REM Split

Wattle · 23-09-2011 02:23PM

I was a big fan in the late 80's early 90's. I saw them at the RDS in 89. For me it all started to go south after Monster.

I got a text yesterday from a mate saying how 'delighted' he was that they broke up but he's a bit of a prick really....

trashcan · 23-09-2011 06:40PM

lordgoat wrote: »

Monster is their best album and New adventures a close second. Christ that list of yours is so arseways! Automatic? poppy crap all imo of course.

His list is arseways, but your top 2 is not much better tbh. Christ how old are you people ? Maybe I,m just showing my age but from Chronic Town to Document (the IRS years) is REMS golden period for me. Everything after that was patchy (thought there were still quality moments) Fables of the Reconstruction is my favourite. Wendell Gee, Driver 8, Good Advices, Can't Get There From Here, Maps and Legends, Green Grow The Rushes. Wonderful stuff.

indiewindy · 23-09-2011 06:45PM

trashcan wrote: »

His list is arseways, but your top 2 is not much better tbh. Christ how old are you people ? Maybe I,m just showing my age but from Chronic Town to Document (the IRS years) is REMS golden period for me. Everything after that was patchy (thought there were still quality moments) Fables of the Reconstruction is my favourite. Wendell Gee, Driver 8, Good Advices, Can't Get There From Here, Maps and Legends, Green Grow The Rushes. Wonderful stuff.

It probably comes down to which rem album you first heard.

Table Top Joe · 23-09-2011 08:05PM

trashcan wrote: »

His list is arseways, but your top 2 is not much better tbh. Christ how old are you people ?

Ha ha,owner of "arseways" list here....

My list can change a bit every now and then but thats pretty much it...roughly

Im 30,first heard R.E.M at 10 when "Losing My Religion" was played all day every day,loved them from then on but didnt buy my first R.E.M album until "Automatic.." not long before i turned 12,i loved every song i heard and when i got the album it blew me away and still does to this day,didnt get my next one till "Monster" came out(pocket money at that stage didnt really stretch too far)much as i liked it i didnt like it as much as "Automatic....",got "Out Of Time" next though and eventually bought up the back catalogue,some albums took awhile but i grew to love them all,"Fables.." took 4 years though! i bought it at 15 and hated it......for some reason i happened to play it at 19 and i loved it

.....and still do

I loved "Up" when that came out but ive always felt it was just too long,too many similar kind of songs,nothing bad on it just too much(some of his very best lyrics imo)loved "Reveal" too when that came out,as did most of the reviews at the time too which is strange considering the current status it has,thought it was a great summer record but then im a big Brian Wilson fan too so it was my kinda thing

"Around The Sun"???....hmmm,some wonderful songs,but so many dreadful ones too,major disappointment

Anyway,i love stuff from all periods,the early albums fascinated me with their weird gibberish lyrics,what the **** was he on about?.....but i heard them in random order about a decade later,different experience of course

Whatever about my list being "aresways" im puzzled how anyone could find "Automatic.." being my No.1 strange,its widely regarded by fans and critics as being their masterpiece,id be very surprised if it didnt top most fans favourite album list

lordgoat · 23-09-2011 09:28PM

Wendell Gee wrote: »

SFX was 84. Still remember seeing Radio Free Europe on MTUSA on the sunday before.
They played in Croke Park with U2 in 85. Played most of Fables, and were truly strange, all in black, Stipe looking like some deranged hilllbilly preacher.
Stayed with me and I bought Fables that Christmas.
For younger readers, or Dublin ones, you can't imagine how different it was to be a teenager in rural ireland back then. Just rte , Fanning was music.
I got a cousin who went to the states on a J1 to buy murmur and Chronic town for me on cassette of course. I bought reckoning the day after self-aid.
Life's Rich Pageant came out in Sept 86. I had taped fall on me, Cuyahoga, and Panic from fanning, played all three in sequence befoe release one night. Sweet Jesus
I wrote this in memory of the Green tour concert in the rds. Soundwas shight, but it didn't matter to us, cos we were in the front row. The go-betweens played support, and broke up a month later.
For the encore, a flip chart was on stage. Stipe wrote seachto haon on it, and said they would play a song that was only brought out on special nights for the seventy first time. Classic mythmaking nonsense. (the opening credits on the backdrop were a hoot - welcome to _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Insert name of your town here. ) A lot of people never got that bands like REM, the Smiths, and even U2 did not take themselves seriously, just the music.

superb post

trashcan wrote: »

His list is arseways, but your top 2 is not much better tbh. Christ how old are you people ? Maybe I,m just showing my age but from Chronic Town to Document (the IRS years) is REMS golden period for me. Everything after that was patchy (thought there were still quality moments) Fables of the Reconstruction is my favourite. Wendell Gee, Driver 8, Good Advices, Can't Get There From Here, Maps and Legends, Green Grow The Rushes. Wonderful stuff.

nah i love Monster as I heard it first at a time when it really resonated with me. The first album i heard was Automatic, i loved it and went backwards from it and prefferred what came before it, and then Monster came out and blew me away. Seeing it live at Slane probably solidified it for me.

Table Top Joe wrote: »

Ha ha,owner of "arseways" list here....

My list can change a bit every now and then but thats pretty much it...roughly

Im 30,first heard R.E.M at 10 when "Losing My Religion" was played all day every day,loved them from then on but didnt buy my first R.E.M album until "Automatic.." not long before i turned 12,i loved every song i heard and when i got the album it blew me away and still does to this day,didnt get my next one till "Monster" came out(pocket money at that stage didnt really stretch too far)much as i liked it i didnt like it as much as "Automatic....",got "Out Of Time" next though and eventually bought up the back catalogue,some albums took awhile but i grew to love them all,"Fables.." took 4 years though! i bought it at 15 and hated it......for some reason i happened to play it at 19 and i loved it.....and still do

I loved "Up" when that came out but ive always felt it was just too long,too many similar kind of songs,nothing bad on it just too much(some of his very best lyrics imo)loved "Reveal" too when that came out,as did most of the reviews at the time too which is strange considering the current status it has,thought it was a great summer record but then im a big Brian Wilson fan too so it was my kinda thing

"Around The Sun"???....hmmm,some wonderful songs,but so many dreadful ones too,major disappointment

Anyway,i love stuff from all periods,the early albums fascinated me with their weird gibberish lyrics,what the **** was he on about?.....but i heard them in random order about a decade later,different experience of course

Whatever about my list being "aresways" im puzzled how anyone could find "Automatic.." being my No.1 strange,its widely regarded by fans and critics as being their masterpiece,id be very surprised if it didnt top most fans favourite album list

I'm a tiny bit older than ya! I also can't stand Losin my religon, it just grates on me. But i agree on the lyrics in Up. and the summation of the later albums.

nlgbbbblth · 23-09-2011 09:30PM

In one sense it's sad and represents the end of a long era. Another part of me says "about time - should have called it quits years ago".

I first saw R.E.M. in June 1985 when they supported U2. That was also my first ever gig. Earlier that year a guy in school had recorded Murmur and Reckoning for me onto a C90 so I was familiar with some of the material. Fables Of The Reconstruction was about to come out at that point I think.

I also saw them in the RDS June 1989 as mentioned above. My Matric was starting on the Monday. I remember the sound wasn't great but the atmosphere was. Plus the Go-Betweens supported.

All the records up to and including Document are outstanding. I wasn't too keen on Green at the time but it's grown on me. After that it's a pretty solid run through as far as Up which would have been a fitting swansong.
The albums since then have veered between average (Reveal), awful (Around The Sun) and just ok (Accelerate). I haven't heard Collapse Into Now yet - will probably pick up the vinyl version at some stage to complete my collection. .

BornToRun88 · 24-09-2011 12:33AM

Just gave Collapse Into Now a listen again, only released this year and being their final album, and it's a breath of fresh air. Pity about the retirement but as Pete Buck once said in an interview back in the 1990s who wants to go on as long as The Rolling Stones?

tasha200 · 24-09-2011 12:37AM

To be honest its a bit like second hand shops, atleast R.E.M have the dignity to move on over and give progression a chance, its band hanging around growing foostie that have cauuse the whole music thing to stall... i mean look at bands like Coldplay, The Killers, blah blah, I mean retire ffs, red Hot Chilli Peppers, any band you see in the average oxegen, **** orf and let a creative talent come to the fore... atleast micheal stipe has a bit of dignity be it 15 years too late kenneth............
its bands like all of these hoveering around glugging up record itunes sales that are feeding into the xfactor cultur... have your yellow coldplay then pissoff and play in your local pub.. to make music for anything other than music making is what is ruining the art of music, so all of ye all retire, it should be mandatory that once your tune has been played on iradio 4 times you should **** off and die....
progression people, not wrinkles and bull****

handsomecake · 24-09-2011 02:27PM

tasha200 wrote: »

To be honest its a bit like second hand shops, atleast R.E.M have the dignity to move on over and give progression a chance, its band hanging around growing foostie that have cauuse the whole music thing to stall... i mean look at bands like Coldplay, The Killers, blah blah, I mean retire ffs, red Hot Chilli Peppers, any band you see in the average oxegen, **** orf and let a creative talent come to the fore... atleast micheal stipe has a bit of dignity be it 15 years too late kenneth............
its bands like all of these hoveering around glugging up record itunes sales that are feeding into the xfactor cultur... have your yellow coldplay then pissoff and play in your local pub.. to make music for anything other than music making is what is ruining the art of music, so all of ye all retire, it should be mandatory that once your tune has been played on iradio 4 times you should **** off and die....
progression people, not wrinkles and bull****

whats your story cunty?

BornToRun88 · 24-09-2011 03:39PM

tasha200 wrote: »

To be honest its a bit like second hand shops, atleast R.E.M have the dignity to move on over and give progression a chance, its band hanging around growing foostie that have cauuse the whole music thing to stall... i mean look at bands like Coldplay, The Killers, blah blah, I mean retire ffs, red Hot Chilli Peppers, any band you see in the average oxegen, **** orf and let a creative talent come to the fore... atleast micheal stipe has a bit of dignity be it 15 years too late kenneth............
its bands like all of these hoveering around glugging up record itunes sales that are feeding into the xfactor cultur... have your yellow coldplay then pissoff and play in your local pub.. to make music for anything other than music making is what is ruining the art of music, so all of ye all retire, it should be mandatory that once your tune has been played on iradio 4 times you should **** off and die....
progression people, not wrinkles and bull****

A dislike button is needed!

bullpost · 26-09-2011 02:47PM

See bottom left in pic:

F03135414B95497895F7A64D77F73EB2-0000315194-0001986670-00800L-ACF71C629322417D97A9395F7D157FA8.jpg

DublinWriter wrote: »

Wasn't that 83? My Dad drove their bus at the time and I got in free to see the SFX show and travel around with them. They couldn't get over how posh the Gresham Hotel was.

SAINTRON · 26-09-2011 02:51PM

Penfailed wrote: »

They were brilliant at Slane in '95

Their peak. One of the finest gig experiences ever.....those paper cups never looked so good....:D

JerryHandbag · 26-09-2011 05:28PM

Greatest Hits tracklist announced

http://www.pitchfork.com/news/44109-rem-reveal-details-tracklist-for-career-spanning-greatest-hits-album/

SAINTRON · 26-09-2011 05:35PM

JerryHandbag wrote: »

Greatest Hits tracklist announced

http://www.pitchfork.com/news/44109-rem-reveal-details-tracklist-for-career-spanning-greatest-hits-album/

Super track listing. Would be a pleasure to 'stumble' across it in a few years for the new listener.

Stipe always had a powerful voice, my favourite collaboration track was with Syd Straw on Future 40's.....'ready...' Magic stuff.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJajD3zuUKM

Table Top Joe · 26-09-2011 06:24PM

Pretty good tracklisting i must say(thought "Up" deserved at least another track though)

I might have to buy this for Peter Bucks liner notes alone,hope the last 3 tracks are worthy of inclusion too

ned rierson · 26-09-2011 08:21PM

Wendell Gee wrote: »

SFX was 84. Still remember seeing Radio Free Europe on MTUSA on the sunday before.
They played in Croke Park with U2 in 85. Played most of Fables, and were truly strange, all in black, Stipe looking like some deranged hilllbilly preacher.
Stayed with me and I bought Fables that Christmas.
For younger readers, or Dublin ones, you can't imagine how different it was to be a teenager in rural ireland back then. Just rte , Fanning was music.
I got a cousin who went to the states on a J1 to buy murmur and Chronic town for me on cassette of course. I bought reckoning the day after self-aid.
Life's Rich Pageant came out in Sept 86. I had taped fall on me, Cuyahoga, and Panic from fanning, played all three in sequence befoe release one night. Sweet Jesus
I wrote this in memory of the Green tour concert in the rds. Soundwas shight, but it didn't matter to us, cos we were in the front row. The go-betweens played support, and broke up a month later.
For the encore, a flip chart was on stage. Stipe wrote seachto haon on it, and said they would play a song that was only brought out on special nights for the seventy first time. Classic mythmaking nonsense. (the opening credits on the backdrop were a hoot - welcome to _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Insert name of your town here. ) A lot of people never got that bands like REM, the Smiths, and even U2 did not take themselves seriously, just the music.
The Dark Light
I'm here looking down on you
You can feel 12,000 eyes
Probing, photographing you
With open love, there's no disguise
You sing your song, your voice is clear
Your 71st time, the first time here
Strong shoulders grant a perfect view
There's no need to hold back ther tears

Walkman, working in the shed
Good Advices fills my head
The reaper's stalking near and dear
It's cold outside, but warm in here
A thousand plays, the names erased
The tape's worn out, the words unclear
Yet you've dragged me past my final fear
There's no need to hold back the tears

It's awful when the passion dies
The pain of love lost in her eyes
But should I care that I'm alone
I've nerves of steel and a heart of stone
Careering home with Driver 8
I stop outside the School Field gate
The mountain's moonlit misty gown
The pale glow of some distant town
The night air quietly calms me down
you've got to help me, Auctioneer
Cos I can't get from there from here
My soul slips slowly into gear
There's no need to hold back the tears

REM 1980-2001
They owe us nothing
To my friends. it's been pleasure listening to them together
I believe my youth is wearing thin, but I feel fine

your story could be my life.

Penfailed · 26-09-2011 08:56PM

SAINTRON wrote: »

Their peak. One of the finest gig experiences ever.....those paper cups never looked so good....:D

The band themselves commented about it a few months later in an interview - "the audience picked up the trash from the ground and started throwing it in the air...it was amazing" (or words to that effect!)

loyatemu · 26-09-2011 09:01PM

SAINTRON wrote: »

Super track listing. Would be a pleasure to 'stumble' across it in a few years for the new listener.

Stipe always had a powerful voice, my favourite collaboration track was with Syd Straw on Future 40's.....'ready...' Magic stuff.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJajD3zuUKM

5 songs off the last 2 albums, while Monster, Up, Reveal and Around the Sun get a track each... they're obviously believing their own "return to form" hype.

Josey Wales · 26-09-2011 10:06PM

The first disc is really strong but they have only chosen two songs from New Adventures.

Fentdog84 · 26-09-2011 11:47PM

InTheTrees wrote: »

Why does any band that old have to "break up" at all?

I'm sure they all live separate lives at this point.

Come together every five years or so to do a nostalgia tour and who cares if they're "together" or "broken up"?

Did led zeppelin ever break up and who cares anyway?

I agree totally. To be honest im kinda dissapointed in them, didnt expect this. They are all guys in their 50's now, obviously past their creative peak it would be understandable if they decided to stop recording, but break up completely? And with just a message over the web after 30+ years, no farewell concert or tour. Sure they dont owe the world any more great music but that they went down the official route is a bit saddening. They could have just gone into semi retirement mode and reformed for the ocassional gig/tour. This ''break up'' thing I always find dramatic. But then again of course, they may actually be so sick of each other that they never want to play with each other again, otherwise whats the point in breaking up? Look at what happened with the Eagles. But Im starting to ramble. great band

handsomecake · 27-09-2011 02:27PM

JerryHandbag wrote: »

Greatest Hits tracklist announced

http://www.pitchfork.com/news/44109-rem-reveal-details-tracklist-for-career-spanning-greatest-hits-album/

where is ebow the letter and daysleeper?

Miguel_Sanchez · 27-09-2011 04:08PM

handsomecake wrote: »

where is ebow the letter and daysleeper?

The fact that something like Bad Day gets on it and they don't is a bit odd to me too.

indiewindy · 27-09-2011 05:13PM

Jeff_Lebowski wrote: »

The fact that something like Bad Day gets on it and they don't is a bit odd to me too.

That is strange allright, 2 class songs, unless they went strictly on sales and not quality

nlgbbbblth · 27-09-2011 11:32PM

I think I'll pass on the compilation.

The 1988 - 2003 Best Of is well-sequenced and a reasonable tracklist. Sound isn't too bad. Second disc is interesting.

The Best of IRS Years has a great selection, decent rarities but is terribly compressed and an ear-bleeder.

The recent remasters of the first three albums are brickwalled. When will people realise that louder does not mean better?

ned rierson · 28-09-2011 04:00PM

listened to the interviews they did on dave fannings show in 84 and 89 this morning. they sounded so fresh and enthusiastic.

REM Split

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