records. First, because most people seem to want to go out "on top", and also because most pop stars aren't honest enough to admit that they're capable of making a really bad record in the future, let alone two in a row!

tbf when they said all this "always the four of us, always great, done in ten years" they were total King Shits

yeah, i remember that too. nye 1999 was going to be the last show. now we get to see a bloated peter buck do imitations of the child molester from that 60s group.

are they still working off that megacontract signed right before berry left?

Presumably. It was signed right after Monster, and none of the albums since then have sold as much. It's doubtful Warners would choose to re-up with them after so many eh-selling albums.

on't necessarily think a Mike Mills solo album would be great but I think its almost embarrassing the guy hasn't made one yet.
it is weird -- has an interviewer ever asked why he hasn't? doesn't seem like he does much of anything outside the band these days.

if you spend all your time on the band, why should it take years for an album to come out, i wonder.

dunno, not like the other people in the band don't have 20 other things going on besides REM.

REM's famous mega-deal must have been so much more lucrative than those similar mega-deals accorded Motley Crue or ZZ Top.