REM split: a reflection
Yes - I’m back. Not that I actually went away; but the blog was refusing to post pictures or links, which would have been kinda pointless.
Like many people, I’m kinda stunned by the news this evening that REM have called it a day. Now I’m going to be honest: I hadn’t been really blown away by an REM album in a while - possibly at least ten years. But Michael Stipe, Peter Buck, Mike Mills -and with drummer Bill Berry until 1996 were responsible for some excellent music. So many great tracks - singles and album cuts; and so many great albums. Most bands do well to produce a really coherent album in their career. REM made at least eight outstanding albums -Murmur, Life’s Rich Pageant, Document, Green, Out Of Time, Automatic For The People, Monster and New Adventures In Hifi. Even some of the weaker albums had awesome tracks ‘Driver 8′ ‘At My Most Beautiful’ ‘Discoverer’ ‘So. Central Rain…’
So…some videos for you:
Remember them this way
My current relationship was forged, in substantial part, in 1999, over a love for ‘Up’. We were both surprised, years later, to discover it was widely considered to be ‘weak’. I still love it but maybe that’s just through years of reinforcement. R.E.M. were always the same age as me….getting a bit old for new tricks, perhaps.
I know what you mean…when you love an album it can seem hard to accept that others see it as weak.
Q magazine once described Suede’s Dog Man Star album as one of the 100 greatest follies. It’s my favourite album of the 90s and an album that I have quite a few friends who love it as well
Think Reckoning and Fables should have made your list, beauties both and both better than Monster.
See, like bits of Reckoning - but never really got on with Fables. MOnster I think is underrated - genuinely prefer it to Green or New Adventures, quite honestly.