An REM thread for r.e.m. stuff

Opinions on the new EP so far:

"Reflections of a Sorry Man" has pretty funny lyrics, as we've come to expect from Peter solo. However this song takes his "can't sing" to new heights. I don't really like "If This Is Love", seems like a boring classic rock song with typical relationship-based but not actually personal lyrics. It's easy to tell that this is a cover.

I really like this version of "Drown With Me" though. Much more understated and mysterious. Like the low-key vibe, and since Peter's speak-singing instead of singing, the vocals work pretty well. "Welcome To The Party" isn't much different from the album version, except for less variation in instruments, maybe I don't like it quite as much but still interesting to listen to.

All in all I enjoy listening to this EP and I'm happy that it's here. Just one more mark of proof that Peter is still out there doing whatever the hell he wants to.
 
Opinions on the new EP so far:

"Reflections of a Sorry Man" has pretty funny lyrics, as we've come to expect from Peter solo. However this song takes his "can't sing" to new heights. I don't really like "If This Is Love", seems like a boring classic rock song with typical relationship-based but not actually personal lyrics. It's easy to tell that this is a cover.

I really like this version of "Drown With Me" though. Much more understated and mysterious. Like the low-key vibe, and since Peter's speak-singing instead of singing, the vocals work pretty well. "Welcome To The Party" isn't much different from the album version, except for less variation in instruments, maybe I don't like it quite as much but still interesting to listen to.

All in all I enjoy listening to this EP and I'm happy that it's here. Just one more mark of proof that Peter is still out there doing whatever the hell he wants to.

accurate!
 
my Fav to least REM records-

1- Automatic For the People *****
2- Murmur *****
3- Life's Rich Pageant ****1/2
4- Reckoning ****
5- Green ****
6- New Adventures in Hi-Fi ****
7- Document ***1/2
8- Out of Time ***
9- Fables of the Reconstruction ***
10- Collapse into Now ***
11- Accelerate **1/2
12- Up ** 1/2
13- Monster **
14- Reveal **
15- Around the Sun * 1/2
 
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my list changes fairly regularly, but it's something like:

1. Automatic For the People
2. New Adventures in Hi Fi
3. Fables of the Reconstruction
4. Lifes Rich Pageant
5. Up
6. Murmur
7. Document
8. Green
9. Reckoning
10. Collapse Into Now
11. Monster
12. Accelerate
13. Out of Time
14. Reveal
15. Around the Sun

felt kinda weird putting OOT so low, but it's really uneven. i don't listen to it very much straight through.
 
I just know NAiHF comes first and Collapse is last.

Gargumma I have the exact same opinion as you.

The thing about trying to rank them is that my opinion about actual quality is different from how much I care about the albums. I think in terms of having consistently good songs New Adventures is something like seventh, but I just haven't heard anything else with the feeling that some of those songs have.
 
New Adventures is the first one to have to be split across 2 LPs, and usually that means there's some filler. i don't think there's any on that record, though. it's long but it doesn't feel long. every song has a unique sound and feel but it all works well together. it'd be my #1 if not for the fact that Automatic was the first one i owned and the first album that a young me really emotionally connected with.
 
I don't think New Adventures has any filler, exactly, all the songs are good and interesting. It's just that there's a stretch of songs that I don't care that much about, basically from Bittersweet Me to So Fast, So Numb. I can always listen to them, it's just that with the number of times I've listened to that album, I don't always want to. They seem like just good songs compared to the unique and eerie sound of E-Bow, Leave, and my other favorites. I will agree though that it flows perfectly, and also I really like how they put seemingly everything they were writing on that album - I think the increased spontaneity made it what it is.

As an aside I am "criticizing" my favorite album by not just R.E.M. but anyone. And I listened to the whole thing today.
 
Gargumma I have the exact same opinion as you.

The thing about trying to rank them is that my opinion about actual quality is different from how much I care about the albums. I think in terms of having consistently good songs New Adventures is something like seventh, but I just haven't heard anything else with the feeling that some of those songs have.

That's great! Only, I do think the sheer amount of great songs on the album is what makes it the best for me. Whenever I have to build a compilation, NAiHF is the one from which I borrow the most, say, about 7 or 8 songs -- and I do like the others as well. You mentioned "Bittersweet Me" and it's one of my favourite R.E.M. songs ever, one to which I connected on the first listen, as well as "Leave". So I guess there is indeed an emotional factor that "interferes" with the ranking.

As for fillers, I think one of the reasons why R.E.M. is so well regarded is probably that they never explicitly worked with fillers on phases 1 and 2 (I divide their career into 3 phases: 5 albums IRS, 5 albums Warner-Berry, 5 albums Warner-noBerry). They put a lot of effort into every song, even stuff like "Flowers of Guatemala", and that shows. Phase 3 is highly debatable. When I have to draw from Collapse for a compilation, it's just "Überlin". That's why it comes last for me. I just didn't like that album and think it should rank below Around The Sun, which has some nice moments in it (I can't remember who said it about a great EP buried somewhere there... doctoracula?).
 
I don't think I've listened to Around the Sun enough to have much of an opinion of what are good songs and bad songs. I do know that I really like The Outsiders and I got the impression I was the only one who did. It's better live though. Oh yeah, High Speed Train is great. I do wish it was less produced, while still having enough production to make the eerie noises eerie. Live versions I've heard are too raw.

Around the Sun never really offended me. I wouldn't be surprised if there were moments of hidden greatness buried in its too-long-ness.
 
Buckheads "Buried Around the Sun EP"

1- Electron Blue
2- After Math
3- Final Straw
4- I Wanted to Be Wrong
5- Ascent of Man
6- Around the Sun
 
my list changes fairly regularly, but it's something like:

1. Automatic For the People
2. New Adventures in Hi Fi
3. Fables of the Reconstruction
4. Lifes Rich Pageant
5. Up
6. Murmur
7. Document
8. Green
9. Reckoning
10. Collapse Into Now
11. Monster
12. Accelerate
13. Out of Time
14. Reveal
15. Around the Sun

felt kinda weird putting OOT so low, but it's really uneven. i don't listen to it very much straight through.

Pretty hard to rank for me, and it changes at any given time...but let’s try:

1) Automatic For The People
2) Murmur
3) Lifes Rich Pageant
4) Fables of the Reconstruction
5) Document
6) Green
7) Reckoning
8) Out Of Time
9) New Adventures in Hi Fi
10) Collapse Into Now
11) Accelerate
12) Monster
13) Up
14) Reveal
15) Around the Sun
 
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