205 replies to this topic

[mem_ory]

iskra, on 17 October 2011 - 06:24 PM, said:

Seems like some people really want to like this song. Not put too fine a point on it, but it's a real dud of a track.

It's all subjective dude.  You'll discover its simple beauty someday on a cold rainy day, after a hard break up, losing a loved one, or just daydreaming of something better during a boring day at work.

[haggis]

Limnophilia, on 17 October 2011 - 05:21 PM, said:

This song MUST be an intentional parody....They are taking a piss with this one...

The thought did cross my mind too....

[Reverend Bill Funderburk]

It has grown on me with several listens, and it is a new R.E.M. song. God, I'm going to miss this band.

[2headedcow]

Limnophilia, on 17 October 2011 - 05:21 PM, said:

This song MUST be an intentional parody. That horn that comes in after the elephant line...No where in the REM canon has cheese been spread so liberally. They are taking a piss with
this one...

A parody is an imitation of another artists work in a comical fashion.  Who would you suggest REM are imitating?

I love everything about this song BTW.

[2headedcow]

Just downloaded from iTunes Australia.
Sounds amazing through the big system.

[Limnophilia]

2headedcow, on 17 October 2011 - 10:18 PM, said:

A parody is an imitation of another artists work in a comical fashion.  Who would you suggest REM are imitating?

I love everything about this song BTW.

The wistful Burt Bacharach, who else?

Don't get me wrong, those light-stepping horns are peppy in a tinged-with-sadness kind of way, but this tune on an REM greatest hit collection? Seriously?

[kizmatica]

I think people who are complaining there should be more verses would have got bored with the song by now. I think the fact that it's more concise makes it awkward (structurally) at first, but rewards repeated listens.

Great song. It's actually a direction I wanted the band to take for Collapse Into Now, especially after we saw the initial recording videos.

[2headedcow]

Do you (y'all) think the orchestration (strings) is real or synthesized?

[2headedcow]

Limnophilia, on 18 October 2011 - 12:13 AM, said:

The wistful Burt Bacharach, who else?

Don't get me wrong, those light-stepping horns
are peppy in a tinged-with-sadness kind of way, but this tune on an REM greatest hit collection? Seriously?

I think it fits ok.  Just remember the title of the album.  It doesn't mention 'greatest hits' or 'best of'.

[fanfan]

After about 30 listenings of this song I still like it. It starts like a singer-songwriter kind of thing and becomes a melodic classic. I do like the line 'I can taste the ocean on your skin', and the fact that this is R.E.M. or Michael reflecting on what they want now. It's once again a soothing song full of hope. I like it.

[welliwonder]

haggis, on 17 October 2011 - 04:05 PM, said:

Apart from Michael's voice in what ways is it typical R.E.M.?  It sounds more like The Carpenters.  Seriously if Michael's voice wasn't on it would anyone guess it was R.E.M.?  I doubt it.

Apart from his voice , generally quite a large part of a song  to be honest, the bass guitar sounds just like Mike Mills and the acoustic guitar sounds just like Peter Buck.

I don't know what else they can do really , got flack for sounding too much like r.e.m on CIN and now they don't sound like r.e.m. enough.
I'm so glad they quit , all in all its a pretty thankless task producing music that even their own fan sites spend half the time tearing to pieces.I'm sure people must have better things to do than spend time on fan sites of people they don't like, its like me going on a Coldplay site to say they're a bit dull . Life is too short.

And whats wrong with the Carpenters by the way ? Some great pop songs , and she had a great voice too.

[sharathamm]

It is neither brilliant nor worse..It has its moments..For me the horns are what makes this song worthwhile...And I am a big fan of Reveal..But then again this one do not measure up to any of Reveal songs..But it is better or on par with some songs I like from Accelerate,CIN like Supernatural,Uberlin...

[robertandrews]

There's a sense here of that classic R.E.M. "against-the-grain" writing. The dichotomy of optimism but uncertainty at the end of the road, the end of the rainbow. Especially if, as one of you said, Hallelujah is actually sombre.

This is a distinctly R.E.M. song, except insofaras it might conjure Reveal's better moments or, let's say, Emphysema.

[Koi]

This sounds like it came from Around the Sun. It's not spectacular, but certainly not bad. These lyrics are exactly what made me love R.E.M. as an awkward kid. I can read them, listen to them, absorb them and come up with my own story. I'll miss not getting something new from these guys, but the catalog is immense.

[ebowtheloser]

welliwonder, on 18 October 2011 - 01:08 AM, said:

Apart from his voice , generally quite a large part of a song  to be honest, the bass guitar sounds just like Mike Mills and the acoustic guitar sounds just like Peter Buck.

I don't know what else they can do really , got flack for sounding too much like r.e.m on CIN and now they don't sound like r.e.m. enough.
I'm so glad they quit , all in all its a pretty thankless task producing music that even their own fan sites spend half the time tearing to pieces.I'm sure people must have better things to do than spend time on fan sites of people they don't like, its like me going on a Coldplay site to say they're a bit dull . Life is too short.

And whats wrong with the Carpenters by the way ? Some great pop songs , and she had a great voice too.

Amen!

[Sweden]

welliwonder, on 18 October 2011 - 01:08 AM, said:

Apart from his voice , generally quite a large part of a song  to be honest, the bass guitar sounds just like Mike Mills and the acoustic guitar sounds just like Peter Buck.

Just out of curiosity, when you're all talking about the "bass sounds" (I saw someone else making a comparison to Reno), are you talking about the baritone guitar (which I'm fairly confident Peter plays, and played on Reno)?

[Geordie mad]

Where can you actually download this song? i can't find it on HMV, Amazon, itunes. I live in the UK.

[SweetMusic]

Geordie mad, on 18 October 2011 - 03:19 AM, said:

Where can you actually download this song? i can't find it on HMV, Amazon, itunes. I live in the UK.

I downloaded it through iTunes Belgium on sunday evening. Strange that you can't in the UK.

[SweetMusic]

About the song, a suggestion:

for those who don't like it: file under 'Garbage', for those who do: file under 'Heart' (or why not: 'Truth', unless it's a lie of course).

[MilosMolis]

Koi, on 18 October 2011 - 02:29 AM, said:

This sounds like it came from Around the Sun. It's not spectacular, but certainly not bad. These lyrics are exactly what made me love R.E.M. as an awkward kid. I can read them, listen to them, absorb them and come up with my own story. I'll miss not getting something new from these guys, but the catalog is immense.

On Around the Sun?

Do you hear the chorus? Around the sun have not such a catchy chorus, nor emotional deep. When i am hearing , at least for me its total opposite of Around the Sun, not cause of instruments (which are used far more natural) but mainly cause of soul.