Low points: Monster was the first record of theirs to sound like it was derivative of newer popular bands, and then the "Lotus" song on Up was a sad ripoff of Beck's "Where It's At" (really, listen to it) - sad because it was REM ripping off Beck.

My friends' favorite band in high school, in the mid/late-80s, was REM, and I never minded them but never got them, either, other than "Superman" on a mixtape. And late one night, probably in 1988 or 1989, I heard an acoustic version of "The One I Love" that was pretty extrordinary.

Automatic For The People, though: I could end up buying that one for a full-day drive somewhere.

REM became really shitty.

Their early stuff, however, is so great that I pretend their career just stopped in the late 80s.

tommydski wrote:one of my favourite bands. until bill berry left that is.
so, for historical purposes i will rank! the REM catalogue that i have heard.

automatic for the people
document
life's rich pageant
reckoning
murmur
out of time
chronic town
monster
green

the rest all sounds a bit over-produced to me.

funny, to me "new adventures in hi-fi" (my favourite REM album) sounds anything but over-produced, however "automatic" has a bit of this vibe. plus, some songs on it scream for bigger, more rocking (warm and punchy) drum sound.
i like about everything they recorded before the year 2000, including "up".

emmanuelle cunt wrote:i like about everything they recorded before the year 2000, including "up".

This doesnt include "Losing My Religion", does it? Surely everyone cops a surge of nausea and feels their genitals shrivel as the first wave of mandolin and who's-a-brave-little-soldier moaning about "life being bigger" hits?

"new adventures in hi-fi" is incredible.

mr.arrison wrote:
I like that they promoted Pylon a great deal. Pylon was a great great band.

Glad to hear some props for Pylon. I'm a big fan of theirs and often wish they received more recognition. I hate to say it, but I'm afraid that if it weren't for REM dropping their name from time to time, absolutely nobody would be aware of them today.

steve wrote:REM has been very supportive of Athens, Georgia, it's arts community and its music scene. They are true fans and genuine guys. I respect them.

So much so that they'll (PB) refuse to pay a guarantee if it tickles their fancy. I played the 40 watt once and only once (because they refused to pay us). The management gave the entire door to the local band that warmed up for us. No reason given, and we filled the place. End of the tour and tight as hell too. If someone died or broke their neck and needed the cash we wouldn't have batted an eye....

In my universe, there seems to be a lot of hate for bands from NYC.

However, they were a good band, and the Murmur and Chronic Town (and for the most part Fables of the Reconstruction of the Fables...) are solid records.

NC 5

ubercat wrote:

steve wrote:REM has been very supportive of Athens, Georgia, it's arts community and its music scene. They are true fans and genuine guys. I respect them.

So much so that they'll (PB) refuse to pay a guarantee if it tickles their fancy. I played the 40 watt once and only once (because they refused to pay us). The management gave the entire door to the local band that warmed up for us. No reason given, and we filled the place. End of the tour and tight as hell too. If someone died or broke their neck and needed the cash we wouldn't have batted an eye....

This sounds weird. What happened? Did you fuck the place up? Before they didn't pay you or after? There's got to be more to this than "they stole our money."

In my universe, there seems to be a lot of hate for bands from NYC.

Well, yeah. They're mostly horrible and mostly assholes.

However, they were a good band, and the Murmur and Chronic Town (and for the most part Fables of the Reconstruction of the Fables...) are solid records.

This is the part I'll never understand: Actually liking this milktoast crap.

so i read this thread. and you should too, there's a whole bunch of great and smart posts here.

thiis is a very important band for me, from various reasons. my dad liked and listened them a lot. it was the first still functioning band i was a fan of. "monster" was a first records of theirs i bought when it was released, i remember this moment and the thrill very well (i was about 12). along with U2, rem got me through primary and first half of high school. and unlike almost all of you, i was exposed to 90's REM first as their early records were available only on cd's which were absolutely unaffordable for a common folk, not to mention a kid, back then (cassettes were 4 times cheaper). so those are the early REM records for me, as by the time i got to hear their trulely early records i wasn't crazy about them anymore. from that era, i liked "document" best (which isn't that much of an early REM, i know)
so what i guess what i'm trying to say is their music is almost like a part of me so i can't really look at them with any dose of objectivism.
but i listened to "new adventures.." recently, and it is a great, great record. i listened to it so many times but i never bothered to look at cover to look at song titles, they seemed to flow so perfeclty one after another that titles weren't needed.
if "be mine" is the song with stipe repeating "you and me" towards the end then i agree, it's REM at their best. but it's incredbily even record. i will dig up my walkman and listen to it now.

not crap.

steve wrote:

ubercat wrote:

steve wrote:REM has been very supportive of Athens, Georgia, it's arts community and its music scene. They are true fans and genuine guys. I respect them.

So much so that they'll (PB) refuse to pay a guarantee if it tickles their fancy. I played the 40 watt once and only once (because they refused to pay us). The management gave the entire door to the local band that warmed up for us. No reason given, and we filled the place. End of the tour and tight as hell too. If someone died or broke their neck and needed the cash we wouldn't have batted an eye....

This sounds weird. What happened? Did you fuck the place up? Before they didn't pay you or after? There's got to be more to this than "they stole our money."

In my universe, there seems to be a lot of hate for bands from NYC.

Well, yeah. They're mostly horrible and mostly assholes.

However, they were a good band, and the Murmur and Chronic Town (and for the most part Fables of the Reconstruction of the Fables...) are solid records.

This is the part I'll never understand: Actually liking this milktoast crap.

Nope - we did the show (and we killed if I do say so myself), and packed up like we usually do. No reason what-so-ever was given other then they payed the opening band the entire door.

And I didn't say they stole our money. I said they didn't pay the guarantee. We didn't fuck the place up. We're actually half-way decent guys.

And as far as milk-toast - something's got to settle yer stomach. Call the like of these two-and-a-half records a guilty pleasure of youth (when my taste was in question). These records probably constitute the entire Jangle Rock section of my collection.