There’s another thread about noticing things in songs, ages after you first heard them. That made me think of this. Are there any songs that you didn’t ‘get’ for a long time?
For me, there are a few. Diminished stands out. Up was my favourite album from around the time of the Up tour. But that was a song that I never really liked (or didn’t like) for a long time. It was probably the mid-noughties when I began to appreciate it. It’s now one of my favourite songs on my favourite album.
You from Monster is another.
I’ve always thought that the best R.E.M. albums/songs were the ‘growers’. What songs grew on you?
There are some I still don’t like much, but in the category you describe, mainly, it’s “Everybody hurts”. I only got to like it when I heard it live in Rock in Rio and it moved me to tears.
Not a single song but most of Up took me some time to come around to. Because it took so long that probably has a lot to do with it becoming my favorite album of the post-Bill Berry era.
It took me a while to truly love Up. When I did, it was a confluence of seeing the songs live, and where I was in my life at that time. It felt like all the songs were about me. Falls to Climb, Why Not Smile, Sad professor… Ironic, really, if you remember Michael Stipe’s interviews about love songs around the time of Out of Time. (“That’s me!”)
I believe hearing the songs live also helped me to appreciate them. Live, they sounded less insulated than on the record, likely because they were played with more traditional (for R.E.M.) instrumentation that were also more stripped back than the studio versions.
I never enjoyed “Crush with Eyeliner” until I came across its Letterman performance on YouTube. Hearing it performed live and seeing the stage presence of Stipe and Mills opened up the song for me.
Otherwise it took me years to allow myself to enjoy “E-Bow the Letter.” It’s commercial disappointment seemed to mark a major shift in the band’s fortunes, so I found it painful to listen to because I wanted the band to be more popular. But I’ve gotten over that and love the song now.
No… I was turned off by Shiny Happy People and Near Wild Heaven so I moved on. When I also had access to IRS era REM, AFTP and NAIHF, I just rarely reached for OOT.
Yeah, I gather that from quite a number of fans (some that I know personally, others just online) who aren’t overly fond of OOT (mainly due to the tracks you’ve mentioned), tho I happily admit to adoring it. I came onboard during the WB years so u guess my opinion is skewed in that respect
I never disliked “Auctioneer” but also wasn’t completely taken with it at first either despite my love of Fables. Maybe I felt it just didn’t flow with some of the slower paced songs on the album. That said, it did grow on me over time.
When New Adventures in Hi Fi was released I really didn’t like Leave. I found the siren sounds in the beginning really unpleasant.
It took me a while, but not only did I grow to like the song, now it’s one of my favourite songs from the R.E.M. catalog.
The siren sound never bothered me. I like “Leave” but am not head over heels about it as some other fans are. I also like the alternate version from the Life Less Ordinary soundtrack.
I’m still not the biggest fan of the song but I do prefer the live versions I’ve heard of it to the studio version. Maybe one of the reasons I’ve never fully come around to it is that long guitar solo thing seems out character not just for Buck but for R.E.M. in general.
