rules & maps said:
1 out of 11 lists so far have Around the Sun in the top 4. (6 have it in last place)
ATS, you've got a friend in me :D :D :)
17
Latest ranking of R.E.M. albums
Started by Guest_Catapult321_*, Mar 24 2007 09:23 PM
104 replies to this topic
#21 Guest_REMFMFAN_*
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#22
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Posted 26 March 2007 - 11:04 AM
haggis said:
That is a brilliant idea - I never thought of completely ignoring ATS as if it didn't even exist. I think I'm going to do that now too as it will save me a lot of pain....
Of course, you're probably scratching your head wondering what ATS means...;)
Of course, you're probably scratching your head wondering what ATS means...;)
Is ATS some kind of hearing loss? Yes, that does sound painful. I wish you a swift recovery. :)
For a Morrissey-clubbin' good time, visit: http://froggyandwoodman.blogspot.com/ So indie, it's not even marketed outside Murmurs, sucka.
"Monkey farts on a record is not avantgarde unless I do it first." - Matthew Wood
"Monkey farts on a record is not avantgarde unless I do it first." - Matthew Wood
#23
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Posted 26 March 2007 - 11:06 AM
wagtail said:
I've been re-visiting the whole catalogue since I got new speakers, so I'll craft a revised list one of these days, I doubt Monster will budge from last place though. The biggest suprise for me is that Up will be vying for my top three, I reckon - my love for that record has been steadily growing in the last year or so.
Aside from its lyrical perfection, Monster is rightfully ugly. I think it's R.E.M.'s most mature album, and I think it has the perfect score for the material covered. And it took me about 10 years to appreciate that.
For a Morrissey-clubbin' good time, visit: http://froggyandwoodman.blogspot.com/ So indie, it's not even marketed outside Murmurs, sucka.
"Monkey farts on a record is not avantgarde unless I do it first." - Matthew Wood
"Monkey farts on a record is not avantgarde unless I do it first." - Matthew Wood
#24
Driver Nate
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Posted 26 March 2007 - 12:27 PM
Ranking their albums is sort of futile to me because when I listen to R.E.M. I don't really think in terms of how I'd rank them. I listen to them based more on mood than anything else. That said, I most definitely have favorites and least favorites. Topping the favorites list would be Fables followed very closely by Chronic Town. My least favorites would be everything they've done since Bill left with Reveal being at the very bottom.
"We were listening to the UNC radio (station) there and they were playing an R.E.M. song. I like R.E.M. fine, but at the end of it, the DJ says, 'Ya that was R.E.M., the sound of the new South'. I looked at my roommate and we said, Gawd, if that's the sound of the new South, I preferred it when it was on the skids. That's how we got the name."
- Rick Miller of Southern Culture on the Skids
- Rick Miller of Southern Culture on the Skids
#25
badmouth
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Posted 26 March 2007 - 01:52 PM
I apologise in advance for what I can only describe as waffle. But I find numbers so unforgiving; words at least give everything a chance.
Anyway, here goes...
1. Out of Time - I still think of this as the ultimate REM album; it showcases their tremendous songwriting as well as any piece of plastic can, and is by turns both playful and sinister without ever succumbing to inconsistency or self-indulgence. Any album that can comfortably accommodate gems as diverse as 'Losing My Religion', 'Radio Song', 'Near Wild Heaven' and 'Country Feedback' must surely be a masterpiece... and indeed this is.
2. Lifes Rich Pageant - the quintessential early album: lean, melodic and exhilarating. While it contains some of their greatest pre-Warner Bros. songs, most of these are largely unknown beyond the REM cognoscenti, which might explain why they never sound tired or over-familiar. It's worth the admission price just to hear Michael Stipe's soaring vocals on 'Fall On Me' and 'I Believe'; the stroke of genius here though, is the inclusion of such curious detours as 'Underneath the Bunker' and 'Superman', without these tracks ever sounding like affected eccentricities or inconsequential fillers.
(That missing apostrophe still pisses me off, though.)
3. New Adventures in Hi-Fi - woefully underrated upon its release (perhaps suffering from the post-'Monster' hangover) but a late classic nonetheless. Instantly loveable and endlessly rewarding; that they were able to craft such a substantial collection of songs on the supposedly disaster-prone 1995 tour is a noteworthy achievement in itself.
4. Automatic for the People - in my opinion, not the flawless masterpiece its reputation suggests but some genuinely perfect REM songs ('Nightswimming', 'Everybody Hurts', 'Drive') make it worthy of inclusion in any self-respecting record collection.
5. Up - admittedly, an acquired taste; the sound of Bill Berry being sorely missed set against wilfully synthetic arrangements that nonetheless yield great emotional resonance when they hit the mark (which to be fair, is more often than not).
6. Monster - does what it says on the tin: a fresh-sounding, energetic and enjoyable album after the self-conscious gravitas of its predecessor, although 'Let Me In' is equally moving in its own uniquely twisted way.
I once played this to a friend of mine who was shocked when I told her it was REM - it's always a good sign when a band can surprise people with their ninth album.
7. Fables of the Reconstruction - I recently got into this at long last after possessing it for about 15 years, hence the relatively high rating (which might surprise some people). The initially claustrophobic sound slowly - very slowly - reveals some of their most innovative work on the IRS label, while Wendell Gee is among their most beautiful songs.
8. Murmur - still one of the most accomplished debut albums ever made, and all the more remarkable when viewed within the context of the 1983 music scene. This would have been a lesser band's finest hour; what is astonishing is that REM would eclipse this achievement on several occasions with their future releases.
9. Reckoning - a worthy sophomore effort, which insouciantly shimmies through the "difficult second album" stage by being every bit as casually ingenious as its predecessor, although its raw charm doesn't always bear repeated listening to quite the same extent.
10. Document - a necessary despatch at the time, although necessarily dated by its fearless engagement with the divisive Reaganomics and pan-global Conservatism that polarised a generation. Perhaps the point at which REM began to surrender their mystique in return for wider recognition, and the beginning of a delicate balancing act that would see them become all things to all people for longer than anyone could have anticipated.
11. Green - like a huge box of assorted chocolates, this was the album that everyone loved at first but that ultimately became a little sickly. While purpose-built to great effect for the world's biggest arenas, these songs moved the band another step away from their intimate and enigmatic earlier incarnation and occasionally made them sound like an indie U2. Fortunately, Peter Buck was on hand with some marvellously angular guitar work to redeem them from stadium rock purgatory.
12. Reveal - in a nutshell: REM trying to sound like REM. If anyone can pull it off then one would assume that they can, and they certainly do a creditable impersonation of themselves. However, there's always been more to REM than the version on display here, and - while initially warm and reassuring - when you scratch its surface, there's little to be found beneath the lush production and seductive melodies.
13. Around the Sun - although not the unmitigated disaster some would suggest, this was not what the average REM fan hoped for in 2004. Like its two immediate predecessors, the album seems to suffer from some strange kind of identity crisis, and having tried both outright denial on 'Up' and contrite self-parody on 'Reveal', this time REM go for the 'moving target' approach (some bubbly electronica here, some string-laden solemnity there, a few low-key idiosyncrasies in between). Ultimately they manage to create a career-first: an album than is less than the sum of its parts. While there are naturally some truly great songs on offer ('I Wanted To Be Wrong' is a remarkably adept ballad that effectively conveys a rational American's frustration in the face of his government's increasingly obtuse belligerence), there are too many "if only" moments like 'Electron Blue' and 'Make It All OK', where glimpses of potential are cancelled out by lazy lyrics or unimaginative arrangements. The selection of 'Wanderlust' - perhaps the album's lamest track - as a single offered a depressing indication of how feckless this once-perfect band had become.
However, having inevitably ended on a downer, I really must declare that there is no such thing as a truly lousy REM album. Not yet, anyway. And I for one hope and believe that the next addition to their still-dazzling repertoire will be the unassailable return to form that many of us are patiently hoping for.
Anyway, here goes...
1. Out of Time - I still think of this as the ultimate REM album; it showcases their tremendous songwriting as well as any piece of plastic can, and is by turns both playful and sinister without ever succumbing to inconsistency or self-indulgence. Any album that can comfortably accommodate gems as diverse as 'Losing My Religion', 'Radio Song', 'Near Wild Heaven' and 'Country Feedback' must surely be a masterpiece... and indeed this is.
2. Lifes Rich Pageant - the quintessential early album: lean, melodic and exhilarating. While it contains some of their greatest pre-Warner Bros. songs, most of these are largely unknown beyond the REM cognoscenti, which might explain why they never sound tired or over-familiar. It's worth the admission price just to hear Michael Stipe's soaring vocals on 'Fall On Me' and 'I Believe'; the stroke of genius here though, is the inclusion of such curious detours as 'Underneath the Bunker' and 'Superman', without these tracks ever sounding like affected eccentricities or inconsequential fillers.
(That missing apostrophe still pisses me off, though.)
3. New Adventures in Hi-Fi - woefully underrated upon its release (perhaps suffering from the post-'Monster' hangover) but a late classic nonetheless. Instantly loveable and endlessly rewarding; that they were able to craft such a substantial collection of songs on the supposedly disaster-prone 1995 tour is a noteworthy achievement in itself.
4. Automatic for the People - in my opinion, not the flawless masterpiece its reputation suggests but some genuinely perfect REM songs ('Nightswimming', 'Everybody Hurts', 'Drive') make it worthy of inclusion in any self-respecting record collection.
5. Up - admittedly, an acquired taste; the sound of Bill Berry being sorely missed set against wilfully synthetic arrangements that nonetheless yield great emotional resonance when they hit the mark (which to be fair, is more often than not).
6. Monster - does what it says on the tin: a fresh-sounding, energetic and enjoyable album after the self-conscious gravitas of its predecessor, although 'Let Me In' is equally moving in its own uniquely twisted way.
I once played this to a friend of mine who was shocked when I told her it was REM - it's always a good sign when a band can surprise people with their ninth album.
7. Fables of the Reconstruction - I recently got into this at long last after possessing it for about 15 years, hence the relatively high rating (which might surprise some people). The initially claustrophobic sound slowly - very slowly - reveals some of their most innovative work on the IRS label, while Wendell Gee is among their most beautiful songs.
8. Murmur - still one of the most accomplished debut albums ever made, and all the more remarkable when viewed within the context of the 1983 music scene. This would have been a lesser band's finest hour; what is astonishing is that REM would eclipse this achievement on several occasions with their future releases.
9. Reckoning - a worthy sophomore effort, which insouciantly shimmies through the "difficult second album" stage by being every bit as casually ingenious as its predecessor, although its raw charm doesn't always bear repeated listening to quite the same extent.
10. Document - a necessary despatch at the time, although necessarily dated by its fearless engagement with the divisive Reaganomics and pan-global Conservatism that polarised a generation. Perhaps the point at which REM began to surrender their mystique in return for wider recognition, and the beginning of a delicate balancing act that would see them become all things to all people for longer than anyone could have anticipated.
11. Green - like a huge box of assorted chocolates, this was the album that everyone loved at first but that ultimately became a little sickly. While purpose-built to great effect for the world's biggest arenas, these songs moved the band another step away from their intimate and enigmatic earlier incarnation and occasionally made them sound like an indie U2. Fortunately, Peter Buck was on hand with some marvellously angular guitar work to redeem them from stadium rock purgatory.
12. Reveal - in a nutshell: REM trying to sound like REM. If anyone can pull it off then one would assume that they can, and they certainly do a creditable impersonation of themselves. However, there's always been more to REM than the version on display here, and - while initially warm and reassuring - when you scratch its surface, there's little to be found beneath the lush production and seductive melodies.
13. Around the Sun - although not the unmitigated disaster some would suggest, this was not what the average REM fan hoped for in 2004. Like its two immediate predecessors, the album seems to suffer from some strange kind of identity crisis, and having tried both outright denial on 'Up' and contrite self-parody on 'Reveal', this time REM go for the 'moving target' approach (some bubbly electronica here, some string-laden solemnity there, a few low-key idiosyncrasies in between). Ultimately they manage to create a career-first: an album than is less than the sum of its parts. While there are naturally some truly great songs on offer ('I Wanted To Be Wrong' is a remarkably adept ballad that effectively conveys a rational American's frustration in the face of his government's increasingly obtuse belligerence), there are too many "if only" moments like 'Electron Blue' and 'Make It All OK', where glimpses of potential are cancelled out by lazy lyrics or unimaginative arrangements. The selection of 'Wanderlust' - perhaps the album's lamest track - as a single offered a depressing indication of how feckless this once-perfect band had become.
However, having inevitably ended on a downer, I really must declare that there is no such thing as a truly lousy REM album. Not yet, anyway. And I for one hope and believe that the next addition to their still-dazzling repertoire will be the unassailable return to form that many of us are patiently hoping for.
#26
Matthew Wood
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Posted 26 March 2007 - 02:21 PM
Driver Nate said:
Ranking their albums is sort of futile to me because when I listen to R.E.M. I don't really think in terms of how I'd rank them. I listen to them based more on mood than anything else. That said, I most definitely have favorites and least favorites. Topping the favorites list would be Fables followed very closely by Chronic Town. My least favorites would be everything they've done since Bill left with Reveal being at the very bottom.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but you take the time to articulate how you don't rank albums, but then you go on to define the act of ranking as having an opinion, which you clearly have. You really ought to just argue one side of the debate you raise.
For a Morrissey-clubbin' good time, visit: http://froggyandwoodman.blogspot.com/ So indie, it's not even marketed outside Murmurs, sucka.
"Monkey farts on a record is not avantgarde unless I do it first." - Matthew Wood
"Monkey farts on a record is not avantgarde unless I do it first." - Matthew Wood
#27
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Posted 26 March 2007 - 02:24 PM
Matthew Wood said:
Correct me if I'm wrong, but you take the time to articulate how you don't rank albums, but then you go on to define the act of ranking as having an opinion, which you clearly have. You really ought to just argue one side of the debate you raise.
Maybe I should have just went with my first instinct, which would have been to say my favorites and least favorites rarely (if ever change) but those inbetween do, therefore trying to assign some random number to them is futile.
If you care to see how I've ranked them before I'm sure there's no shortage of my contributions to similar threads here in the past. Maybe this is an exercise I've simply tired of and feel it would differ from day to day anyway (aside from my favorites and least favorites), so what's the use?
"We were listening to the UNC radio (station) there and they were playing an R.E.M. song. I like R.E.M. fine, but at the end of it, the DJ says, 'Ya that was R.E.M., the sound of the new South'. I looked at my roommate and we said, Gawd, if that's the sound of the new South, I preferred it when it was on the skids. That's how we got the name."
- Rick Miller of Southern Culture on the Skids
- Rick Miller of Southern Culture on the Skids
#28
Matthew Wood
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Posted 26 March 2007 - 03:12 PM
Driver Nate said:
Maybe I should have just went with my first instinct, which would have been to say my favorites and least favorites rarely (if ever change) but those inbetween do, therefore trying to assign some random number to them is futile.
If you care to see how I've ranked them before I'm sure there's no shortage of my contributions to similar threads here in the past. Maybe this is an exercise I've simply tired of and feel it would differ from day to day anyway (aside from my favorites and least favorites), so what's the use?
If you care to see how I've ranked them before I'm sure there's no shortage of my contributions to similar threads here in the past. Maybe this is an exercise I've simply tired of and feel it would differ from day to day anyway (aside from my favorites and least favorites), so what's the use?
I daresay you've nailed the precise reasons I tend to avoid this subforum. Been here; done it, too.
For a Morrissey-clubbin' good time, visit: http://froggyandwoodman.blogspot.com/ So indie, it's not even marketed outside Murmurs, sucka.
"Monkey farts on a record is not avantgarde unless I do it first." - Matthew Wood
"Monkey farts on a record is not avantgarde unless I do it first." - Matthew Wood
#29
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Posted 26 March 2007 - 03:29 PM
I gotta say that the lists in themselves don't interest me, the way people's tastes change over time is interesting to me though.
Actually, Woody, I came across an old thread where you are pretty scathing about the singing on Camera and in the context of some of your recent commentaries about the humanity, sincerity and honesty in music I found that interesting. I'm not trying to hold you accountable to some view you held years ago, but merely point out where some of the inteerst might lie in thinking about evolving sensibilities. That's why I'm so surpiorsed about my new appreciation for Up, because I thought Up was going to be the record that ended my REM fandom when it first came out, I truly hated that album.
Actually, Woody, I came across an old thread where you are pretty scathing about the singing on Camera and in the context of some of your recent commentaries about the humanity, sincerity and honesty in music I found that interesting. I'm not trying to hold you accountable to some view you held years ago, but merely point out where some of the inteerst might lie in thinking about evolving sensibilities. That's why I'm so surpiorsed about my new appreciation for Up, because I thought Up was going to be the record that ended my REM fandom when it first came out, I truly hated that album.
#30
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Posted 26 March 2007 - 03:44 PM
While i did this list earlier, i gotta say that i only, recently anyway, listen to 3 0f their albums regularly now and one in particular hasn't gotten a spin in nearly 18 months. I think i may have over-listened to some of them too thus their lack of time of late.
'Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society' - Mark Twain
Imagination is the one weapon in the war against reality.
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Imagination is the one weapon in the war against reality.
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#31
Matthew Wood
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Posted 26 March 2007 - 04:05 PM
wagtail said:
Actually, Woody, I came across an old thread where you are pretty scathing about the singing on Camera and in the context of some of your recent commentaries about the humanity, sincerity and honesty in music I found that interesting. I'm not trying to hold you accountable to some view you held years ago, but merely point out where some of the inteerst might lie in thinking about evolving sensibilities. That's why I'm so surpiorsed about my new appreciation for Up, because I thought Up was going to be the record that ended my REM fandom when it first came out, I truly hated that album.
I'm torn about this one. The sloppiness is reminiscent of the lack of composure mourners would experience, which makes the song poignant in a metaphorical sense. Sure as hell don't enjoy listening to it, though.
For a Morrissey-clubbin' good time, visit: http://froggyandwoodman.blogspot.com/ So indie, it's not even marketed outside Murmurs, sucka.
"Monkey farts on a record is not avantgarde unless I do it first." - Matthew Wood
"Monkey farts on a record is not avantgarde unless I do it first." - Matthew Wood
#32 Guest_REMFMFAN_*
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Posted 26 March 2007 - 04:37 PM
badmouth said:
1. Out of Time - I still think of this as the ultimate REM album; it showcases their tremendous songwriting as well as any piece of plastic can, and is by turns both playful and sinister without ever succumbing to inconsistency or self-indulgence. Any album that can comfortably accommodate gems as diverse as 'Losing My Religion', 'Radio Song', 'Near Wild Heaven' and 'Country Feedback' must surely be a masterpiece... and indeed this is.
Out of Time was definately a high point for them. Whilst I don't expect Mike Mills to sing lead on two songs on every single record each time, it would be nice to hear his voice (and his organ) a bit more often again. Out of Time is, for me, definately Mike's record. As I've said on my list, I've been rediscovering Out of Time again, and will great pleasure.
#33
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Posted 26 March 2007 - 05:39 PM
wagtail said:
I gotta say that the lists in themselves don't interest me, the way people's tastes change over time is interesting to me though.
I haven't gone back to find it but I doubt any present list I could compile would differ all that greatly from the last one I did. If anything, my standpoint on Reveal and Around the Sun might have changed over time but it hasn't. Up is the only that's ever taken any time to appreciate on a level I never expected.
wagtail said:
That's why I'm so surpiorsed about my new appreciation for Up, because I thought Up was going to be the record that ended my REM fandom when it first came out, I truly hated that album.
I didn't hate all of it but it's the only R.E.M. album I ever seriously considered returning upon first listen. The more difficult songs came to me in time.
I love Camera. When they broke it out of the vault after a very lengthy absence at the '99 show in Raleigh the crowd went apeshit for it. They are very liable to illicit the same response from me if they were to drop either I Believe or Gravity's Pull into future setlists.
"We were listening to the UNC radio (station) there and they were playing an R.E.M. song. I like R.E.M. fine, but at the end of it, the DJ says, 'Ya that was R.E.M., the sound of the new South'. I looked at my roommate and we said, Gawd, if that's the sound of the new South, I preferred it when it was on the skids. That's how we got the name."
- Rick Miller of Southern Culture on the Skids
- Rick Miller of Southern Culture on the Skids
#34
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Posted 26 March 2007 - 06:08 PM
1. Monster
2. ATS (REMFAN and me)
3. NAIHF
4. Automatic
5. Reckoning
6. Murmurs
7. Fables
8. Life's Rich Paegent
9. Up
10. OOT
11. Reveal
12. Document (first four songs are killer, though)
13. Green (rare listen, but not a bad album)
2. ATS (REMFAN and me)
3. NAIHF
4. Automatic
5. Reckoning
6. Murmurs
7. Fables
8. Life's Rich Paegent
9. Up
10. OOT
11. Reveal
12. Document (first four songs are killer, though)
13. Green (rare listen, but not a bad album)
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#35
Limnophilia
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Posted 27 March 2007 - 12:03 AM
Agreed that this is futile, and that the most interesting thing is why a given album changes place in a person's ranking, but it's interesting to try:
1. Lifes Rich Pageant (my first love)
2. NAIHF
3. Automatic for the People
4. Murmur
5. Up
6. Fables
7. Document
8. Out of Time
9. Green
10. Reveal
11. Reckoning
12. Monster
13. ATS
The biggest movers for me are Automatic for the People and Reckoning and maybe Fables.
I just found Automatic for the People too sad at that time in my life (when it came out). Now I love it.
Reckoning was probably the 2nd album I got into after LRP, but although it rocks, I find it a bit hollow. Still like it though.
Fables I hated until a few years ago but I read some favorable stuff here and can't believe I didn't like it.
1. Lifes Rich Pageant (my first love)
2. NAIHF
3. Automatic for the People
4. Murmur
5. Up
6. Fables
7. Document
8. Out of Time
9. Green
10. Reveal
11. Reckoning
12. Monster
13. ATS
The biggest movers for me are Automatic for the People and Reckoning and maybe Fables.
I just found Automatic for the People too sad at that time in my life (when it came out). Now I love it.
Reckoning was probably the 2nd album I got into after LRP, but although it rocks, I find it a bit hollow. Still like it though.
Fables I hated until a few years ago but I read some favorable stuff here and can't believe I didn't like it.
#36
rules & maps
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Posted 27 March 2007 - 02:48 AM
wagtail said:
I gotta say that the lists in themselves don't interest me, the way people's tastes change over time is interesting to me though.
Yeah. If I had a list of which albums I loved most on first listen, it would go something like this
1. Up
2. Chronic Town EP
3. Automatic for the People
4. Reveal (this first listen was before I heard much other REM though, so it doesn't quite count)
5. Lifes Rich Pageant
6. Fables of the Reconstruction
7. Reckoning
8. Monster
9. Murmur
10. New Adventures in Hi-Fi
11. Green
12. Out of Time
13. Document
14. Around the Sun
Bold are the ones I had to grow into, that really went up in my estimation. Italic went down after more listens.
My taste of course has changed since I got into REM, so if I was to hear them all for the first time now the order might be completely different. I'm sure I would recognize Pageant was a brilliant album now instead of feeling the filler ruined the potential of the first few tracks, and I wouldn't need to listen to Reveal more than once to recognize both its profound pleasantness (most of the time) and its lack of anything really memorable.
I still think Up would be near the top. I wish I could hear that again for the first time.
badmouth said:
3. New Adventures in Hi-Fi - ...Instantly loveable and endlessly rewarding...
it's funny because this was probably the the greatest acquired taste for me, after Out of Time. but I first heard it in 2002, after reading many posts about how amazing it was on Murmurs- and a few about how terrible it was, which just got everyone else to say it was amazing even more- so my expectations were quite high.
it's not as melodic as any of their other Warner albums (or maybe any of their albums, period. exception of Document), and it doesn't have the kind of rhythmic pulse as the early IRS ones either. the lyrics are beginning to retreat into personal concerns ("navelgazing"?) which seem to come directly from Stipe in a way that could be hard to relate to at first, especially lacking the emotional directness they had on Up. it took a long time to feel the songs worked together, and to appreciate them despite, or because of, the dry subtlety of the production. I think the only ones I loved on first listen were How the West Was Won and Bittersweet Me, maybe Leave, New Test Leper and Binky. but if I had been an REM fan in 1996, I know it would have been exactly what I wanted.
Quote
7. Fables of the Reconstruction - I recently got into this at long last after possessing it for about 15 years, hence the relatively high rating (which might surprise some people). The initially claustrophobic sound slowly - very slowly - reveals some of their most innovative work on the IRS label, while Wendell Gee is among their most beautiful songs.
I think this is one of those albums that's hated only because the band hated the recording of it and thus the press was negative. Or because indie kids like experimentation and change even less than pop listeners. But once you get past the unexpected and brilliant opening of Feeling Gravitys Pull (which still ends with the most gorgeous backing vocals Mills ever did) and the brilliantly odd single of Can't Get There From Here (both these tracks are unlike anything REM has done before or since), and a bit of filler in the middle (Kohoutek, maybe Old Man Kensey), it has a run of utterly classic catchy dark folk rock songs that should have attracted anyone who liked Murmur. And I agree about Wendell Gee.
Quote
10. Document - a necessary despatch at the time, although necessarily dated by its fearless engagement with the divisive Reaganomics and pan-global Conservatism that polarised a generation.
really? I agree w/ what you said about surrendering their mystique (fortunately they got it back on parts of Out of Time, and finally had one last brilliant run of the abstract pastoral southern thing albeit with more universal accessibility, on AFTP). but the best/worst thing about Document is it hasn't dated much at all lyrically. again I first heard it in 2002, and it seemed torn from the day's headlines. And imo it will have more to say about 2007 than Around the Sun.
One thing I always loved about Document was the artwork. The dark utopian socialist imagery of giants holding globes or... the book covers of Ayn Rand. just perfect considering the message.
Quote
12. Reveal - in a nutshell: REM trying to sound like REM. If anyone can pull it off then one would assume that they can, and they certainly do a creditable impersonation of themselves. However, there's always been more to REM than the version on display here, and - while initially warm and reassuring - when you scratch its surface, there's little to be found beneath the lush production and seductive melodies.
I think this is a very good description. It's like a mix of Fables pastoral dirges and Out of Time spring/summer pop, remade with "modern" (hah) production values. It's a nostalgic album though for fans, much more than Up, thus the undeserved better reviews.
#37
isilida 32
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what i am is what i am
Posted 27 March 2007 - 10:56 AM
1. life's rich pageant
2. reveal (although sometimes this one is no.1)
3. new adventures in hi-fi
4. automatic for the people
5. green
6. document/up (tie) i really at this moment can't decide about up. too torn
7. out of time
8. murmur
9. reckoning
(this is where the list gets harder to discern or maybe it's due to some laziness. but to be honest i don't these all that much or at all. if i even have the albums to begin with. for one reason or another i don't like these enough to care about ranking them much. i've tried. trust me, i have. but over the years i've grown out of them.
10. around the sun
11. monster (new adventures in hi-fi achieved what monster was trying to do much better)
12. fables of the reconstruction/reconstruction of the fables
i didn't include ep's as they don't count as albums. not to mention the fact that the concept and original idea of ep's have been shattered by cd-singles and such. 10,000 maniacs' candy everybody wants cd single is a example of this.
2. reveal (although sometimes this one is no.1)
3. new adventures in hi-fi
4. automatic for the people
5. green
6. document/up (tie) i really at this moment can't decide about up. too torn
7. out of time
8. murmur
9. reckoning
(this is where the list gets harder to discern or maybe it's due to some laziness. but to be honest i don't these all that much or at all. if i even have the albums to begin with. for one reason or another i don't like these enough to care about ranking them much. i've tried. trust me, i have. but over the years i've grown out of them.
10. around the sun
11. monster (new adventures in hi-fi achieved what monster was trying to do much better)
12. fables of the reconstruction/reconstruction of the fables
i didn't include ep's as they don't count as albums. not to mention the fact that the concept and original idea of ep's have been shattered by cd-singles and such. 10,000 maniacs' candy everybody wants cd single is a example of this.
#38
Matthew Wood
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Posted 27 March 2007 - 12:03 PM
isilida 32 said:
not to mention the fact that the concept and original idea of ep's have been shattered by cd-singles and such.
Only to feeble minds that can't differentiate between a standalone shortplay and a radio song with crappy outtakes. For more information read Froggy's post about EPs. You know where.
For a Morrissey-clubbin' good time, visit: http://froggyandwoodman.blogspot.com/ So indie, it's not even marketed outside Murmurs, sucka.
"Monkey farts on a record is not avantgarde unless I do it first." - Matthew Wood
"Monkey farts on a record is not avantgarde unless I do it first." - Matthew Wood
#39
isilida 32
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what i am is what i am
Posted 27 March 2007 - 12:26 PM
not true entirely, as there are many cd maxi singles with 4 or more songs on it. but they're not called ep's. with the advent of the cd single and especially the cd maxi-single it changes what one precieves as an ep. also wouldn't joanna newsome's last cd actually count as an ep rather than a full cd (even though it's as long as most standard albums)?
#40
Driver Nate
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Miles Standish Proud
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Posted 27 March 2007 - 12:33 PM
I don't have any trouble distinguishing Chronic Town as an EP as opposed to a full length record. It also seems to get left off of some of these lists sometimes just because it's not a full length record. I think it should be included simply because it's a R.E.M. release, full length or not.
Now, that R.E.M. iTunes EP that came out a few years back, that was confusing since it included a lot more songs than you'd ever find on an actual EP. Why it was labeled as such is anyone's guess.
Now, that R.E.M. iTunes EP that came out a few years back, that was confusing since it included a lot more songs than you'd ever find on an actual EP. Why it was labeled as such is anyone's guess.
"We were listening to the UNC radio (station) there and they were playing an R.E.M. song. I like R.E.M. fine, but at the end of it, the DJ says, 'Ya that was R.E.M., the sound of the new South'. I looked at my roommate and we said, Gawd, if that's the sound of the new South, I preferred it when it was on the skids. That's how we got the name."
- Rick Miller of Southern Culture on the Skids
- Rick Miller of Southern Culture on the Skids
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