Post-Collapse Into Now Sessions

“Blue” always brings a tear to my eye, because it has Goodbye written all over it.

I really like the album, I think it’s totally underrated

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I was definitely in the camp of feeling sad because they were my favourite band and they meant so much to me, but also knowing deep down it was probably the right time.

It took me ages to come to terms with it, but that said, the spark in their music was definitely gone for me. Their 4 albums this side of the millennium were mediocre, I liked some some songs but the band were no longer producing excellence. Musically it became a bit bland and that definitely was the case for Michael lyrically.

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There was a weird watershed moment when Bill left where all of a sudden, Michael’s famous occasional nonsense lyrics came across as just that.

Take E-Bow for example. I know the song has meaning to Michael, but it’s still a bit of a word salad diatribe if we’re being honest. I hear Ebow though and to me, it sounds like a generational poet at the top of their game. Just two years later with Up, I hear “I’ll be pounce pony, phoney marony” it made me cringe for 18 months solid. It was like a spell was broken and every album from then on had those moments.

That’s not to say there aren’t plenty of amazing lyrics post Bill because great lyrics are in the majority still, but it was like he just couldn’t nail the nonsense anymore without it sticking out like a sore thumb IMO.

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After Bill left, the lyrics were pushed into the forefront, as they were printed in the liner notes and the vocals seemed to be elevated in the mix (plus more first-person/autobiographical). The E-Bow vocals are fairly rapid and are sun matter-of-fact, whereas ones from Falls to Climb are slower and emphasized. I thought it was unfortunate that he started bragging about taking a “vomit” lyrical approach.

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But he’s always had a bit of a vomit approach and it always used to work. Lyrics that fit the song and capture a feeling even though they were often meaningless. He was a master of it. I can’t put my finger on it.

There’s loads of examples, but another one is the dumb “Uh-Huh” refrains through Kenneth vs the no less dumb “Wow!” refrains littered through accelerate. They’re cut from exactly the same cloth yet the former became one of the great hooks of 90s rock, and the latter just came across as lame in my opinion. The only thing I ever struggle with from their first 10 albums is the rap from Radio Song, that’s honestly it. There’s loads I struggle with lyrically post Bill

I thought it was maybe just me getting older but that isn’t the case. I was far more forgiving of “uncool” things in my 20s than I was in my teens in the 90s and far less critical of things. Yet you can inject Stand and Binky the fricking Doormat into my veins, yet I shudder every time he sings “leaving was never my proud” in LNY.

It’s definitely nothing to do with the lyrics being printed for me. Id happily virtually high 5 anyone who can put their finger on it because I certainly can’t.

(Again, just to caveat as per my first comment, I think the majority of Michaels post Bill lyrics are great)

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“Falls to Climb” is not only one of my favorite songs from Up and the post-Bill years but it is one of my favorite songs by R.E.M., period. Different strokes for different folks. That said, my focus was more on lines like, “my actions make me beautiful, they dignify the flesh…”

I really like Falls to Climb, just hate that line and find it interesting that I don’t dislike any lyrics until the post Bill years, where there are many. It’s nonsense that stands out as such rather than feeling poetic which Michael was usually a master of.

Probably better for a new thread rather than the Post-Collapse Into Sessions thread, but…

“Bring my happy back again” - Lotus
“Leaving was never my proud” - Leaving New York
“I want to kiss the astronauts when they salute to me me me me” - Wanderlust
“Mine smell like hu- hu- hu- honey, uh!” - Mine Smell Like Honey

…and these were singles!

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Absolutely agreed, but why do I hate these yet think something like “What’s the frequency Kenneth is your benzadrine, uh-huh” is peak genius? Aargh, i don’t get it :joy:

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Buried in the mix and fitting with the character of the event?

I guess the latter actually as it does fit. Same as End of the world being a dream I guess. Thats one solved at least!

I think it gets harder to really rock as you become older and more reflective. There’s a reason that most artists head deeper into ballad territory as they face late middle age.

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I think another factor is that REM didn’t become multimedia, international superstars until Monster was released. REM had been huge for a few years, but hadn’t done the worldwide tour, had a iconic-looking lead singer, etc. They largely avoided the pitfalls of international fame, but it’s hard to believe it didn’t change them and their approach to writing.