Giuseppe Zangara 0 Report post Posted September 19, 2006 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Giuseppe Zangara 0 Report post Posted September 19, 2006 Fucking look at Stipe there. How embarrasing! Anyway, this thread brought to you by my recent downloading of And I Feel Fine: Best of the I.R.S. Years, 1982-1987, a superb collection of songs from REM's golden years. I already have everything here, sure, but this comp serves as a fresh reminder of the complete and total creative nosedive this once great band took after it went to Warner Brothers. So let's talk about REM in this thread, covering anywhere from 1982-2006. (Though I never checked out their most recent album, Around the Sun, for reasons I'm sure I'll get to in this thread.) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Edwin MacPhisto 0 Report post Posted September 19, 2006 Someone invited me to a party in Rockville a couple weeks ago. Appropriately, I did not go. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Edwin MacPhisto 0 Report post Posted September 19, 2006 I was more of a U2 guy than an R.E.M. guy. I know they're honestly not that comparable until the early-mid 90s, but I always lump them together. I own Automatic for the People, just like everybody else, and have minimum exposure to a lot of their early stuff. They were always a band I wanted to get into more, and I'm sure I'd appreciate all the IRS stuff much more now than I would have when I was listening to Automatic... every week. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Felonies! Report post Posted September 19, 2006 You know what, I like Out of Time. I've never been a huge fan of R.E.M., but I like a lot of songs on there, except that awful KRS-One feature. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Giuseppe Zangara 0 Report post Posted September 19, 2006 Automatic for the People still holds up—it's easily their last good album, and, really, the only good one in the WB-era—but you can trace REM's transformation into its present state of gelatinous Adult Alternative goo to that very record. Morose atmosphere and studio effects over songcraft. Except they had actual songs in AFTP. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Giuseppe Zangara 0 Report post Posted September 19, 2006 I'm setting up a ysi of this comp to send to interested parties. Edwin and Czech, keep an eye on your pm box. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
vivalaultra 0 Report post Posted September 19, 2006 I don't know about calling Automatic for the People their last good album. New Adventures in Hi-Fi was pretty good. It wasn't great like Murmur, Document, Automatic for the People or Reckoning, but it was still really good, especially after the crappy Monster and before the crappy Up. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
snuffbox 0 Report post Posted September 19, 2006 I seem to like Imitation of Life from whatever record came out around '01 more than most. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Spaceman Spiff 0 Report post Posted September 19, 2006 I'm setting up a ysi of this comp to send to interested parties. Edwin and Czech, keep an eye on your pm box. Throw 1 my way, too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
EricMM 0 Report post Posted September 19, 2006 The local college radio station once played this song the one and only time I have driven to Rockville since I was a kid. It was weird. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Youth N Asia 0 Report post Posted September 19, 2006 Murmur through New Adventures in Hi Fi...that's great music. Up was iffy, and then the one after that was bleh. I'd like to see them live again, but they're going to need a killer album or single to catch people's interest again. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
godthedog 0 Report post Posted September 19, 2006 r.e.m. has had some good moments here & there after bill berry left. "daysleeper" is a really good song. "at my most beautiful" is understated and nice. there was also the unplugged concert they did in...2001 i think, which was awesome and had the best version of "south central rain" i've ever heard. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mystery Eskimo 0 Report post Posted September 19, 2006 New Adventures is still my favourite REM album. I also must be one of the few people on the planet to think Up is a good record. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Giuseppe Zangara 0 Report post Posted September 19, 2006 ysi is a stupid bastard son of a bitch, so I'll try other means later. Is sendspace good? Anywho, you can find good songs scattered throught REM's WB years—even Reveal had "Imitation of Life"—but the older they got, the more diminishing the returns. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
C Dubya 04 0 Report post Posted September 19, 2006 And I Feel Fine: Best of the I.R.S. Years, 1982-1987 Is this different from Eponymous? I've been listening to REM basically all of my life that I can remember (my older brother was into their early stuff). I haven't gotten into the two most recent albums, but everything else is good. Saw them about 5 years ago and it was a very enjoyable concert. Stipe was much more personable than I imagined he would be and they played a set list that spanned a lot of their work (which is always a good thing). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
C Dubya 04 0 Report post Posted September 19, 2006 Oh, and I find "King of Birds" to be the most overlooked REM song. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Agent of Oblivion Report post Posted September 20, 2006 I've never heard this band beyond radio singles. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Giuseppe Zangara 0 Report post Posted September 20, 2006 And I Feel Fine: Best of the I.R.S. Years, 1982-1987 Is this different from Eponymous? An extra nine songs. Remastered sound, too—this as good as the I.R.S. stuff has ever sounded (which is the main reason I downloaded; I also grabbed the bonus disc, which I haven't gotten around to yet). Also, it doesn't focus just on the singles, which is good, because REM had a lot of great album cuts, some of which are here, like "Pretty Persuasion," "7 Chinese Bros," etc. No "Harborcoat," though, the lack of which is the only thing where I take exception. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Agent of Oblivion Report post Posted September 20, 2006 Is Michael Stipe going for a Braveheart thing up there? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Youth N Asia 0 Report post Posted September 21, 2006 Oh, and I find "King of Birds" to be the most overlooked REM song. I am the king of all I see, my kingdom for a voice... awesome stuff. For their softer songs I like Perfect Circle the best from Murmur Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Edwin MacPhisto 0 Report post Posted September 21, 2006 "Nightswimming" came up on shuffle mode last night. I think that was my absolute favorite song around 10th grade. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PLAGIARISM! 0 Report post Posted September 21, 2006 When me and my best friend were about ten we watched Beavis and Butthead, and 'Nightswimming' was on. I laughed at him for liking it. I like it now, but hold a vain hope that he remains unaware. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tominator89 0 Report post Posted September 21, 2006 At first glance, I thought this thread was titled "DON'T GO BACK TO ROCKYVI..." Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
vivalaultra 0 Report post Posted September 21, 2006 "Nightswimming" is still my favorite REM song. I like when Michael Stipe's voice cracks on the "They cannot see me naked" line. Although his voice cracks quite often, that cracking of his voice is my favorite. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
vivalaultra 0 Report post Posted September 21, 2006 "Nightswimming" is still my favorite REM song. I like when Michael Stipe's voice cracks on the "They cannot see me naked" line. Although his voice cracks quite often, that cracking of his voice is my favorite. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Youth N Asia 0 Report post Posted September 21, 2006 I'm half tempted to dig my REM cds back out and set the player on random, they used to be great Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Murmuring Beast 0 Report post Posted September 21, 2006 They are one of my very favourite groups but the last album was inexcusably bad. Mills and Buck always seem like down-to-earth-hang-out-at-the-bar types but Stipe has turned into such a self important ego-queen in the past few years, it's down right grating. And as much as I might agree with some of the political views, it has no place on their albums or at their shows.* Reveal and Up are decent but the last great one was Automatic. They did no wrong in the 80s. I saw them live last year and their best days are behind them truly. It was just too over the top for a band which is essentially a one-guitar-bass-drums line-up. * I say this because it's only Stipe who seems truly UP for these kinds of statements. The others just take a back seat. Why doesn't he go solo? REM have been heading this way for a while anyway. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Felonies! Report post Posted September 22, 2006 Michael Stipe and Thom Yorke should just go on a "Bitch About Fair Trade" acoustic/laptop tour together. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
snuffbox 0 Report post Posted September 22, 2006 Chris Martin wants in. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
