Beany

Any R.E.M. fans around?

New album, new songs, new tour. I've got tickets to them in a few weeks here in Ireland. Can't wait!

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Well I got this guitar and I learned how to make it talk

Molecules

i want to get some of the old albums, I already have 'Document'. any recommendations? because i mean this is just obscenely good:



i got 'Reveal' when that came out. Underrated, possibly?

also saw them live once by accident and they didn't play 'shiny happy people', can't imagine why...

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Substix
Last FM
'Institutionalised cruelty is one thing. But the twisted brainwrong of a one-off man-mental is quite another.'

Urban Hatemonger

Obviously Murmer , but I have a soft spot for Reckoning

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Beany

Yeah Document would be my favourite of the 80's albums. Lifes Rich Pageant is a great one to get if ya liked Document. Reckoning too. The only one I'm not mad about from the 80's is Fables.

I was listening to Reveal last night. Think it could well be my 3rd favourite. Seriously under rated. Great album to stick on during a summers day kicking back with a few drinks!

I think they've only played Shiny Happy People once. Michael Stipe and Mike Mills think it's too "corny" to play. Peter Buck said he wouldn't mind playing it though. There's a few songs like that. They never play Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite either. They haven't played Stand since the 80's as well.

Did ya get their new one, Accelerate?

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Well I got this guitar and I learned how to make it talk

hart214

I love REM, I reckon In Time is their best album, the lyrics are so deep

However the best song has to go to, Its The End of the World as we Know it (and I Feel Fine)

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Its The End of the World as we Know it, and I Feel Fine...

hart214

Hey,

I'm sure quite a few of you guys have REM's new album Accelerate.

I recentley read in a review from "The Week" that apparentley...

Accelerate is a great album, constantley reminding you of what a great band REM is, but also of what an exeptional band they used to be

I have quite of few of their albums and it struck me that maybe this comment had a bit of truth in it. For example in my opinion the albulms "Document" and "Reveal" are better than Accelerate in so many ways !!!!

Don't get me wrong I like Accelerate, but have REM lost that certain something that made them such a deep and moving band to listen to.

Your Opinions Please

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Its The End of the World as we Know it, and I Feel Fine...

Beany

I think with a band like R.E.M. everybody has different favourite albums and opinions. They've just been around for so long. I think most of the reviewers are going back as far as Murmur and Reckoning when they're talking about how "exceptional" they were. I think most reviewers will say that anything after New Adventures(including Reveal) is poor by R.E.M.'s standards.

In my opinion though, I love Reveal. I think it's probably their most consistently good album from start to finish. Over anything they've ever done. It's not my favourite, I just think from start to finish its consistently great. People never give it a chance though.

I think Accelerate is an album they had to make. It's all noise and with the exception of Until The Day Is Done, there's not much room to stop and think with it. I think they had to make this type of album though. Just to say to everyone, ("We're still here, and we're gone back to guitars, drums and bass again!"). I hope the next album has the rock of Accelerate but a bit more heart. Like New Adventures. That's my favourite R.E.M. album. I don't think they've "lost that thing that made them a deep band" though. When you look at the last 10 years, I think Up and Reveal have the deepest songs the guys have ever made. Songs like Suspicion, Diminished, Falls to Climb, Parakeet, I've Been High, Chorus and the Ring, Beat A Drum and from Accelerate.. Until The Day Is Done. I also think even the rockier ones on Accelerate are deep. They're some of Stipe's best lyrics in a decade. There's a lot to them and there's double meanings to a lot of what he says. A classic Stipe trait down through the years.

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Urban Hatemonger

I don't think thats the case at all.
Reveal was very well received by both the media and by fans after the disappointment of Up.
Even I thought it was good and I only really listen to their 80s output these days.

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Beany

Read nearly any review for Accelerate and most critics just right off the last 10 years of the bands existence. Including Reveal which was made during this time. Mike Mills has said in interviews during the press for Accelerate saying how frustrated he is about this. The fact that people just bypass the last 3 albums collectively.

In terms of fans being glad with Reveal after the dissapointment of Up, I find the complete opposite. You go on any REM message board and most rank Up far higher than Reveal in their favourite REM albums. Not what I would personally have but each to their own.

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jackhammer

Document is probably their most cohesive album but Murmur is superb too. I have a huge soft spot for Green too. Their output since has been patchy with some excellent tracks dotted throughout (Ignoreland, Me In Honey, I Don't Sleep I Dream). I have'nt heard any of their last three releases and their latest has got good write ups.

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My music collection.cough cough enjoy.

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My dvd collection.