REM: Classic or dud?

"We Walk" was huge for me. It was like that famous quote from Peter Pilbeam's approval of the Beatles in their BBC audition well before they even had their record contract. "Not as rock-y as most, more country and western with a tendency to play music." A "tendency to play music" unrestricted by this genre affinity or that.

Think I only saw them play it once and it was later, on the Pageantry tour. One of my distinct memories of that concert.

And the eerie pool sounds rule.

idk i think mumur has such a singular vibe that i totally understand why some people think it’s their best. (i’ve thought it was at different points in my life but rn i prefer new adventures)

“Listing my religion” at 730 am is something no one should be subjected to

"chronic town" > fables > murmur > pageant > green > reckoning > new adventures > automatic > out of time > document > monster > all the rest

I can't be arsed to rank them again, all I'll say is the ones that I return to the most are Reckoning, Document, Green, Automatic for the People and New Adventures in Hi-Fi. These have been all-time favourites from the beginning pretty much except for Document which has increasingly become a favourite over the last few years, whereas Lifes Rich Pageant has become less of a favourite.

Best imo: New Adventures/Reconstruction/Murmur with Reckoning and Monster close behind.

Oh and maybe Up too. Dullest posts ever but it's kinda interesting to me they revived themselves creatively so well in the mid 90s. There's plenty of good stuff from Life's to Automatic, they just all feel kinda lacking in identity or something.

top 3 albums: Murmur, Lifes Rich Pageant, Automatic for the People

top 3 songs: Harborcoat, Perfect Circle, The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite

top 3 songs: "stumble", "life and how to live it", "shaking through"

hmm..top 3 tracks=Disturbance at the Heron House, Sweetness Follows, Kohoutek.

Kohoutek laughing the one I love

Live stream going on right now on their Facebook page of the one show they did post-Automatic for the People release, at the 40 Watt Club. Recently restored video footage - looks and sounds great.

Loving this set.

Turns out that 40 Watt set had been previously released--it showed up 3 tracks at a time across 4 Monster CD singles.

Speaking of that set...there's now official video, via the band's own YT channel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52sMbXI22gg

Ah, gather this was the Facebook stream. But anyway, here it is.

awesome. great sound!

always loved stipe's stage presence

a bunch of my friends were there, if I'd have gone to UGA with the rest of them I'd have been there too. a few hung out with the band after the show too, got to meet Mike Mills' parents.

i really like the version of "drive"

I don't. It's like, let's do "Drive" minus the brooding. What's left? Kinda nothing

It has an increased urgency and simplicity I really like.

it has a different, more uneasy atmosphere than the studio vers. Not saying it's better or anything

It's definitely weird. I've actually never not liked the live version (which afaik always sounded like this) til this time, so maybe I'm just lounging to hear the original

Longing. Or lounging

;_;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=10&v=KVT0S0j7F9Y

every streetlight reveals a picture in reverse

It gives me joy to know that Mike Mills tried to beat up an audience member at a club in my city and the band did a 21-song triple encore, with 17 covers (including "Smokin' in the Boys' Room" and "Sweet Home Alabama"): https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/rem/1985/barrymores-music-hall-ottawa-on-canada-7bd6fac8.html

Seeing this thread pop up this morning inspired me to put on "Automatic for the People." It really goes to show what a special band this was that their two most eclectic albums that they also decided not to tour behind turned out to be their two biggest successes.

I've been going back to Fables and Murmur in the last few days.

The Bingo Hand Job show finally got an official release for Record Store Day but I haven't heard it yet.

I'm tempted to go with Murmur in the 1983 poll but I haven't heard it in so long. I'll rectify that later today.

i never understood what people heard in murmur. the other album besides monster i did not get all was reckoning. so dull and unsubtle.

I like how Murmur murmurs.

Hm, those early records still evoke something unique for me. You don't like "So. Central Rain"? xp

I can't imagine not liking Radio Free Europe

I am actually that strange person, an REM fan who likes the IRS records a hundred times more than Automatic but who doesn't really care for "So. Central Rain" (but for whom Radio Free Europe is a monumental classic, to be clear)

So Central Rain is great but so are Harborcoat (which won the best REM song of all time in the ILM poll, IIRC) and Rockville. The whole of Reckoning in fact.

the one that doesn’t float my boat like it should is Fables but it’s a deep catalog, everyone’s gonna have one of those.

sometimes the bassline in "So. Central Rain" and in particular those four steps b4 the verse are my favoroite thing in the catalog

"so. central rain" is probably the one song from reckoning i would save. harborcoat is ok, i kind of like the bouncing rhythm. rockville isn't bad neither. maybe i should give reckoning another chance i haven't listened to it for more than 20 years.

"Pretty Persuasion"!

first 4 tracks are v classic imo

When did 10,000 Maniacs (or maybe Natalie solo?) cover "Rockville"? Heard it on NPR Mixtape a couple weeks ago.

made me think of PAVEMENT song:

Some bands I like to name check,
And one of them is REM,
Classic songs with a long history
Southern boys just like you and me.
R - E - M
Flashback to 1983,
Chronic Town was their first EP
Later on came Reckoning
Finster's art, and titles to match:
South Central Rain, Don't Go Back To Rockville,
Harbourcoat, Pretty Persuasion,
You were born to be a camera,
Time After Time was my least favourite song,
Time After Time was my least favourite song.
The singer, he had long hair
And the drummer he knew restrait.
And the bass man he had all the right moves
And the guitar player was no saint.

xp was on the "Candy Everybody Wants" single, i think

“Letter Never Sent”!

Reckoning is the best

XP Yup. Paired w/their Morrissey cover too.

abjectly insane opinions in this revive