Is Indie consumerist bullsh*t?

**Janszoon** · 01-27-2023, 10:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lisnaholic

It's a pleasure to read such a robust condemnation of R.E.M.

I have been curious, disappointed and puzzled by this group. Why are they so highly thought of? There's a clip on youtube with a guy explaining for 18 mins why Losing My Religion is a "song that changed music". I couldn't find anything in the song to justify that claim at all. To me it was just a ho-hum song, conventional structure and instrumentation, with (yet again) a young man over-sharing some angst I'm not interested in.

I've always liked REM a lot, especially their 80s stuff. Early on, they had more of a punky Velvet Underground influence. The lyrics were abstract and mumbly. The songs were usually upbeat yet somehow also bittersweet. To me it really works, especially as late night music. Here's an example, the song "Wolves, Lower" from their first release, the Chronic Town EP:

Lisnaholic · 01-27-2023, 10:22 AM

Thanks for pointing me to the right part of their discography to find the good stuff. I'm at work at the moment but will play your rec later.

rubber soul · 01-27-2023, 10:51 AM

REM is my second favorite band next to the Beatles. I too prefer the eighties material over the other recordings as they became a little more commercial by the time of Document (1987). Still, they have their moments later on as well such as Document and especially Automatic For the People.

This has always been a favorite of mine off Reckoning...

Queen Boo · 01-27-2023, 11:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elphenor

I think indie became pretty much synonymous with some form of jangle pop because of The Smiths

compare with "alternative" which a band will get labeled if it instead incorporates hard rock guitars

Why The Smiths? Why not The Feelies? The Soft Boys? The Go-Betweens? The Church? Felt? Orange Juice? Aztec Camera? All those bands were around before The Smiths.

Oh hey you know who else was around before The Smiths? R.E.M.

The Smiths just happened to be the most popular so they get all the credit.

Quote:

Originally Posted by elphenor

whack ass Byrd wannabe mother****ers with stupid lyrics

You really are a treasure trove of wrong opinions.

SGR · 01-27-2023, 01:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elphenor

whack ass Byrd wannabe mother****ers with stupid lyrics

Oh come on now, REMs lyrics are usually as cogent as The Fall's lyrics are.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lisnaholic

Thanks for pointing me to the right part of their discography to find the good stuff. I'm at work at the moment but will play your rec later.

Their early stuff is great, but they had a lot of great stuff in the '90s too. If you shy away from it, you'll miss some great stuff.

And personally, I think Up is their best album. So many beautiful songs on that record, it's just crazy.

REM is definitely one of my favorite bands. Besides The Fall and Miles Davis, they're the artist I own the most records of.

Lisnaholic · 01-28-2023, 07:40 AM

That's more like it!!

Thanks for posting some properly good R.E.M. songs. I'll prob check out some more, but on first listen these were the ones I liked best:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Janszoon

Quote:

Originally Posted by SGR

REM is definitely one of my favorite bands. Besides The Fall and Miles Davis, they're the artist I own the most records of.

^ That makes an unusually trilogy of "most owned" records, SGR! Very interesting.
I can only do mine from memory as I no longer have them, but when I was an LP buyer, I had (clear winner) John Fahey, then Dylan, then runners-up prob Beefheart or Allman Bros.

**Janszoon** · 01-28-2023, 08:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lisnaholic

That's more like it!!

Thanks for posting some properly good R.E.M. songs. I'll prob check out some more, but on first listen these were the ones I liked best:

I'm glad you liked "Wolves, Lower"! If you're interested in hearing more, the rest of Chronic Town is great as well, and it's only five tracks long. Their first full length, Murmur, is also very good and has a similar sound.

Synthgirl · 01-28-2023, 09:00 AM

As far as their 90s stuff goes, I really like the Monster album. Definitely a departure from their classic sound, but them experimenting with more distorted guitars was cool to see and I think that whole album is pretty underrated.

Lisnaholic · 01-28-2023, 10:17 AM

^ "Distorted guitars" ?! I'm in, Synthgirl !

Quote:

Originally Posted by Janszoon

I'm glad you liked "Wolves, Lower"! If you're interested in hearing more, the rest of Chronic Town is great as well, and it's only five tracks long. Their first full length, Murmur, is also very good and has a similar sound.

Thanks. I'll give that a go. "Chronic Town" is a good title, and at 5 tracks long, I'm prepared to commit the time to it .

**Janszoon** · 01-28-2023, 10:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lisnaholic

Thanks. I'll give that a go. "Chronic Town" is a good title, and at 5 tracks long, I'm prepared to commit the time to it .

Haha, I hope you enjoy those 20 minutes.

01-27-2023, 10:22 AM	#62 (permalink)
Lisnaholic ...here to hear... Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: He lives on Love Street Posts: 4,444	Thanks for pointing me to the right part of their discography to find the good stuff. I'm at work at the moment but will play your rec later. __________________ "Am I enjoying this moment? I know of it and perhaps that is enough." - Sybille Bedford, 1953

01-28-2023, 09:00 AM	#68 (permalink)
Synthgirl Music Addict Join Date: Jan 2023 Location: Cheeseland USA Posts: 154	As far as their 90s stuff goes, I really like the Monster album. Definitely a departure from their classic sound, but them experimenting with more distorted guitars was cool to see and I think that whole album is pretty underrated.