It will never top this:



/murmur, FTW!

I'm simultaneously dying to know whether or not this is a joke, and I don't care at all. Its a strange feeling.

Automatic For The Paycheck

FTFA: "Let me tell you a secret: we have a great f***ing record in the bag. It's a big change."

So it's good then?

/maximum_jack: Murmur came out in 1983. In a few weeks, it'll be 25 years old. To today's high schoolers, Murmur sounds as old and campy as Frank Sinatra's Come Fly With Me (1958) would have sounded to us in high school in 1983.

I listened to 'Around the Sun' for the first time a few weeks back, and it was really good. I didn't bother as the reviews at the time were so bad, but at the right time and in the right mood, it's magic.

maximum_jack: Murmur came out in 1983. In a few weeks, it'll be 25 years old. To today's high schoolers, Murmur sounds as old and campy as Frank Sinatra's Come Fly With Me (1958) would have sounded to us in high school in 1983.

Meh. Like there aren't hipsters still in high school that know good music when they hear it.

It's the same as when I was in HS and I listened to a lot of 60s garage/psychedelic classics. Same diff...

And I'm thinking it's probably a good album, especially if they've got Stringfellow and McCaughey still on board...

Uzzah:
/maximum_jack: Murmur came out in 1983. In a few weeks, it'll be 25 years old. To today's high schoolers, Murmur sounds as old and campy as Frank Sinatra's Come Fly With Me (1958) would have sounded to us in high school in 1983.

Yeah, just like those "old and campy" artists of 1958, Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison, and Elvis Presley.

/Also, "Murmur" wasn't a top-40 record, so your comparison would make more sense if you'd chosen an artist that was getting a lot of interest among music-lovers but hadn't yet "broken" into the mainstream.

Green is the best in my opinion.

R.E.M. is still an awesome band.

And old friend of mine once worked with Stipe on a side project. He mentioned to folks at REMHQ that I was a big fan and a week later I discovered a huge package at my doorstep. They had send me a bunch of R.E.M. goodies! I just love how they've been one of the biggest bands in the world, yet the organization is still run with small-town charm.

Bribery aside, the band still puts on a spectacular live show.

/doesn't care if this is a prank or not.
//just wants to be a fanboy.
///I'm gonna DJ at the end of the world!

If you believe they put a man on the moon, you'll believe this.

I've been an REM fanboy since 1982. I'm not going to say they can 'do no wrong'...but their releases will always be stuck on auto-buy with me. Always.

True story: I talked Peter Buck into buying his first CD player.

Never really gor R.E.M. I mean I could listen to them and all, but I just didn't get that chromed domed motherfarker...

I've liked them all (even Up and Reveal), but Around the Sun sucked.

EriksMom: Green is the best in my opinion.

I like "Life's Rich Pageant" in the 80's.
"New Adventures in Hi-Fi" is one of the most underrated albums of the 90's

At least two REM albums would be in my top ten favorite albums of all time: Fables of the Reconstruction and Reckoning.

/Might put Automatic for the People on there too.

dugitman: New Adventures in Hi-Fi" is one of the most underrated albums of the 90's

I'm still blown away by it. Great idea for a record, too, do all the basic tracks from soundchecks...

I've got a version of "E-Bow the Letter" somewhere with Thom Yorke on the vocals instead of Patti Smith, for that matter. Haven't heard it in awhile...

Why should this come as a surprise? New Adventures in Hi-Fi (one of the most overlooked albums of the 90's) was recorded mostly on the road, while they were touring for Monster. Now they've been touring for Around the Sun and they just released their first concert album, so who's to say they won't give us something new?

/gotta go with Document
//New Adventures, Reconstruction/Fables, Automatic all a close second
///Up? Distant last...

Tesko: Up? Distant last...

I dunno, it's still a hell of a record. I played it a lot when it came out. Love all the keyboard stuff on it.

And my favorite REM album is "Reckoning." :)

dugitman: "New Adventures in Hi-Fi" is one of the most underrated albums of the 90's

That's funny. I was a little too slow in my editing. Congrats.

Uzzah: Murmur came out in 1983. In a few weeks, it'll be 25 years old. To today's high schoolers, Murmur sounds as old and campy as Frank Sinatra's Come Fly With Me (1958) would have sounded to us in high school in 1983.

Yeah, music ceases to be relevant or enjoyable after it gets 20 years old.

I've always found it amazing that, when a band starts getting popular, every album they make after their first huge seller is always evaluated against the big hit album, and not against the majority of their work. Also, every album they make after their big hit album always "sucks" according to so-called fans.

/loves every album by Pink Floyd, even the so-called "sucky" albums.

Whatever. "Murmur" is still awesome. It doesn't sound like El Debarge, for Christ's sake.

dugitman: EriksMom: Green is the best in my opinion.

I like "Life's Rich Pageant" in the 80's.
"New Adventures in Hi-Fi" is one of the most underrated albums of the 90's

That and "Up" for some reason jived with me really well, even more so than the standard "Out of Time" or "Automatic." They were good albums, and "Automatic" was farking awesome except for the fact that album had a ballad about skinny dipping. Whatever.

But "Up" has some good stuff, like alligators feeling allegorical or something.

\I'm looking like an idiot.
\\But I no longer care.

I'm so happy to see that so many farkers like R.E.M. - I was expecting a thread full of R.E.M. bashing...

I'm gonna go with Green on the favorite albums

If its anything like that DJ song from the live DVD, it's going to be hilarious and awesome like Monster.

ViktorMature22: I'm so happy to see that so many farkers like R.E.M. - I was expecting a thread full of R.E.M. bashing...

I'm gonna go with Green on the favorite albums

I'm guessing your nick has something to do with those Athenians.

Robert1966: Yeah, just like those "old and campy" artists of 1958, Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison, and Elvis Presley.

Remember that time when we were down in Murphy's basement smoking weed and listening to Physical Graffiti, and Fat Mike said he had this really cool album we had to listen to and busted out Chuck Berry and we all just got totally baked listening to "No Particular Place to Go"?

And there was the time we were in Cary's car, going to the shore, and Les wanted to listen to 103.4 because they were playing the J. Geils Band, but we all told him to fark off because we never missed Oldies 96's Roy Orbison hour?

Remember when we skipped school to hang out at the record store just in case they got a new shipment of Buddy Holly's solo album after he left the Crickets? And how jealous everyone was at school when you showed up the next day knowing all the words to "Rave On"? That was awesome!

The point being -- yes, there was great music being made in 1958, just like there was great music being made in 1983. But, for the most part, teenagers living 25 years later aren't going to appreciate the quality of that music, and will probably consider it to be practically fossilized.

Besides, the real thrill is seeing Peter Buck play in Robyn Hitchcock's band. No crowds, no stadiums, just up close and personal. And Robyn's last album sounds like songs REM should be doing...

Uzzah

I agree to a certain extent - but only for kids/teens, really. If I played my little sister (14) some Smiths, for example, it sounds incredibly ancient and dated to her ears, and she won't have a bar of it most likely.

At some point though, people who really do love music have some kind of switch or something that flicks, and suddenly it all makes sense. For me that happened when I was 15 or 16 - all this 'old' music that sounded lame one day suddenly became awesome - the Kinks, Who, Blondie, etc etc.

But yeah, to your average kid, playing them something even as recent as Oasis or Blur and they'll turn their nose up.

ButteryDamage: alligators feeling allegorical or something.

\I'm looking like an idiot.
\\But I no longer care.

Heh, that's my favorite song on Up. They give writing credit to Cohen because of similarities to "Suzanne". It's called "Hope".

It'll only be awesome if Bill Berry returns.

Aneurysm for the People.

Why is it that the first five or so records by R.E.M. were pretty darn good musically, but you couldn't make out much of what Stipe was singng? And then, when he decided to enunciate, it became more poppy and commercial.

Go back to mumbling, Stipe!

Yeah, no secret they've been working on their new material since last summer.

Searh YouTube videos for R.E.M. in Dublin last July.

Will buy the new one next year just like I've bought everything else they've ever done.

And I can't wait for this year's Fan Club Christmas package. They never disappoint.

Uzzah: Remember that time when we were down in Murphy's basement smoking weed and listening to Physical Graffiti, and Fat Mike said he had this really cool album we had to listen to and busted out Chuck Berry and we all just got totally baked listening to "No Particular Place to Go"?

There wouldn't have been a Physical Graffiti, or a Led Zeppelin, without Chuck Berry.

R.E.M. needs to go back to the Dirty South and stop writing songs about Hollywood.

I went to high school in the early 1990s. I liked 1980s R.E.M. I did not like 1990s R.E.M., especially that steaming pile album "Monster". If I hear Kurt Loder rave about "What's the Frequency Kenneth" one more time I swear I'm going to call up Madonna and have her go give him Dennis Rodman AIDS.

I hope this new album reminds me more of 1980s R.E.M.

BTW, my favorites are all equally Document, Murmur and Reckoning. I like Automatic and Green too though but not as much.

danduran: Uzzah

I agree to a certain extent - but only for kids/teens, really. If I played my little sister (14) some Smiths, for example, it sounds incredibly ancient and dated to her ears, and she won't have a bar of it most likely.

At some point though, people who really do love music have some kind of switch or something that flicks, and suddenly it all makes sense. For me that happened when I was 15 or 16 - all this 'old' music that sounded lame one day suddenly became awesome - the Kinks, Who, Blondie, etc etc.

But yeah, to your average kid, playing them something even as recent as Oasis or Blur and they'll turn their nose up.

I was about 25 when I finally was able to talk to my dad about how awesome The Who are.

AdolfOliverPanties: Aneurysm for the People.

Why is it that the first five or so records by R.E.M. were pretty darn good musically, but you couldn't make out much of what Stipe was singng? And then, when he decided to enunciate, it became more poppy and commercial.

Go back to mumbling, Stipe!

In the closet:mumbling::Out of the closet:enunciation

I don't think you can uncook that soufflé.

Robert1966: ViktorMature22: I'm so happy to see that so many farkers like R.E.M. - I was expecting a thread full of R.E.M. bashing...

I'm gonna go with Green on the favorite albums

I'm guessing your nick has something to do with those Athenians.

wow yeah, good work, sleuth

Michael Stipe, despite the hype, we still wanna suck your big, long pipe.

I was just listening to UP this morning. It was one of the albums I have been most hestitant to really open up to, but it is really, really good.

/New Adventures/Automatic = best
//Reveal = worst.
///really enjoyed the mood of Around The Sun

I just want to publicly apologize to Peter Buck for the stupid conversation we had earlier this year at Slim's in SF. I never should have brought up the subject.

/that is all

Disclosure: Big REM fan.

True story: As a college student in Boston in around 1996/7/8, I got to cover Stipe's photography exhibit for the student paper. My weird-ass college newspaper photographer decided to take the photos in Polaroid. I got her to take one of me with Stipe. Stipe offered to shake my hand or otherwise look engaged in conversation with me, which we had been briefly. Very briefly. But I said, no, I think it will look more cool if you go about talking with other people and I just stand here being casual. The result: The worst-ever fading type of photo with me flashing a huge grin while I stand next to Stipe's half-turned shoulder.

/Worse than an autograph, which is even pretty bad to begin with.

FarkingReading

I saw Stipe at a small club in Athens after a Jeff Buckley show once, and asked for an autograph. He said he didn't do that, and offered to shake my hand instead. I didn't notice though, so I just thanked him and walked off. In the car my friends were beside themselves, "You dissed Michael Stipe!"

So that's you and me so far, has anyone ever taken him up in his handshaking offer?


And I doubt they're going to release any music that sounds like 80's R.E.M. They've always avoided resting on their laurels, for what it's worth. The Murmur era was dead as soon as Lifes Rich Pageant came out, never to be revisited.

Fans haven't been anticipating a 14th studio LP

What utter shiat! They were publicly rehearsing new songs back in June! One even got used in a CNN promo a while ago! (new window)

From the dodgy bootleg I've got of one of said shows, they're definitely headed back to their classic sound.

Hey, I liked "Up."

maximum_jack: It will never top this

/murmur, FTW!

I cam here to say this.
* Albums after Automatic for the People tended to go downhill. They can't get away from this fascination of playing each others instruments and singing each others parts - those just doesn't work for me...but all bands evolve.

Green was good, but not their best by a long shot. Dead letter office or Reckoning both are far better.

/Fan since 83
//Stipe really doesn't have the head to do bald.

I've been a big fan of R.E.M. since the late 80s, when I was first getting into music. Like someone said above, I'm not going to say they can do no wrong, but I do make sure to get every album they release. Some I love more than others, but each and every one has its moments.

I think I'm one of about 7 people in the US who actually liked Reveal. My wife and I had our first dance at our wedding to "Beat a Drum." (Also, The Lifting and I've Been High are amazing.)

Also, as a musician myself (bass player), I blame Michael Stipe for the fact that I never pay attention to lyrics, whether in a song I'm listening to, playing, whatever. When I was first getting into music, listening to REM and trying to figure out what the fark Michael Stipe was singing about... I think it ruined me on words in songs, and I just hear the vocals as another instrument.

I am right there with you, Maynard G. Muskievote. Well, I don't play bass - but I'm down with the rest!

I consider Reveal to be one of R.E.M.'s best and I would totally dance to "Beat a Drum" should some poor woman ever agree to marry me.

Also, I had never connected my strange inability to remember song lyrics with my rabid R.E.M. fandom, but you may be on to something. In every other subject I pick things up quickly, and my memory is envied by many...but I can listen to a song thousands of times (my itunes tally can attest to that) and I still won't be able to sing the lyrics. I can admire and love lyrics, but don't ask me to memorize them because I just can't. Damn you, Stipe!