Who likes R.E.M., not the sleep, the band?

[babylonsister]

My bro lives in SC and used to love them (and Hooty:eyes:)I think I need to ask him.

:hi: REM sounds good!

[puerco-bellies]

1. They have done some great stuff

This is the first thing that comes to mind.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7vs21ZKrKM

[ThomCat]

2. I like some of their stuff in small doses.

I sometimes crave the song "Everybody Hurts" when I'm depressed and/or in a lot of pain. That song is awesome.

[Richard Steele]

3. I like the band much more than the sleep.

And that all I have to say about that.




eddited fer spellin

[Rabrrrrrr]

4. I thought they were pretty cool until about 1987 when Alternative went corporate,

and REM were the leaders and most energetic banner wavers in the move from real alternative done with integrity and artistic honesty to the corporate world of demographically driven "alternative" compositional styles designed to move as much REM-product as possible.

Michael Stipe should spend the rest of his life covered in filth, hauling garbage in Biloxi.

[Warren DeMontague]

7. Oh, for fuck's sake.

If anything, they've always done what they wanted- much to the chagrin of people who wanted 'em to do something else. Some of the stuff they did in the late 80s struck me as deliberately designed to alienate the glommers-on who maybe didn't get it.

The new album kicks ass, by the way.

[Warren DeMontague]

5. I've been a fan since 1984. The New Album kicks serious rock and roll butt.

While I will defend some of their maligned later albums- like Reveal- 'till I'm blue in the face, it's nice to see those gents breathing some fucking fire again.

Right now my favorite song on the new album is probably Horse To Water, but there's probably 6 or 7 on there that I think rise to instant classic level. Not a bad hit/miss ratio at all.

[Breeze54]

6. "Losing My Religion" rocks! I saw them on 'The Today Show' yesterday!

And they were on The Colbert Show too!



http://remhq.com/index.php

R.E.M. -

Berry/Buck/Mills/Stipe

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

'Losing My Religion '


Oh, life is bigger
It's bigger than you
And you are not me
The lengths that I will go to
The distance in your eyes
Oh no, I've said too much
I set it up

(chorus)
That's me in the corner
That's me in the spotlight, I'm
Losing my religion
Trying to keep up with you
And I don't know if I can do it
Oh no, I've said too much
I haven't said enough
I thought that I heard you laughing
I thought that I heard you sing
I think I thought I saw you try

Every whisper
Of every waking hour I'm
Choosing my confessions
Trying to keep an eye on you
Like a hurt lost and blinded fool, fool
Oh no, I've said too much
I set it up
Consider this
Consider this
The hint of the century
Consider this
The slip that brought me
To my knees failed
What if all these fantasies
Come flailing around
Now I've said too much
I thought that I heard you laughing
I thought that I heard you sing
I think I thought I saw you try

But that was just a dream
That was just a dream

(repeat chorus)

But that was just a dream
Try, cry, why try?
That was just a dream
Just a dream, just a dream
Dream

[Warren DeMontague]

8. I have to say, they seem to be continuing a long-standing R.E.M. tradition of picking the wrong

tunes to be the singles for the album.

Hollow Man, the other song I think they played on "Today", is probably my least favorite off the new album.

Maybe they weren't supposed to play anything too abrasive or loud or political, of which there is plenty in the other tunes.

[vixengrl]

49. That was my favorite song/video back in the day--

made me sing along.

[nomorenomore08]

9. They were awesome for a while, but since the mid-90's or so they've been kind of hit-and-miss.

I haven't heard all their albums, but I'm sure they'll never top their debut, 'Murmur,' which has to be one of the best albums of the 80's.

Here's a track from 'Murmur' (sound quality is a little thin on this video, though):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwDY8AiB8BM

And here's an early live version of "Just A Touch" from 'Life's Rich Pageant,' probably their second-best album:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INxv0QS6-QA&feature=related

[Broken_Hero]

10. I do...

just added a few of their songs to my new, handy dandy mp3 player....

:hi:

[alarimer]

11. I do!

I am rather late to the party though. But I think they have put out some good music over the years. I am going to buy the latest one today.

[hellbound-liberal]

12. Saw them with Bruce in D.C. doing Man On The Moon. It gave me chills!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BisS5JxeUW0

[JCMach1]

13. I saw them live in the early '80s in Gville FL for FREE

They played from their brand new EP the song "Radio Free Europe"

Liked them instantly...

Favorite song: Kohoutek (it's personal).

[peekaloo]

14. I do. I like the new album, too.

:-)

[IzaSparrow]

15. i like REM...nt

[Amerigo Vespucci]

16. The new album is a real paint-peeler...

...Rolling Stone got all dreamy-eyed over it, calling it a "return to form." All I know is that it's got the jangly, crunchy guitars that put them on the map, and Stipe sounds nicely pissed off, so it's on my "heavy rotation" list in the car CD player.



It's available on Free Napster, so anyone who'd like to can listen to the entire album...not just clips...for free, as the name implies:

http://free.napster.com/

:toast:

[babylonsister]

19. I didn't know about that site; thanks! I do want to listen. nt

[MorningGlow]

17. Me, me! I do!

Saw them twice in the '80s--once (for $7) in an airplane hangar (where I acquired most of my tinnitus, as the only free space was right in front of the stage right bank of speakers) and again a few years later at a lovely old converted theater in Buffalo (quite a step up from the airplane hangar).

HEY, DRIVER8! WHERE ARE YOU! CHECK IN!

[malta blue]

18. me me me

I have loved REM since 1982 (damn I am getting old).

I have seen them live several times, and they always put on a great show.

:hi:

[graywarrior]

20. Love REM!

[electron_blue]

21. that would be me.

Time to buy their new album - yay!

I've been buying their music since 1983.

[BlueIris]

22. Yesterday, I listened to the first R.E.M. I've listened to in years.

I kinda dropped them after "Up." And I still prefer early R.E.M. the best. Pre-"Out of Time," which is where I kinda think they sorta, um, er, jumped the shark.

[mitchum]

24. I only like the "Out of Time" and "Automatic For The People" era...

I used to see them a lot back in the "magical" early days, but didn't care for them (although Stipe has always been a stellar front man) I think it was because I absolute HATE Peter Buck's gutless, jangly gutar sound. Apparently, he was able to find the ONLY Rickenbacker in existence without any sustain.
I think I like "OoT" and "AFTP" best because they were no longer pretending to rock...because they never could convincinly rock

[BlueIris]

25. I can't even listen to "Automatic" anymore, because...blech.

Too commercial.

I think "Green" is my favorite album.

[Warren DeMontague]

48. For my money, I don't consider anything after Reckoning "early" R.E.M.

Guess I'm old. I can still remember people bitching about Fables being the "sell-out" album. :rofl:

[driver8]

52. I haven't liked much they've done since Bill Berry left the band.

I'm glad they are trying new things, but I like them when they rock!! This whole "piano - movie sound track" thing has gotten old.

I hear the new album rocks! I can't wait to hear it.

[speedoo]

23. Their stuff REALLY grows on me.

That's what I like most about their music. The more I listen, the more I like it. It's the opposite of Top 40 in that respect. Their music is complex and obviously so are the lyrics.

They were on with Colbert last night... very funny stuff. Colbert asked who influenced them and Michael Sipe answered Patti Smith and Velvet Underground. Sounds good to me.

Apparantly the new album is getting excellent reviews. They did one song on the show, I assume from the new album.

[SoxFan]

26. "Fables" is one my all time favorite albums

Southern Gothic Rootsy Jangle Pop

[Tuesday Afternoon]

27. now...that demographic is a specialized niche

if I hever heard of one ;)

I dig 'em R.E.M :headbang:

[Warren DeMontague]

28. All that, with more than a small dose of subterranean psychedelia thrown in, too. nt

[leeroysphitz]

40. If you like Southern Gothic Rootsy Jangle Pop then you should check out

Low Skies. They don't sound like R.E.M. by they definitely fit the Southern Gothic Rootsy Jangle Pop category.

[CottonBear]

29. I love them! They're from my town and I've met all of them.

Mike Mills is a really, really nice guy. Michael Stipe is always cool and very polite and Bill Berry is a reclusive country gentleman these days (I see him shopping at the local Publix grocery store and we buy hay grown on his property for our horses). Bill is a very low key guy. Pete Buck doesn't live here anymore. His ex-wife, Barrie, owns the 40 Watt Club.

Local Athenians don't bother the guys when they are in town. They are just other citizens (albiet very rich and famous). They have been heavily involved in local Democratic politics and environmental issues (time and money).

I used to work with Michael's sister Lynda, who has a great band called Oh OK. She has a beautiful voice!

[Miss Carly]

30. REM rocks

some great songs those guys have
Carly

[asthmaticeog]

31. I LOOOOVED them up until "Green."

Haven't liked a single note they've played since about 1989, but those first five albums still hold up damn well.

[dysfunctional press]

32. i first saw them at mabel's in cham-bana...over 25 years ago.

and have been a fan ever since. moreso during the 80's though.

there must have been something in the water in athens Ga.- r.e.m., b-52's, love tractor, the producers...who else?

[taterguy]

35. You forgot Pylon

Shame
Shame
Shame

[CottonBear]

54. I danced my ass off to Pylon at the Athens Rewind Reuinion at the 40 Watt Club in August 2005!

My friend Kay broke her purse strap and her sandle heel but she just threw off the shoes, tied up the purse strap and kept on dancing!

OH-OK (Linda Hopper and Lynda Stipe) opened and Time Toy played the night before! It was AWESOME!

I know Vanessa from Pylon. She's really nice. Her daughter helps out at the horse farm.

Plyon:

[Dr Fate]

60. Pylon- one of the great unknown ground-floor indie bands...

I havent heard them since my cassetes wore out sometime during the Bush Sr. admin...LOL- perhaps I'll scan Ebay for vinyl copies...

[Tyrone Slothrop]

38. Mabel's!

Man...I forgot all about Mabel's. Think they closed down my freshman or sophomore year...

I saw Pavement there. What a great venue!

[darkstar]

33. No flames please, but

I think their biggest difficulty--in general--was that they just did not make the transition to arena sized venues. My opinion, obviously, but they were in the midst of this prior to the omnipresent jumbotrons, etc., and I *think* never getting comfortable at that level had a large part of them laying low and regrouping--and some health problems, too--at a crucial spot in their career. Think of them in the late 80s/early 90s vs U2 who, I belive, emerged at the same time, had a similarly-paced rise with their first 5-6 albums etc. I remember thinking this during Green tour, I thin, because for me as a fan, it just was not translating well at all in large venues.

But that's how you wind up being happy, too, and not being a slave to the "big show". I can imagine they are very content to be where they are and that Stipe is glad he doesn't have to be Mick or Bono as he grows older.

[Initech]

34. It's the end of the world as we know it... and I FEEL FINE!!!

What's scary is that this song is more relevant today than when it came out 20 years ago! :yoiks:

[KamaAina]

36. All sentient beings, pretty much by definition

Mom, a Stones/Beatles/Creedence kind of gal, was adamantly resisting '80s music -- until, one evening in a motel room in Groton, Conn., an R.E.M. video came on (this was back when the music channels played, y'now, music). The verdict: "Hey, I think I like those REM guys!"

edit: Did you just imply a comparison between R.E.M. and Hootie and the Blowfish/! Ye gods!

[Dulcinea]

37. One of my all-time favorite bands.

My favorites:

"These Days" from Lifes Rich Pageant
"Don't Go Back to Rockville"
"Driver 8"
"Perfect Circle" from Murmur
and of course, "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine.)"

I don't have the new album yet.

[electron_blue]

41. Perfect Circle is sheer perfection, isn't it?

I swear that song blows me out of the water every time I hear it. The effect it had on me when I first heard it at 20 or 21 was magical. I rarely come across anyone who's heard of it.

[Warren DeMontague]

47. Oh, yeah, that's for sure one of my favorite R.E.M. tunes, too.

Some of the live versions I've heard are extra-haunting; with Mills going "ooooo-oooooo" in the background during the chorus.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

39. Unseen Power of the Picket Fence

(by Pavement/S.M.)

Some bands I like to name check,
And one of them is REM,
Classic songs with a long history
Southern boys just like you and me.
R - E - M
Flashback to 1983,
Chronic Town was their first EP
Later on came Reckoning
Finster's art, and titles to match:
South Central Rain, Don't Go Back To Rockville,
Harbourcoat, Pretty Persuasion,
You were born to be a camera,
Time After Time was my least favourite song,
Time After Time was my least favourite song.
The singer, he had long hair
And the drummer he knew restraint.
And the bass man he had all the right moves
And the guitar player was no saint.
So lets go way back to the ancient times
When there were no 50 states,

And on a hill there stands Sherman
Sherman and his mates.
And they're marching through Georgia,
we're marching through Georgia,
we're marching through Georgia
G-G-G-G-Georgia
They're marching through Georgia,
we're marching through Georgia,
marching through Georgia
G-G-G-G-Georgia
and there stands REM

(Aye Sir, Aye Sir, Aye Sir they're coming, Aye Sir, move those wagons, Aye
Sir, Artillery's in place Sir, Aye Sir, Aye Sir, hide it, hide it, Aye
Sir, run, run.)

[tigereye]

42. have loved them for years

new album is supposed to be quite good. The last few just didn't do it for me for some reason.

[Ishoutandscream2]

43. Very pretentious, but they do have a few good tunes

Fall on Me and What's the Frequency, Kenneth are very catchy. But for the most part, they remind me too much of the 1980's, the worst decade in pop music history.

[ElboRuum]

44. I rather enjoy both. False choices, feh.

[CatholicEdHead]

45. It's the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine

[NC_Nurse]

46. I do. I got into them from their first EP and album.

They played small clubs here back then. They are great.

[Inchworm]

50. REM is a memory band.. neither good.

For my bro who is still living.. living badly.. but living :P

R.E.M - Everybody Hurts

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioAQTwc8Oas

When your day is long and the night,

The night is yours alone

When you're sure you've had enough of this life, well hang on

Don't let yourself go, 'cause everybody cries ,and everybody hurts

Sometimes.., sometimes everything is wrong,
Now it's time to sing along
...
If you think you've had too much of this life,
well hang on

'Cause everybody hurts, take comfort in your friends

Everybody hurts,
don't throw your hands, oh now,
Don't throw your hands

If you feel like you're alone, no, no, no, you're not alone

If you're on your own in this life, the days and nights are long

When you think you've had too much, of this life, to hang on

Well everybody hurts, sometimes

Everybody cries, and everybody hurts, sometimes

But everybody hurts sometimes so hold on, hold on, hold on,
Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on,

Everybody hurts, you are not alone
_________________________

And I'll never forget the old man doing this song while driving a big truck. And he knew the words!!!

Had to know him to know how out of character it was :)
_____________________________

Losing My Religion

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7vs21ZKrKM

Life is bigger
It's bigger than you
And you are not me
The lengths that I will go to
The distance in your eyes
Oh no I've said too much
I set it up

That's me in the corner
That's me in the spotlight
Losing my religion
Trying to keep up with you
And I don't know if I can do it
Oh no I've said too much
I haven't said enough
I thought that I heard you laughing
I thought that I heard you sing
I think I thought I saw you try

Every whisper
Of every waking hour I'm
Choosing my confessions
Trying to keep an eye on you
Like a hurt lost and blinded fool
Oh no I've said too much
I set it up

Consider this
The hint of the century
Consider this
The slip that brought me
To my knees failed
What if all these fantasies
Come flailing around
Now I've said too much
I thought that I heard you laughing
I thought that I heard you sing
I think I thought I saw you try

But that was just a dream
That was just a dream
_______________

:toast:

[driver8]

51. My favorite band for a long, long, time!! (Hence, the screen name).

"Murmur" is my favorite album ever!

[AwakeAtLast]

53. Me, me, me!!!

Always have, always will! :bounce:

I got to see them around '92 or so - they were soooo great!

My sister met the bass player in a bar in Chicago once, too.

She and I drove to Augusta to visit my husband while he was on base there. We took the long way just so we could spend some time in Athens. Totally worth it!

[stuntcat]

55. I like them! I can't go to their concert though :(

They're coming here soon and I'd love to see them. I saw them once before but it was like 15 years ago :O I'd go see them again but my husband doesn't want to buy the tickets, he doesn't care about REM and even if I had a ticket I can't drive.

[Pacifist Patriot]

56. I'm from Georgia. I think I'm required to like them.

Not a collector of their CDs, but I have their double-album Greatest Hits. They're cool.

[Beausoleil]

57. Since "Murmur" in '82

When I heard that album, I knew these guys were going to be big. I told all my friends to watch R.E.M. I thought their first 5 (or 6) albums were great, especially Murmur, Reckoning, Fables of the Reconstruction and Document.

A lot of newer bands that I've listened to over the years were obviously influenced by R.E.M.

I've picked up almost all of their albums over the years, I think "Accelerate" is on my list now after seeing them on Colbert.

[suninvited]

58. Thats one band that I have never even owned a CD of

and I have hundreds of CD's. After seeing them on the Colbert Report, though, I might order this new one. I liked the song they did.

[Dr Fate]

59. They were the soundtrack to my teen-age years. THE most influential band in my life.

If not for them, I wouldn't know about the Velvet Underground, the Byrds, Big Star, Gram Parsons or 60's Garage Rock- and EVERYTHING that flows from those bands- ie punk, good country, roots-rock, "college" rock, etc...

REM is essentially the lynch pin of my record collection (over 15,000 songs & counting)

When I was a teen, I thought they were the most intriguing & mysterious band I had ever heard of...They were one of the only half-way mainstream bands that were playing music for people like me (IE creative white kids in the suburbs)- now-a-days there are tons of bands that do this- so the kids today are lucky...

I cant say how important they are to me...