R.E.M. POX

buzzaotm

mike mills playing slap bass and/or wearing a nudie suit is hilarious and makes REM 10x more awesome fuiud

Harborcoat
Sitting Still
Fall On Me
Nightswimming
Perfect Circle
Sweetness Follows
Feeling Gravity's Pull
Country Feedback
Circus Envy
Beat a Drum (Dalkey demo and absolutely not the ruined album version)

Fairly arbitrary choice, but the top 3 are untouchable.

overdue.

huh, weird. kind of figured they were at the point of just going on forever, like U2.
when's the reunion!?

I share your sentiments, Tyler. But Peter Buck has been saying for the last few years that he's had more fun backing up Robyn Hitchcock than as part of REM!

I still really enjoy Michael Stipe's vocals, I think perhaps this could be a chance for him to stretch his musical horizons, let's see where else he winds up.

yeah true, could be interesting to see what stipe does. though it'll probably be something horrible, like an album produced by moby or something.
would actually be curious to hear a mike mills solo rec. could go either way maybe. but it's probably a good idea for these guys to make music w/o the burden of being this gargantuan rock band.

I hope Stipe does an album with Metallica.

though it'll probably be something horrible, like an album produced by moby or somethi

lol otm

Stipe replaces Mick for SuperHeavy II.

Should have played their last show NYE 99 like they promised. Glad they're going out like this instead of some other unsavory way. I assume in 10 years they'll reunite to play Murmur in order.

Should have played their last show NYE 99 like they promised.
^^^

i liked most of up, too. it really would have been a great way to go out.

should have changed their name to R.E. after berry left

well then

I don't get people being all tore up about this honestly - it's not like they broke up right as they were in the middle of this amazing string of records

are people tore up about it? my wife is a huge fan, and when I told her she said: "huh."

Who's tore up? A couple of my most REM-obsessive friends are all "well, the time was right" and "now I feel kind of old" but they aren't crying.

I don't get people being all tore up about this honestly - it's not like they broke up right as they were in the middle of this amazing string of records

yeah, this ^^^^. it's a good time for them to break up, since they rebounded with the last disc (which was okay to pretty-good at times).

i think a lot of the torn-up feelings are about fans being reminded that their childhood/adolescence ended a long time ago. that's how i feel.

Lot of posts on fb calling for The Cure and U2 to follow suit. Can't disagree tbh.

yes and for the love of god, the red-hot-chili-peppers.

red hots are gonna keep on rockin forever, nothing can stop them now

That would've been pretty cool if all four of those bands got together and planned to break up on the same day. OPPORTUNITY WASTED!

man SO many "this sucks" on Twitter & Facebook about this. and I kinda don't think it does - even if their last stuff wasn't their strongest, I don't think they ever did the "performing their classic album, _________!" thing which I consider such an embarrassment - I think it kinda rules for a band to ring the bell themselves instead of getting counted out

for all I know they did a Murmur tour though in which case I take it back, eat shit R.E.M. for the Murmur-redux tour

xxp like an unwanted 80's bands suicide pact

More time for Buck and Rieflin to play on Robyn Hitchcock records = win

for all I know they did a Murmur tour though in which case I take it back, eat shit R.E.M. for the Murmur-redux tour

they're saving that for their "free-concert-at-the-outdoor-racetrack" phase.

would be awesome if they did all songs from the album tour for Dead Letter Office

More awesome if they did all their fan club singles. Oh and put them out on one CD, damnit!

epic marketing move for Coachella 2014 (LCD Soundsystem opening)

http://twitter.com/#!/nprnews/status/116566425988112384

several dozens of pasty cubicle farmers mourn...

CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP.

REM's been one of my favorite bands since adolescence but I'm happy for the band going out on their own terms. I haven't really loved an REM record since Automatic though I dug big parts of Monster & Up & haven't had much use of anything else of theirs.

but back in the day this would have spurred on more rumors of Stipey's imminent demise from AIDS so I guess we've, uh, grown or something?

lol, how very "NPR" xp

Carnival of Sorts
Shaking Through
Feeling Gravity's Pull
Fall on Me
King of Birds
Harbourcoat
So Central Rain
Maps and Legends
Driver 8
Cuyohuga (sp?)

lmao @ npr

I realize my original post was a bit too "Reveal"-centric. Sure, it was much better than its reputation, but by no means their best. Missing "Try Not To Breathe" in that list in particular.

Having an R.E.M. phase after playing "World Leader Pretend" by chance (It was on a CD-R in the car, on an old holiday compilation).

Bemused to discover there were at least three albums that I hadn't even noticed/that don't even seem familiar in a "I saw that but decided not to bother" sort of way and that "Up" (which I do own) is really good.

i've been having a 'world leader pretend' phase recently, too. i've always liked it but i didn't realize it would be in my r.e.m. POX until recently

Always been one of my faves.

My absolute favourite.

I've never loved World Leader but someone on the Green poll thread brought up a good point that the Tourfilm version serves it really well. It looks like I posted this list above 15 years ago. I still can't really get too into the Warner Bro years, (although I really like a lot of the songs Bittersweet Me, Imitation of Life) I would have to do a separate list for that. My changes in parentheses.

Shaking Through
Radio Free Europe
Perfect Circle (delete, put in Fall on Me)
Green Grow the Rushes Grow (weird. delete and put in Harborcoat)
So. Central Rain
I Believe
Pop Song 89/ or Get UP
Don't Go Back to Rockville (delete put in These Days)
Wolves Lower
...some song post Green.

Have bought the final three albums for a quid apiece (from Music Magpie).

Good luck trying to get through Around the Sun past the first couple of tracks (the only R.E.M. album I dislike)

life and how to live it
e-bow the letter
crush with eyeliner
country feedback
get up
harborcoat
pilgrimage
bittersweet me
exhuming mccarthy
monty got a raw deal

Sitting Still
Leave
Letter Never Sent
Circus Envy
The Flowers of Guatemala
This World Is Big
Me In Honey
Disturbance at the Heron House
I've Been High
Little America

Losing My Religion
Find the River
Nightswimming
Man on the Moon
Everybody Hurts
Driver 8
Rockville
Fall On Me
Perfect Circle
Harborcoat

Nightswimming
So. Central Rain
Harborcoat
Shaking Through
Country Feedback
Driver 8
Maps and Legends
Swan Swan H
E-Bow
Be Mine

Fuck, I don’t know about this.

Fall On Me
Try Not to Breathe
Cuyahoga
Near Wild Heaven
Laughing
Bittersweet Me
Disturbance at the Heron House
Man on the Moon
Carnival of Sorts (Boxcars)
You Are the Everything