I never did "get" the whole R.E.M. thing. There are songs that I liked, and Automatic for the People fit a certain mood for me for a while... but I never understood the wider appeal.
Part of it may be that I went through all of the existential dread and questioning of my reality in middle school, and I was over it by the time Stipe & Co. started getting radio time. Since I am usually two steps behind everybody else, it never occurred to me that my peers hadn't already worked through all of this.
You were way ahead of me. The only questions I had in middle school revolved around road hockey. But I’m with you in terms of simply not getting it. I will say that I actually like their album ‘Monster’, but that’s because the music sounds crunchy and distorted, unlike the usual jingle-jangle.
I liked R.E.M. to some extent, back in the day, but I cannot bear to listen to the band now. My own musical sweet spot is early to late 1980s, earlier, I am more of a synth pop and punk person, and R.E.M. seems so particular to its time, not in a good way, though. It feels dated. And I think people overestimate how great the lyrics are?!
Honestly, I was shocked at how much this song grated on my nerves when I heard it again after all this time. So I figured I’d have a bit of fun at its expense. I think you nailed it with the idea of them sounding dated. It definitely takes me back to that time, but I’m not too thrilled to be there.
I never did "get" the whole R.E.M. thing. There are songs that I liked, and Automatic for the People fit a certain mood for me for a while... but I never understood the wider appeal.
Part of it may be that I went through all of the existential dread and questioning of my reality in middle school, and I was over it by the time Stipe & Co. started getting radio time. Since I am usually two steps behind everybody else, it never occurred to me that my peers hadn't already worked through all of this.
You were way ahead of me. The only questions I had in middle school revolved around road hockey. But I’m with you in terms of simply not getting it. I will say that I actually like their album ‘Monster’, but that’s because the music sounds crunchy and distorted, unlike the usual jingle-jangle.
You had me at “Bruce Hornsby”... the only other insertion would be Kenny G. The single biggest attribute of Kenny G is that he doesn’t sing.
LOL. Amen to that!
I liked R.E.M. to some extent, back in the day, but I cannot bear to listen to the band now. My own musical sweet spot is early to late 1980s, earlier, I am more of a synth pop and punk person, and R.E.M. seems so particular to its time, not in a good way, though. It feels dated. And I think people overestimate how great the lyrics are?!
Honestly, I was shocked at how much this song grated on my nerves when I heard it again after all this time. So I figured I’d have a bit of fun at its expense. I think you nailed it with the idea of them sounding dated. It definitely takes me back to that time, but I’m not too thrilled to be there.
We agree on that song for sure.
The only thing worse than Stipe singing Losing My Religion is people doing it in open mic. And karaoke. And the people raving about the video.
Peter Buck’s massive overuse of the mandolin doesn’t justify the hate.
Drop the needle on Steve Earle’s “Copperhead Road” and enjoy mandolin done right.