― geeta dayal, Tuesday, 6 February 2001 01:00 (twenty-three years ago) link
― Ally C, Friday, 9 February 2001 01:00 (twenty-three years ago) link
I like everything pre-Green - I think that LRP and Document may be the masterpieces, for all their US80srock flourishes. The repetitive jangle of things like 'Cuyahoga', 'Welcome To The Occupation' or 'Heron House' is the sort of predictable thing I like (but I could never have predicted it). I must admit, I do like a lot of the 90s material too: I liked Out Of Time when it came out, recognize that there are good tracks on Automatic (but it got so grotesquely overrated), even have a soft spot for Monster ('I Don't Sleep, I Dream' is splendidly large, thudding and echoing), despite its lack of melodic quality. The real clunker, in my book, is New Adventures In Hi-Fi - BY FAR the worst REM record ever. After that, Up could only be a move up, and it has its moments (none better than 'Daysleeper', as far as I recall). Still, by the mid-90s there was something sadly insufferable about the tone, the image, the projected persona(e) of REM.
― the pinefox, Tuesday, 13 February 2001 01:00 (twenty-three years ago) link
― Jack Redelfs, Wednesday, 21 February 2001 01:00 (twenty-three years ago) link
― the pinefox, Thursday, 22 February 2001 01:00 (twenty-three years ago) link
Rock and roll is deader than jazz, anyway. The answer to all your questions is, yes, REM really does suck as much as it seems, now that you've emerged from your childhood. Christ, I'd rather hear the Cowsills on any given day than those smarmy assholes.
Just my humble opinion...
― Douglas Fletcher, Friday, 6 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link
REM "reveal" melodic side once more
There seems to be an awful lot of hatred quietly sedimented into those otherwise meaningless claw-quotes, or am I just projecting?
― mark s, Sunday, 13 May 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link
― Patrick, Sunday, 13 May 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link
― Robin Carmody, Sunday, 13 May 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link
― geordie racer, Sunday, 13 May 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link
― Sterling Clover, Sunday, 13 May 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link
― DG, Sunday, 13 May 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link
― Dr. C, Thursday, 24 May 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link
― geordie racer, Saturday, 26 May 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link
― Stevo, Saturday, 26 May 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link
― DG, Saturday, 26 May 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link
As opposed to apparently every critic around the world, I'm quite disappointed by Reveal. The last thing we need now is another apathetic 'Hey, everything will be alright' album. The tunes are pretty enough but I can't hear anything with the passion of Murmur or Lifes Rich Pageant. Maybe the computers just took it out of them a little.
― John Davey, Monday, 28 May 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link
― Paul M Lafleur, Thursday, 5 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― the pinefox, Saturday, 21 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― alex in mainhattan, Sunday, 22 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
Records I like in the zero decade include: Lloyd, The Negatives; 6ths, Hyacinths & Thistles; Costello / Mutter, For The Stars; B&S, FYHCYWLAP. Of these, I think Lloyd's is the best. EC does what he does. 6ths and B&S are patchy by their authors' standards. I can't think of many others.
― the pinefox, Sunday, 22 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Jack Redelfs, Monday, 22 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
Yeh, anything after 'document' or even 'lifes rich pageant' for that matter is supsect but ya kind of had o be there to understand the significance at the time.....
I but them at this time at of sentimentality
― Michael D, Sunday, 31 March 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Mr. Snrub (Mr. Snrub), Saturday, 30 April 2005 13:23 (nineteen years ago) link
― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Saturday, 30 April 2005 13:59 (nineteen years ago) link
― edd s hurt (ddduncan), Saturday, 30 April 2005 14:46 (nineteen years ago) link
― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Saturday, 30 April 2005 15:32 (nineteen years ago) link
xpost:tim, i think that post could cut both ways...
― john'n'chicago, Saturday, 30 April 2005 15:37 (nineteen years ago) link
― miccio (miccio), Saturday, 30 April 2005 15:39 (nineteen years ago) link
still classic, even if i hardly ever take these discs off the shelf any more. i used to debate the merits of gardening at night with my trig teacher.
― blackmail.is.my.life (blackmail.is.my.life), Saturday, 30 April 2005 15:53 (nineteen years ago) link
― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Saturday, 30 April 2005 16:08 (nineteen years ago) link
I thought The Great Beyond was a lovely single, as was Imitation of Life (even Bad Day fits into this category), but those seem more like lucky accidents than an indication that they could record an entire album as consistent as those 15 years ago.
― blackmail.is.my.life (blackmail.is.my.life), Saturday, 30 April 2005 16:12 (nineteen years ago) link
If "Hi-Fi" had ended with "Be Mine," it'd be classic REM, probably in my top four or five.
― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Saturday, 30 April 2005 16:31 (nineteen years ago) link
― miccio (miccio), Saturday, 30 April 2005 16:37 (nineteen years ago) link
― I.M. (I.M.), Saturday, 30 April 2005 16:39 (nineteen years ago) link
― miccio (miccio), Saturday, 30 April 2005 16:41 (nineteen years ago) link
having missed the monster tour - which would've been awesome as a high schooler - i was equally thrilled to see them on the UP tour as a college senior. they were ecstatic and did their best to include some older stuff...that the crowd booed!
― blackmail.is.my.life (blackmail.is.my.life), Saturday, 30 April 2005 16:53 (nineteen years ago) link
― miccio (miccio), Saturday, 30 April 2005 17:02 (nineteen years ago) link
― miccio (miccio), Saturday, 30 April 2005 17:03 (nineteen years ago) link
once they moved from dance clubs to theatres
― miccio (miccio), Saturday, 30 April 2005 17:04 (nineteen years ago) link
― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Saturday, 30 April 2005 17:08 (nineteen years ago) link
― miccio (miccio), Saturday, 30 April 2005 17:15 (nineteen years ago) link
― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Saturday, 30 April 2005 20:31 (nineteen years ago) link
― j blount (papa la bas), Saturday, 30 April 2005 20:36 (nineteen years ago) link
― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Saturday, 30 April 2005 20:58 (nineteen years ago) link
Middle ground between what and what?
― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Saturday, 30 April 2005 21:01 (nineteen years ago) link
May I say that this is just an utterly DIRE portrait of the people that like their music?
― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Saturday, 30 April 2005 21:04 (nineteen years ago) link
― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Saturday, 30 April 2005 21:06 (nineteen years ago) link
― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Saturday, 30 April 2005 21:09 (nineteen years ago) link
― elwisty (elwisty), Saturday, 30 April 2005 21:58 (nineteen years ago) link
Here's a clip from the same dude that has Mills:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18eIyXlDvno
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 31 July 2023 16:33 (nine months ago) link
they sound great
― Muad'Doob (Moodles), Monday, 31 July 2023 16:47 (nine months ago) link
One fun thing about the show is that it felt like it would be just Murmur start to finish and 1-2 songs for an encore, what you might expect from a pick-up band of this quality. Then they got to the end of the album, did "There She Goes Again" as a quasi-encore, took a short break, and then went on for an hour or more.
Full setlist here. A standout for me was "Nightswimming", with just Shannon singing and keyboards and cello.
― underwater as a compliment (Eazy), Monday, 31 July 2023 17:56 (nine months ago) link
Under the Silver Lake used “Strange Frequencies” before The Bear. It plays in its entirety through the end credits
― beamish13, Monday, 31 July 2023 18:07 (nine months ago) link
My friend/guitar teacher Curt (manning the Rickenbacker) told me from his perspective that one reason why it didn't feel like a cover band was that focus on early stuff and deep cuts, and no hits.
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 31 July 2023 18:11 (nine months ago) link
Had to check to make sure it was THAT Michael Shannon. Had no idea he was a singer and REM fan.
― Muad'Doob (Moodles), Monday, 31 July 2023 18:15 (nine months ago) link
Shannon’s done a bunch of these tribute nights in Chicago, in addition to working with the theater company he’s part of (sometimes onstage, sometimes working the box office). He’s done The Cars, The Smiths, Velvet Underground, a few others I can’t remember (and I never saw one until last night).
He’s doing a live interview tonight for Mark Caro’s Caropop podcast, and when that airs I’m sure he’ll talk about these nights. (And it’s kind of the perfect thing for an actor/musician to do during the WGA/SAG strike.)
It’s also fun that the band felt like basically guys of the same generation, so I imagine they all knew these songs well before rehearsing them for this show (only one rehearsal, according to Wurster’s FB post).
― underwater as a compliment (Eazy), Monday, 31 July 2023 18:21 (nine months ago) link
Obviously Stipe has a one-of-a-kind voice, but Shannon fits this very well
― Muad'Doob (Moodles), Monday, 31 July 2023 18:26 (nine months ago) link
This dude has a few more clips:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nd8oP3hoRZo
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 31 July 2023 19:34 (nine months ago) link
Here's one with Mills (this song ruled):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwqu59yntnU
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 31 July 2023 19:36 (nine months ago) link
He also did a Neil Young tribute thing too. I have mixed feelings about all the tributes but I admit at least part of it is the monopoly he holds on such things and the preponderance of men onstage. So my feelings are partially petty but also partially not.
― Piggy Lepton (La Lechera), Monday, 31 July 2023 19:44 (nine months ago) link
Someone posted most of "Shaking Through," which is a good vantage, especially if you want to see Wurster's sartorial tribute to Berry:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qn3M3ZBzkJk
― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 2 August 2023 12:44 (nine months ago) link
For those with access, Tom Breihan just posted his essay on "Orange Crush":
https://www.stereogum.com/2231808/the-alternative-number-ones-r-e-m-s-orange-crush/columns/the-alternative-number-ones/?1690980791
― the dreaded dependent claus (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 2 August 2023 12:59 (nine months ago) link
I used to have a great tape of REM's appearance on KCRW's Snap show w/Dierdre Donoghue in 1991, really loose, with lots of chat and impromptu cover versions. Well I lost the tape over time and could only find boots with the chat all cut out but thankfully KCRW have put it up on an online archive, it's a great listen.
https://www.kcrw.com/music/shows/bent-by-nature/rem-out-of-time-acoustic-live-1991
― MaresNest, Saturday, 12 August 2023 22:16 (nine months ago) link
Thought this revive would be about REM tribute act Dead Letter Office, or DLO for short.
― No Zing Compares 2 HOOS (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 12 August 2023 23:25 (nine months ago) link
good show, MaresNest, thanks for sharing
― Brad C., Sunday, 13 August 2023 14:16 (nine months ago) link
Ha, I think that interview was on the B-Side of the Bingo Hand Job bootleg cassette I bought in Camden Town, nice to hear it again
― Chuck_Tatum, Sunday, 13 August 2023 18:16 (nine months ago) link
I've never heard of this podcast, but the latest ep. = "R.E.M. founding member and bass player Mike Mills waxes nostalgic about his band's iconic 1992 release Automatic for the People": https://ncpodcasts.com/the500podcast
― Stoned Wheat Thing (morrisp), Thursday, 31 August 2023 04:29 (eight months ago) link
https://www.stereogum.com/2236106/micky-dolenz-rem-covers-shiny-happy-people/music/
Dolenz’s covers EP has the Michael Stipe seal of approval, via RS:These songs are absolutely incredible. Micky Dolenz covering R.E.M. Monkees style, I have died and gone to heaven. This is really something. ‘Shiny Happy People’ sounds incredible (never thought you or I would hear me say that!!!). Give it a spin. It’s wild. And produced by Christian Nesmith (son of Michael Nesmith). I am finally complete.
These songs are absolutely incredible. Micky Dolenz covering R.E.M. Monkees style, I have died and gone to heaven. This is really something. ‘Shiny Happy People’ sounds incredible (never thought you or I would hear me say that!!!). Give it a spin. It’s wild. And produced by Christian Nesmith (son of Michael Nesmith). I am finally complete.
― an icon of a worried-looking, long-haired, bespectacled man (C. Grisso/McCain), Wednesday, 13 September 2023 22:36 (eight months ago) link
Never one of my favorite REM tracks, but this does sound like a good idea.
― Muad'Doob (Moodles), Wednesday, 13 September 2023 22:50 (eight months ago) link
seems appropriate ... R.E.M. did "(I'm Not Your) Stepping Stone" in a lot of their earliest shows
― Brad C., Wednesday, 13 September 2023 22:59 (eight months ago) link
Dolenz Sings R.E.M. Tracklist:01. Shiny Happy People02. Radio Free Europe03. Man on the Moon04. Leaving New York
― an icon of a worried-looking, long-haired, bespectacled man (C. Grisso/McCain), Wednesday, 13 September 2023 23:57 (eight months ago) link
Cool
― The Thin, Wild Mercury Rising (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 14 September 2023 11:01 (eight months ago) link
Daydream BeSleeper
― Hereward the Woke (Ye Mad Puffin), Thursday, 14 September 2023 13:44 (eight months ago) link
ok, i have to really tip my cap for getting Wuxtry Records into that cover. next best thing would've been the tree that owns itself.
― Western® with Bacon Flavor, Friday, 15 September 2023 14:18 (eight months ago) link
Some commentary by Mike on various songs and other R.E.M.-related things: https://www.vulture.com/article/mike-mills-rem-michael-stipe-superlatives.html
― my brain goes aahhhh (morrisp), Friday, 15 September 2023 15:30 (eight months ago) link
Kind of fascinating how much they (and others) rep for "Reveal." Like, “All the Way to Reno (You’re Gonna Be a Star)” as the best song after Bill left? Really?
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 15 September 2023 16:57 (eight months ago) link
Maybe it’s an in-joke
― assert (matttkkkk), Friday, 15 September 2023 19:55 (eight months ago) link
Number six.
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 15 September 2023 20:07 (eight months ago) link
Mike talks extensively about Up and other things: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/r-e-m-mike-mills-up-no-reunion-1234867325/
(Mike's a talker these days!)
― Girl (1956) (morrisp), Thursday, 2 November 2023 21:06 (six months ago) link
daaaaamn -- that's a good long interview.
― hat trick of trashiness (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 2 November 2023 21:19 (six months ago) link
I will now promptly read the whole thing
― you can see me from westbury white horse, Thursday, 2 November 2023 21:55 (six months ago) link
Thanks for that!
― The Triumphant Return of Bernard & Stubbs (Raymond Cummings), Thursday, 2 November 2023 22:09 (six months ago) link
Reunited! (in their appreciation of Michael Shannon)
― soup of magpies (geoffreyess), Friday, 9 February 2024 22:31 (three months ago) link
heh, I suspected at least most of them would show up, but this is cool.
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 9 February 2024 22:52 (three months ago) link
My friend Dag (plays guitar in the band, lifer) shared this fun pic of him and Stipe last night.
― paisley got boring (Eazy), Friday, 9 February 2024 22:55 (three months ago) link
That's a great pic! (I'm friends of friends with Dag, he's sort of replacing my guitar teacher.)
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 9 February 2024 23:19 (three months ago) link
wow!
― butt dumb tight my boners got boners (the table is the table), Saturday, 10 February 2024 00:35 (three months ago) link
This is a great show, with a few special guests in the encore... highly recommended, if you ever put concert recordings up on the TV while you putter around:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JulR2TPAUfA
― atmospheric river phoenix (morrisp), Monday, 12 February 2024 17:34 (three months ago) link
― paisley got boring (Eazy),
I can't tell them apart!
― poppers fueled buttsex crescendo (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 12 February 2024 17:57 (three months ago) link
nice, I was just watching that REM-in-Jersey show a week or so ago. really kicking myself for not going to the Michael Shannon thing in Chapel Hill (pretty sure it was reading an interview with Shannon that prompted me to watch that old REM show).
― Evans on Hammond (evol j), Monday, 12 February 2024 19:11 (three months ago) link