REM Broke Up!!!

[Ain'tGotNoPokemon]

For those who never heard it: https://www.yousendit.com/download/T2dk ... UkhMYnRVag 1.33 MB, will expire after a bunch of downloads, or 6 October if nobody downloads it. It's a demo, unreleased, no copyright violations. If it's against forums rules please delete post!

And with that, it is now available on Youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-l-rmYbb3JE

[08 Ric 4003]

I know I will get hate replies, but I don't think REM has made a good album since Life's Rich Pageant. Document had some good stuff on it and Green had a few good tunes, but after that I totally lost interest. My only question is how long until the 1st reunion tour? Not that I want to go, just many groups that break up don't stay that way. Look at the slew of 80 Hair Metal and bands that have no right still touring shlepping around and still on the road, perfect example the Rolling Stones, once considered the Greatest Rock and Roll Band in the World, now there own parody of a tribute band.

[Folkie]

No hate reply from me! As I've said many times, I think "Chronic Town" through "Lifes Rich Pageant" [sic] was their most fertile period. I have a special affection for the early I.R.S. catalog, and I think their work declined after "Pageant." But think of how hard it is to sustain creative inspiration for 30+ years. The Beatles were only around for about a third that long!

If I had to pick two great albums made after the Warner Bros. transition, they would definitely be "Out of Time," which runs the whole gamut of styles and has some very inspiring moments, and the eerie, brooding, "Automatic for the People," which sounded like absolutely nothing they (or anyone else I can think of) had done before.

Unfortunately, I think a lot of the material from "Automatic"--particularly the album's crown jewel, "Man on the Moon"--grew stale from being repeated at their shows over the years, much in the same way that "The One I Love" and "End of the World as we Know it" from "Document" did.

Of course, there are glimmers of inspiration on all of their records (including "Green," which is my least favorite). And I should admit that I'm not at all as familiar with their recent Warner Bros. output as some of the others on this forum.

I was shocked around the time that "Document" came out, when "Rolling Stone" printed that cover photo of R.E.M. which boasted the now infamous statement: "America's Best Rock and Roll Band." But now that the band has finally called it quits, that piece of hyperbole seems more apt than it did in 1987. One could argue that, while they were together, R.E.M'.s body of work was more consistently exciting than just about any other American band you could mention. Posterity will determine which of their albums survive, but I think it's safe to say that Peter Buck's ambition "to make one really great record" has been more than fulfilled.

Robert

[Ain'tGotNoPokemon]

I know I will get hate replies, but I don't think REM has made a good album since Life's Rich Pageant. Document had some good stuff on it and Green had a few good tunes, but after that I totally lost interest. My only question is how long until the 1st reunion tour? Not that I want to go, just many groups that break up don't stay that way. Look at the slew of 80 Hair Metal and bands that have no right still touring shlepping around and still on the road, perfect example the Rolling Stones, once considered the Greatest Rock and Roll Band in the World, now there own parody of a tribute band.

I never really thought about REM like that - I don't think they'll need the dough, therefore won't do a rereunion tour. The Talking Heads haven't.

[blue330]

I don't think those guys would do a "reunion tour" even if they were broke! Not from any bad vibes or anything, but because they would think it was just a bogus thing to do.

[Ain'tGotNoPokemon]

I don't think those guys would do a "reunion tour" even if they were broke! Not from any bad vibes or anything, but because they would think it was just a bogus thing to do.

Yeah, that's what I think.

But Phish did get back together after Trey Anastasio said absolutely not. The Talking Heads are all still alive.

[Sweden]

I don't think those guys would do a "reunion tour" even if they were broke! Not from any bad vibes or anything, but because they would think it was just a bogus thing to do.

Agreed, Mitch. Such a thing would seem extremely un-R.E.M.-like.

Also, and you obviously have much better insight than I do here, the guys in R.E.M. have always seemed very un-nostalgic in their approach to their own achievements and their own history and legacy. "We're R.E.M. and this is what we do" has indeed seemed to be the general approach in more than one way.

/David

[electrofaro]

And with that, it is now available on Youtube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-l-rmYbb3JE

Ah, spreading the word... good!

A colleague told me the band only broke up so they can ask 500 USD for a tour ticket in 5 years. I was so ******-off by that I actually had no reply... something that never happens!

If R.E.M. had been greedy they could've toured CiN as their final album and tour. They did not. My guess is that they just did not know how to announce it properly.

[miltric]

My friend and band mate believes that R.E.M. didn't make another great album after Fables; actually, he thinks that the first half of Pageant is great, the second half not so much. While the simple but soaring solo in "Flowers of Guatemala" and the whole of "I Believe" still send shivers down my spine, I see his point. Document might be their most cohesive album in terms of production (thanks to Scott Litt) and imagery (thanks to the "fire" motif), but it's kind of hard to argue that something like "Oddfellows Local 151" is a great song. I've always had a soft spot for Automatic, because it's a record about mortality, and I was dealing with mortality for the first time in my life, really, when it came out. But I've begun to wonder if the glow of "Try Not to Breathe," one of their very best songs, doesn't make the rest of the record seem better than it really is. "Man on the Moon" is a good song, as is "Find the River," but "Star Me Kitten" and the overly sentimental "Everybody Hurts"? I'm sad to know that I won't ever see R.E.M. play live again (I agree with those who think they won't reunite), but their break-up has given me occasion to think critically about their body of work. And for the record (so to speak), I think Collapse Into Now unfortunately marks an ignominious end to their career.

[jdawe]

...but it's kind of hard to argue that something like "Oddfellows Local 151" is a great song

As someone who happens to think "Oddfellows Local 151" is a great song, I'll happily have that argument with you any time.

[miltric]

OK, I'll bite. What makes it a great song?

[Ain'tGotNoPokemon]

OK, I'll bite. What makes it a great song?

I don't know. I like it, but I think it's weaker than the other songs on Document. This is coming from someone who's favorite REM song is "Fireplace."

[rkbsound]

Well, Bill quit the band and still played with them. I think they could get together for a benefit or for fun to play an odd show here and there and not call it a "reunion". It's not like they've been travelling in a van together for the past 30 years. But I see the point of not wanting to have a formal "reunion". Kinda silly.

I also think that Oddfellows Local 151is a great song. Find me another like it! Certainly nothing like they had done before, either.

[jdawe]

OK, I'll bite. What makes it a great song?

Personal preference? I'm not sure how well our reaction to music can be distilled into rational argument. But here goes ... even though it's not musically complex as a song, I like the stereo guitars in the intro and the intersection of Mike's driving bassline and Peter's guitar throughout the song, and I find Michael's imagery of the crazy drunk behind the firehouse as preacher arresting. As with so many REM songs, the whole is more than the sum of its parts. I'd put it comfortably in the upper tier of the songs on Document, and put Document comfortably in the upper tier of REM albums.

I may be influenced in part by having seen them play it in 1986 during the Pageant tour -- it was one of the highlights of the night.

But that's just, like, my opinion, man.

[The Mod Lang]

Sort of a disappointment, but the legacy and style of REM will always live on. I'm probably the youngest one here, and even though I didn't "grow up" listening to REM records, or even hear them live, I still remember when I was 17 seeing them on television for the first time promoting Accelerate. Peter Buck was playing a 360 jetglo and from that moment on I wanted one. He had a very arpeggiated, jangle-chime style with a unique hi-gain sound that I fell in love with.
I'm only bummed that I'll never get to see them play...